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Graphics Setup & Troubleshooting
0. Introduction
Most graphics related issues are caused by a few well-known bad bootloader settings or missing drivers. We'd like you to read the section which applies to your graphics card before posting. It's very likely that you'll fix the problem on your own by following a few simple steps!
Feel free to open a thread if your problems persist!
1. NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Cards
Basic Setup
Unlike AMD graphics, the NVIDIA drivers are supplied both by Apple (through OS X system updates) and NVIDIA. The so-called NVIDIA Web Drivers are mandatory for some GPU chipsets (see below), because Apple doesn't support them. Additionally, they may improve the overall performance (especially on Kepler-based cards).
It's important to know that each build of the NVIDIA Web Driver is tied to a specific OS X release, so OS X updates will break them! If you're searching for the Web Drivers for a specific OS X version, you can find them here: http://www.macvidcards.com/drivers.html
The NVIDIA Web Drivers have to be activated with the boot flag "nvda_drv=1". If your NVRAM is fully functional, this boot flag should be automatically set when installing the drivers. Otherwise you might have to add it to your bootloaders config file.
Note: A recent Clover update has introduced a new way to enable the WebDrivers, which should be used on macOS Sierra builds. Fixing NVRAM support is the prefered method though!
The following bootloader settings are necessary for full functionality:
Kepler- & Maxwell-Generation: InjectNvidia=False / GraphicsEnabler=No
everything before Kepler: InjectNvidia=True / GraphicsEnabler=Yes
Note: Some low-end GTX 6xx/7xx cards are rebadged Fermi cards.
NVIDIA Web Driver is necessary for the following GPUs:
- all Pascall-based cards (GTX 1xxx, Titan Xp, requires macOS 10.12.4+)
- all Maxwell-based cards (GTX 750[Ti], GTX 9xx, GTX Titan X, requires OS X 10.10+)
- final Kepler-based cards (GTX 780Ti, GTX Titan Black)
- some revisions of GT 740
- some Fermi-based cards (e.g. GTX 560Ti)
- exotic cards (e.g. some Quadro series)
Common Issues
Kernel Panic on boot
If you've installed a graphics card which isn't supported by OS X stock drivers (e.g. Maxwell series), the OS X drivers may crash when they're loaded during the boot process.
To get in your system, boot with the flag "nv_disable=1". This will prevent all NVIDIA drivers from being loaded. Install and enable the NVIDIA Web Drivers as described above.
Nvidia WebDriver doesn't load / GPU not recognized
This usually happens on mainboards without native NVRAM support, which is required to save the flag for choosing the WebDriver. Have a look at problem 6 in the NVIDIA driver thread.
No Graphics Acceleration
OS X will fall back to software rendering if no driver is loaded for your GPU. So if you don't get any graphics acceleration with your NVIDIA GPU, you've most likely forgotten to install and enable the NVIDIA WebDrivers.
Also make sure that you didn't disabled the NVIDIA drivers with the flag "nv_disable=1". This should only be used to get into the system in case of an error. Remove it, otherwise the drivers won't load.
System Profiler shows 0MB VRAM
This is usually caused by having GraphicsEnabler=Yes when using Chameleon/Chimera or Inject/NVidia/True when using Clover. Change it to No or False respectively and you should see the proper VRAM.
Multi-Screen setup doesn't work properly
This is usually caused by having GraphicsEnabler=Yes when using Chameleon/Chimera or Inject/NVidia/True when using Clover. Change it to No or False respectively to enable multi screen setups.
Another solution would be the need for the Nvidia Web Drivers. Install them and add the boot flag (argument) nvda_drv=1 to your config.
Black screen on boot
This will happen with certain system profiles, e.g. MacPro6,1, iMac15,1 or iMac17,1. Read up here: Black Screen with MacPro 6,1 or iMac 15 or iMac 17 System Definition
HDMI or DP ports not working
This is usually caused by having GraphicsEnabler=Yes when using Chameleon/Chimera or Inject/NVidia/True when using Clover. Change it to No or False respectively to enable all ports.
No HDMI/DP Audio
HDMI/DP audio won't work OOB, follow toleda's HDMI Audio AppleHDA Guide.
Display can't be driven at native resolution (> 1080p)
In case you've already achieved full graphics acceleration, this can usually be solved by applying the Pixel Clock Patch, which removes artificial software limitations. Your SMBIOS can also affect the maximum resolution in OS X.
2. AMD Radeon Graphics Cards
Basic Setup
AMD Radeon drivers are always included in OS X. You'll always find the most recent drivers in the latest OS X release, there's no other official place to download them. You might come across some patched or backported Kexts, but we'd advice against using them for stability reasons.
If you've ever installed on of those kexts, restore the original OS X drivers by reinstalling the latest Combo Update.
To get started, boot up without any graphics related settings in your config file:
Clover: InjectAti=False (FBName/VideoPorts unnecessary)
Chimera/Chameleon: GraphicsEnabler=No (AtiConfig/AtiPorts unnecessary)
If you have a OOB supported graphics card, OS X will boot with full acceleration. Done!
Note: You might notice that the system profiler shows a generic string instead of the name of your graphics card (e.g. „HD 7xxx“ instead of „R9 280X“ or "R9 xxx" instead of "R9 380X"). This is purely cosmetic, no need to worry.
Common Issues
System doesn't wake from sleep
This is a common issue with most AMD GPUs starting with El Capitan. There's no solution yet, all workarounds involve preventing the Radeon GPU from getting initialized during boot phase, e.g. by configuring iGPU=Primary.
No Graphics Acceleration
If you don't have graphics acceleration (sluggish animations, no QE/CI) after booting, then your GPUs device ID is missing. Verify this by checking out the GPU table in the Radeon Compatibility Guide.
If OS X supports a similar card (same GPU family), simply spoof your device ID using Clover by following the instructions in this guide. You should have full acceleration after restarting!
Gibberish Text at Startup
If you see gibberish text at startup, you're most likely trying to use a modern Radeon HD 7xxx / R9 graphics card with Chimera/Chameleon. Personally I'd recommend switching to Clover, but if you don't want to change your bootloader follow one of these threads:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/general-help/115818-install-bootloader-extra-efi-partition.html
http://www.tonymacx86.com/graphics/93318-amd-radeon-hd-7xxx-graphics-support-os-x-10-8-3-a.html
Boot to Black Screen
In most cases this means that you didn't disable all graphics related bootloader settings and this injection is causing trouble.
If you're sure you did, you're most certainly using a GPU which is known to boot to a black screen, e.g. Cape Verde or Tonga. Look here for GPU-specific workarounds: http://www.tonymacx86.com/graphics/...guide-ati-amd-graphics-cards.html#post1090801
With Sierra this issue has spreaded to most modern AMD GPUs. All known workarounds involve preventing the Radeon GPU from getting initialized during boot phase, e.g. by configuring iGPU=Primary.
Multi-Screen setup doesn't work properly
Make sure you understood the hardware requirements of Eyefinity setups (active DP adapters or native DP devices).
If you're sure that your hardware is set up properly (e.g. by verifying in Windows that all screens work fine), you should try to inject a matching framebuffer (follow this guide: http://www.tonymacx86.com/graphics/171291-radeon-compatibility-guide-ati-amd-graphics-cards.html). If OS X has no matching framebuffer, you'll have to patch a existing one by following the instructions in this guide.
If it still doesn't work, you could try altering some BIOS settings (e.g. Initial output: iGPU instead of PCIE or vice versa). Changing from UEFI to vBIOS (or vice versa) is also worth a try.
No HDMI/DP Audio
HDMI/DP audio won't work OOB, follow toleda's HDMI Audio AppleHDA Guide.
Display can't be driven at native resolution (> 1080p)
In case you've already achieved full graphics acceleration, this can usually be solved by applying the Pixel Clock Patch, which removes artificial software limitations. Your SMBIOS can also affect the maximum resolution in OS X.
3. Intel HD
Basic Setup
Intel HD drivers are always included in OS X. You'll always find the most recent drivers in the latest OS X release, there's no other official place to download them.
To load the drivers, you have to tell your bootloader to inject the necessary IOReg entries for your graphics card. To do this, configure your bootloader as follows:
Clover: InjectIntel=True
Chimera/Chameleon: IGPEnabler=Yes
This will inject a matching "ig-platform-id" into the IORegistry, so the driver should load giving you full acceleration. On brand-new systems (e.g. Skylake, as of today) this automatism might fail, so you'll have to supply a correct value manually.
HD 3000 systems need a special configuration, which is available in Multibeast.
Common Issues
No Graphics Acceleration
Most likely you didn't inject Intel as explained above.
Some ports on your motherboard don't work properly
You'll need to apply a framebuffer patch. Read up here: http://www.tonymacx86.com/graphics/...0-hd4600-hd4000-hd3000-framebuffer-edits.html
No HDMI/DP Audio
HDMI/DP audio won't work OOB, follow toleda's HDMI Audio AppleHDA Guide.
Display can't be driven at native resolution (> 1080p)
In case you've already achieved full graphics acceleration, this can usually be solved by applying the Pixel Clock Patch, which removes artificial software limitations. Your SMBIOS can also affect the maximum resolution in OS X.
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