[Release] Hackintool v3.x.x

[buddyjack2]

Hackintool 1.8.1. identifies my IntelGen and PlatformID okay, but it crashes the moment I click Generate Patch. The entire window disappears without ever showing the patch code. Running Mac OS X 10.13.6

 

[bavariancake]

Can you please download and try again.

Both issues seem to be resolved. Thanks!

 

[headkaze]

I can see your though process on the new icon-menu layout .. makes sense once i wrapped my head around it.

Can you explain the purpose of the padlock icon ? ...
Does this need to be unlocked for Hackingtool to write changes to config.plist ? .. or something else ?

Ps: Love the new app icon .. looks great.

Thanks @jaymonkey your feedback is always appreciated. The padlock is to grant admin permissions for features such as mounting EFI or reading/writing to NVRAM. In the near future I am planning on introducing "wizard" style features that require the extra permissions. So say for example Hackintool identifies the need for an ACPI rename it needs to write this info to the user's config.plist on their bootable EFI partition. To mount this partition requires admin access. Or say during a "wizard" that is guiding the user to configure their USB ports it requires the adding of boot flags. This will also require admin access. So it's really so I can add features that will allow more automation of certain processes. Some of these features were inspired by USBMap.command which ironically I believe was inspired by my work. This is an example of the community working together and improving on ideas.

 

[jaymonkey]

In the near future I am planning on introducing "wizard" style features that require the extra permissions. So say for example Hackintool identifies the need for an ACPI rename it needs to write this info to the user's config.plist on their bootable EFI partition.

@headkaze,

The idea of using setup Wizards in Hackingtool is an interesting but bold one, it could really help novices to achieve complex processes with the minimum amount of understanding .... but their lies the potential downfall.

Setup Wizards have to be bullet proof and make no assumptions, if done right they can be a god send, but if done wrong they can make one hell of a mess ...

For instance Multibeast assumes that Clover is installed on the EFI partition of the drive MacOS is running from ... this is a terrible assumption to make ... many people I know have to use an alternate drive to Boot Clover from ... for example when using a Z77 Motherboard that does not have native support for NVMe but the user want to run MacOS from a NVMe on a PCIe adapter card. in this instance Clover must be booted from a EFI partition of a SATA drive, Clover can then load the NvmExpressDxe-64.efi driver and then boot MacOS from a NVMe.

So in this example the config.plist will be on a physically different drive to MacOS ... it's for this (and other) reason's why I never use Multibeast or can never recommended it ... it makes too many assumptions IMO.

As long as you cover all possible scenario's your setup wizards should be fine, just remember to think them through ...

Look forward to seeing what your going to come up with ...

Cheers
Jay

 

[headkaze]

Look forward to seeing what your going to come up with ...

How about you come up with it? I can give you access to all the code. I think you know what to do.

 

[jaymonkey]

How about you come up with it? I can give you access to all the code. I think you know what to do.

@headkaze,

Thanks for the offer but Hackingtool is your baby and all the better for it, its one of the most well written and presented Hackintosh utilities out there IMHO and should be in everyones hackintosh toolbox.

I'm currently working on a few other projects which is taking most of my free time so happy to test, debug and send you the occasional suggestions, at least for now ..

One thing i noticed with the latest version of Hackingtool is that it checks the Clover version, is it assuming that Clover is installed in the EFI partition of the drive that MacOS is running from (like Multibeast does) ? ... if so then can i suggest implementing a preferences dialogue from the Hackingtool menu item (i see you already have a place holder) with an option to enable the Check for new Clover version (Yes/No) and the ability to supply a device path to Clover (if installed on anther drive) ...

Cheers
Jay

 

[buddyjack2]

I still want to fix this bug. It shouldn't exit when you click on "Generate Patch". So I need someone who has this issue and also has Xcode installed and can help me debug it.

Hi, as I mentioned earlier (#562), I do have this sudden-quit issue when generating a patch, and I also have Xcode installed. I'm far from knowing how to really use Xcode but would be willing to help if you could talk me thru what you'd want. In response to this sudden-quit problem, someone earlier suggested "turn on internal graphics," I'm assuming that means in Clover checking InjectIntel and selecting an appropriate ig-platform-id ? I do have that in cmy onfig.plist but Hackintool still quits on generating a patch. But FWIW, Graphics/Displays in my Mac System Report only shows my NVIDIA card, it doesn't show any Intel HD graphics at all. Maybe that info could be of use to you or someone?

 

[CaseySJ]

My apologies to @jaymonkey and @CaseySJ for updating the GUI again! I really thought it needed a re-organization due to the recent feature additions. Now the framebuffer patching is under its own "Intel" tab. Interested in hearing your feedback.

Thanks for the heads up! Just updated the Guide with the new GUI design. The tool is getting better all the time! The ability to mount EFI, convert Base64, modify EDID, and update Clover are much appreciated...

I also like the idea being able to enable or disable the check for Clover updates on start. But I think a "Preferences" dialog incurs too many mouse clicks (when certain functions are to be used or checked repeatedly) and in general I think modal dialogs should be minimized. Instead, perhaps a single menu bar item called "Options" (or something similar) in which one can:

• Select/Deselect "Apply Current Patches" (does it make sense to rename this to "Show Current Patches"?)
• Select/Deselect "Check for Clover Updates on Start"
• Select Framebuffer (Current Version, MacOS 10.13, MacOS 10.14)
• In the future: "Check for Hackintool Updates" (and auto download and install updates?)

Other suggestions:

• Tooltips for each of the 10 icons in the top row.
• Remember the last used "Framebuffer" setting and apply it on startup just as "Apply Current Patches" is remembered between starts.

Thanks again for making this tool available to us!!

 

[jaymonkey]

In response to this sudden-quit problem, someone earlier suggested "turn on internal graphics," I'm assuming that means in Clover checking InjectIntel and selecting an appropriate ig-platform-id ?

@buddyjack2,

For systems that have dual GPU configurations (dGPU + IGPU) like yours we generally recommend enabling the IGPU in your BIOS and configure the dGPU as the Primary. Then use WhatEverGreen to configure the IGPU with a "Headless" PlatformID and use a SMBIOS that supports dual GPU configurations which in your case (Kaby Lake CPU) would be iMac 18,3.

Genuine iMacs with dual GPU configurations use a Headless IGPU PlatformID in order to be able to use IQS and other IGPU related features.

See Headkaze's guide if you already understand IGPU PlatformID's and Device Properties or the Lilu + Plug-in's guide if your new to it which has a dedicated section on Headless PlatformID's.

Cheers
Jay

 

[buddyjack2]

@buddyjack2,

For systems that have dual GPU configurations (dGPU + IGPU) like yours we generally recommend enabling the IGPU in your BIOS and configure the dGPU as the Primary. Then use WhatEverGreen to configure the IGPU with a "Headless" PlatformID and use a SMBIOS that supports dual GPU configurations which in your case (Kaby Lake CPU) would be iMac 18,3.

Genuine iMacs with dual GPU configurations use a Headless IGPU PlatformID in order to be able to use IQS and other IGPU related features.

See Headkaze's guide if you already understand IGPU PlatformID's and Device Properties or the Lilu + Plug-in's guide if your new to it which has a dedicated section on Headless PlatformID's.

Cheers
Jay

Thx so much Jay. I think I figured out how to enable IGPU in my UEFI, see attached pic. I do notice that doing so increased boot time by about 3 minutes, with the Apple logo and progress bar completely filled-in, but just static for the extra time until finally the desktop appeared. Probably that was because I hadn't yet configured the headless ID yet. BTW, for the first time ever I was able to use Hackintool to generate a patch without quitting, so I guess that "turn on internal graphics" advice was definitely correct.

I only started exploring WhateverGreen this past week. My setup has been running fine for about year now, but like everybody with recent NVIDIA cards I'm stuck at High Sierra waiting for Mojave webdrivers. I have an external USB drive that also has High Sierra on it that I'm using as a guinea pig for WhateverGreen, specifically, to see if I can boot it up using IGPU only and having it disable NVIDIA entirely thru some other patch. Then try installing Mojave on it and see if/how it runs. But I also want to be able to boot up in Windows and play games using the GFX1080 performance, which is really why I bought the card in the first place. Still baby steps in this experiment but at least I now have a Hackintool patch to test with the config.plist in Clover on the external HD.