[Guide] Razer Blade 15 (2018) Detailed Install Guide High Sierra 10.13.6 (17G2208-17G5019)

[vettz500]

Thanks! So even though the black screen fix isn't 100% yet you think I should still give it a go with the fix you posted in the other thread?

We're not sure if it's 100% yet. Still testing, so far so good on my end. If you want to update, take the plunge and see what happens.
Best thing to do, to do a safe test is to partition your SSD. Make a new partition that's like 80-100GB, whatever you want to give it and let that be a blank space for you to use.
Then install the newer version of OSX onto the new partition following the guide and test it out with the black screen fix. That way if something doesn't work right or you have an issue, you still have your old install that you can fall back onto with all of your files still there.

 

[vettz500]

Yeah it was KPing on boot with it consistently, and worked when I removed it, but then was KPing on shutdown and sleep. Now I added it back and everything is working fine again lol. Not sure what that was about. I might try the bios mod just to hopefully get a little more stability though.

Modding the BIOS is the only way to get rid of that Assertion Error with the DVMT patch. I haven't had that issue since doing so and changing the DVMT to 64MB.

 

[lunaoso]

Modding the BIOS is the only way to get rid of that Assertion Error with the DVMT patch. I haven't had that issue since doing so and changing the DVMT to 64MB.

So I got to the step of backing up my stock BIOS. I have the file backed up, and I'm confused by the next step:
"Find Chipset / System Agent (SA) configuration and change that it user"...

I found Chipset/SA, I'm confused as to what to change.

 

[vettz500]

So I got to the step of backing up my stock BIOS. I have the file backed up, and I'm confused by the next step:
"Find Chipset / System Agent (SA) configuration and change that it user"...

I found Chipset/SA, I'm confused as to what to change.

See attached screenshot.

You navigate to Setup and the click on Chipset you will see System Agent (SA) Configuration and then under the Access/Use column you change it to USER. Save it and then follow the rest of the steps to flash it.

 

[vettz500]

Guide has been updated to include additional steps for the Razer Blade 15 Base Model. Also the Kexts in the Post Installation file have been updated with the newest AppleALC.kext so we no longer have to rename AppleGFXHDA.kext

 

[lunaoso]

See attached screenshot.

You navigate to Setup and the click on Chipset you will see System Agent (SA) Configuration and then under the Access/Use column you change it to USER. Save it and then follow the rest of the steps to flash it.

Worked like a champ. Thanks for the help!

 

[vettz500]

For those that would like to test the Black Screen Fix or that have been holding out on the newer versions of High Sierra/Mojave because of the 3 minute black screen issue, here are the files you need to try the fix, as well as the steps to take to apply them.

First download the Black Screen Fix Test file
Navigate to Library-Extensions and delete AppleBackLightFixup.kext, WhateverGreen.kext and Lilu.kext
(AppleBackLightFixup.kext is no longer needed as it has now been integrated into WhateverGreen.)
Use KextBeast or another kext installer to install the new kexts in the Black Screen Fix Test folder.
Rebuild kextcache in terminal

sudo kextcache -i /

Mount your EFI Drive
Navigate to EFI-Clover-ACPI-Patched and copy over the new SSDT-PNLF file that is in the Black Screen Fix Test folder.
Reboot
You should hopefully have no more 3 minute black screen upon boot up.

**If you get a KP after applying the fix, you will probably have to follow this guide in post #105 here: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...6-17g2208-17g3025.264017/page-11#post-1877126

As of writing this, these versions of the kexts and the SSDT-PNLF are NOT in the Post Installation Needed Files folder. I'm waiting until testing is done before I migrate the updates over to the original post.

 

[vettz500]

That's why I managed to install the ethernet port on my Razer Blade 15 2018 basic model.

Just use the kext here (you need to register to be able to download the file) https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/files/file/88-realtekrtl8111-binary/

Remember to read the installation carefully, you must remove the ethernet connection in the preferences systems before restarting and installing the kext.

Thank you for this

 

[lunaoso]

@vettz500 Hate to keep bothering you, but after a boot of having everything working great, I decided to reboot just to make sure everything was still good. Somehow on that reboot, the black screen bug is back and my audio is no longer detected... I tried reinstalling applealc and the lilu/whatevergreen kexts you posted above, but no dice. Very odd...

I have noticed that the black screen bug does happen a lot later than it used to. It used to happen immediately on the bar on the apple logo screen. Now it goes black at about 3/4 of the way on the boot bar. Not sure if my audio going away is related or not, that's always been finicky for me for whatever reason.

EDIT: Next boot the black screen problem didn't happen, still no sound though. So they're almost definitely not related. I'll just mess around with the sound and hopefully those string of black screens were just an anomaly.

 

[vettz500]

@vettz500 Hate to keep bothering you, but after a boot of having everything working great, I decided to reboot just to make sure everything was still good. Somehow on that reboot, the black screen bug is back and my audio is no longer detected... I tried reinstalling applealc and the lilu/whatevergreen kexts you posted above, but no dice. Very odd...

I have noticed that the black screen bug does happen a lot later than it used to. It used to happen immediately on the bar on the apple logo screen. Now it goes black at about 3/4 of the way on the boot bar. Not sure if my audio going away is related or not, that's always been finicky for me for whatever reason.

EDIT: Next boot the black screen problem didn't happen, still no sound though. So they're almost definitely not related. I'll just mess around with the sound and hopefully those string of black screens were just an anomaly.

For audio, mount your EFI go to EFI-Clover and open your config.plist
Under Devices-Properties find PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1f,0x3)
Change the layout-id to a different number, save reboot.
Do the above again once you reboot and change the number back to 29, save and reboot again. Check to see if audio works again.

As far as the black screen goes, post your PR files here: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...ter-booting-coffeelake-uhd-630.261131/page-43