Contribute
Register

[Guide] Install High Sierra or Mojave on the Dell Optiplex 7010 / 9010 Desktop PC - Revision II

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hi Grizz. I'll list the steps I took to be able to boot into Mojave on a NVMe. Hopefully it will help you and anyone else interested in getting Mojave to boot on NVMe. Like trs96 quoted, I did have a working fusion drive, but couldn't figure out how to get it to boot. It did show up in Clover and it was an option to select and boot into, (as the NVMe drive, not the fused drive.) It always filled the progress bar but just hung there, never actually booted. So I decided to just stick with the NVMe instead. This process also works on the HP6300pro and It's where I have it currently installed.

I created my Mojave installer on a USB drive with Unibeast. Opened the config.plist with Clover Configurator and installed the NVMExpressDxe-64 driver into drivers64UEFI folder.

Then booted from the USB into the installer and opened Utilities. I had three dives installed, 2 HDD and the NVMe drive. I erased all of them with format Mac OS Extended (Journaled), GUID Partition map.

I quit Utilities and returned to the Installer on the USB. I had three disks show up including the NVMe drive. And chose that as my Destination and waited for it to reboot, three reboots in total. Each time booting from the USB installer.

Once I reached the desktop in Mojave on the NVMe drive, I mounted the EFI partitions from one empty HDD and the USB installer and copied the EFI folder from the USB installer to the HDD.

This process has worked for me on the 7010 and the 6300pro. The NVMe can't boot on it's own because, as I've been reminded many times in BIOS, 'No boot device found'. But anything connected by SATA is recognized, so Clover boots first and shows the NVMe drive with Mojave installed. I hope that helps.
 
Last edited:
So Update to those following the M.2 Silverstone and Drive challenges.

I attempted this weekend on my 2nd OP7010 DT to install the Silverstone ECM20 (M.2 and SATA expansion card) and SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus M.2 drive. Here's the scoop.

I have learned that the OP7010 (has Ivy Bridge chipset, and booting from M.2 was not supported fully until HASWELL). Even though I have upgraded the CPU to the i7-3770, the machine is not going to boot from the M.2.

I reset the BIOS, put the Silverstone in SLOT 1, and booted the machine. First tried LEGACY and while there is a INTERNAL HDD shown in the boot options - it is not the M.2. I have, BTW, disconnected the HDD which was in the device - and the CDROM is connected to the middle SATA connector (SATA-1). I can boot from the WIN10 USB and install fine to the M.2 drive, and it gets all the way to the end, and reboots. Then sees no installed software - does not boot. :banghead:

So... I RESET the BIOS again, changed to UEFI, and Enabled LEGACY support. All other settings are at the default. REBOOTED, press <F12> - no bootable media found. Booted again with the WIN10 USB and reinstalled again. Gets to the end, remove the USB, and let it reboot. Will not BOOT from the M.2. :banghead:

In the UEFI boot menu of the BIOS, there is no Silverstone seen, or the SAMSUNG EVO 970 either.

I have an email in to SILVERSTONE and SAMSUNG (to which I am sure I will get a canned answer from them). We shall see.

Shame that even though the OP7010 is a 2012 machine, and the BIOS is from JULY 2018- this is not working. :think:

As I learn more - will update all of you following.

Probably why the MAC OSX is not booting from the M.2 either - apparently it is a hardware / BIOS Hook issue.

Grizz
Sorry you are having issues with the Nvme boot. I installed Clover on a separate 180gb ssd and installation of Mojave went very well.

For clarification, did you purchase a 970 Evo or Evo Plus. @trs96, aren’t there issues with the Evo Plus being recognized?
 
aren’t there issues with the Evo Plus being recognized?
I think Grizz is already aware of that. He planned on using it for Windows only.
 
How do you route this cable through the back grille of the SFF case ? Also, how is the range for BT and Wifi with this adapter card ? That CRJ 9 pin cable looks to be very well made. Price is good too. Had you tried others from Ebay that didn't work ?
@trs96 , I just realized that I didn't answer each of your questions...

Previous post answers how I routed it through the backplane of the WiFi+BT card itself.

The range of both BT and WiFi are incredible; great card, and of course long, 8" antenna, 1 each for WiFi and BT.

I didn't try any other PCIe WiFi cards from eBay.

I have tried an M.2 DW1820A (Broadcom BCM94350ZAE) in my NUC7 (different thread I know...) and I couldn't get it to work. I swapped it out for M.2: BCM94352Z/AzureWave AW-CE162NF/DW1560 and that worked perfectly. So you might consider that if you plan to try a PCIe/M.2 adapter for WiFi+BT.

I have also used the half mini cards in the Optiplex 9010 USFF and AIO, again both work perfectly.
  • Half mini: BCM94360HMB/AzureWave AW-CB160H - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE (3 antennas)
  • Half mini: BCM94352 HMB/AzureWave AW-CE123H - supports WiFi/ac and BT4LE
 
HP EX920 NVMe Drive + Silverstone ECM 20
Here are the Amazon and Newegg links to the adapter and NVMe SSD. Cost: $67.98 + tax.

HP EX920 256GB NVMe drive (smallest size they make)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820326777

Screen Shot 5.jpg

Silverstone ECM20 PCIe to NVMe Adapter card at Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01798WOJ0/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

The EX920 gets installed into the M.2 NVMe part of the adapter.

Screen Shot 5.jpg

The SS adapter goes into your PCIe x4 slot. That's the one that is black colored, and appears to be a x16 but isn't. It's in the exact same place on the SFF motherboard if you own that form factor. The x4 slot in your Optiplex only meets PCIe 2.0 standards and not 3.0 like the x16 slot. Use the blue colored x16 slot if it is open. Gives the fastest speeds.

401450


Boot from a Sata SSD with Clover on it, then choose the NVMe drive at the Clover boot menu screen. Read speeds should be anywhere from 2.2 to 3.0 GB/s with the EX920. This also requires the Clover NvmExpressDxe-64 driver be installed to your drive that has Clover installed on it's EFI partition.

401428


To re-emphasize:
For a general use CustoMac they are overkill. Your boot times will speed up but you won't see much difference surfing the net, watching videos, checking email etc. It's really a waste of money if you already have a 2.5" Sata 3 SSD for a boot drive and don't work with very large video and photo files or move a lot of data on a regular basis. Remember that the new Samsung 970 EVO Plus is not macOS compatible. The regular 970 EVO (non-Plus) will work.

401446
 
Last edited:
Seasonic S12 III 450W PSU to replace Dell 290W OEM
These are my current recommendation for a low cost PSU upgrade for your MiniTower Dell Optiplex.
On sale at Newegg for $19.99 AR + Tax and Shipping for $1.99. Seasonic quality is top notch. You can't
get any used or new PSU at this price that matches the build quality and warranty.

UPDATE: These have sold out at the 19.99 AR price. Not surprising. You can still get on the wait list and they won't be a lot more expensive if you send in the rebate. It's good till 4/29/19. Whatever PSU that you buy to upgrade the MT it should only be 140mm in length from front to back or it won't fit properly.

401764


https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151229&ignorebbr=1
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 7.jpg
    Screen Shot 7.jpg
    77.2 KB · Views: 211
Last edited:
I think Grizz is already aware of that. He planned on using it for Windows only.

Yes. This new OP7010 was to be a WINDOWS ONLY machine.

I got confirmation from DELL and SILVERSTONE - the OP 7010 with the Q77 chipset and IvyBridge do not support any way to BOOT the machine from the NVME.

I have returned both the SS NMVE card and the SAMSUNG EVO 970+ M.2 card.

I am going to purchase a SAMSUNG EVO 960 Drive to replace these, and use that or the WIN10 installation.

Shame that DELL and SILVERSTONE could not figure a way to get this to work. Quite sure it is just a BIOS thing.

Grizz
 
Just received my PNY Quadro K600 and tested it with 10.13.6. It's recognized correctly and works with full acceleration. My system def. is Mac mini 6,2 as it's an i7-3770 system. FCP X looks better than ever.


This seller didn't pack it the way I'd like, it was simply put into a bubble wrap envelope. Survived shipping ok though. Thank goodness. Didn't want to have to return another one.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top