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[Guide] HP Elite 8300 & 6300 Pro (all form factors) using Clover UEFI hotpatch

Thanks guys. Yeah, I am a newbie, however, I have successfully upgraded 3 times (going from Mojave to Catalina) since I first built mac system. nguyendj is that tutorial the same as this YouTube video?

Also, can I follow this tutorial to upgrade to OpenCore before attempting to upgrade to Big Sur? I think I am supposed to use this this EFI folder instead, correct?

What Sniki posted was simple to follow. That is the method I went with but I also do clean installs. Maybe someone else can chime in on if its a simple swap of the EFI(over-simplifying). Not 100% because I remember switching over to the APFS format.
 
I think I am missing something. I didn’t see a tutorial from Sniki. I also might hold off upgrading to Big Sur until I buy a another hard to do a full install. I can’t afford to lose my apps/files.
 
Initial EFI is up into the new OC repository: https://github.com/Sniki/HP6300-HP8300
For the moment of speaking, it's only for HD4000 users for macOS Big Sur and changing SMBIOS to anything else than MacPro6,1 will break USBPorts.kext.

Working into the files and i will be updating the USBPorts.kext with support for:
  • iMac13,1
  • iMac13,2
  • iMac13,3
  • Macmini6,1
  • Macmini6,2
  • iMacPro1,1
  • MacPro6,1
And also with support for the additional USB Hub that @LisaAlterEgo added (thanks !)

Link to the old Clover repo: https://github.com/Sniki/HP6300-HP8300-Clover
My 8300CMT w/ HD400 was updated to Big Sur on Clover in November (?). I was able to boot, but browser was literally unusable.
Migrating to OC from Clover
Yesterday, I followed the git readme:
  • Migrating from Clover to OC. I didn't have to cleanup anything though
  • Your steps from the git. I just needed to swap Clover EFI with @Sniki 's EFI
  • Booted right up with USB, copied to BootDrive EFI and rebooted. It worked perfectly.
Adding dedicated dGPU - RX580
I had a RX580 that wanted to install.
  • Replaced the PSU with EVGA 450ET, followed the rewiring from another thread and on the web
  • Rebooted fine with new PSU
  • Plugged in the RX580 and it restarted by itself
  • After the reboot, it fired up with RX580
Thank you Sniki and TRS96.. These machines are still running strong.

Question - earlier SMBIOS was iMac 13,2 and I was using iCloud and Store. I understand the current Sniki's OC-EFI doesn't support iMac 13,2 on Big Sur. Would you recommend changing the Serial Number from earlier setting?
Do you have any reference to all the Clover SMBIOS mapping to PlatformInfo in OC?
 
My 8300CMT w/ HD400 was updated to Big Sur on Clover in November (?). I was able to boot, but browser was literally unusable.
Migrating to OC from Clover
Yesterday, I followed the git readme:
  • Migrating from Clover to OC. I didn't have to cleanup anything though
  • Your steps from the git. I just needed to swap Clover EFI with @Sniki 's EFI
  • Booted right up with USB, copied to BootDrive EFI and rebooted. It worked perfectly.
Adding dedicated dGPU - RX580
I had a RX580 that wanted to install.
  • Replaced the PSU with EVGA 450ET, followed the rewiring from another thread and on the web
  • Rebooted fine with new PSU
  • Plugged in the RX580 and it restarted by itself
  • After the reboot, it fired up with RX580
Thank you Sniki and TRS96.. These machines are still running strong.

Question - earlier SMBIOS was iMac 13,2 and I was using iCloud and Store. I understand the current Sniki's OC-EFI doesn't support iMac 13,2 on Big Sur. Would you recommend changing the Serial Number from earlier setting?
Do you have any reference to all the Clover SMBIOS mapping to PlatformInfo in OC?
For SMBIOS mapping to PlatformInfo, google "Dortania SMBIOS" which has a nice list of Board-IDs
versus common model name. You can use the CorpNewt's GenSMBIOS to generate an appropriate
serial number and UUID. Don't forget to check Apple Coverage so that you don't reuse someone
else's serial number. Dortania discusses the changeover.
 
Big Sur DRM testing

As @Asural and @Sniki have pointed out elsewhere, there is new information
on the Whatevergreen website about DRM in Big Sur, copied below. I've
tested the info on my Big Sur 8300s with i5-3570K HD 4000 Graphics IGPU
and RX 560 or RX 570 DGPU, one with iMacPro1,1 SMBIOS, and one with
iMac15,1 SMBIOS.

In my systems, I don't see the default overrides making a noticeable difference.
The advice says "IGPU-free Mac models" (like iMacPro1,1) "allow for full DRM
content access given a compatible AMD GPU video decoder," but in my case
that is only true for earlier macOS like Catalina 10.15.7 with certain shikigva
settings, and I cannot get DRM streaming to work in Big Sur.

In AppleTV in Big Sur, I can see the previews at the beginning of streaming
and see VTDecoderXPC running in Activity Monitor, but once I get into the
body of the streaming content VTDecoderXPC activity stops updating and I
basically see a red or green screen. I see the same behavior whether the
SMBIOS is IM15,1 or IMP1,1.

In the IM15,1 machine, if I disable the IGPU in BIOS, then Quicktime will
not play DRM-protected videos. If I enable the IGPU in BIOS and configure
it as a headless 01620007 framebuffer, Quicktime and AppleTV will play an
mpeg4 video that has previously been downloaded. There is a small 4-5 second
start-up delay in the video, but it plays fine after that. Intel Power Gadget
shows the IGPU running at a constant 350 MHz.

If I enable the IGPU in BIOS and configure it as a connector-full 01660000 or
0166000A framebuffer, Quicktime and AppleTV will play an mpeg4 video that
has previously been downloaded. There is no start-up delay in the video; it plays
fine from the beginning. In BIOS I have to set the Intel as Primary to boot with
these ig-platform-id's. I can run Geekbench 4 to check the IGPU performance
of the HD4000, and then I can see the clock of the IGPU throttling up to 1150 Mhz
on demand.

I'm finding that I like the IM15,1 SMBIOS. The native graphics power management
is set up for an AMD DGPU on GFX0, and also for power management of an Intel
IGPU with a connector-full ig-platform-id, so I don't need a custom AGPM injector.
I think you have to configure a custom AGPM injector for IMP11 or MP61 (which
only has AGPM set up for GFX1 and GFX2). I'm not sure how to handle the CPU power
management change in the Dortania Haswell instructions, but my old CPUFriend power
management files seem to work fine.

When I run Hackintool, the IM15,1 always tells me that VDADEcoder is Fully Supported.
When I run VideoProc, it tells me that I have H264 and HEVC enabled at 4K resolution.
When I play an HEVC video like Swordsmith, it plays smoothly. I haven't been able to
get full resolution and VDADecoder with MP61. With my setup, I am also able to stream
DRM-protected AppleTV content in Firefox, although the selection seems lessened at
tv.apple.com. Even beta versions of Safari won't stream AppleTV and I see the red screen
of death. I am also able to dual-boot to Windows, and can download appleTV content
in iTunes there.

DRM Compatibility on macOS 11 (From Whatevergreen/FAQ.Chart.md)​

Things to keep in mind:
  • All kinds of software DRM decoders were removed from macOS 11
  • All kinds of legacy hardware DRM decoders (e.g. NVIDIA VP3) were removed from macOS 11
  • WhateverGreen Shiki functionality is not planned for inclusion for macOS 11
  • AMD GPU video decoder preference can be chosen through preferences overrides for some types of DRM content (like Apple TV and iTunes movie streaming)
  • Only IGPU-free Mac models allow for full DRM content access given a compatible AMD GPU video decoder
  • For old CPUs (e.g. Xeons or Quad 2 Quad) and supported AMD GPUs injecting unfairgva with <01 00 00 00> value is required for streaming DRM
List of overrides:
  • defaults write com.apple.AppleGVA gvaForceAMDKE -boolean yes forces AMD DRM decoder for streaming services (like Apple TV and iTunes movie streaming)
  • defaults write com.apple.AppleGVA gvaForceAMDAVCDecode -boolean yes forces AMD AVC accelerated decoder
  • defaults write com.apple.AppleGVA gvaForceAMDAVCEncode -boolean yes forces AMD AVC accelerated encoder
  • defaults write com.apple.AppleGVA gvaForceAMDHEVCDecode -boolean yes forces AMD HEVC accelerated decoder
  • defaults write com.apple.AppleGVA disableGVAEncryption -string YES forces AMD HEVC accelerated decoder
  • defaults write com.apple.coremedia hardwareVideoDecoder -string force forces hardware accelerated video decoder (for any resolution)
  • defaults write com.apple.coremedia hardwareVideoDecoder -string disable disables hardware accelerated video decoder (in QuickTime / Apple TV)
 
DRM testing with OC 6.5, iMac15,1 SMBIOS, and Catalina 10.15.7

I tried a number of combinations with IGPU off, headless, and connector-full,
using various default and shikigva settings. I tested with an i5-3570K with HD 4000
graphics, and a 2GB RX560, an MSI Aero ITX.

In my opinion, the best performer was IGPU off, all of the four AMD defaults
above set, and shikigva=144.


With IGPU on, I would see Quicktime crashes. With shikigva=80, I could stream
AppleTV videos but I could not play downloaded AppleTV videos.

With my best performer settings:
When I run Hackintool, the IM15,1 always tells me that VDADEcoder is Fully Supported.
When I run VideoProc, it tells me that I have H264 and HEVC enabled at 4K resolution.
When I play an HEVC video like Swordsmith, it plays smoothly. I am also able to stream
DRM-protected AppleTV content, both HLS and mpeg4 video. I can play Netflix on the
Chrome browser.
 
Big Sur DRM testing
For now, I have set defaults to the following settings, but AppleTV + cannot be displayed.

Asural@Big-Sur ~ % defaults read com.apple.AppleGVA
{
disableGVAEncryption = YES;
gvaForceAMDAVCDecode = 1;
gvaForceAMDAVCEncode = 1;
gvaForceAMDHEVCDecode = 1;
gvaForceAMDKE = 1;
}
Asural@Big-Sur ~ % defaults read com.apple.coremedia
{
hardwareVideoDecoder = force;
}

I'm wondering if I should test with the original post I was taught.
 
For now, I have set defaults to the following settings, but AppleTV + cannot be displayed.

Asural@Big-Sur ~ % defaults read com.apple.AppleGVA
{
disableGVAEncryption = YES;
gvaForceAMDAVCDecode = 1;
gvaForceAMDAVCEncode = 1;
gvaForceAMDHEVCDecode = 1;
gvaForceAMDKE = 1;
}
Asural@Big-Sur ~ % defaults read com.apple.coremedia
{
hardwareVideoDecoder = force;
}

I'm wondering if I should test with the original post I was taught.
What SMBIOS, macOS, and DGPU are you testing on?
 
What SMBIOS, macOS, and DGPU are you testing on?
I'm using the HP8300CMT i7-3770 RX570 SMBIOS = iMacPro1.1 OpenCore 0.6.5 to test Big Sur.

ADD:
I tested the operation with SMBIOS = MacPro7.1, but when I started up, I received a warning that the memory configuration was different, and the status of TV + did not change and the green screen remained.
 
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