[Guide] Install Catalina on the Dell Optiplex 7010 and 9010 Desktop PC

[Rajiv]

Dell Optiplex 9010 Catalina 10.15.7 was success with opencore 0.7.3,every thing works perfect, expect USB 3.0 ports are not working ,audio ,chime ,Bootcamp ,graphics,sleep works perfect ,cannot figure out to fix USB 3.0 ports,not showing USB 3.0 in hackingtool
catalina there was any special fix for USB 3.0 Ports.

 

[LoveAppleTimmu]

After using this machine with Catalina for almost a year, I am still very impressed. I will be trying the Big Sur upgrade this winter....

One thing that I haven't been able to figure out with Optiplex 7010 and Catalina is how to play Apple TV(formerly iTunes) movies on this build. I get the black screen and the HDCP errors. I also have to watch Disney+ in chrome for the same reasons. With this particular build, does anyone know a way around this problem? Is there a way to enable AppleTV movies and shows on this build and use safari for streaming services, etc.?

 

[trs96]

One thing that I haven't been able to figure out with Optiplex 7010 and Catalina is how to play Apple TV(formerly iTunes) movies on this build.

Not possible when using HD4000 iGPU. Doesn't meet the DRM requirements. In general, requires an AMD graphics card with metal support. For services like Apple TV+ the simplest and lowest cost solution is to get a Roku 4K streaming device and use that. Not sure if those will play your iTunes DRM content though. Don't have many movies downloaded via the old iTunes store.

Amazon.com

 

[Eli9019]

After using this machine with Catalina for almost a year, I am still very impressed. I will be trying the Big Sur upgrade this winter....

One thing that I haven't been able to figure out with Optiplex 7010 and Catalina is how to play Apple TV(formerly iTunes) movies on this build. I get the black screen and the HDCP errors. I also have to watch Disney+ in chrome for the same reasons. With this particular build, does anyone know a way around this problem? Is there a way to enable AppleTV movies and shows on this build and use safari for streaming services, etc.?

Can we even upgrade to Big Sur on the 7010/9010? I thought we are stuck on Catalina

 

[trs96]

Can we even upgrade to Big Sur on the 7010/9010?

Not if you are using HD4000 graphics. Supported AMD and Nvidia Kepler cards will work though.
An SMBIOS like iMac 14,2 will not work, that would need to be switched to at least iMac 15,1 for Big Sur.

 

[Eli9019]

Huh - I have a rx 560 for graphics. I thought we were limited by the CPU.

I'm also using a Macmini6,2 as my SMBIOS. Would it mostly be following the open core thread for the 7020/9020?

 

[trs96]

I'm also using a Macmini6,2 as my SMBIOS

Mac mini 6,2 is what limits you to Catalina. You'd have to change it to something newer.

Would it mostly be following the open core thread for the 7020/9020?

No, that is a Haswell system and yours is Ivy Bridge. Many important differences between the two. You'd have to follow the OC guide for Ivy Bridge systems and build an EFI specifically for yours.

Desktop Ivy Bridge | OpenCore Install Guide

Before doing all that take a good look at what Big Sur offers over Catalina and make sure the upgrade is worth it for how you use macOS. I actually prefer Catalina over Big Sur. BS is mostly just GUI changes and half of the 12GB download is code for M1 Macs. For developers that need the very latest Xcode version the Big Sur upgrade makes sense but for most people Catalina is the better choice in my opinion.

 

[trs96]

Huh - I have a rx 560 for graphics.

Then why is HD4000 listed in your profile ? I can't see what's inside your PC from here. My distance vision is not that good.

 

[Eli9019]

Then why is HD4000 listed in your profile ? I can't see what's inside your PC from here. My distance vision is not that good.

View attachment 533981

I had it listed in my signature - I'll update it!

What level of stupid (1 being stupid and 5 being an absolute moron) would I be if I went for Monterey (MacPro6,1) instead?

Catalina has been great but I have other Macs which are all updated and being behind limits some (very minor) things. For example, there are new features in notes which makes the note unavailable in Catalina.

 

[trs96]

What level of stupid (1 being stupid and 5 being an absolute moron) would I be if I went for Monterey (MacPro6,1) instead?

I just tried 12.0.1 on my 7020 SFF the other day. Still buggy. About the first minute after reaching the desktop my corded mouse, not BT, stutters and lags. After that it gets better. Graphics glitches, just weird things like that. Not ready for prime time yet. I'd wait at least 3 months or more for Monterey.