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

[doriniordache]

@BillyGoatGruff - Thanks! Your antenna set-up looks quite neat - I hope mine turns out just as nice

 

[thekeymaker]

Suspect the the 7470 is without an EFI based bios because I couldnt get one working on Mojave (but not certain).
Is there a reason you don't want to use the on-board graphics? See OP for graphic card recommendations.

I see I see.. I'm getting a cheap 710 in a few days.. should work outright swapping with the 7470 right?

Only reason is DP.. Dont have a DP capable display, just HDMI..I'm using a DVI to HDMI adapter at the moment with the 7470 and dont have a DP to HDMI adapter at the moment

 

[nicksoph]

@thekeymaker the 710 will work without anything needing doing - just check you havnt got any settings related to the AMD card hanging about. The onboard graphics are almost as good as the 710 so unless you are going above 1920x1200 there little to be gained from the extra GPU and even the cheapest DP or DVI to HDMI converters seem to do a good job. So if you have yet to order the 710... If you go with 710 the best possible setup is with the 710 powering your monitors and the Intel GPU in headless mode, where it will assist in video decoding.

 

[thekeymaker]

@thekeymaker the 710 will work without anything needing doing - just check you havnt got any settings related to the AMD card hanging about. The onboard graphics are almost as good as the 710 so unless you are going above 1920x1200 there little to be gained from the extra GPU and even the cheapest DP or DVI to HDMI converters seem to do a good job. So if you have yet to order the 710... If you go with 710 the best possible setup is with the 710 powering your monitors and the Intel GPU in headless mode, where it will assist in video decoding.

Got the 710 for less than 10USD and is now installed and working.. But im lost at how to enable headless for the HD4000..

I used hackintool -> patch then set the intel generation to Ivy Bridge then Platform ID 0x16200007 or 0006 but im lost at what do do next.. clicking on the patch tab then generating patch just generates a <dict> <key> Properties </key> <dict> entry

 

[nicksoph]

@thekeymaker Firstly, if this is the only issue - well done.

Use your IGPU in Headless Mode in Conjuction with a Graphics Card
Moderator jaymonkey has written a guide that will help you do this. Should work whether you have HD2500 or HD4000.
It can be helpful to enable this if you plan on working with video and photo editing on your Dell Optiplex CustoMac.
Pay close attention to the suggested changes you'll need to make to your config.plist for this to work on your system.
Link to the guide by jay: Guide to Lilu and it's Plugins

You may find that making the changes in Clover Configurator will be easier to follow.

 

[tbonoSE]

Hello.
Following the guide I would like to make a success post!

Mojave on Optiplex 7010 USFF with 3570k | IntelHD 4000

Took me two hours or so for everything so the guide is super - straightforward and it was able to handle a noob like me just fine. Graphical acceleration worked out of the box and audio is now working too. I only have one problem and am gonna search the thread for sure but I have to go to work soon therefore Ill share anyway:

After finishing Part 6 of the Tutorial, I can't boot without my USB key. I think the issue might lie with Clover on the Harddisk because when I enter Clover and then select boot from disk, the screen goes black, all USB ports turn off { I have an RGB mouse it stops blinking } and I have to force a shutdown. If I select USB instead of disk, same thing happens.

The only way for me to boot into Mojave now is to boot from the USB key / Unibeast and there everything is working fine or at least I can't see any issues now.

Only difference regarding the guide I can think off is some kexts in the guide are named as xyz64 and I did not have 64 anywhere.

 

[nicksoph]

I can't boot without my USB key.

Congratulations on your build.
I suspect you have not setup the kexts on your hard drive as they should be. The process with the USB is a temporary step on the way to install Clover onto the SATA and one of the mistakes that is often made is confusing the EFI partitions - eg installing stuff on the USB when you intend to install it on the SATA.

This guide is very thorough and if you re-step thru the process, carefully checking the files are where they should be, the fix is likely to become clear.
My advice is to check you can differentiate whether you are looking at the USB or SATA EFI partition and then check you have the files mentioned in the right places.

If you would like to have an overview of how the file system works you can have a read of this.

 

[redslislois]

Greetings,

Got (i think) a fully functional dell 7010 SFF i7, thanks a lot for this very usefull guide and congrats for all the autors.
The only thing that seems not working is the fan speed control.
I'd like to get it as i plan to replace chassis fan and psu fan with Noctua ones using a splitter.
I'll maybe need to replace the stock cpu cooler also.

Any suggestions? stock fans really are noisy, Noctuas aren't...

Thanks a lot

 

[trs96]

The only thing that seems not working is the fan speed control.

There is currently no software that I know of that works for fan speed control. Using a hardware controller is probably the better option. Also note that Dell has used proprietary 5 pin fan headers on the motherboard. No way to simply plug in and use Noctua fans and get PWM control of the fans. Some people have bought new Dell replacement fans which are much quieter than older ones that have been used for 3 or more years. These Dells are not the best choice if you want a completely silent build that could be used for audio recording purposes. A custom build with new hardware would be the better choice where it's simple to install Noctua fans and get PWM control.

 

[Abbzy]

Thank you so much for this amazing guide.

My Optiplex 9010 Desktop runs Mojave like a dream.

UEFI boot works as it should, as does sleep & wake, and the Optiplex runs all the Mac software I've thrown at it.

I've just made a small contribution to the forum, to thank you for the assistance you've given, and the £££ you've saved me over the years.