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[Guide] El Capitan on the Skylake H170N-WIFI

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Hi there, it is finally time to start my Hackintosh build and I should order the hardware this week.


Here is my hardware list:

Case/Chassi: Cooltek Coolcube/ Jonsbo V3+

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CUD4H4K/?tag=tonymacx86-21

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI

CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K

CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-L9x65

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT (32GB)

Harddrive: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB

PSU/Power supply: Corsair CS 550 Watt

GPU/Graphics Card: EVGA GTX 950

The thing is that I´m a little bit worried about the install process because it´s my first time ever building a computer.

I have read these two guides:

Main guide: http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/u...pitan-on-any-supported-intel-based-pc.172672/

Unique mobo guide: http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-el-capitan-on-the-skylake-h170n-wifi.178197/

In the main guide I understand the most. I just have some questions but the the “mobo guide” it gets trickier.

So I think that I´m going to list the steps that I don´t fully understand and that some kind peoples on this forum maybe are willing to help explain a bit??


Things that I don´t understand in the “main guide”:

STEP 2:
15. At Bootloader Options screen choose UEFI Boot Mode or Legacy Boot Mode. UEFI Boot Mode is recommended for 7/8/9+ Series CustoMac desktops and all UEFI capable systems. Legacy Boot Mode is recommended for 5/6 Series CustoMac desktops and all BIOS based systems.


What does “7/8/9+ Series CustoMac desktops and all UEFI capable systems” mean is my system a UEFI system?

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If you have issues reaching the installer, first make sure you're using a USB 2.0 port. If you're using a NVIDIA graphics card you may need to enter the extra boot flag nv_disable=1 to reach the installer. For instructions on entering boot flags see Clover Basics and Switching Advice.

I´m going to use NVIDIA graphics and I don’t understand how to “enter the extra boot flag nv_disable=1” is just to hit spacebar on the Clover boot screen?

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STEP 5
8. Choose the appropriate audio and network options for your system:


How do I know what to choose?

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STEP 6: Alternate Post-Installation necessary??

If I did the post install in step 5 then step 6 isn´t necessary, right??

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Now over to the mobo guide

Things that I don´t understand in the “mobo guide”:


Under “Other Things to Download” it says:
Only if using the suggested wireless card above:
  • Wireless: RehabMan-FakePCIID (get the latest version listed)
  • Bluetooth: RehabMan-BcrmPatchRAM (get the latest version listed)
What ” wireless card above”? Should I download it or not?

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Install El Capitan
16. Select your country, keyboard, and complete the rest of the setup process. Tell it your computer does not connect to the Internet. Do not "Transfer Information to This Mac" yet either (you can run Migration Assistant later to do that).


Of course I want internet to my mac but should I stillTell it your computer does not connect to the Internet?? and why?

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Post-Installation Configuration
If you want to enable the i211 Ethernet port above the USB Type C port (not recommended), select Drivers/Network/Intel/AppleIGB

Why is it not recommended to enable the Ethernet port? How do I otherwise get internet access?

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13. Copy the following files from your postinstall directory to the EFI partition:
* Any SSDTs to EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched/

“Any SSDTs”. What is that meaning?

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21. Set the Size and Frequency for each of the two memory entries to match your installed RAM. If you know the vendor, part, and serial for your memory you can edit those fields too (if not, just leave them as is).

If you know the vendor, part,” what is vendor and part?

“Leave the two memory entries set for slots 0 and 2 and the slot count set for 4 even though the board only has two slots (Clover wants to see slots 0 and 2 configured to treat the memory as dual-channel).”

How do I “Leave the two memory entries set for slots 0 and 2 and the slot count set for 4”?? should I type 0 and 2 in some fields or what?

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23. Fix Imassage
5. Enter a value for the ROM field. If you will use an Ethernet port on the machine, you can select "UseMacAddr0" from the drop-down. Otherwise, enter 12 random hexadecimal digits.


What value should I enter? I going to use an Enternet port so then I shouldn´t enter a value in the “ROM field

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28.
Open Clover Configurator, mount your EFI partition, and select EFI/CLOVER/config.plist.


How do I “mount the EFI partition”? Does the Clover Configurator do it automatically?

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Final Power Saving Setup

If you have one of the following CPUs, mount your system drive EFI partition again and select the one correct SSDT and copy it to EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched/ (future versions of this guide will use ssdtPRGen.sh but the version with Skylake support is not yet ready). Your system will still run OK without the SSDT, but may not reach full turbo speeds or maintain turbo speeds for as long.


What is the “correct SSDT”??

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And what to do with the Core i7: View attachment SSDT-i7-6700K.aml ???


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I really would appreciate if someone are willing to help a beginner like me and answer my questions!?

Best regards Olle
 
STEP 2:
15. At Bootloader Options screen choose UEFI Boot Mode or Legacy Boot Mode. UEFI Boot Mode is recommended for 7/8/9+ Series CustoMac desktops and all UEFI capable systems. Legacy Boot Mode is recommended for 5/6 Series CustoMac desktops and all BIOS based systems.


What does “7/8/9+ Series CustoMac desktops and all UEFI capable systems” mean is my system a UEFI system?

answer:yes your motherboard is UEFI captable system

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If you have issues reaching the installer, first make sure you're using a USB 2.0 port. If you're using a NVIDIA graphics card you may need to enter the extra boot flag nv_disable=1 to reach the installer. For instructions on entering boot flags see Clover Basics and Switching Advice.

I´m going to use NVIDIA graphics and I don’t understand how to “enter the extra boot flag nv_disable=1” is just to hit spacebar on the Clover boot screen?

answer: look for Boot arguments on the clover boot screen

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STEP 5
8. Choose the appropriate audio and network options for your system:


How do I know what to choose?

answer:read the guide its tell you what audio driver to use ALC1150
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STEP 6: Alternate Post-Installation necessary??

If I did the post install in step 5 then step 6 isn´t necessary, right??

answer: just read the guide several times to find your answer



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now over to the mobo guide

Things that I don´t understand in the “mobo guide”:


Under “Other Things to Download” it says:
Only if using the suggested wireless card above:
  • Wireless: RehabMan-FakePCIID (get the latest version listed)
  • Bluetooth: RehabMan-BcrmPatchRAM (get the latest version listed)
What ” wireless card above”? Should I download it or not?

answer:did you bought the suggested wireless card?if yes then you need to download those files

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Install El Capitan
16. Select your country, keyboard, and complete the rest of the setup process. Tell it your computer does not connect to the Internet. Do not "Transfer Information to This Mac" yet either (you can run Migration Assistant later to do that).


Of course I want internet to my mac but should I stillTell it your computer does not connect to the Internet?? and why?

answer:because sometimes its give you issues with the mac store,icloud

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post-Installation Configuration
If you want to enable the i211 Ethernet port above the USB Type C port (not recommended), select Drivers/Network/Intel/AppleIGB

Why is it not recommended to enable the Ethernet port? How do I otherwise get internet access?

  1. Select Drivers and then Network then Intel then IntelMausiEthernet (while the latest AppleIntelE1000e driver also works for this Ethernet chip, it breaks sleep/wake in some configurations so the Mausi driver is preferred)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13. Copy the following files from your postinstall directory to the EFI partition:
* Any SSDTs to EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched/

“Any SSDTs”. What is that meaning?

answer: is your CPU model in you case is Intel Core i7-6700K
.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


21. Set the Size and Frequency for each of the two memory entries to match your installed RAM. If you know the vendor, part, and serial for your memory you can edit those fields too (if not, just leave them as is).

If you know the vendor, part,” what is vendor and part?

“Leave the two memory entries set for slots 0 and 2 and the slot count set for 4 even though the board only has two slots (Clover wants to see slots 0 and 2 configured to treat the memory as dual-channel).”

How do I “Leave the two memory entries set for slots 0 and 2 and the slot count set for 4”?? should I type 0 and 2 in some fields or what?

answer: when you finish installing osx update clover its fix that issue or for your question do this.

Memory_Config.png


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

23. Fix Imassage
5. Enter a value for the ROM field. If you will use an Ethernet port on the machine, you can select "UseMacAddr0" from the drop-down. Otherwise, enter 12 random hexadecimal digits.


What value should I enter? I going to use an Enternet port so then I shouldn´t enter a value in the “ROM field

answer:dont do anything here iMessage works without doing this fix.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

28.
Open Clover Configurator, mount your EFI partition, and select EFI/CLOVER/config.plist.


How do I “mount the EFI partition”? Does the Clover Configurator do it automatically?

answer: when you open Clover Configurator just load your EFI partition then your config.plist file

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Power Saving Setup

If you have one of the following CPUs, mount your system drive EFI partition again and select the one correct SSDT and copy it to EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched/ (future versions of this guide will use ssdtPRGen.sh but the version with Skylake support is not yet ready). Your system will still run OK without the SSDT, but may not reach full turbo speeds or maintain turbo speeds for as long.


What is the “correct SSDT”??

answer: is your CPU model in you case is Intel Core i7-6700K

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And what to do with the Core i7: View attachment SSDT-i7-6700K.aml ???

answer:
If you have one of the following CPUs, mount your system drive EFI partition again and select the one correct SSDT and copy it to EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched/ (future versions of this guide will use ssdtPRGen.sh but the version with Skylake support is not yet ready). Your system will still run OK without the SSDT, but may not reach full turbo speeds or maintain turbo speeds for as long. and just rename the file to SSDT.aml
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Last edited:
this guide is for El Capitan not for Mac Sierra,Mac Sierra still in Beta why worry to install it?
Sierra GM is out, its the final release. I'm looking to update from this config and was hoping a new guild could be made.
 

thanks a lot @Ni6htWalker. After reading your post and some research I still wonder one thing!

1.

"If you have issues reaching the installer, first make sure you're using a USB 2.0 port. If you're using a NVIDIA graphics card you may need to enter the extra boot flag nv_disable=1 to reach the installer. For instructions on entering boot flags see Clover Basics and Switching Advice.

I´m going to use NVIDIA graphics and I don’t understand how to “enter the extra boot flag nv_disable=1” is just to hit spacebar on the Clover boot screen?

answer: look for Boot arguments on the clover boot screen"

If I have understood this right I should type in "nv_disable=1" under Boot Args:?

 
thanks a lot @Ni6htWalker. After reading your post and some research I still wonder one thing!

1.

"If you have issues reaching the installer, first make sure you're using a USB 2.0 port. If you're using a NVIDIA graphics card you may need to enter the extra boot flag nv_disable=1 to reach the installer. For instructions on entering boot flags see Clover Basics and Switching Advice.

I´m going to use NVIDIA graphics and I don’t understand how to “enter the extra boot flag nv_disable=1” is just to hit spacebar on the Clover boot screen?

answer: look for Boot arguments on the clover boot screen"

If I have understood this right I should type in "nv_disable=1" under Boot Args:?



if you use the config.plist for this thread View attachment h170n-wifi-nvidia-config.plist
then there is no need to type in anything under Boot Args.,just download that config,plist file and Copy the config.plist you downloaded over the default one at in the unibeast USB/EFI/CLOVER/config.plist
 
Just a note on using the MacPro3,1 System Definition. While this SysDef works with El Capitan and earlier OS X, it will not work with Sierra since Sierra not long supports MacPro3,1/4,1.

We are recommending that you use iMac14,2 (for use with a graphics card). I've been using iMac14,2 with both Hector and MyHero with the Sierra GM with very good success. You can use MultiBeast to change your SysDef.
 
Just a note on using the MacPro3,1 System Definition. While this SysDef works with El Capitan and earlier OS X, it will not work with Sierra since Sierra not long supports MacPro3,1/4,1.

We are recommending that you use iMac14,2 (for use with a graphics card). I've been using iMac14,2 with both Hector and MyHero with the Sierra GM with very good success. You can use MultiBeast to change your SysDef.

Are you talking specifik to me @Stork? I´m planing to install El capitan and then after maybe 6 months when Sierra is more stable I going to update! Is it possible to change from MacPro3,1 to iMac14,2 afterwards? I going to use a GTX GPU so maybe the iMac14,2 option isn´t available for me?
 
The iMac14,2 is a stable SysDef just like the MacPro3,1. I've been using the 14,2 SysDef since El Capitan on all my Haswell & Skylake systems in preparation for Sierra. The iMac14,2 works very well for those systems with a discrete graphics card, while iMac14,1 works with on-board graphics.

You will not be able to install Sierra with the MacPro3,1 since Apple no longer supports the 2008 Mac Pro (3,1) in Sierra. So, you'll need to set up your current system with the iMac14,2 SysDef before you install Sierra.

You can use MultiBeast to change to the iMac14,2 SysDef by running MultiBeast and just selecting Customize > System Definitions > iMac > iMac14,2.

However, I just noticed you haven't defined your system in either your Profile or in your signature block per the Forum Rules and Policies. By doing so, you can help us help you better. :thumbup:
 
The iMac14,2 is a stable SysDef just like the MacPro3,1. I've been using the 14,2 SysDef since El Capitan on all my Haswell & Skylake systems in preparation for Sierra. The iMac14,2 works very well for those systems with a discrete graphics card, while iMac14,1 works with on-board graphics.

You will not be able to install Sierra with the MacPro3,1 since Apple no longer supports the 2008 Mac Pro (3,1) in Sierra. So, you'll need to set up your current system with the iMac14,2 SysDef before you install Sierra.

You can use MultiBeast to change to the iMac14,2 SysDef by running MultiBeast and just selecting Customize > System Definitions > iMac > iMac14,2.

However, I just noticed you haven't defined your system in either your Profile or in your signature block per the Forum Rules and Policies. By doing so, you can help us help you better. :thumbup:

thanks for your support!! I going to take a look at my profile hehe!
 
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