Changing MacPro3,1 definition to a newer model ?

[UtterDisbelief]

Just thought I'd ask a specific question since the latest news from 2016's WWDC implies that our most reliable system definition - a 2008 Mac Pro - will no longer be supported for macOS Sierra.

I've searched the forums and people often mention changing this setting BUT I've been trying recently and it seems not so straight forward.

Steps I've taken:

I applied the AppleGraphicsDevicePolicy of Piker Alpha for my Nvidia graphics card as suggested (fix #4 etc), however on closer inspection this seems to only work for iGPU onboard, not discrete.

Clover Configurator version 4.29 doesn't seem to contain an iMac17,1 definition, the only current Skylake Apple machine and logical for my hardware. Is this a function of Clover itself or Clover Configurator?

Using the Clover boot Options menu does allow changing of the system definition but then apparently ignores the rest of your config.plist (serial numbers etc) causing iCloud and iTunes to throw a wobbler, demanding passwords. I have tried turning-off my router to prevent "calls home" and manually entered my original serial numbers. Trouble is I might be entering incomplete system-definition entries in config.plist without more guidance.

For one last big push I tried/discovered the following:

Create a new config.plist by copying your working one and opening in Clover Configurator.
Set system definition to iMac15,1.
Change the BIOS date from 09/29/08 to 09/29/2015
Amend the SMBIOS BIOS version code. Change IM151xx to IM171xx
Saved the new config-plist then re-opened in TextEdit.
Manually changed the 15,1 to 17,1 (appears only once)
Manually changed the 'Mac Pro' tag to 'iMac'
Saved.

Reboots to a Black Screen... Just as others have said happens with Nvidia graphics.

Copied original config.plist back over the new one to return to MacPro3,1 and a working machine.

That's my state of play so far. Can't help but feel I'm missing something very obvious.

So my question is, can someone offer a solid guide to making the necessary change to the Skylake system-definition, using Clover, that doesn't break the machine?

 

[atoulmin]

That's interesting,

I have a z170 system with a Nvidia 960GTX. I too was using the Mac Pro 3.1 definition. I changed to the iMac 17.1 and I too would get a black screen so I applied the fix #4 as suggested in the clover config.plist. It booted fine and it's been running great ever since.

I didn't use clover configurator, I just added the necessary lines into the config.plist file and it worked.

Also does your usb 3 ports slow down after sleep?

 

[UtterDisbelief]

That's interesting,

I have a z170 system with a Nvidia 960GTX. I too was using the Mac Pro 3.1 definition. I changed to the iMac 17.1 and I too would get a black screen so I applied the fix #4 as suggested in the clover config.plist. It booted fine and it's been running great ever since.

I didn't use clover configurator, I just added the necessary lines into the config.plist file and it worked.

Also does your usb 3 ports slow down after sleep?

Hi @atoulmin

Yes, I can certainly change the system definition in config.plist, add the 'fix #4' and the machine will reboot ok (even the nvidia menu-bar icon reappears - I'd turned it off previously) BUT About This Mac still shows the system as a MacPro3,1. So no further forward.

I haven't noticed any USB slow-down after sleep, no. However I haven't accurately measured it. I have noticed that not all USB 3.0 memory sticks are created equal. My Sony stick works very quickly but my Transcend stick is a lot slower.

 

[atoulmin]

Perhaps to clarify, to change my definition I used Multibeast to set the definition to 17.1 then i edited the config.plist to add the necessary patch for Nvidia.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Perhaps to clarify, to change my definition I used Multibeast to set the definition to 17.1 then i edited the config.plist to add the necessary patch for Nvidia.

Hi @atoulmin

Thanks for that. Much appreciated.

Yes, using MultiBeast for this is much more complete than using Clover Configurator. What's more the BIOS version, Board ID and Board Type are now correctly configured. I think the lack of correct ones hindered my earlier attempts from working.

I am now still getting immediate wake from sleep - which I know is caused by my 'genuine' Apple wifi card and USB BT connection - but at least audio is working again once awake.

Nothing is straightforward and I suppose, as always, the secret is to change just one thing at a time so you can see what does and what doesn't work.

Thank you again for your input