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Need Help With Backup and GPU Upgrade

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Joined
Oct 22, 2015
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37
Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD7 TH
CPU
i7-4790K
Graphics
GTX 970
I have a confession. I built my hackintosh about 4 years ago and once I got everything working, I never updated it, stopped looking at hackintosh discussion forums, and over time, slowly forgot everything about how it works in terms of the EFI, clover bootloader, etc. I’m still running OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 and I use Time Machine to backup my data. Luckily the computer still works well and I haven't run into issues, but I don't like feeling so ignorant and helpless about my system and want to remedy that. Here are my questions:

1. I know that Time Machine is only backing up my user data and not the part of the system that allows OS X to run on this hardware. What’s the easiest way to backup that part of the system? I recall using a USB stick with some sort of hidden EFI partition on it when I initially set it up? I still have that drive, but I don’t know for sure if the right files are still on there, or if my current configuration is saved on the usb stick. I guess I would plug in the USB stick and try to boot form it instead of the internal SSD?

2. I have a GTX 970 in the computer and I’m using nVidia’s drivers. From what I understand, nVidia never released updated drivers for this card that work with anything beyond OS X 10.10.5. I want to upgrade my GPU (because I dual boot Windows 10 for gaming), but am not sure if that’s possible without building a whole new hackintosh with a newer mac OS. What are my options here?

3. My version of clover has a christmas theme all year and I have no idea how to change it. Obviously I can continue living with it, but it is slightly annoying. Is it worth updating clover or am I just asking for trouble since the hackintosh is working properly? How would I even do that?

I'm hoping I can re-learn how all this stuff works so I don't feel so lost about my system just in case anything happens to the hardware or I want to make an upgrade. Thanks so much!
 
I have a confession. I built my hackintosh about 4 years ago and once I got everything working, I never updated it, stopped looking at hackintosh discussion forums, and over time, slowly forgot everything about how it works in terms of the EFI, clover bootloader, etc. I’m still running OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 and I use Time Machine to backup my data. Luckily the computer still works well and I haven't run into issues, but I don't like feeling so ignorant and helpless about my system and want to remedy that. Here are my questions:

1. I know that Time Machine is only backing up my user data and not the part of the system that allows OS X to run on this hardware. What’s the easiest way to backup that part of the system? I recall using a USB stick with some sort of hidden EFI partition on it when I initially set it up? I still have that drive, but I don’t know for sure if the right files are still on there, or if my current configuration is saved on the usb stick. I guess I would plug in the USB stick and try to boot form it instead of the internal SSD?

2. I have a GTX 970 in the computer and I’m using nVidia’s drivers. From what I understand, nVidia never released updated drivers for this card that work with anything beyond OS X 10.10.5. I want to upgrade my GPU (because I dual boot Windows 10 for gaming), but am not sure if that’s possible without building a whole new hackintosh with a newer mac OS. What are my options here?

3. My version of clover has a christmas theme all year and I have no idea how to change it. Obviously I can continue living with it, but it is slightly annoying. Is it worth updating clover or am I just asking for trouble since the hackintosh is working properly? How would I even do that?

I'm hoping I can re-learn how all this stuff works so I don't feel so lost about my system just in case anything happens to the hardware or I want to make an upgrade. Thanks so much!


Hi there.

Your initial build was obviusly a good one, to have run for so long without major problems :thumbup:

1) A UniBeast USB installer drive is a handy boot back-up device and can be used to boot your main installation instead of the one on the actual main drive. A handy backup. As for copying the whole installation, many folk recomend Carbon Copy Cloner as a method of producing a complete 'snapshot' that can be used to restore a failing system.

2) Nvidia released drivers right up until High Sierra - 10.13.6 - so your GTX970 is covered that far. If. you decide to upgrade then choose an AMD Radeon type instead. Check out the Buying Advice, Desktop Compatibility and User Builds forums in the menu above for suggestions.

3) Hmmm. The sticking Christmas theme could be warning of a potential problem. As Clover uses the system clock to know when to display the Christmas and New Year themes, this might point to the CMOS being reset or something damaged in the installation.

To re-learn all the necessary skills just read through the main Installation tutorial or one of the Golden Builds, or even just the User Builds. There's plenty in there and everything you need to know is in one or other forums.

:)
 
Hi there.

Your initial build was obviusly a good one, to have run for so long without major problems :thumbup:

1) A UniBeast USB installer drive is a handy boot back-up device and can be used to boot your main installation instead of the one on the actual main drive. A handy backup. As for copying the whole installation, many folk recomend Carbon Copy Cloner as a method of producing a complete 'snapshot' that can be used to restore a failing system.

2) Nvidia released drivers right up until High Sierra - 10.13.6 - so your GTX970 is covered that far. If. you decide to upgrade then choose an AMD Radeon type instead. Check out the Buying Advice, Desktop Compatibility and User Builds forums in the menu above for suggestions.

3) Hmmm. The sticking Christmas theme could be warning of a potential problem. As Clover uses the system clock to know when to display the Christmas and New Year themes, this might point to the CMOS being reset or something damaged in the installation.

To re-learn all the necessary skills just read through the main Installation tutorial or one of the Golden Builds, or even just the User Builds. There's plenty in there and everything you need to know is in one or other forums.

:)

Thank you!

1. Carbon Copy makes sense, although I suppose if a piece of hardware like the motherboard bit the dust, I'd be screwed anyway and need a new build.

Do I just need to create a Unibeast USB from a tutorial, or do I need to copy the EFI from my drive as a backup? How would I do that?

2. Interesting. To be honest, I don't have interest in updating OS X. I just want to upgrade the 970 to use in Windows without messing up the OS X side of things. I don't think there are any GTX 1070 drivers for OS X 10.10, for example, but I could be wrong?

3. I forgot that it actually DOES switch to New Years at the right time, but the rest of the year it is Xmas haha. How do I check/edit the Clover install?
 
Thank you!

1. Carbon Copy makes sense, although I suppose if a piece of hardware like the motherboard bit the dust, I'd be screwed anyway and need a new build.

Do I just need to create a Unibeast USB from a tutorial, or do I need to copy the EFI from my drive as a backup? How would I do that?

2. Interesting. To be honest, I don't have interest in updating OS X. I just want to upgrade the 970 to use in Windows without messing up the OS X side of things. I don't think there are any GTX 1070 drivers for OS X 10.10, for example, but I could be wrong?

3. I forgot that it actually DOES switch to New Years at the right time, but the rest of the year it is Xmas haha. How do I check/edit the Clover install?


A good idea is to create an untouched UniBeast installer as per the main guide for the macOS version. Then you can make a second one with the EFI from your working main drive. I also always back-up the EFI folder to a library on an external hard drive too. This means for any macOS I install, as long as the hardware is correct, I have a pre-made configuration. Which you decide to do is up to you :thumbup: .

2) Take a look here. As you can see NVidia drivers go back a long way. 10.10.0 is in there - 14A389. BUT you are correct, normally Pascal GPUs did not get automatically recognised until, I think, Sierra 10.12.4 or 6. You'd have to test.

3) Check the date in your BIOS first.

:)
 
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