@P1LGRIM, computer just booted up without any issues. Here's what makes me think my boot issue wasn't related to NVRAM. Or if it was, not in the way I'd expect:
If you look at my drivers screenshot above, you'll see I have the OsxAptioFix2Drv driver installed. However, I noticed that OsxAptioFixDrv was loading every time instead, even while booting with NoCaches=Yes and InjectKexts.
I would also note that my current working config does not have EmuVariableUefi installed.
All this makes me think it was some sort of kext caching issue. Of course, I've made a lot of other changes during my debugging as well:
BIOS Changes
- I enabled Legacy USB Support
- Changed XHCI Mode to “Auto”, instead of “Smart Auto”.
- Enabled Wake on Lan
USB Config Changes
- Added nvda_drv=1 boot argument
- Added NullCPU
- Removed cpus=1, since I’ve got NullCPU installed
- Added darkwake=0 -no-zp to the boot options
After those changes, it continued to load OsxAptioFixDrv and went to sleep after "IOConsoleUsers". So I made a few more edits to my USB Clover install.
- Added cpus=1 slide=0
- Added debug under boot options
- Added NeverHibernate to boot options
- Removed Asus AICPUPM patch
- Switched to Scan/Custom (Entries, Tool, Legacy, First)
- Removed nvda_drv=1 and NvidiaWeb
It finally booted from the USB for the first time in ages, but still said it was loading OsxAptioFixDrv. That worried me, so I made a few more changes to my LIVE install to ensure it got loaded:
Sierra Install Config Changes
- Copied over my USB config and updated to Clover v2.4 (4035)
- Deleted nvram.plist
- Deleted Apple/Firmware, Apple/Updaters from EFI partition.
- Removed SATSMARTDriver.kext and SATSMARTLib.plugin from S/L/E
- Deleted kext caches:
Code:
sudo rm -r /System/Library/Caches/com.apple.kext.caches
sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions
sudo kextcache -update-volume /
After these changes, I shut down the computer and unplugged power for 30 seconds. Also removed the USB.
Results / Observations
I was able to successfully boot directly from the Sierra install. And OsxAptioFix2Drv loaded for the first time EVER. This hackintosh has been shutdown/restarted about half a dozen times since.
The GTX 760 loads with graphics acceleration without NvidiaWeb or nvda_drv=1 being checked in Clover config. However, it looks like nvda_drv is being added to nvram.plist.
Questions
I know that's super detailed, but I'm hoping all my issues might help someone else out. I guess my questions would be:
- Why do you think OsxAptioFix2Drv was refusing to load, even though I was booting with NoCaches=Yes and InjectKexts?
- Is there an easy way to test for native nvram support without borking my currently working install?