[GUIDE] Remove extra Clover BIOS boot entries & prevent further problems

[ModBot]

The Mods will never post my tutorial even if I added in the procedure for the Plist edit and the items that must be checked in Clover for the the F2X bios versions to work.

What makes you think that your tutorial wouldn't be allowed?

As long as it does not contain or use illegal or pirated software we would love to have your tutorial on our site.

 

[hrvstr]

Okay, I read through all the pages but I am still confused...

I suffer from the dublicated boot entries issues. I removed all entries with the UEFI tool for windows and renamed the BOOT folder but the boot entries keep comming back.

Can I upgrade my Gigabyte H170M-D3H to F22 on my Skylake build (El Capitan)? What changes do I need make in the config.plist? I am on F3 at the moment so this will be a massive upgrade, right?

 

[jdizzle]

Take note of your bios settings, update bios to f20, reset bios to default settings (not version. Settings), put your hackintosh bios settings back in.

Will you be upgrading to sierra at the same time?

*Edited for clarification

 

[hrvstr]

Take note of your bios settings, update bios, reset bios to default settings, put your settings back in.

Will you be upgrading to sierra at the same time?

Thanks for the fast reply. I don't want to upgrade to Sierra at the moment. I still use Adobe CS6 software...

That process seems easy. So I don't need any changes in the config.plist? Was this only for Sierra/Kaby Lake builds?

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Yes I can confirm the ways to rid your system of extra/ghost boot drives:

1) Either you use the Clover Shell commands to erase them ( "bcfg boot dump" etc), but they come back.

2) You can do as @jdizzle says and re-flash your current BIOS from a USB stick using Q-Flash built-in to your M/B, but they come back.

3) You can update the BIOS to F20 or F21. They do not come back.

Before number 2 or 3 you will need to record your Hackintosh settings and re-input them afterwards.

F20 BIOS looks very different to F4 - it's all red and more 'manic' looking than the peaceful grey of earlier - and most of the settings are in roughly the same places. BUT duplicate boot-drive entries are a thing of the past!

You certainly can run macOS on an F20 BIOS. All you need to do is add a Clover boot command or tick-box it in Clover Configurator, and then add a Clover extension to provide emulated NVRAM to store graphics card settings.

(I had a problem with broken sleep when using F20 so reverted to F4 - YMMV. I found it easy - if a little nerve-wracking - to re-flash back to and earlier BIOS because Gigabyte has disabled the function. You need to create a DOS system usb boot-stick and copy a flashing utility called FPT onto it. You then reboot the computer choosing the USB boot stick. Not for the faint-hearted but if you are otherwise stuck, it works.)

 

[dasboot5]

Okay, I read through all the pages but I am still confused...

I suffer from the duplicated boot entries issues. I removed all entries with the UEFI tool for windows and renamed the BOOT folder but the boot entries keep coming back.

Can I upgrade my Gigabyte H170M-D3H to F22 on my Skylake build (El Capitan)? What changes do I need make in the config.plist? I am on F3 at the moment so this will be a massive upgrade, right?

First,
The renaming of the Boot folder and the edits to the Plist should have worked or so members say... I have not tried this.
Second
I would stay away from Kaby bios updates which are the 20 series, there is an F4 bios release; 3/21/2016, which has the same feature updates as the F5e beta bios for my GA Z170mx Gaming 5. There is a site with newer beta bios(s) but they are not fully tested and are only for the Z170 chipset boards. If the F4 bios does not cure, then you will have to go to a 20 series bios and make the required adjustments.
Third: there is a bios update tutorial by Stork which is written primarily for a Mac only PC. Personally I would download bios on a windows machine, and use 7 zip to unzip. You can do this on a Mac and unzip with builtin utility or stuffit, but working with a PC file on a Mac opens you to possible problems, as the bios is what makes you PC run, and run right, since it was not written in MAC code, staying with the same OS the bios was written for, is safer. You can then copy to a flash drive, unhook all os drives from board temporarily, go into current bios, then built in flash utility section, it will detect your flash, point to bios update file, and pray alot.
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/how-to-update-your-gigabyte-motherboards-bios.131047/
Forth,
Why this whole instruction set in a "Toledo" (outline form), is not in the current install instructions, is the mystery of the year...???

 

[hrvstr]

First,
The renaming of the Boot folder and the edits to the Plist should have worked or so members say... I have not tried this.
Second
I would stay away from Kaby bios updates which are the 20 series, there is an F4 bios release; 3/21/2016, which has the same feature updates as the F5e beta bios for my GA Z170mx Gaming 5. There is a site with newer beta bios(s) but they are not fully tested and are only for the Z170 chipset boards. If the F4 bios does not cure, then you will have to go to a 20 series bios and make the required adjustments.
Third: there is a bios update tutorial by Stork which is written primarily for a Mac only PC. Personally I would download bios on a windows machine, and use 7 zip to unzip. You can do this on a Mac and unzip with builtin utility or stuffit, but working with a PC file on a Mac opens you to possible problems, as the bios is what makes you PC run, and run right, since it was not written in MAC code, staying with the same OS the bios was written for, is safer. You can then copy to a flash drive, unhook all os drives from board temporarily, go into current bios, then built in flash utility section, it will detect your flash, point to bios update file, and pray alot.
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/how-to-update-your-gigabyte-motherboards-bios.131047/
Forth,
Why this whole instruction set in a "Toledo" (outline form), is not in the current install instructions, is the mystery of the year...???

I updated to F22 yesterday and didn't have any issues so far. What wrong with the F20+ bios? What are the adjustments you are talking about in every post? Why is it recommended to disconnect all the drives if the update doesnt't change anything on the disks?

I think it would be good move at this point to gather all the knowledge around this problem and bring it into a well organized form in the top-post.

 

[jdizzle]

First I used bcfg method with renamed boot folder, it worked, but updating clover was a pain (I use auto update preference pane).
Then I updated to bios f20, which fixed it for me. I am on SkyLake though, so I can't speak of any of those extra edits that need to be made.

 

[dasboot5]

I updated to F22 yesterday and didn't have any issues so far. What wrong with the F20+ bios? What are the adjustments you are talking about in every post? Why is it recommended to disconnect all the drives if the update doesn't change anything on the disks?

I think it would be good move at this point to gather all the knowledge around this problem and bring it into a well organized form in the top-post.

1.Whats wrong with the 20 series? (They are primarily for a processor (7th Generation Intel support, which is Code named Kaby Lake,on a motherboard that really was not designed initially for this processor. Also, the Mac OS kernel for each version is designed around the processor generation that is being using in what is shipped and sold in current Apple machines. El Capitan was released September 30th 2015 2 years ago. The design of this version of the OS was not meant for Kaby Lake of even Skylake initially. The Tonymac crew and others have developed a work around to make a Kaby bios work even if you are not using a Kaby processor with the motherboard being updated to be compatible on the Windows side. Because a windows UEFI bios works differently then the Apple firmware on their real machine you are playing Russian Roulette with possible problems. You have none that are apparent so you made it past the first click of the trigger.
2. Every time you update the bios on a board you should really clear the Cmos properly and reset all settings back to what is need to run the OS of choice, I our case what will make the Mac OS work with stability.
3. Since the bios utility detects all connected drives when doing a bios update it is best to only have the drive with updated bios file in the Mix, when you are breaking Murphy's Law. First rule of Bios updating never flash if every thing is working, unless you need something that will not work with what you have currently installed. Remember all bios flashes done at the Motherboard Manufacturers are done off the board and the chips that are flashed are added to the boards and then tested for functionality.

 

[dasboot5]

Can anyone confirm that F5e for a GA Z170mx Gaming 5 cures the ghost boot entry problem???