EFI containers and config.plist

[jezzalencko9]

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but I can't get my head around it... Please correct my understanding...

I have booted into an EFI partition of a drive and so Clover should run in accordance with the contents of the EFI folder that resides in that partition? Right?

So in my case for example I have the drive called 'Main Original'. I've booted into the EFI partition of that drive (happens to be Samsung 840 SSD). First of all, when I mount the EFI partition with Clover Configurator and scrutinise the EFI folder, its a mess (my own fault, but known) and config.plist is in the root dir, not where it's meant to be. Plus the SMBIOS settings of this config.plist don't match the system report serial numbers, so it makes me think this config.plist isn't even the one that's loaded.
Question is, where the hell is the config.plist file it's using?? Surely in UEFI mode its using the one in the /EFI folder on the EFI partition?
What am I missing here?

 

[Feartech]

I have booted into an EFI partition of a drive and so Clover should run in accordance with the contents of the EFI folder that resides in that partition? Right?

So in my case for example I have the drive called 'Main Original'. I've booted into the EFI partition of that drive (happens to be Samsung 840 SSD). First of all, when I mount the EFI partition with Clover Configurator and scrutinise the EFI folder, its a mess (my own fault, but known) and config.plist is in the root dir, not where it's meant to be. Plus the SMBIOS settings of this config.plist don't match the system report serial numbers, so it makes me think this config.plist isn't even the one that's loaded.
Question is, where the hell is the config.plist file it's using?? Surely in UEFI mode its using the one in the /EFI folder on the EFI partition?
What am I missing here?

if they do not match then you are opening the wrong config.plist or mounting the wrong partition

do you have other hard drives attached as well?

 

[jezzalencko9]

Yes but I’ve checked those drives. I can’t find a config.plist file anywhere that matches the systems properties. Dumbfounded.

 

[Feartech]

Yes but I’ve checked those drives. I can’t find a config.plist file anywhere that matches the systems properties. Dumbfounded.

not sure apart from looking harder!

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Yes but I’ve checked those drives. I can’t find a config.plist file anywhere that matches the systems properties. Dumbfounded.

Looking at that second screengrab - the Finder window - we can see a big mistake:

The folder we are looking at is called "Clover" (see top of Finder window). In that folder is config.plist, EFI and kexts_working.

What's that about?

Finder window should show the Drive in the top frame. Then you should have an EFI folder with Apple Boot Clover sub-folders.

 

[jezzalencko9]

Sorry I think was just an unfortunate crop of the screen grab there. See attached, I've widened it out. When I mount the EFI partition of 'Main Original' (using CC) it has all the appropriate EFI/ABC folders (although the strange part is the config.plist is in the root, not under Clover folder...).
Either way, when booting to this EFI partition, everything loads fine.
It's just that the system parameters are different to config.plist and can't find anywhere an alternative config.plist that matches the SMBIOS so can't figure out what's happening.
There is also the EFI folder on the main system drive, but a) I didn't think that the config.plist here was utilised when booting into the EFI partition and b) the SMBIOS on this config.plist is completely empty! Could it be the serial that the Serial number I'm seeing in "About this Mac" is generated when no serial is available in SMBIOS?
I'm at a loss. Is there any way to tell what config.plist file is loaded (besides system serial number?)

Also, I've never quite understood this, and if someone can clear it up for me it might help me decipher what's going on above:

When you boot up in the BIOS with F12, say you have options of:
1.) UEFI HDD A
2.) UEFI HDD B

Say you choose HDD A. Clover boots up. In Clover Menu you have option of booting into:
1.) HDD A
2.) HDD B
Say you choose B here.

OSX boots up successfully. Now the booted-up system in this case, from what EFI folder is the system getting its definition from with all the associated config.plist settings? Is it:
1.) EFI folder on the EFI partition on HDD A?
2.) EFI folder on the EFI partition on HDD B?
3.) System EFI folder HDD A
4.) System EFI folder HDD B?

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Sorry I think was just an unfortunate crop of the screen grab there. See attached, I've widened it out. When I mount the EFI partition of 'Main Original' (using CC) it has all the appropriate EFI/ABC folders (although the strange part is the config.plist is in the root, not under Clover folder...).
Either way, when booting to this EFI partition, everything loads fine.
It's just that the system parameters are different to config.plist and can't find anywhere an alternative config.plist that matches the SMBIOS so can't figure out what's happening.
There is also the EFI folder on the main system drive, but a) I didn't think that the config.plist here was utilised when booting into the EFI partition and b) the SMBIOS on this config.plist is completely empty! Could it be the serial that the Serial number I'm seeing in "About this Mac" is generated when no serial is available in SMBIOS?
I'm at a loss. Is there any way to tell what config.plist file is loaded (besides system serial number?)

Also, I've never quite understood this, and if someone can clear it up for me it might help me decipher what's going on above:

When you boot up in the BIOS with F12, say you have options of:
1.) UEFI HDD A
2.) UEFI HDD B

Say you choose HDD A. Clover boots up. In Clover Menu you have option of booting into:
1.) HDD A
2.) HDD B
Say you choose B here.

OSX boots up successfully. Now the booted-up system in this case, from what EFI folder is the system getting its definition from with all the associated config.plist settings? Is it:
1.) EFI folder on the EFI partition on HDD A?
2.) EFI folder on the EFI partition on HDD B?
3.) System EFI folder HDD A
4.) System EFI folder HDD B?

Okay.

Well, confusing to review though this is, for a UEFI boot there should not be an EFI folder on the main drive, only the EFI-Backup. An EFI folder only appears if Legacy, not UEFI boot has been selected.

To answer your trick question, the answer is the EFI partition on "UEFI HDD A" in the first group. The reason is because you say you get another two HDD options in the Clover menu. Well Clover must have been loaded for that to happen, so it came from UEFI HDD A.

As for config.plist not showing your serial-number. Look at the number. It is easy to spot an auto-generated one because - if memory serves - it will start with a "D" and have the word "HACK" somewhere in it. Boot a UniBeast installer stick to check.

If the serial-number you see is a properly formatted one, then it's in a config.plist somewhere and a part of the boot record. Looking at your latest screengrabs, then it's not the config.plist outside of the EFI folder, and there isn't one correctly named, inside the Clover folder. It's somewhere though, if it boots your PC.

My suggestions would be -

1) if you are using a UEFI BIOS - remove the EFI folder on the main drive. Store it somewhere safely in case you've made a mistake somewhere and need to refer back to it.

2) Set up your EFI partition, EFI/Clover folder correctly, not with extra bits.

3) Don't leave anything to chance by having another EFI on another attached drive.

 

[jezzalencko9]

UBD, Thanks once again for your help.
Finally got to the bottom of the issue... kind of...
Turns out that the config.plist being in the "wrong location" meant that it wasn't the one being loaded. I'm still at a loss what config.plist file was actually being used on boot-up, but I feel as though, in the past, "something" has been loaded (which worked and put the setup kexts and defs into the S/L/E folders etc) and since then, the config.plist file was moved out of the Clover folder (don't ask me how) and either moved to the root of EFI partition or another foreign one put there. This config.plist was not being "used" or referenced (hence why the SMBIOS details differed). So without a config.plist file to read from every time on boot up (from the location it "should" have been in), the past system definition (from long ago when it "was" there and available) was "retained". I still don't know where it is though. And this is all still my "theory" to what actually happened, I can't really be sure.
What I do know for sure however is, that I put the config.plist in its proper location, tidied up the folders (removing ones I'd added, as suggested), and viola, the config.plist loaded and was the one being used (SMBIOS serials cross-checked and matched). (Note, this was risky because I wasn't sure if this config.plist would be functional). In the end I risked it, it worked, and at least now it all makes sense and I know where and what config.plist is being used. *sigh of relief*.
Now I've also copied that entire functioning EFI folder to my other new drive, and that is working as expected too.

Thanks again everyone, awesome feedback, assistance and suggestions as always.

 

[trs96]

Thanks again everyone, awesome feedback, assistance and suggestions as always.

Good to see this got resolved and you learned much as well. Hackintoshing really requires a great amount of attention to small details. One wrong config.plist quirk setting and your hack won't boot properly.

That's why we have such detailed User Build and Golden Build guides to follow here. They are some of the best you can find anywhere and it's all free for those that want to spend the time learning this process. Amazing tech resource this community is.