Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming build with working NVRAM

[pastrychef]

Thanks Pastrychef,

I deleted this line and saved the config file as you suggested. It did remove the line in the Gigabyte loading screen, but Big Sur still crashed on boot, at the same point as before (that is, before Apple logo and progress bar change from the higher res version to lower res version (which is about a 1/3-1/2 of the way along the progress bar).

I have now also tried OC 0.8.1, but it does exactly the same. For some reason OC 0.7.9 works fine...I am writing this reply on that build. I tried to read through both the config file for 0.7.9 and 0.8.0. They looked identical to me, so I'm not sure what the problem is. I have also tried running your downloaded 0.8.0 file without any mods whatsoever, still get the error from before.

I even updated the bios to F9l, which is working fine on 0.7.4 (the build on my SSD) and 0.7.9 (running from the flash drive) but not 0.8.0 or 0.8.1.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Thanks.

Boot in verbose mode and post a photo of where it crashes.

 

[joobuzz]

Boot in verbose mode and post a photo of where it crashes.

Thanks. This is where it crashes.

 

[pastrychef]

Thanks. This is where it crashes.

I've never seen that before. What version of macOS are you installing or running?

 

[joobuzz]

I've never seen that before. What version of macOS are you installing or running?

I'm running Big Sur 11.6.

The "OCS: No schema for SerialInit at 5 index, context <Debug>!" error is the first line that appears whenever I boot using the OC 0.8.0 USB stick (above the Gigabyte splash screen), well before I choose the Big Sur installation...it's effectively immediately after I choose the USB stick from the F12 menu. Not sure if that error has got anything to do with it Big Sur not loading, but it doesn't appear using OC 0.7.9, which is working fine. I have also tried clearly NVRAM before choosing Big Sur, but to no avail.

My plan was to update to the latest OC, then install Monterey. Assuming Monterey works on OC 0.7.9....it might even work on my stable 0.7.4 build, I might just try that anyway.

Let me know what you think.

James

 

[pastrychef]

I'm running Big Sur 11.6.

The "OCS: No schema for SerialInit at 5 index, context <Debug>!" error is the first line that appears whenever I boot using the OC 0.8.0 USB stick (above the Gigabyte splash screen), well before I choose the Big Sur installation...it's effectively immediately after I choose the USB stick from the F12 menu. Not sure if that error has got anything to do with it Big Sur not loading, but it doesn't appear using OC 0.7.9, which is working fine. I have also tried clearly NVRAM before choosing Big Sur, but to no avail.

My plan was to update to the latest OC, then install Monterey. Assuming Monterey works on OC 0.7.9....it might even work on my stable 0.7.4 build, I might just try that anyway.

Let me know what you think.

James

Don't worry about the SerialInit thing. It doesn't matter.

0.7.9 should work with Monterey. But I still don't know why 0.8.0 and 0.8.1 doesn't work for you...

 

[joobuzz]

Don't worry about the SerialInit thing. It doesn't matter.

0.7.9 should work with Monterey. But I still don't know why 0.8.0 and 0.8.1 doesn't work for you...

Thanks. I will try an install of Monterey on the spare disk using 0.7.9.

One query regarding SerialInit.

I downloaded the sample.plist files for 0.7.9 and 0.8.0 from the github page. The serialinit sections look very different.

In 0.7.9, it's like this:

<key>Debug</key>
<dict>
<key>AppleDebug</key>
<false/>
<key>ApplePanic</key>
<false/>
<key>DisableWatchDog</key>
<false/>
<key>DisplayDelay</key>
<integer>0</integer>
<key>DisplayLevel</key>
<integer>2147483650</integer>
<key>LogModules</key>
<string>*</string>
<key>SerialInit</key>
<false/>
<key>SysReport</key>
<false/>
<key>Target</key>
<integer>3</integer>
</dict>

And in 0.8.0, serialinit is in this section within security:

<key>Security</key>
<dict>
<key>AllowNvramReset</key>
<false/>
<key>AllowSetDefault</key>
<false/>
<key>AllowToggleSip</key>
<false/>
<key>ApECID</key>
<integer>0</integer>
<key>AuthRestart</key>
<false/>
<key>BlacklistAppleUpdate</key>
<true/>
<key>DmgLoading</key>
<string>Signed</string>
<key>EnablePassword</key>
<false/>
<key>ExposeSensitiveData</key>
<integer>6</integer>
<key>HaltLevel</key>
<integer>2147483648</integer>
<key>PasswordHash</key>
<data></data>
<key>PasswordSalt</key>
<data></data>
<key>ScanPolicy</key>
<integer>17760515</integer>
<key>SecureBootModel</key>
<string>Default</string>
<key>Vault</key>
<string>Secure</string>
</dict>
<key>Serial</key>
<dict>
<key>Init</key>
<false/>
<key>Override</key>
<false/>
</dict>

Just wondering why in the config.plist file in your 0.8.0 onward EFI's it looks more like the sample.plist from 0.7.9 and not the sample.plist from 0.8.0. (BTW, I'm well out of my depth here, but just curious what's going on).

Thanks.

 

[pastrychef]

Thanks. I will try an install of Monterey on the spare disk using 0.7.9.

One query regarding SerialInit.

I downloaded the sample.plist files for 0.7.9 and 0.8.0 from the github page. The serialinit sections look very different.

In 0.7.9, it's like this:

And in 0.8.0, serialinit is in this section within security:



Just wondering why in the config.plist file in your 0.8.0 onward EFI's it looks more like the sample.plist from 0.7.9 and not the sample.plist from 0.8.0. (BTW, I'm well out of my depth here, but just curious what's going on).

Thanks.

Don't worry about SerialInit. It's for serial ports which we never used on this motherboard. It never mattered for this motherboard.

The sample looks different because the section was changed from OpenCore 0.7.9 to 0.8.0.

The message you see is just OpenCore 0.8.0+ saying it doesn't know what SerialInit is because it was removed after 0.7.9.

It's meaningless and doesn't affect anything. Stop thinking about it.

 

[QuantumDog]

Don't worry about SerialInit. It's for serial ports which we never used on this motherboard. It never mattered for this motherboard.

The sample looks different because the section was changed from OpenCore 0.7.9 to 0.8.0.

The message you see is just OpenCore 0.8.0+ saying it doesn't know what SerialInit is because it was removed after 0.7.9.

It's meaningless and doesn't affect anything. Stop thinking about it.

pastrychef,
Let me start by thanking your for the helpful OC EFI examples. Your OC examples allowed me to get Big Sur running on my system after countless hours of tinkering. I had literally given up on Big Sur until I discovered your thread.

My GB 390m system is nearly identical to yours, but I ran into immediate trouble with 0.8.0. Multiple problems were affecting me, including an BIOS configuration issue and a Bluetooth module incompatibility. After stripping the machine, version 0.7.6 successfully booted and installed Big Sur.

Then I moved up to more recent versions. Version 0.7.9 will boot into Big Sur, but version 0.8.0 and 0.8.1 won't. The SerialInit item was removed from the 0.8.1 plist file, and verbose mode was added to the boot args. With 0.8.1 the machine comes up, then you select the Big Sub drive, and the boot fails right before the final shift into the progress bar. The verbose text flies by pretty quick, so I'll likely need record it to see if there are any obvious faults. It appears that my system behaves the same as joobuzz.

 

[pastrychef]

pastrychef,
Let me start by thanking your for the helpful OC EFI examples. Your OC examples allowed me to get Big Sur running on my system after countless hours of tinkering. I had literally given up on Big Sur until I discovered your thread.

My GB 390m system is nearly identical to yours, but I ran into immediate trouble with 0.8.0. Multiple problems were affecting me, including an BIOS configuration issue and a Bluetooth module incompatibility. After stripping the machine, version 0.7.6 successfully booted and installed Big Sur.

Then I moved up to more recent versions. Version 0.7.9 will boot into Big Sur, but version 0.8.0 and 0.8.1 won't. The SerialInit item was removed from the 0.8.1 plist file, and verbose mode was added to the boot args. With 0.8.1 the machine comes up, then you select the Big Sub drive, and the boot fails right before the final shift into the progress bar. The verbose text flies by pretty quick, so I'll likely need record it to see if there are any obvious faults. It appears that my system behaves the same as joobuzz.

Hmm... Maybe try setting the following:

config.plist > UEFI > APFS > MinDate = "-1" (without the quotes)
config.plist > UEFI > APFS > MinVersion = "-1" (without the quotes)

For Bluetooth, if you are not using a natively supported Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card, you will need to BrcmPatchRAM and use BlueToolFixup.

 

[QuantumDog]

Hmm... Maybe try setting the following:

config.plist > UEFI > APFS > MinDate = "-1" (without the quotes)
config.plist > UEFI > APFS > MinVersion = "-1" (without the quotes)

For Bluetooth, if you are not using a natively supported Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card, you will need to BrcmPatchRAM and use BlueToolFixup.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try them and report back.

By Bluetooth module issue was an Apple laptop BT-only card (A1311) that had been plugged into a USB port using a custom adaptor. It worked fine on Mojave and Catalina, but it's presence caused Big Sur to immediately crash hard. If the BT card was plugged into the USB socket while Big Sur was already running, it would also take the machine down.

To fix that problem I just purchased a BCM94360CD Wifi+BT4.0 card (~$20), and then used a PCIe adaptor card that was sourced from eBay (~$15). BT works and now WiFi is added in as a bonus. My machine has wired ethernet, so the WiFi likely won't see any actual use.

Thanks again or the advice and guidance. I'm pretty sure I saw a similar WiFi-BT setup in your thread, so that led me to just upgrade the hardware.

I also have a Firewire 800/400 PCIe board installed.This allows all of the external MacPro case connectors to function properly. My rig sits inside a classic silver MacPro case, and I like for all the external ports to work.