[solved] Mac Pro 5,1 w/Samsung 950 NVMe (beat a dead horse)

[Vchichi]

Hey there,

I got a Mac Pro 5,1.... currently have 2 different SSDs, one with El Capitan (10.11.6), and another with Sierra (10.12.0). I just got my hands on a PCIe card for 4x M.2 chips..... I bought 4 x 512gb samsung 950 pro NVMe.... after spending the last 2 days at work trying to install these to work.... I'm realizing I'm too clueless.

My OSes are installed - and I'm reading many threads with people installing this with patches onto Hackintoshes.... is there a rather simple way to get it recognized/working on my system without doing a fresh install?

I was reading ReHabMan's method, but was confused at the point where he states the 10.12 sierra notes.... on previous versions you would use the HackrNVMeFamily... but no longer so?

Should I just try to return these and get Samsung 951s ahci ones?

Being a newb sucks.... Any guidance is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[RehabMan]

Hey there,

I got a Mac Pro 5,1.... currently have 2 different SSDs, one with El Capitan (10.11.6), and another with Sierra (10.12.0). I just got my hands on a PCIe card for 4x M.2 chips..... I bought 4 x 512gb samsung 950 pro NVMe.... after spending the last 2 days at work trying to install these to work.... I'm realizing I'm too clueless.

My OSes are installed - and I'm reading many threads with people installing this with patches onto Hackintoshes.... is there a rather simple way to get it recognized/working on my system without doing a fresh install?

I was reading ReHabMan's method, but was confused at the point where he states the 10.12 sierra notes.... on previous versions you would use the HackrNVMeFamily... but no longer so?

Should I just try to return these and get Samsung 951s ahci ones?

Being a newb sucks.... Any guidance is appreciated! Thanks!

Create HackrNVMeFamily (appropriate for the version you are running).
Install it.
If running 10.12, delete IONVMeFamily.kext.

Keep in mind you need to disable SIP to install unsigned kexts...

 

[Vchichi]

Hey ReHabMan, thanks for the reply.

So basically, on my already installed Sierra SSD:

1. Disable SIP
2. Create HackrNVMeFamily.ktext with 10.12.0
3. Using any ktext installer (or terminal), I put the above file in S/L/E of the OS
4. I then delete IONVMeFamily.kext
5. Install the PCIe w/NVMe SSDs into Mac Pro
6. Restart, and it should be working?

Stupid question: How does the OS/EFI know to run HackrNVMeFamily? Does it load every file sequentially? Or is there somewhere I need to specify it?

Thanks again!!!

 

[RehabMan]

Hey ReHabMan, thanks for the reply.

So basically, on my already installed Sierra SSD:

1. Disable SIP
2. Create HackrNVMeFamily.ktext with 10.12.0
3. Using any ktext installer (or terminal), I put the above file in S/L/E of the OS
4. I then delete IONVMeFamily.kext
5. Install the PCIe w/NVMe SSDs into Mac Pro
6. Restart, and it should be working?

Stupid question: How does the OS/EFI know to run HackrNVMeFamily? Does it load every file sequentially? Or is there somewhere I need to specify it?

Thanks again!!!

Yes.
HackrNVMeFamily loads and starts because of the content of its Info.plist.
Read Apple documentation on kernel extension development/IOKit matching for more info (if you're curious).

 

[Vchichi]

Thanks! I'll google it. I'll get back to the Mac Pro on Monday - though I'm itching to get back to it right now... wifey will kill me ifI went to work today....

Hope it will be easy peasy.... but in life, little is Have a good weekend!

 

[Vchichi]

Hey RehabMan,

I tried the above steps, and I got a kernel panic. Here's a pic I took of the screen below.

I also tried installing with a USB stick via clover. I tried to follow the instructions that were listed step by step. I insert the USB stick and the hardware is installed (PCIe+SSDs) I cannot boot to the loader, it just remains at the grey/white screen without apple logo (I tried booting into the boot via the OPTION key press, wired keyboard). I take the hardware out, no problem, goes to boot screen and I see my stick.

In the screen capture, I see it listing the SM951 - but I've got the 950 Pro 512gb x 4?

 

[RehabMan]

Hey RehabMan,

I tried the above steps, and I got a kernel panic. Here's a pic I took of the screen below.

I also tried installing with a USB stick via clover. I tried to follow the instructions that were listed step by step. I insert the USB stick and the hardware is installed (PCIe+SSDs) I cannot boot to the loader, it just remains at the grey/white screen without apple logo (I tried booting into the boot via the OPTION key press, wired keyboard). I take the hardware out, no problem, goes to boot screen and I see my stick.

In the screen capture, I see it listing the SM951 - but I've got the 950 Pro 512gb x 4?

Why did you install NVMeGeneric.kext?

 

[Vchichi]

OMG...... I it's something that remained there from a previous attempt last week.... ****, I'm an idiot.

Deleted it, and now it's seeing the SSDs.....

Seriously, thanks so much. I was throwing knives at the computer hoping to fix it.... but when you're clueless you do dumb things. Thanks a bunch.

Gonna install softRAID now.

 

[Vchichi]

PS: Thanks for that quick and VERY important reply.

 

[Vchichi]

Here's the result of your help: