- Joined
- Jun 5, 2010
- Messages
- 100
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte Z490 AORUS Elite
- CPU
- i9-10850K
- Graphics
- RX 6900 XT
- Mobile Phone
This guide is based on one I previously created for Mountain Lion on this board and video card. I know there is another out there for this motherboard, but not for this motherboard/video card combination. This board is one that I originally installed OS 10.6.3 Snow Leopard on (eventually updated to 10.6.8) and it was stable to the point that I updated to Mountain Lion very late in its release cycle. I have updated to Mavericks early because it seems that 10.8.5 ML was closer to 10.9 than 10.8 as originally released.
The things that I have tested and are working are:
This install was done with the (at the time) latest versions of the software. These were:
There is an edit required to have sleep work correctly. Instructions are in this guide.
Even though I had Mountain Lion installed, I performed a clean install, reformatting my boot drive and installing clean.
Lets get started.
I based the DSDT workaround (putting it in Extras on the install USB stick) on kurosagi’s prior post.
I based the darkwake setting to fix sleep on posted research by NeXTguy. In my testing on OS 10.8.5 there was no noticeable difference between using a value of 8, 9, 10, or 11. I chose 8 for initial testing on OS 10.9 and as it is working correctly have not tried other values.
Sleep is working as well as it did for me in 10.8. In my testing I was able to put the computer to sleep using the Apple menu item or selecting sleep using the power key menu. Wake always brought the system up fully functional in 1 or 2 seconds with either a single wired mouse click, a Bluetooth Mighty Mouse click, or a keyboard key press. Multiple sleep and wake cycles produced no problems.
Use of the AtiConfig=Duckweed boot string and adding it to the boot .plist file is only required for this card. For other Radeon 6850 cards it should not be required. Normally the Radeon 6850 cards use the Duckweed framebuffer. I previously found a post with a link to the code Chameleon uses to set the framebuffer. The code is using the Subsystem Vendor ID and Subsystem ID to set the framebuffer. For this card the numbers are Subsystem Vendor ID of 0x1458 and Subsystem ID of 0x21f8. (These are different values than the Vendor and Device ID seen in the System Report. The System Report has a Vendor of x1002 for ‘ATI’ and Device ID x6739 for ‘Radeon 6850’. I believe the Subsystem Vendor ID for this card represents ‘Gigabyte’ and Subsystem ID represents ‘GV-R685OC-1GD’.) In the code, search for 0x21F81458 to see the line. For every other combination of Subsytem numbers for the ATI 6850 the frambuffer assigned is Duckweed. However for this card it is Bulrushes. The other thing about this card from when I originally chose to purchase it, the reports were that only the DVI ports were working in SL. With a SL point rev (some 10.6.x release) it became one DVI port and the DisplayPort were functional. This is the way I used the card, and continued to use it. At some point after I last updated it on my system (prior to the ML install) Chameleon was changed for this card to use the Bulrushes framebuffer (probably to try and support HDMI) in that the only way I can use the current Chameleon with 10.6.8 is to specify ‘AtiConfig=Duckweed’ on boot. This is mostly speculation on my part.
On the initial boot to perform the Mavericks installation, it may be possible to use the boot string:
In a test I ran after successfully installing Mavericks, I booted the installer using that string and it displayed on my Display port connected monitor only. I did not run the installer, but the first few prompts and the disk selection were working correctly.
The things that I have tested and are working are:
- Dual monitors using the DVI-I and Display port
- Wired USB Keyboard and Mouse
- Bluetooth Magic Mouse (post installation)
- Sleep / Wake (see notes at end)
- Network
- Audio through the Analog front and rear panel
- Booting into the installed Mavericks OS in safe mode (enter ‘-x’ only in Chameleon prompt) correctly boots and displays. However, it only displays on the display port connected monitor.
This install was done with the (at the time) latest versions of the software. These were:
Mac OS X 10.9
Unibeast 3.0.1
MultiBeast 6.0.0
The 10.8.5 release of Mountain Lion introduced some change to USB so that a DSDT file is required for USB to be available in the installer and from other board posts this is still present in 10.9 Mavericks. Instructions to work around this are in this guide. I suspect this issue will apply to most 1156 and/or P55 motherboards.Unibeast 3.0.1
MultiBeast 6.0.0
There is an edit required to have sleep work correctly. Instructions are in this guide.
Even though I had Mountain Lion installed, I performed a clean install, reformatting my boot drive and installing clean.
Lets get started.
- Use the tonymac guide through Step 2 to create your bootable USB drive with the ML installer. A couple of notes:
- Use this old iBoot guide to check your BIOS settings before starting. When I went from 10.6, which supported the 32 bit HPET setting, I found my BIOS was set for 32 bit. Mavericks 10.9 only supports a 64 bit HPET setting.
- Make note of your Firmware version. I had an old note with the wrong version written down.
- When selecting the options for Unibeast I only selected 10.9. With the DSDT installed on the USB stick the Legacy USB option is not needed.
- Because I booted the installer with -x, my wireless magic mouse did not work during the boot. I used a wired USB mouse during the install.
- Download from the DSDT database the DSDT file appropriate for your Motherboard and BIOS version. It must be placed somewhere other than the drive/partition you are going to install onto. (I put it on USB in a folder ‘Tools’ retaining the full name.) You are going to need this file now and after the ML install completes.
- Download from the downloads area the latest MultiBeast. Again place it somewhere other than the drive/partition you are going to install onto. (I put it into the same directory on USB as the DSDT file.)
- If you want them for specific Extension changes, download either “KextBeast” or “Kext Wizzard” and place it into the same location as MultiBeast. I did not need them for this install.
- After Unibeast finishes and before rebooting and starting the install, a DSDT needs to be installed on USB in the ‘Extra’ folder. This is required to enable the USB ports when running the installer.
- Make the Extra folder visible. Open the terminal and enter the commands (you will be prompted for the administrator password):
Code:cd /Volumes/[b]USB[/b] sudo chflags -R nohidden Extra/ - In the finder, copy the downloaded DSDT file from where you saved it to the (now visible) ‘Extra’ folder on USB. Rename it as “DSDT.aml” (without the quotes.)
- Make the Extra folder visible. Open the terminal and enter the commands (you will be prompted for the administrator password):
- Install Mavericks. Follow the tonymac guide Step 4. At the Chimera boot screen enter:
These options cause only the display port to work during the install, and there was a 20-30 second delay from when the computer booted until the first install screen appeared. See notes at bottom on an alternate string.Code:
-x IGPEnabler=No GraphicsEnabler=No - After the install completes, the installer will reboot your computer. Again use an F key (F12) to select USB-HDD as your boot device. At the Chimera boot screen select Mavericks (or whatever you named the install disk) and enter:
then press return. The latter will be cutoff in the prompt box, but will still be used. Type slowly to confirm it is entered correctly. Complete the guided setup of your computer. If you want to use Migration Assistant to move your user(s) and their documents from your current OS install in this step, only move “Documents & Data” and optionally the “Network” information. I suggest not moving “Applications” as this seemed to move old extensions for me. Also, if you move Documents make sure to uncheck the “Other files & folders” option in the list of users (click the ‘Edit’ button) as that will move your old Extra folder. Finally be aware that the installer will reboot again if you use the migration assistant. If you do migrate, follow the same boot steps used prior to the migration (F12 then IGPEnabler=No GraphicsEnabler=Yes AtiConfig=Duckweed).Code:
IGPEnabler=No GraphicsEnabler=Yes AtiConfig=Duckweed - Verify that QE/CI Graphics Acceleration is properly functioning (Determine Utilization section.)
- With graphics functioning, use MultiBeast (on USB) to install the remaining pieces then edit the Boot .plist as required.
- Run MultiBeast. The report for the install I used is:
- Quick Start > UserDSDT - /Volumes/USB/Tools/DSDT-GA-P55M-UD4-F9.aml
- Drivers > Audio > Realtek ALCxxx > With DSDT > ALC885/889a
- Drivers > Disk > IOAHCIBlockStorageInjector
- Drivers > Misc > FakeSMC v5.3.820
- Drivers > Network > Realtek - Lnx2Mac's RealtekRTL81xx v0.0.90
- Drivers > System > AppleRTC Patch for CMOS Reset
- Bootloaders > Chimera v2.2.1
- Customize > Boot Options > Basic Boot Options
- Customize > Boot Options > Generate CPU States
- Customize > Boot Options > GraphicsEnabler=Yes
- Customize > Boot Options > Hibernate Mode - Desktop
- Customize > Boot Options > IGPEnabler=No
- Customize > Boot Options > Use KernelCache
- Customize > System Definitions > Mac Pro > Mac Pro 3,1
- Customize > Themes > tonymacx86 Black
I have assorted reasons for each choice. The user DSDT is required with 10.9 Mavericks and this board for USB functionality. The Audio selection is driven by the fact my board has an ALC889a audio codec. The Disk selection is a personal preference (normal disk icons and I’m not using the GSATA connectors.) Using Lnx2’s driver for networking may or may not be necessary, but it seems to be working fine. The ‘Real’ apple drivers may be an option, but I haven’t tested them. The Chimera version is the most current one available and I boot from the drive with Mac OS installed on it.
After MultiBeast completes a few edits of the boot .plist file are required. If you end up rebooting before making the edits, use the last boot procedure (F12 then IGPEnabler=No GraphicsEnabler=Yes AtiConfig=Duckweed). - In the Finder open preferences and in the General tab ‘Show these items on the desktop’ area check the ‘Hard Disks’ box. This was the quickest way I have found to navigate the Finder to the root of the boot disk.
- On your Mavericks (or whatever you named it) drive, open the ‘Extra’ folder. Edit the file org.chameleon.Boot.plist by double clicking it, which should open TextEdit. (Note: I had permissions issues with the Extra folder and its contents and had to enter the terminal and run a “sudo chmod -R <user>:staff /Extra” command on it. Replace <user> with your username.)
- Locate the line with “<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>” and after the line that follows it (which should be “<string>Yes</string>”) add the 2 lines:
Placing these 4 lines adjacent is convenient for anyone reviewing the file. Other than being a <key> line followed by a <string> line order is unimportant. The selection of Duckweed configures the ATI driver so that the DVI-I port and the DisplayPort are the active ports on the card.Code:
<key>AtiConfig</key> <string>Duckweed</string> - Locate the line “<key>Kernel Flags</key>” and edit the line that follows it to be:
The line should originally have empty between the <string> and </string>. This makes sleep functional.Code:
<string>darkwake=8</string> - Save the file.
- Locate the line with “<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>” and after the line that follows it (which should be “<string>Yes</string>”) add the 2 lines:
- Close all open Finder windows (not required, just visual.)
- Run MultiBeast. The report for the install I used is:
- Restart and if necessary use an F key to configure your BIOS to boot off the disk you just installed the Chimera bootloader on. No boot options need to be entered and your Hackintosh should be functional. If you installed Chimera on a different disk than the OS, you will have to select the disk to boot from.
- Once booted, in ‘System Preferences’ in the ‘Energy Saver’ area, make sure ‘Start up automatically after a power failure’ is checked. This is required so on wake from sleep the OS is running instead of a reboot being started. Memory says this is from an old guide somewhere.
I based the DSDT workaround (putting it in Extras on the install USB stick) on kurosagi’s prior post.
I based the darkwake setting to fix sleep on posted research by NeXTguy. In my testing on OS 10.8.5 there was no noticeable difference between using a value of 8, 9, 10, or 11. I chose 8 for initial testing on OS 10.9 and as it is working correctly have not tried other values.
Sleep is working as well as it did for me in 10.8. In my testing I was able to put the computer to sleep using the Apple menu item or selecting sleep using the power key menu. Wake always brought the system up fully functional in 1 or 2 seconds with either a single wired mouse click, a Bluetooth Mighty Mouse click, or a keyboard key press. Multiple sleep and wake cycles produced no problems.
Use of the AtiConfig=Duckweed boot string and adding it to the boot .plist file is only required for this card. For other Radeon 6850 cards it should not be required. Normally the Radeon 6850 cards use the Duckweed framebuffer. I previously found a post with a link to the code Chameleon uses to set the framebuffer. The code is using the Subsystem Vendor ID and Subsystem ID to set the framebuffer. For this card the numbers are Subsystem Vendor ID of 0x1458 and Subsystem ID of 0x21f8. (These are different values than the Vendor and Device ID seen in the System Report. The System Report has a Vendor of x1002 for ‘ATI’ and Device ID x6739 for ‘Radeon 6850’. I believe the Subsystem Vendor ID for this card represents ‘Gigabyte’ and Subsystem ID represents ‘GV-R685OC-1GD’.) In the code, search for 0x21F81458 to see the line. For every other combination of Subsytem numbers for the ATI 6850 the frambuffer assigned is Duckweed. However for this card it is Bulrushes. The other thing about this card from when I originally chose to purchase it, the reports were that only the DVI ports were working in SL. With a SL point rev (some 10.6.x release) it became one DVI port and the DisplayPort were functional. This is the way I used the card, and continued to use it. At some point after I last updated it on my system (prior to the ML install) Chameleon was changed for this card to use the Bulrushes framebuffer (probably to try and support HDMI) in that the only way I can use the current Chameleon with 10.6.8 is to specify ‘AtiConfig=Duckweed’ on boot. This is mostly speculation on my part.
On the initial boot to perform the Mavericks installation, it may be possible to use the boot string:
Code:
IGPEnabler=No GraphicsEnabler=Yes AtiConfig=Duckweed
