OS X 10.10.5 Security Update and GTX 970

[Melodeath]

First, I apologize because even though I built a hackintosh a few years ago, I haven't kept up to date and have forgotten most of what I learned about setting it up/getting it working. I do know that I'm using Clover (not sure what version, it still says Merry Xmas lol) I'm on Yosemite OS X 10.10.5 with a GTX 970 (nVidia Web Drivers). I never installed the last Yosemite Security update 2017-003 I believe, because from what I understood, that update would break GTX 970 compatibility, and nVidia didn't release a newer driver to fix it. As a result, I can't download the newest iTunes 12.7 to keep my iPhone X backed up. iTunes 12.6 works fine with my iPHone 6, but I just upgraded.

Does anyone know how accurate this is? My nVidia control panel tells me the driver is the latest, and I don't want to break the hackintosh by installing the security update in order to install iTunes.

I'm just wondering what my best course of action is. I don't really want to update the OS out of fear of breaking what's working, but it would be nice to be able to use my new iPhone with the hackintosh and not have to boot into Windows 10 to do backups.

I'm sure down the line I will want to upgrade the 970 to something else, but I'm sure my current mobo (GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD7 TH) and CPU (i7-4790k) won't be compatible with the newer MacOS stuff.

More generally, how does one update a hackintosh, or do you generally need to build a whole new system with compatible parts if you want to update the OS?

While I have a Time Machine backup of the system, I'm currently a little bit paranoid about how I would get things working again if a piece of hardware failed, or if clover suddenly stopped working. Any advice?

Thank you so much

 

[P1LGRIM]

Profiles need to contain at least your primary system to assist others with helping you

Any advice?

Put your big-boy pants on and get stuck in.

Clone/Backup your system first so that you can revert if things go irrecoverably wrong.
Remember that a backup is only a backup if you have a proven recovery strategy.

 

[Melodeath]

Put your big-boy pants on and get stuck in.

Clone/Backup your system first so that you can revert if things go irrecoverably wrong.
Remember that a backup is only a backup if you have a proven recovery strategy.

Sorry, updated my profile. Been awhile since I've been here because Hack was working smoothly for a couple years

I figured Time Machine was an ok choice because if anything went horribly wrong, I could always buy a real mac and just restore from TM. Cloning the system isn't a bad idea at all. Any free tools you recommend?

That said, a clone probably won't help if a piece of hardware goes awry and I need to replace it with something newer, right?

 

[P1LGRIM]

Cloning the system isn't a bad idea at all. Any free tools you recommend?

Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper.
I also use a hardware disk duplicator not free but foolproof.

That said, a clone probably won't help if a piece of hardware goes awry and I need to replace it with something newer, right?

It is impossible to answer hypothetical questions with any degree of accuracy.

 

[Jamesbond007]

First, I apologize because even though I built a hackintosh a few years ago, I haven't kept up to date and have forgotten most of what I learned about setting it up/getting it working. I do know that I'm using Clover (not sure what version, it still says Merry Xmas lol) I'm on Yosemite OS X 10.10.5 with a GTX 970 (nVidia Web Drivers). I never installed the last Yosemite Security update 2017-003 I believe, because from what I understood, that update would break GTX 970 compatibility, and nVidia didn't release a newer driver to fix it. As a result, I can't download the newest iTunes 12.7 to keep my iPhone X backed up. iTunes 12.6 works fine with my iPHone 6, but I just upgraded.

Does anyone know how accurate this is? My nVidia control panel tells me the driver is the latest, and I don't want to break the hackintosh by installing the security update in order to install iTunes.

I'm just wondering what my best course of action is. I don't really want to update the OS out of fear of breaking what's working, but it would be nice to be able to use my new iPhone with the hackintosh and not have to boot into Windows 10 to do backups.

I'm sure down the line I will want to upgrade the 970 to something else, but I'm sure my current mobo (GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD7 TH) and CPU (i7-4790k) won't be compatible with the newer MacOS stuff.

More generally, how does one update a hackintosh, or do you generally need to build a whole new system with compatible parts if you want to update the OS?

While I have a Time Machine backup of the system, I'm currently a little bit paranoid about how I would get things working again if a piece of hardware failed, or if clover suddenly stopped working. Any advice?

Thank you so much

Your assumption that your current motherboard and CPU cannot run the newer MacOS is not correct. They will be able to run the newer versions El Capitan / Sierra / High Sierra. So, if you want to upgrade your OS you can just try to install a newer version.

If you want to upgrade your video card, then it is a virtual certainty you will need to upgrade your OS as well. For example, the current Nvidia Pascal series video cards (GTX 10xx) require MacOS Sierra or later.

When I setup my systems, I make sure to create several partitions on my startup disk in anticipation of newer MacOS versions. My primary system can now run El Capitan / Sierra / High Sierra (in separate partitions), and I still have empty partitions available for newer versions in the future. On my older system I can run older OS X versions from Mountain Lion to El Capitan. I also periodically clone my OS partitions to another disk using SuperDuper, so that in the event of the startup disk failure I can have a ready replacement.

If you want to use iTunes 12.7.x but do not want to update your current Yosemite system for fear of breaking the Nvidia drivers, then I suggest getting a new blank disk and try to install a newer version of MacOS on it.

 

[Melodeath]

Your assumption that your current motherboard and CPU cannot run the newer MacOS is not correct. They will be able to run the newer versions El Capitan / Sierra / High Sierra. So, if you want to upgrade your OS you can just try to install a newer version.

If you want to upgrade your video card, then it is a virtual certainty you will need to upgrade your OS as well. For example, the current Nvidia Pascal series video cards (GTX 10xx) require MacOS Sierra or later.

When I setup my systems, I make sure to create several partitions on my startup disk in anticipation of newer MacOS versions. My primary system can now run El Capitan / Sierra / High Sierra (in separate partitions), and I still have empty partitions available for newer versions in the future. On my older system I can run older OS X versions from Mountain Lion to El Capitan. I also periodically clone my OS partitions to another disk using SuperDuper, so that in the event of the startup disk failure I can have a ready replacement.

If you want to use iTunes 12.7.x but do not want to update your current Yosemite system for fear of breaking the Nvidia drivers, then I suggest getting a new blank disk and try to install a newer version of MacOS on it.

Thank you, that actually helps a lot. I had no idea that my mobo and CPU would support newer Apple OSes.

Any idea if Sierra of High Sierra would support a GTX 970? I'd love to upgrade the GPU, but probably in the future, not right now.

In terms of updating the OS, what steps do I need to take regarding Clover? If you have a link to a walkthrough of updating, that would be awesome. Once I got the hackintosh working, I never updated clover or anything, so I'm sure I'm running an old version.

 

[Jamesbond007]

Thank you, that actually helps a lot. I had no idea that my mobo and CPU would support newer Apple OSes.

Any idea if Sierra or High Sierra would support a GTX 970? I'd love to upgrade the GPU, but probably in the future, not right now.

In terms of updating the OS, what steps do I need to take regarding Clover? If you have a link to a walkthrough of updating, that would be awesome. Once I got the hackintosh working, I never updated clover or anything, so I'm sure I'm running an old version.

Yes, Sierra and High Sierra still support GTX 970 via use of the Nvidia web drivers.

You will need to upgrade to a newer version of Clover if you want to upgrade to a new OS version.

By the way, are you aware that Apple has released iTunes 12.6.4 (ostensibly for Business users) which supports the newer iPhones and iOS 11 without needing to use iTunes 12.7.x? This version should run under Yosemite but I don't know if it still applies to your situation.

 

[Melodeath]

Yes, Sierra and High Sierra still support GTX 970 via use of the Nvidia web drivers.

You will need to upgrade to a newer version of Clover if you want to upgrade to a new OS version.

By the way, are you aware that Apple has released iTunes 12.6.4 (ostensibly for Business users) which supports the newer iPhones and iOS 11 without needing to use iTunes 12.7.x? This version should run under Yosemite but I don't know if it still applies to your situation.

Wow, thank you! That just might be the answer!

My solution in the interim was to boot up into Windows 10 and backup/restore from iTunes 12.7 there.

I'm going to have to look into how to update Clover. My biggest fear is just breaking this rig from it's working state since it's my main computer and I use it for freelance work.