The EFI folder can also be used on older versions of macOS [tested on Ventura, Bigsur & Catalina]. However, the main support of this branch is based on Monterey since Ventura has a few issues that makes me keep Monterey as the main OS for now. On Ventura, my major issue is no rotation on extended display.
Tested on:
| Model | Precision T5500 |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Xeon X5675 x2 |
| GPU | AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB (Sapphire) |
| RAM | 32GB DDR3 1600Mhz |
| Storage | Samsung 870 EVO 1TB |
| Ethernet | Broadcom 5761 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) PCI-Express |
| Software | macOS 12.6 Monterey, Ventura & Bigsur |
| BIOS | A16 |
| Serial Port | Disabled |
| Hyperthreading | Disabled (Enable on single CPU, disable on dual CPU config, more here) |
| SATA Operation | AHCI |
| Bluetooth | Orico BCM20702 USB dongle |
Almost everything except hyperthreading.
- CPUPM, I haven't added it. You can add it using ssdtprgen. Works.
- Shutdown works, reboot doesn’t. Which might get solved.
Copy the EFI folder to your EFI partition. That's it.
To get Kepler working on Monterey, you have to use shikigva=40 and agdpmod=9696. (THIS FIX IS MONTEREY ONLY) Those are added in the config.plist. Otherwise, expect a black display on boot. Use OCLP for acceleration as Monterey removed support for Kepler cards. Ignore this entire section if you have AMD OOTB supported card.
Here is OCLP
RX570 is supported on Ventura after patching with OCLP. Use 03080000 sip to boot Ventura and use OCLP. Didn't test much. USB is broken completely, OCLP will fix that too.
RX570 is supported on Sonoma after patching with OCLP. Works fine after OLCP. Bluetooth might have issues. Will update once I fix it or have any update. USB is broken completely, OCLP will fix that too.
Install with sip disabled. It won't boot. Boot to Ventura or Sonoma's recovery and open terminal. Type csrutil disbale. Hit enter. Reboot to the OS with sip disabled or sip configured to OCLP's requirements.
This will cause BIOS to reset after every shutdown. B*tch took long to get fixed. With Bios A16, the RTC fixes are added in config.plist. However, with a different version of BIOS, the sectors might differ. Either Upgrade/Downgrade to A16 or find bad sectors if bios resets.
It’s just required for sleep atm. Everything else isn’t affected because of this. Wait for a newer version, possibly 1.10.0 as current version won’t let you boot. Sleep is kinda working fine for me. See if you have issues and let me know.
The default SMBIOS is iMacPro1,1. Everything works so no need to change this ig. Test Bluetooth on Ventura.
A weird thing, Idk why. If Hyperthreading is enabled with 2x Xeon on T5500, it won't boot. Won't even panic. Tried multiple fixes, some of them are listed below. This issue seems to be High Seirra and up. I haven't tested HS but test and let me know. Tested on Bigsur, Monterey & Ventura but never worked.
- CpuTscsync
- VoodoTscsync
- DSDT edits to change thread counts
- Ssdtprgen
- SSDT LPC
- TscSyncTimeout
- Different bios settings
- Different SMBIOS
A lot of other things too but don't remember.
If you don't have native NVRAM, don't fret. We can set up emulated NVRAM by using a script to save the NVRAM contents to a plist during the shutdown process, which will then be loaded by OpenCore at the next startup.
To enable emulated NVRAM, you'll need the following set:
Within your config.plist:
- Booter -> Quirks: DisableVariableWrite: set to NO Misc -> Security: ExposeSensitiveData: set to at least 0x1
- NVRAM: LegacyOverwrite set to YES LegacySchema: NVRAM variables set (OpenCore compares these to the variables present in nvram.plist) WriteFlash: set to YES
And within your EFI:
OpenVariableRuntimeDxe.efi driver OpenRuntime.efi driver (this is needed for proper sleep, shutdown and other services to work correctly) Make sure to snapshot after to make sure the drivers are listed in your config.plist. Afterwards, make sure that both OpenVariableRuntimeDxe.efi and OpenRuntime.efi have LoadEarly set to YES, and that OpenVariableRuntimeDxe.efi is placed before OpenRuntime.efi in your config .
Now grab the LogoutHook folder (opens new window)(inside Utilities) and place it somewhere safe (e.g. within your user directory, as shown below):
/Users/$(whoami)/LogoutHook/
Open up terminal and run the following (one at a time):
cd /Users/$(whoami)/LogoutHook/ ./Launchd.command install
Copied from OpenCore. Tested, working.
There are two ways you can install Monterey:
-
If you have an already working macOS, download the Installer from the App Store and make a bootable Installer with
createinstallmediaby using this command in Terminal:sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume -
If you are using Windows, use macrecovery.py from the offical OpenCore release package. Follow this guide to understand how it works.
After you have created a bootable Installer, copy the EFI folder to the EFI partition and install as usual. After the installation, mount the EFI partition of the installed OS and copy the EFI folder to its partition.
There are two ways you can install Ventura:
-
If you have an already working macOS, download the Installer from the App Store and make a bootable Installer with
createinstallmediaby using this command in Terminal:sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Ventura.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume -
If you are using Windows, use macrecovery.py from the offical OpenCore release package. Follow this guide to understand how it works.
After you have created a bootable Installer, copy the EFI folder to the EFI partition and install as usual. After the installation, mount the EFI partition of the installed OS and copy the EFI folder to its partition.
When you boot on a kepler card, you will notice no acceleration will be there. Complete setup, copy efi, and use OCLP.
You can remove -v from boot-args. It works without verbose.
Thanks to:
- SkyrilHD For wasting around 7-10 days to get this POS working.
- TECHNIKVERBOT For making the EFI, updating it and for the Ventura support.
- ananjaser1211 For sending sus stickers in chat.
- MacOS Modded Central Group For having a group to chat in the first place lmao.
- Me.
All this was written on a T5500 with Monterey installed and after kanging SkyrilHD’s readme.