[Guide] Dell XPS 15 9560 MacOS 10.14.1 (all models)

[Compuguy1969]

@Compuguy1969 You need the nvme patch from https://github.com/RehabMan/patch-nvme.

Thanks for the information, I grabbed a Samsung 860 EVO SSD to try and make things easier as I noticed the specs on this hynix M2 is pretty low. Onward and upward

 

[blazinsmokey]

Hmm, I used to have that kext installed but when I removed it I didn’t see any bad effects so I removed it to get rid of fluff. If it is causing issues I will add it today (hopefully). Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

I appreciate the thanks. As this is my first guide I’m trying to make it the best it can be for everyone and not just forget about it as soon as I write it . I’m glad that my guide is being used so much. 2nd most viewed laptop guide for Mojave! Super cool.

My understanding is that sata-100 kext is only needed if you have a hard drive on sata. If you're just using a nvme drive then there's no need for it.

If you opted for the 96whr battery it doesn't have space for a 2.5" drive. The smaller battery (I think 54whr) has the space for the extra drive to be installed and connected to sata interface.

 

[acdop100]

My understanding is that sata-100 kext is only needed if you have a hard drive on sata. If you're just using a nvme drive then there's no need for it.

If you opted for the 96whr battery it doesn't have space for a 2.5" drive. The smaller battery (I think 54whr) has the space for the extra drive to be installed and connected to sata interface.

Good call. I can just add it to the post as a note instead of adding it to the downloads I have. Thanks

 

[RehabMan]

My understanding is that sata-100 kext is only needed if you have a hard drive on sata. If you're just using a nvme drive then there's no need for it.

If your SATA controller is still enabled even when not using it, it is a good idea to still use SATA-unsupported.kext (note: SATA-100-series-unsupported deprecated, SATA-unsupported.kext replaces it).

 

[AussieMacker]

Hi all, been following for a bit and decided to add my own experience. Sorry for the long post, I hope it doesn't break any rules.

I have a 4k touchscreen version of the 9560, with a Samsung drive and have a successful installation. The only thing that does not work (that I have noticed) is headphone audio which is there but is very very soft (have to put to max to hear anything). Also, I haven't really checked out sleep (will do this in the coming days).

In order to get to this stage I used the 4k folder in the main post and had no issues at first but then had to add IntelGraphicsFixup.kext (in addition to Lilu.kext and WhateverGreen.kext) to /L/E get past a gIOScreenLockState 3 error during startup, after installing clover to the main boot drive. Note that I did not need this for the installation and only appears after adding all other kexts for some reason. When OSX is loading, the screen flashes a couple of times and the logo resizes, but this is not a big deal.

At one point I managed to get VoodooI2C working, but I have since reinstalled because I am no longer dual booting windows. What I remember is that it required some debugging of the default DSDT/SSDTs (a few errors on compile), using their windows 10 patch, finding the deviceid etc.. It worked really well when it worked, almost felt like a real mac touchpad apart from it being a bit jittery sometimes. I might give this another go soon..

For audio, I currently have CodecCommander.kext with SSDT-ALC298a (I grabbed these two from post #79). AppleALC.kext also, which is not in the "other kexts" within the 4k folder from the main post (not sure about the other one). This didn't solve my problem, and I'm not sure where to go next with this. Attached are my problem reporting zip and clover folders.

P.S.
I also stumbled on something cool while I was dual booting windows: in the BIOS boot options, we can browse the EFI and add custom items to the boot menu. So, if you happen to install windows second and lose the option to boot from clover, you can add a custom entry by browsing to *DeviceID*/EFI/CLOVER/ and selecting CLOVERX64.efi . You can name it what you like and set it as the first option so that you don't need to spam F12 to select clover. Note that the NTFS drivers are also needed for clover to boot windows.

 

[RehabMan]

Hi all, been following for a bit and decided to add my own experience. Sorry for the long post, I hope it doesn't break any rules.

I have a 4k touchscreen version of the 9560, with a Samsung drive and have a successful installation. The only thing that does not work (that I have noticed) is headphone audio which is there but is very very soft (have to put to max to hear anything). Also, I haven't really checked out sleep (will do this in the coming days).

In order to get to this stage I used the 4k folder in the main post and had no issues at first but then had to add IntelGraphicsFixup.kext (in addition to Lilu.kext and WhateverGreen.kext) to /L/E get past a gIOScreenLockState 3 error during startup, after installing clover to the main boot drive. Note that I did not need this for the installation and only appears after adding all other kexts for some reason. When OSX is loading, the screen flashes a couple of times and the logo resizes, but this is not a big deal.

At one point I managed to get VoodooI2C working, but I have since reinstalled because I am no longer dual booting windows. What I remember is that it required some debugging of the default DSDT/SSDTs (a few errors on compile), using their windows 10 patch, finding the deviceid etc.. It worked really well when it worked, almost felt like a real mac touchpad apart from it being a bit jittery sometimes. I might give this another go soon..

For audio, I currently have CodecCommander.kext with SSDT-ALC298a (I grabbed these two from post #79). AppleALC.kext also, which is not in the "other kexts" within the 4k folder from the main post (not sure about the other one). This didn't solve my problem, and I'm not sure where to go next with this. Attached are my problem reporting zip and clover folders.

P.S.
I also stumbled on something cool while I was dual booting windows: in the BIOS boot options, we can browse the EFI and add custom items to the boot menu. So, if you happen to install windows second and lose the option to boot from clover, you can add a custom entry by browsing to *DeviceID*/EFI/CLOVER/ and selecting CLOVERX64.efi . You can name it what you like and set it as the first option so that you don't need to spam F12 to select clover. Note that the NTFS drivers are also needed for clover to boot windows.

IntelGraphicsFixup.kext is deprecated, replaced by WhateverGreen.kext.

 

[Hans-Terje]

This could seem like a stupid question, but seeing as I am new to this I will give it a go anyways:
Why do I need to install kexts from other folder to the /L/E?

Right now, I have almost everything working (just some minor issues, like iMessage and audio through speakers), and I have just done the installation and added the entire clover folder under /ESP/EFI.

What is the purpose of installing stuff in /L/E?

 

[RehabMan]

This could seem like a stupid question, but seeing as I am new to this I will give it a go anyways:
Why do I need to install kexts from other folder to the /L/E?

Right now, I have almost everything working (just some minor issues, like iMessage and audio through speakers), and I have just done the installation and added the entire clover folder under /ESP/EFI.

What is the purpose of installing stuff in /L/E?

Read post #2 of the guide:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-booting-the-os-x-installer-on-laptops-with-clover.148093/

 

[Compuguy1969]

My Dell XPS 15 required a few mods and after two attempts, I have a working dell a tosh.... changed my Network adapter to broadcom 1560 and my Hynix M.2 to Samsung 860 M.2 Sata, added sata kext and was able to install and up and running with everything except, touchpad and the booting without USB, My post install has the booter for Clover but it shows a windows boot, not OSX....

Thankyou for the guide and this forum, it helped me though everything to this point! I thought I would post to inspire others to give this a try and things you may need to change easily to get this far.

 

[acdop100]

My Dell XPS 15 required a few mods and after two attempts, I have a working dell a tosh.... changed my Network adapter to broadcom 1560 and my Hynix M.2 to Samsung 860 M.2 Sata, added sata kext and was able to install and up and running with everything except, touchpad and the booting without USB, My post install has the booter for Clover but it shows a windows boot, not OSX....

Thank you for the guide and this forum, it helped me though everything to this point! I thought I would post to inspire others to give this a try and things you may need to change easily to get this far.

I'm glad I could help! I'm sorry I have not had time to update the download with the sata kext, but I should soon. As for your clover boot, you're saying that you can't boot clover without a USB, or you have clover installed on your laptop but your MacOS install is not showing? Are you using two seperate drives and have an OS installed on each drive or are you dual booted? I don't think i've ever seen an issue where clover wouldn't show the MacOS partition.

EDIT: I have updated the download with SATA_unsupported.kext included. Issue should be resolved for people in the future!