Contribute
Register

macOS Catalina Cleanup: Remove Kexts From /Library/Extensions and Recache

Hi All,
Currently I have installed macOS Mojave (Clover Bootloader UEFI Mode) on my System Drive I would like to install macOS Catalina in a second volume on the same drive: what solution should I apply for the installation of the kexts for the two versions of macOS in this multiboot mode?
Thanks in advance
 
Hi All,
Currently I have installed macOS Mojave (Clover Bootloader UEFI Mode) on my System Drive I would like to install macOS Catalina in a second volume on the same drive: what solution should I apply for the installation of the kexts for the two versions of macOS in this multiboot mode?
Thanks in advance
The simple way should be putting Clover with kexts into the EFI partition of your primary volume.
 
The simple way should be putting Clover with kexts into the EFI partition of your primary volume.

After years of futzing around on this with my i7-4770, that's where I've ended up, and it works fine on Mojave despite the fact that it isn't "recommended." (See section 2, option 1 in the link below.) Chasing kexts and versions around across multiple subdirectories is hopeless. The ONLY kext I have in S/L/E is "GenericUSBXHCI.kext" and I can't remember why any more.

 
Last edited:
After years of futzing around on this with my 4770, that's where I've ended up, and it works fine on Mojave despite the fact that it isn't "recommended." (See section 2, option 1 in the link below.) Chasing kexts and versions around across multiple subdirectories is hopeless. The ONLY kext I have in S/L/E is "GenericUSBXHCI.kext" and I can't remember why any more.

You may have to simplify your method of dealing with kexts. The latest version of Clover and third-party kexts should work for both of Mojave and Catalina, as r5102 worked well for my H61 build in February, even back to High Sierra (now Catalina however). r4770 should be a bit outdated nowadays.
 
Last edited:
soon you may not be able to have 3rd party kexts in /Library/Extensions

best to keep them in clover/kexts/other
Has that happened with this release of Catalina? In the past we were always warned to not do this...will this cause the instability discussed in the past? If at some point apple does ban the kexts in the extensions folder, wouldn't we know beforehand and wouldn't it be in security update or something?
 
So in a future macOS, when legacy kexts are blocked, they will still load properly if they are in the Clover folder? So not really blocked?
It depends on how Clover or OpenCore handle in future versions of macOS. At least kexts inside the EFI partition don’t pop up a warning dialog in 10.15.4.
 
Has that happened with this release of Catalina? In the past we were always warned to not do this...will this cause the instability discussed in the past? If at some point apple does ban the kexts in the extensions folder, wouldn't we know beforehand and wouldn't it be in security update or something?
From recent reports I read, Catalina would be the last macOS version to support legacy kexts. You could still place kexts in Library/Extensions in Catalina but it’s getting more annoying. In 10.16 or later, the folder may be completely gone.

Apple already expressed the plan as early as WWDC19.
 
Back
Top