Looking for fast/easier way to perform OpenCore version upgrade

[charlescai]

Hi there,

I noticed it took me a long time to upgrade/update OC version whenever there is a new version come up. Basically, I have to go-through each field and compare and set/remove as necessary. (then copy all those SMBIOS verison info over)

I'm wondering if there is any easier way to to this ? Open for any suggestion, thank you.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Hi there,

I noticed it took me a long time to upgrade/update OC version whenever there is a new version come up. Basically, I have to go-through each field and compare and set/remove as necessary. (then copy all those SMBIOS verison info over)

I'm wondering if there is any easier way to to this ? Open for any suggestion, thank you.

Assuming not a major jump in OC versions, just run ocvalidate on your config.plist. It will highlight what you need to update to match the new key layout etc.

You will find the app in the Utilities folder within the OC distribution.

 

[charlescai]

Assuming not a major jump in OC versions, just run ocvalidate on your config.plist. It will highlight what you need to update to match the new key layout etc.

You will find the app in the Utilities folder within the OC distribution.

Yes usually just minor version update. Thank you for the info, I will keep a try next time

 

[Nodarkthings]

If you don't have any issue with the current version, you can update only every two or three months, that way you will divide the time spent by two or three... ;-)
It might sound like a joke, but OC's changes have not been huge in the past months, so I've started delaying my updates indeed.

Otherwise, you might be interested in a little guide of mine: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/a-guide-to-update-opencore-0-x-y-to-0-x-y-1.312907/
I've started using OC at 0.6.7 and I've never met a situation where an update broke something, so in the end, it doesn't take that long to update when you follow the correct procedure.

 

[SAC12345]

Hi there,

I noticed it took me a long time to upgrade/update OC version whenever there is a new version come up. Basically, I have to go-through each field and compare and set/remove as necessary. (then copy all those SMBIOS verison info over)

I'm wondering if there is any easier way to to this ? Open for any suggestion, thank you.

What I do is when new release happens I wait until the changes posting arrives from mullico I think is his username. Then with a duplicate of my old EFI folder I put in all the new .kext and the OC files from the new versions released. Then I take a program called DiffMerge with the OC sample.plist loaded in the left pane my old config.plist in the duplicated directory with the new files loaded in the right and go through the differences finding the new settings listed in the posting and a right click insert this into the file. The differences I see that are not listed in the new posting are irrelevant as they were not there in the first place in the working config.plist I already have used. Save the file a few times after the changes made to run it through the ocvalidate in Terminal to make certain no new errors are introduced until all the new parts are included and I end up with the error free file I always go with. Then it is just a matter of copying the new EFI to my boot USB stick and firing up my spare duplicate machine to test if it will boot using that USB stick as the source to boot from. Which it has done for these last fifteen months or so since I switched to the OC and used this method. Some of the time there are deletions to be made in the config.plist as settings are changed or removed.

 

[Hecatomb]

Release 20220056 · ic005k/OCAuxiliaryTools

Add files via upload

github.com

Try this. you only need to push 4 times your mouse button to update oc

 

[Nodarkthings]

Release 20220056 · ic005k/OCAuxiliaryTools

Add files via upload

github.com

Try this. you only need to push 4 times your mouse button to update oc

OCAT seems interesting, but I wouldn't trust blindly a utility that's not officially supported by Dortania.
Nevertheless, its interface is quite nice and it can be useful to spot inconsistencies in your config.plist.
Also, I find more secure to update a copy of the EFI folder on a USB key, then use it for a week like that, instead of putting at risk my SSD's EFI by updating it directly.
As they say in Italy: Fidarsi è bene, non fidarsi è meglio! (To trust is good, not to trust is better)

 

[SAC12345]

OCAT seems interesting, but I wouldn't trust blindly a utility that's not officially supported by Dortania.
Nevertheless, its interface is quite nice and it can be useful to spot inconsistencies in your config.plist.
Also, I find more secure to update a copy of the EFI folder on a USB key, then use it for a week like that, instead of putting at risk my SSD's EFI by updating it directly.
As they say in Italy: Fidarsi è bene, non fidarsi è meglio! (To trust is good, not to trust is better)

Or as they say here "do not put all your eggs in one basket" I too use the stick for a time though it is usually only the one boot from it done. Before mounting and copying over to my nvme drive after some time to make certain of no glitches days later. I also have a copy of every EFI folder and version that has ever booted my machine and its duplicate saved, with the last three for each machine in the USBs EFI folder named with their version number appended to the directory name.

 

[jaymonkey]

OCAT seems interesting, but I wouldn't trust blindly a utility that's not officially supported by Dortania.

@Nodarkthings,

Although Acidanthera have always recommended manually editing/updating of the OC config.plist using a code or plist editor, it would seem that OCAT is somewhat approved by them as it is referenced by name (along with a URL to the OCAT Git repo) in Section 3.2 of the official OC Reference Manual :-

ensure that only stable versions of OpenCore explicitly supported by such tools are used. In such cases, the use of open-source implementations with transparent binary generation (such as OCAT) is encouraged

I haven't used OCAT myself yet, but I've been keeping an eye on it and may give it a go soon.

Cheers
Jay

 

[Nodarkthings]

@Nodarkthings,

Although Acidanthera have always recommended manually editing/updating of the OC config.plist using a code or plist editor, it would seem that OCAT is somewhat approved by them as it is referenced by name (along with a URL to the OCAT Git repo) in Section 3.2 of the official OC Reference Manual :-



I haven't used OCAT myself yet, but I've been keeping an eye on it and may give it a go soon.

Cheers
Jay

Thanks Jay! Good to know! I've just tried it and compared it to my original config.plist: quite ok, but it's changing a lot of the syntax (apparently only spaces) making BBEdit's compare function unusable. No issue with OCConfigCompare or PlistEdit Pro, though.