Unibeast boot problems with Asus board

[gvoyager]

Here's some background>
Started with Gigabyte mini ITX Gigabyte Z390 I Aorus Pro WiFi (as suggested on the "Buyer's Guide); single 8GB Patriot Viper memory stick (to keep things simple), i7-8700 (8th gen) ,and an XPG SX8200 480GB NVMe SSD. Processor, drive and memory all worked fine in a Gigabyte H370 Mboard running El Cap, Mojave, and currently Catalina.

I wanted to downsize to a smaller footprint, hence the Gigabyte mini ITX MB and associated smaller cabinet.
Started installing Catalina on the Gig Z390 board and had nothing but problems - random freezes and complete stoppages. After considerable troubleshooting, determined the MB was defective (memory slot one) and RMA'd the board to the vendor. A replacement was not available, so I grudgingly decided on the alternative - Asus ROG Strix Z390-I Gaming (WiFi - also on the Buyer's Guide).
So the trouble begins...
After determining the BIOS was not up to date, I flashed it to the current version 2804, then set up the board with all the build guide's recommended settings. (I have lots of practice...Asus UEFI is much more difficult to navigate (as in illogical) and more cantankerous than Gigabyte's, by the way.) Booted Unibeast 10.3.0 and had it lock up before ever getting to the installation menu where I would normally use Disk Utiity to erase and partition the SSD and then proceed with the installation process.

So, rebooting, I tried various boot parameters such as "verbose", disable kexts, enable kexts, and just about every other combination I could think of. It always freezes on the same line of the boot process. I have previously found that sometimes it just takes longer than one would think it should so have waited as long as thirty minutes to see if anything would happen...nothing, nada. I have attached a screenshot of the point where the process freezes. If anyone has an idea/suggestion, please let me know.

And by the way, I have since installed both Windows 10 Pro 1909 and Kubuntu Linux 20.04 on this hardware with no issues, proving I believe, that it is something wrong with the Unibeast installer/motherboard combination. Oh, also tried Unibeast 9.3.0 and Mojave with the exact same stoppage.

Signed,
Very frustrated.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Here's some background>
Started with Gigabyte mini ITX Gigabyte Z390 I Aorus Pro WiFi (as suggested on the "Buyer's Guide); single 8GB Patriot Viper memory stick (to keep things simple), i7-8700 (8th gen) ,and an XPG SX8200 480GB NVMe SSD. Processor, drive and memory all worked fine in a Gigabyte H370 Mboard running El Cap, Mojave, and currently Catalina.

I wanted to downsize to a smaller footprint, hence the Gigabyte mini ITX MB and associated smaller cabinet.
Started installing Catalina on the Gig Z390 board and had nothing but problems - random freezes and complete stoppages. After considerable troubleshooting, determined the MB was defective (memory slot one) and RMA'd the board to the vendor. A replacement was not available, so I grudgingly decided on the alternative - Asus ROG Strix Z390-I Gaming (WiFi - also on the Buyer's Guide).
So the trouble begins...
After determining the BIOS was not up to date, I flashed it to the current version 2804, then set up the board with all the build guide's recommended settings. (I have lots of practice...Asus UEFI is much more difficult to navigate (as in illogical) and more cantankerous than Gigabyte's, by the way.) Booted Unibeast 10.3.0 and had it lock up before ever getting to the installation menu where I would normally use Disk Utiity to erase and partition the SSD and then proceed with the installation process.

So, rebooting, I tried various boot parameters such as "verbose", disable kexts, enable kexts, and just about every other combination I could think of. It always freezes on the same line of the boot process. I have previously found that sometimes it just takes longer than one would think it should so have waited as long as thirty minutes to see if anything would happen...nothing, nada. I have attached a screenshot of the point where the process freezes. If anyone has an idea/suggestion, please let me know.

View attachment 477707

And by the way, I have since installed both Windows 10 Pro 1909 and Kubuntu Linux 20.04 on this hardware with no issues, proving I believe, that it is something wrong with the Unibeast installer/motherboard combination. Oh, also tried Unibeast 9.3.0 and Mojave with the exact same stoppage.

Signed,
Very frustrated.

Hi there.

First problem - search for 1689 and you'll find the answer. Okay, let me help you - Here.

That should get you past this problem and can be put in the UniBeast installer EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched. Remember it is better to keep an untouched UniBeast USB stick. If you plan on modding one, use a duplicate etc.

It's known that some ASUS Z390 motherboards might need an RTC fix.

Some motherboards need an ACPI Patch if the BIOS has been updated.

 

[gvoyager]

First of all, thanks...I wasn't aware that the 1689 number could be useful. I thought of it just being an obscure code with meaning only to hardware references. As per your provided link, I copied SSDT-EC.aml to EFI/Clover/ACPI/patched as instructed. It accomplished nothing.
I then continued to the referenced RTC fix by "Big-W" which shows a graphic of unknown origin referring to "Fix 300-series RTC bug". Anyway, that was no help since I don't know what the graphic represents.
Another reference is to an ACPI patch showing an option in what appears to be Clover Configurator under the DSDT category. The printing in the left column is washed out, so I don't know what it says. Irregardless, my version of Clover Configurator (5.9.3.0 updated to 5.14.1.0) does not show that option anywhere. So, zero progress so far.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

First of all, thanks...I wasn't aware that the 1689 number could be useful. I thought of it just being an obscure code with meaning only to hardware references. As per your provided link, I copied SSDT-EC.aml to EFI/Clover/ACPI/patched as instructed. It accomplished nothing.
I then continued to the referenced RTC fix by "Big-W" which shows a graphic of unknown origin referring to "Fix 300-series RTC bug". Anyway, that was no help since I don't know what the graphic represents.
Another reference is to an ACPI patch showing an option in what appears to be Clover Configurator under the DSDT category. The printing in the left column is washed out, so I don't know what it says. Irregardless, my version of Clover Configurator (5.9.3.0 updated to 5.14.1.0) does not show that option anywhere. So, zero progress so far.

Sorry, I disagree.

1) The *.aml file activates an Embedded Controller. Without one the boot process throws-up the 1689 error. If you are saying you still see the 1689 error after installing the file, then something else is awry. There are other steps but this is the most commonly successful.

2) I linked you to a patch you insert yourself into your config.plist to solve the RTC problem associated with your hardware. Just zoom in the graphic to see the entry. Granted if you have never used Clover Configurator to edit your file then it may seem strange. Just enter the values with your usual text editor.

3) Again, a clear screengrab of a patch entered using Clover Configurator. The tab 'washed out' is the top one in the list - Acpi. You can enter it manually using your favourite editor if you prefer.

This is how fixes are implemented. I know of no other way to help remotely. Some folk prefer to manually edit, others to use Clover Configurator. I recommend the latter for beginners.

 

[foster]

you can try OpenCore, 0.6.0, set to iMac 19,1 avoid loggin into apple ID until you set SMBIOS fields

ProperTree to edit the config.plist (avoid opencore configurator) and GenSMBIOS

OpenCore Desktop Guide · GitBook

dortania.github.io

 

[gvoyager]

I have searched in vain to find instructions for a Clover Configurator procedure for editing config.plist. Since I have spent over 3 weeks intermittently fighting this problem, I have concluded it is counter-productive. I am returning the board to the vendor as incompatible with intended use. After many years of successful installations (some of which were very tedious but ultimately successful), I am quite surprised that the Asus ROG Strix Z390-I Gaming is on the recommend list in the Buyer's Guide when it can only work with patches which are not noted in the buyers recommendation.
Thanks for your attempts at helping, but I think the basis of the problem with most help is that more experienced users make assumptions that less-experienced users will understand without specific explanation.