[Guide] Install macOS Sierra on Alienware Alpha (Drivers, Messages, FaceTime ...)

[znithy]

This guide is for Alienware Alpha i7, GPU Nvidia Geforce 860m.

Previously my Alpha installed Windows 10 only, booting with UEFI windows boot manager.
After completing the following procedure, now it has a dual boot of Windows 10 and macOS Sierra using Clover.

--------- Main Steps ----------​

A) Install macOS
1) Download macOS Sierra from App Store, use Disk Utility to format USB as HFS+ with Master Boot Record, then use Unibeast to make an USB installer with legacy boot.

2) Reboot, press F2 to enter BIOS. In the CPU section, disable 'Intel Virtualization Technology' and 'Limit CPUID Value'. In the Boot section, choose 'Legacy' and select your USB as the first booting device.

3) Boot into the macOS installer, format the macOS disk partition as HFS+, then install macOS.

B) Intall drivers
1) Boot into macOS Sierra, install the Nvidia Web Driver (If there is no driver for macOS 16B2657, please install the uploaded pkg file, then install NVDAStartupWeb.kext by kext Utility).

2) Drag HDMIAudio.kext and RealtekRTL8111.kext to kext Utility to install the drivers for HDMI audio and ethernet.

C) Install Clover
1) open Multibeast, choose 'Legacy Boot Mode' in 'Quick start', then select your macOS partition and click 'Build' in 'Install'.

2) Mount EFI partition using FEI Mounter, open '/EFI/CLOVER/config.plist' by Clover Configurator, unselect 'nv_disable=1' in 'Boot', and select 'NvidiaWeb' in 'System Parameters'.

3) Reboot, enter BIOS, select 'UEFI: Clover start legacy at ESP' in 'Boot'.

Now your Alienware Alpha (Graphic Card, Ethernet, HDMI Audio, Bluetooth, sleep and CPU GPU clock steps) shall work properly, except the wifi which currently has no driver available, a suggestion is to replace the Intel wifi by the Broadcom CM94352Z.

--------- Others ----------​

Active Message and FaceTime
1) Mount EFI partition using FEI Mounter, open '/EFI/CLOVER/config.plist' by Clover Configurator.
2) Click 'Calculate' in 'Rt Variable', and a magic wand icon in 'SMBIOS', choose 'iMac(14,2)', some parameters will be generated.
3) Copy 'SerialNumer' in 'Rt Variable' to 'Board Serial Number' in 'SMBIOS', append 5 random numbers or letters till 17 characters.
4) Run 'uuidgen' in terminal, copy the generated UUID to 'smUUID' in 'SMBIOS'.
5) Run the commands below in terminal.

su
cd ~/Library/Caches/
rm -R com.apple.Messages*
rm -R com.apple.imfoundation*
cd ~/Library/Preferences/
rm com.apple.iChat*
rm com.apple.imagent*
rm com.apple.imessage*
rm com.apple.imservice*
rm -R ~/Library/Messages/

D6) Reboot and login to Message and FaceTime.

Enable volume adjustment
1) Install SoundFlower and SoundFlowerBed.
2) Select 'HDMI' for 'Soundflower(2ch)' in SoundFlower.
3) select output as 'Soundflower(2ch)' in Sound of System Preferences.

# 161102 update:
Enable Apple's power manager
1) Mount EFI partition using FEI Mounter, put the attached DSDT and SSDT in /EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched

Enable trim
1) run sudo trimforce enable in terminal

Enable HiDPI
1) run the script provided here:
https://github.com/syscl/Enable-HiDPI-OSX

--------- References ----------​

Procedure：
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/alienware-alpha-almost-100-functional.164759/
https://www.******.com/r/hackintosh/comments/4cjf5s/alienware_alpha_hackintosh/

Graphic card：
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...for-macos-sierra-10-12-1-367-15-10-15.205568/
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...1-nvidia-web-drivers-only-work-with-1.205881/

HDMI and Volume：
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/clover-hdmi-audio-for-nvidia-amd-cards-easy-way.145399/
http://www.mattmontag.com/music/enable-mac-volume-control-for-hdmi-and-displayport-audio-devices

Message and FaceTime：
https://www.******.com/r/hackintosh/comments/2wohwn/getting_imessage_working_on_10102_generating/

--------- Download ----------​

All mentioned softwares and drivers are packed and attached, mirror here:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/om15kad6cb7bb3f/AlienwareAlphaHachintosh.zip

or you may follow their new updates
Multibeast: http://www.multibeast.com
Unibeast: http://www.unibeast.com
Soundflower: https://github.com/mattingalls/Soundflower
SoundflowerBed: https://github.com/mLupine/SoundflowerBed
RTL8111 Driver: https://github.com/Mieze/RTL8111_driver_for_OS_X
Clover Configurator: http://mackie100projects.altervista.org

 

[JudgeFudge]

I've got an 880m I followed every step here but Sierra just will not cave and recognize VRAM for the chip at all, even acknowledged what the car is but still nothing.
Any help you can give would be great

 

[evanrodge]

I have the i3 version that just went on sale and I'm not having much luck. I followed these directions (Unibeast Legacy on an MBR formatted HSF+ USB drive) plus the BIOS settings and I can't even get setup loaded. It boot loops after a few seconds of:

"+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++"

Anyone else experiencing this?

Update:

I got the system to boot and installed 10.12.1 successfully, but not with the instructions from this guide. Unibeast uses an older version of Clover, and I think that's causing problems, so I simply used installed using vanilla Clover in legacy mode.

That said, I'm still having problems with power management. Kernel panics right at boot time in a lot of cases. KernelPM=True, but I still need to work on a proper config.plist. The OPs has a lot of hotfixes, so it's hard to track down what's happening where.

 

[jediborre]

I have the i3 version that just went on sale and I'm not having much luck. I followed these directions (Unibeast Legacy on an MBR formatted HSF+ USB drive) plus the BIOS settings and I can't even get setup loaded. It boot loops after a few seconds of:

"+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++"

Anyone else experiencing this?

Update:

I got the system to boot and installed 10.12.1 successfully, but not with the instructions from this guide. Unibeast uses an older version of Clover, and I think that's causing problems, so I simply used installed using vanilla Clover in legacy mode.

That said, I'm still having problems with power management. Kernel panics right at boot time in a lot of cases. KernelPM=True, but I still need to work on a proper config.plist. The OPs has a lot of hotfixes, so it's hard to track down what's happening where.

Any news?

 

[znithy]

I have the i3 version that just went on sale and I'm not having much luck. I followed these directions (Unibeast Legacy on an MBR formatted HSF+ USB drive) plus the BIOS settings and I can't even get setup loaded. It boot loops after a few seconds of:

"+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++"

Anyone else experiencing this?

Update:

I got the system to boot and installed 10.12.1 successfully, but not with the instructions from this guide. Unibeast uses an older version of Clover, and I think that's causing problems, so I simply used installed using vanilla Clover in legacy mode.

That said, I'm still having problems with power management. Kernel panics right at boot time in a lot of cases. KernelPM=True, but I still need to work on a proper config.plist. The OPs has a lot of hotfixes, so it's hard to track down what's happening where.

In my case, I failed in using the new version of Clover, the old version which comes with Unineast and Multibeast has no problem.
My BIOS is version A03, not the newest A04, I don't know if this causes the difference.
Another possible reason is when booting with USB, I clicked "install entries" in the Clover option menu, don't remember exact the term.

 

[znithy]

I've got an 880m I followed every step here but Sierra just will not cave and recognize VRAM for the chip at all, even acknowledged what the car is but still nothing.
Any help you can give would be great

My experience was after having installed the nvidia driver, the vram coule be recognized, before was only 7mb.

 

[erosW04]

Newbie question. Will this work on 10.12.2 also?

 

[kurtocaster]

Do you still have to do the Haswell patch? Because I cannot get the unibeast to boot

 

[Substitute79]

I can't get this to work in 10.12.2.

Graphics driver isn't compatible. I have tried a newer one from Nvidia but it keeps reverting back to the OS X default driver.

2nd issue is no HDMI sound. I have installed Soundflower but HDMI audio isn't listed as an option.

Not sure what to try next. Everything else seems to be working except for the known issue with WiFi.

 

[znithy]

Newbie question. Will this work on 10.12.2 also?

I have updated to 10.12.3, no problem.