Upgrading from Catalina to Monterey using Clover

[TheJMan36]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but I haven't kept up on hackintosh stuff over the past couple years. If I have a stable build of Catalina 10.15.7 and Clover version 5107 is it going to be a total pain in the ass to upgrade to Monterey using the newest version of Clover? I know OpenCore is the new recommended method but I don't have the time or energy to learn how to do it right now.
I have a cloned bootable backup of my Catalina install so theoretically I should be safe, should something go wrong with the install I can just clone the drive back.

Anything I should know, is even trying this a stupid idea without OpenCore? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Middleman]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but I haven't kept up on hackintosh stuff over the past couple years. If I have a stable build of Catalina 10.15.7 and Clover version 5107 is it going to be a total pain in the ass to upgrade to Monterey using the newest version of Clover? I know OpenCore is the new recommended method but I don't have the time or energy to learn how to do it right now.
I have a cloned bootable backup of my Catalina install so theoretically I should be safe, should something go wrong with the install I can just clone the drive back.

Anything I should know, is even trying this a stupid idea without OpenCore? Thanks for any advice.

Hi there,

Yes sure. To answer your query it is possible to use Clover with Monterey but I have not tried it. From what I heard so far it is a nightmare to configure Monterey with Clover.

I would love to help you but I’m mainly now working with Opencore only. That’s because it is now the more flexible and easier bootloader to use. There are scripts and apps now that help to make the bootloader update process a lot easier including an online sanity checker for configs on OC. Opencore was actually formed by members of the Clover team and was started due to tougher memory restrictions being added to later versions of macOS preventing Clover from working that led to its development.

If it helps I have found this EFI for you online for Catalina with Opencore. From here you should be able to update to Monterey quite easily. >

GitHub - revunix/ASUS-Prime-B360M-A: OpenCore Config for ASUS Prime B360M-A

OpenCore Config for ASUS Prime B360M-A. Contribute to revunix/ASUS-Prime-B360M-A development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[TheJMan36]

Hey thanks! So I just copy the contents of that folder to my EFI partition, then attempt to install Monterey? Looks like that EFI is for Big Sur, are the two OS's pretty interchangeable?

I have Clover bootloader on my backup Catalina external HD, would installing OpenCore on my main HD mess anything up with my back up drive? For example. Say my install doesn't work and I need to clone my backup drive, will I be able to boot into that drive with a failed Monterey/OpenCore install attempt.
I need to make sure I have a fail safe if something gets messed up, because I really don't have the time for days of troubleshooting.

 

[Middleman]

Hey thanks! So I just copy the contents of that folder to my EFI partition, then attempt to install Monterey? Looks like that EFI is for Big Sur, are the two OS's pretty interchangeable?

I have Clover bootloader on my backup Catalina external HD, would installing OpenCore on my main HD mess anything up with my back up drive? For example. Say my install doesn't work and I need to clone my backup drive, will I be able to boot into that drive with a failed Monterey/OpenCore install attempt.
I need to make sure I have a fail safe if something gets messed up, because I really don't have the time for days of troubleshooting.

Hi,

I know that installing Opencore seems like a chore but believe me it is worth the while. If you feel Opencore is a risky proposition, my suggestion is to do it on a completely separate drive and do the tests that way until it works for you. Unfortunately no the two OSses Big Sur and Monterey are not completely interchangeable. There are some elements between them that requires a bit of tweaking to work. Big Sur and Monterey for example requires XHCIPortLimit disabled while Catalina needs it enabled. Then of course there are the Bluetooth drivers. Bluetooth under Monterey and Big Sur for example requires the use of Bluetoolfixup.kext and specific Broadcom or Intel firmware kexts which are not compatible with Catalina.

And yes installing Opencore could mess up your backup drive as it would overwrite the previous EFI.

From my viewpoint, your Catalina system should work with this EFI no issue as it is built around your board specifically. Your only concerns would be to adjust it for your IGPU & DGPU and to remove any kexts installed in S/L/E for the Catalina build. As you are using an AMD RX580 that’s fully supported under Catalina and beyond so shouldn’t be a problem.

Aside from changing the bootloader over you will need to also check if you’ve had any extra kexts installed from your Clover build (which will need removing for Opencore). It must be a completely vanilla system for the best results.

You’re most welcome.

 

[TheJMan36]

I went through and removed a lot of unneeded kexts from S/L/E folders before I installed Catalina because I read they are only needed in the EFI folder going forward.
BUT, is there any easy way to double check rather than going through each folder manually? (some utility maybe?) Perhaps I'll buy a new SSD just for the purpose of getting OpenCore/Big Sur to work... wouldn't hurt to have some extra space as well.

 

[TheJMan36]

My backup drive is an external, so if i just keep it unplugged until I need it shouldn't I be fine? Then I can use OpenCore bootloader to boot it? Or are you saying OpenCore will overwrite the Clover bootloader whenever I plug that drive in?

 

[Middleman]

Yes a new SSD build should be fine. You'll enjoy also the extra speed for sure.

If your macOS build doesn't have any extra installed kexts added in S/L/E, then I would expect it to boot fine with Clover. Your original Clover EFI partition won't be wiped on that drive if you boot with the Opencore bootloader (unless you decide to do a backup over to it). However you may encounter some file corruption if you don't perform a ResetNVRAM command beforehand when booting the Opencore bootloader via the OC tools menu. Whenever you are switching to a new bootloader or running a new EFI build always do a ResetNVRAM first.

 

[bmoag]

If you search you can find a Clover EFI, you will have to modify it to fully work, that will stably boot Monterey. However whether using Clover or Open Core you will need a custom USB kext. That can be made from within Catalina, and tested with your current EFI to see that it works, but is often easier to make in Windows, at least that is my experience. You can transfer your current identifier numbers to whatever EFI you use, Clover or OC.

If you dual boot to Windows there are advantages to using Clover as OC injects incorrect data into Windows (does not affect most Windows uses). It is difficult to craft a Clover EFI for BS or Monterey because of quirks and other settings that are not that well documented. In my experience OC updates more reliably with less problems than Clover, which I think is a common experience, and why I stick with it.

Because the Dortania guide is more complete than anything I ever found for Clover it is actually "easier" if you carefully follow the instructions to create your own EFI in Open Core and easier to craft it from within your current Catalina OS. Your listed hardware is not complicated to configure in OC. The guide is stuck on OC 7.8, which you can certainly use, but the guide will work with later versions of OC. If going that route use the premade files, kexts etc. I would be sure to have a bootable clone of your current macOS, however you upgrade, because stuff happens.

Lastly, in my experience, you can go to OC from your current Clover EFI without nvram problems. However you cannot switch between OC and Clover at will without encountering nvram problems that will require a hardware reset of the motherboard CMOS, annoying but not difficult to fix. Going forward, for whatever time is left for X86 hackintosh, I think OC is the better option if only for more reliable OS updates.

 

[macSteve83]

My backup drive is an external, so if i just keep it unplugged until I need it shouldn't I be fine? Then I can use OpenCore bootloader to boot it? Or are you saying OpenCore will overwrite the Clover bootloader whenever I plug that drive in?

In my opinion the easyest way to swap to opencore is:
Download opencore configurator, go to tools, efi maker then make your efi choosing your components
This will make u a bootable oc efi to try to boot your machine
Oc config works like clover config, take a look at the config with it if u want to see how kext are injected and dorotania guide will help a lot
Mount a usb efi with tool mount efi on oc config then try to boot

 

[TheJMan36]

Thanks for all replies. This sounds a bit more than I have time to deal with right now, I don't want to mess with my working Catalina/Windows 11 dual booting. I wish I had another PC or extra empty SSD to experiment on but for now I'm going to stick with what is stable until I have more of a reason to update.