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[Solved] High Sierra Gives a Black Screen with White Apple Logo

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Hi all, i've been trying to update from a stable Sierra 10.12.6 to High Sierra 10.13.5 all day, but no matter what I do, when I get to the Clover boot screen and choose 'Boot macOS Install option' it then just sits with the black screen and white Apple logo. I've tried twice, leaving it for up to 3 hours, but nothing happens... Any ideas??

EDIT: I've uploaded my installer log to see if that helps identify any problems.

Thanks.
 

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Hi all, i've been trying to update from a stable Sierra 10.12.6 to High Sierra 10.13.5 all day, but no matter what I do, when I get to the Clover boot screen and choose 'Boot macOS Install option' it then just sits with the black screen and white Apple logo. I've tried twice, leaving it for up to 3 hours, but nothing happens... Any ideas??

EDIT: I've uploaded my installer log to see if that helps identify any problems.

Thanks.
If you don't have FakeSMC.kext in your EFI/CLOVER/KEXTS/OTHER folder, try putting it in there and run the update again. Worked for me. I experienced exactly the same thing.
 
Boot in verbose mode and post a picture of the screen when it stops.

This helped me massively. I booted into Verbose mode and found that my hack was stuck at Mach reboot, so I found the solution on here and i'm now running 10.13.5 with no problems.

Big thanks as always to you guys :headbang:
 
This helped me massively. I booted into Verbose mode and found that my hack was stuck at Mach reboot, so I found the solution on here and i'm now running 10.13.5 with no problems.

Big thanks as always to you guys :headbang:

What solution did you use for the MACH reboot problem? I've been looking (and will keep looking) but haven't found anything that's helped yet. Cheers!
 
I finally sorted out my "MACH reboot" problem, and will share a quick summary on the chance it helps anyone.

I was trying to upgrade from Sierra to High Sierra using the Unibeast USB method. After a lot of problems with the initial installation, it kind'uv worked, but I could only boot up via my motherboard's boot menu [F12] on startup, before the BIOS splash screen (and selecting the UEFI USB stick).

But I couldn't boot up from the SSD without the USB. The implication is that there was something right with the EFI directory on the USB stick that wasn't right with my previous EFI directory.

I tried updating all of the kexts, but it didn't fix boot problem.

I finally relented to doing it the hard way: copying over the EFI directory from the USB to the EFI directory on my SSD, then slowly adding back settings section by section to the config.plist file, saving and rebooting each step at a time. (Ugh).

It seems obvious now but the problem was with the GUI section of config.plist, where you specify unique settings for the boot loader. (I had a bunch of custom functions and custom names, etc.).

I'm still working on the GUI section, but have otherwise been able to copy over all other previous sections of the config.plist, so this will just be a finishing touch instead of a show stopper.

Hope that helps someone!
 
I finally sorted out my "MACH reboot" problem, and will share a quick summary on the chance it helps anyone.

I was trying to upgrade from Sierra to High Sierra using the Unibeast USB method. After a lot of problems with the initial installation, it kind'uv worked, but I could only boot up via my motherboard's boot menu [F12] on startup, before the BIOS splash screen (and selecting the UEFI USB stick).

But I couldn't boot up from the SSD without the USB. The implication is that there was something right with the EFI directory on the USB stick that wasn't right with my previous EFI directory.

I tried updating all of the kexts, but it didn't fix boot problem.

I finally relented to doing it the hard way: copying over the EFI directory from the USB to the EFI directory on my SSD, then slowly adding back settings section by section to the config.plist file, saving and rebooting each step at a time. (Ugh).

It seems obvious now but the problem was with the GUI section of config.plist, where you specify unique settings for the boot loader. (I had a bunch of custom functions and custom names, etc.).

I'm still working on the GUI section, but have otherwise been able to copy over all other previous sections of the config.plist, so this will just be a finishing touch instead of a show stopper.

Hope that helps someone!

I've been experiencing the same problem. I updated straight from El Capitan the traditional Unibeast USB route. and literally the same issue with the OS loading when I boot using the USB stick but if I try with me SSD - it shows the black screen with apple logo forever.

I went through the solution you wrote here thrice but I can't seem to understand how exactly to go about it. I'm not that tech savvy, I just built the easiest Hackintosh I could at the time (with all components compatible for the that OS) - so there was no such troubleshooting issue.
Is there any step by step guide you could point me towards to understand how to resolve this issue?

Thanks in advance.
 
I've been experiencing the same problem. I updated straight from El Capitan the traditional Unibeast USB route. and literally the same issue with the OS loading when I boot using the USB stick but if I try with me SSD - it shows the black screen with apple logo forever.

I went through the solution you wrote here thrice but I can't seem to understand how exactly to go about it. I'm not that tech savvy, I just built the easiest Hackintosh I could at the time (with all components compatible for the that OS) - so there was no such troubleshooting issue.
Is there any step by step guide you could point me towards to understand how to resolve this issue?

Thanks in advance.

I'll be happy to try and help explain what worked for me.

To avoid over-explaining or under-explaining what I did, can you be more specific about what part you don't understand? How far did you get, where did things break down, etc.?*

Are you familiar with Clover Configurator, how to mount the EFI directory, and how to use Clover Configurator to edit the config.plist located inside the EFI directory?

* I'm assuming from your comments above that you successfully installed High Sierra on your SSD via the guide Update Directly to macOS High Sierra, that you confirmed it installed correctly from the Apple Menu "About This Mac", and that the problem is just with the clover bootloader, i.e. the USB bootloader works, your SSD's bootloader doesn't work by itself
 
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I'll be happy to try and help explain what worked for me.

To avoid over-explaining or under-explaining what I did, can you be more specific about what part you don't understand? How far did you get, where did things break down, etc.?*

Are you familiar with Clover Configurator, how to mount the EFI directory, and how to use Clover Configurator to edit the config.plist located inside the EFI directory?

* I'm assuming from your comments above that you successfully installed High Sierra on your SSD via the guide Update Directly to macOS High Sierra, that you confirmed it installed correctly from the Apple Menu "About This Mac", and that the problem is just with the clover bootloader, i.e. the USB bootloader works, your SSD's bootloader doesn't work by itself

Hi, Thank you so much for the quick reply.

Yes, you got the last part a 100% correct. I checked "About This Mac" and everything seems to be alright there - even my Graphics card is showing (Though it shows 2048MB, whereas it is in fact 3GB but nevertheless it's showing the right name, company, etc.) - The problem is with the bootloader on the SSD.

As of now, I have ZERO knowledge of how to operate the CLOVER CONFIGURATOR (but I can learn, if you can send me a link to the tutorials), I dunno how to mount the EFI directory nor anything about editing the config.plist (Though I could locate it inside the EFI directory folder - both on my SSD as well as the Installation USB stick)

In my Naivety, after reading your solution the 1st time - I literally copy pasted the EFI directory folder from my USB to my SSD where the folder was located and hit "Replace" :lol: I though that would do the job :banghead: :thumbup:
but basically I need to understand how you did this...

"I finally relented to doing it the hard way: copying over the EFI directory from the USB to the EFI directory on my SSD, then slowly adding back settings section by section to the config.plist file, saving and rebooting each step at a time. (Ugh).

It seems obvious now but the problem was with the GUI section of config.plist, where you specify unique settings for the boot loader. (I had a bunch of custom functions and custom names, etc.).

I'm still working on the GUI section, but have otherwise been able to copy over all other previous sections of the config.plist, so this will just be a finishing touch instead of a show stopper."
 
In my Naivety, after reading your solution the 1st time - I literally copy pasted the EFI directory folder from my USB to my SSD where the folder was located and hit "Replace" I though that would do the job

Sorry about that. I can definitely sympathize. I made the same mistake when I first started out :)

Hopefully you still have a backup copy of your original El Capitan EFI folder (or at least your original config.plist, inside it). That will make things easier.

Please read this through at least once before starting, to make sure you understand the steps, and have everything ready when you need it.

Disclaimer:
This is a description of how I fixed my build. It worked for me, but I don't know if it will work for you. Whether it works or not, I hope it will help familiarize you with a few basic things, like how to identify and mount the EFI drive, where the most important files are, and one approach to troubleshooting settings in Clover Configurator.

Important
** ALWAYS MAKE BACKUP COPIES
of your original files and folders, and put them in well labeled folders (say, on your desktop). And always MAKE BACKUP COPIES after each successful change you make, especially changes to your config.plist file. Sometimes the smallest change can break your build, so having a backup will help you quickly return to the last working configuration.

Before mounting your EFI
To keep things simple, you should only have your SSD boot drive plugged into your computer, plus your UBS drive.

To see the partitions for your drives, open Terminal and type: diskutil list

You'll see something like this::

COMPUTER:~ AstroBruin$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *250.1 GB disk0
1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_APFS Container disk6 249.8 GB disk0s2


/dev/disk1 (external, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *31.9 GB disk1
1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk1s1
2: Apple_HFS USB Unibeast 31.6 GB disk1s2


Explanation:

the GUID_partition is your entire hard drive, the Apple_APFS container is your main partition (where you put your files, etc.). You're only concerned with your EFI partitions (named "EFI EFI" above) which contains the Clover Bootloaders and other important files, e.g. the config.plist and a folder called "kexts" that contains important plugins.

Note the disk "IDENTIFIER" for each drive above. The EFI partition for my SSD is disk0s1, for my USB it's disk1s1. This is how you identify which directory to mount.

The EFI partition is normally hidden. To make it visible, you have to "mount it." (below)

Please note: the EFI directory (disk icon) contains a folder called EFI (folder icon). Thus the path to your all-important config.plist file is: /Volumes/EFI/EFI/CLOVER/config.plist. That's why it's listed as "EFI EFI" above. Don't forget! :)

To help avoid confusion, your view in Finder should be "as columns" (Finder>View>As columns ⌘3) with the path shown below (Finder>View>Show Path Bar).

Also *very* helpful, make your Hard disks appear on your desktop: Finder>Preferences>General>✓Hard Disks

If you do this, your EFI drives will appear on your desktop after they are mounted. Helpful!


To "Mount EFI"
Open Clover Configurator. On the left column under tools, click "Mount EFI". On the bottom right is a window called "EFI Partitions" that lists the EFI partitions. Find your disk using the IDENTIFIER number (e.g. disk0s1) or name, then click "Mount Partition" next to it, then "Open Partition" to open up the EFI Partition.

Overall concept
Your original EFI folder worked (booted) for El Capitan, but it doesn't work for High Sierra. The EFI folder on your USB boots into High Sierra, but it's very minimal. One approach is to copy the EFI folder from your USB to the EFI folder of your SSD, then go from there.

Steps to copy EFI directory
Mount your original SSD's EFI partition, make a backup, i.e. copy its EFI folder to your desktop as a backup. Label it "EFI SSD El Cap original" To avoid confusing your different partitions and folders, give each of the following contents a gray tag/label:
  • /Volumes/EFI/
  • /Volumes/EFI/EFI/
  • /Volumes/EFI/EFI/CLOVER/config.plist
Make a note of all of your original El Capitan kexts. (Some will be updated via Multibeast, some you will need to update manually. Some won't be needed)

Mount your USB's EFI partition, make a backup, i.e. copy its EFI folder to your desktop as a backup. Label it "EFI Unibeast." Give each of the following contents a red tag/label:
  • /Volumes/EFI/
  • /Volumes/EFI/EFI/
  • /Volumes/EFI/EFI/CLOVER/config.plist
Copy the USB's EFI folder to your SSD's EFI partition (so you're replacing one folder with another). Give each of the following contents a green tag/label:
  • /Volumes/EFI/
  • /Volumes/EFI/EFI/
  • /Volumes/EFI/EFI/CLOVER/config.plist
Run Multibeast
Per the TonyMac instructions to install drivers/kexts/etc. to your SSD. You'll want UEFI Boot Mode. Install. When done, compare your backup El Capitan Folder (gray) to see if you are missing any important kexts, and write down the missing kexts. /Volumes/EFI/EFI/CLOVER/kexts/

Before adding any missing kexts to your SSD's EFI partition, try rebooting your computer to see if your SSD will now boot on its own without the USB.

DO NOT LOG INTO iCLOUD, APPLE ID, etc. until you have copied over your SMBIOS information below. (otherwise Apple will think you're using a new computer, and risk being locked out of your accounts)

Update config.plist
Compare your original El Capitan config.plist (gray) to the new one of your SSD (green). You can douple click each one separately and Clover Configurator should open two separate windows to compare and contrast side by side. Just don't confuse them!

Manually update the config.plist on your SSD section by section. After you make changes to one section, save another backup copy of your config.plist to a folder on your desktop. Then reboot to see if everything still works. If it breaks anything, you can revert back to your previous working config.plist by copying over the last backup that worked.

Clover Configurator Sections:
ACPI:
I only have one checkmark, on "Automerge" (bottom left corner)

Boot: see image. Darkwake=no, ✓dart=1
For Legacy, try PBR or if you're dual booting with Windows LegacyBiosDefault.
XMPDectection=Yes: select "NO"

Boot Graphics: (blank)
CPU: (blank)
Devices: 0x0 for all "Fake ID" entries. Audio: Inject 1.
Disable drivers: (blank)
GUI: (ignore for now - it's for customizing the appearance of the bootloader)
Graphics: ✓Inject Intel (that's it)
Kernal and kext patches: (can ignore for now)
SMBIOS: copy over your original information from your El Capitan build here. This is important so your iCloud, AppleID, etc. still work. DO NOT LOG INTO iCLOUD, APPLE ID, etc. until this is complete.
System Parameters: Inject Kexts (yes); ✓Inject System ID, ✓NvidiaWeb*

* You may not need NvidiaWeb with your graphics card?? I don't know.

Hope that makes sense and helps! Good luck!
 

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