mk2soldier Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Hi guys, I would like to boot OS X El Capitan 10.11 without loading the GUI (NO single-user mode) -> completely bypassing the Aqua interface (also the graphical login screen if possible). I have found this link: http://archive.oreilly.com/pub/h/348 However I've tried it and it seems that the method described there is no longer applicable to newer versions os OS X (editing /etc/ttys lines). I have also found this thread http://www.tonymacx86.com/customization/124780-booting-os-x-without-quartz-aqua-darwin-style.html . It seems that with the introduction of launchd something changed in the boot process, can some Guru/Developer who knows the insides of OS X enlighten me on this particular issue? I have also another question if you don't mind, how can I log the boot process of the bootloader and the operating system? (Clover) Thank you in advance for your future replies (Hopefully there'll be :-) and for your hard work on this beautiful project! Props to you! P.S. Sorry if it isn't the right section but I couldn't find a better one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 See this: http://clover-wiki.zetam.org/Configuration/Boot#boot_fast Or: http://clover-wiki.zetam.org/Configuration/Boot#boot_timeout But, for works properly, you need set the partition device name: http://clover-wiki.zetam.org/Configuration/Boot#boot_defaultvolume Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 See this: http://clover-wiki.zetam.org/Configuration/Boot#boot_fast Or: http://clover-wiki.zetam.org/Configuration/Boot#boot_timeout But, for works properly, you need set the partition device name: http://clover-wiki.zetam.org/Configuration/Boot#boot_defaultvolume Thank you very much for your reply Allan, I've tried the solution you mentioned in your post but it seems that I'm unable to boot OS X without the GUI, however I've noticed that now the boot process doesn't show the Clover boot selection screen instead it boots directly the OS partition (OS X). I think that the option is needed to speed up the boot time not showing a (possibly) useless screen. Tell me what you think. Thank you again for your time.. EDIT: I've attached the config.plist located in the ESP (EFI/CLOVER/config.plist) http://pastebin.com/XYdx98Gv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Delete this: <key>Timeout</key> <integer>3</integer> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Delete this: <key>Timeout</key> <integer>3</integer> I've just tried, no effects Maybe with the exception that It boots slightly faster.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 When you turn on your Hack you see the BIOS screen, and you can't boot OS X directly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 When you turn on your Hack you see the BIOS screen, and you can't boot OS X directly? I see the "BIOS" (UEFI in my case) screen and then the Apple logo, then the OS loads normally (with the GUI). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleIIGuy Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 If you want OS X without the GUI you could try http://www.puredarwin.org/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 If you want OS X without the GUI you could try http://www.puredarwin.org/ Thank you for your reply however I prefer to stick with El Capitan if possible, PureDarwin seems to be stuck to Darwin 10.X (not to diminish in any way the great work those guys have done). Currently I'm trying to learn something about launchd, it seems the culprit of my issue.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slice Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Do you want single-user mode? Add flag "-s" to boot arguments. It can be done by a bootloader or by /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 Do you want single-user mode? Add flag "-s" to boot arguments. It can be done by a bootloader or by /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist If possible I would like to boot into "normal mode" (the classic multi-user mode). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slice Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I never heard about multi-user mode without GUI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 I never heard about multi-user mode without GUI.I havehttp://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/119027/login-directly-to-terminal-instead-of-gui http://archive.oreilly.com/pub/h/348 http://superuser.com/questions/610652/boot-mac-lion-into-command-line The problem seems to be with launchd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smolderas Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I still don't get what you try to accomplish. Do you want to just get rid of the GUI, as in just using the computer only from the console/Terminal or do you just want to hide the boot screen? Do you want to work only with the console? Why would you install OS X in that case? Just go with (Arch-)Linux... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 I still don't get what you try to accomplish. Do you want to just get rid of the GUI, as in just using the computer only from the console/Terminal or do you just want to hide the boot screen? Do you want to work only with the console? Why would you install OS X in that case? Just go with (Arch-)Linux... I want to boot the operating system into console mode (without the GUI) the boot screen is already hidden (a non issue for me). I have already installed GNU/Linux based OS in several machines but this time I would like to use OS X for experimenting a bit (and also for fun, why not :-) ? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smolderas Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I want to boot the operating system into console mode (without the GUI) the boot screen is already hided (a non issue for me). I have already installed GNU/Linux based OS in several machines but this time I would like to use OS X for experimenting a bit (and also for fun, why not :-) ? ) I see. Well if you want to just bypass the GUI, use the suggestion of AppleIIGuy or try to edit /etc/ttys and swap the uncommented and commented console lines and reboot. For more information see 'man ttys' edit: Just make a backup of the file and use the following file for your desired GUI-less OS X: console "/usr/libexec/getty std.57600" vt100 on secure tty.serial "/usr/libexec/getty serial.57600" vt100 off secure fax "/usr/bin/fax answer" unknown off tty[00-07] "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600" unknown off secure ttyp[0x0-0xf] none network slot=36 ttyq[0x0-0xf] none network ttyr[0x0-0xf] none network ttys[0x0-0xf] none network ttyt[0x0-0xf] none network ttyu[0x0-0xf] none network ttyv[0x0-0xf] none network ttyw[0x0-0xf] none network ttys[000-999] none network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 I see. Well if you want to just bypass the GUI, use the suggestion of AppleIIGuy or try to edit /etc/ttys and swap the uncommented and commented console lines and reboot. For more information see 'man ttys' edit: Just make a backup of the file and use the following file for your desired GUI-less OS X: console "/usr/libexec/getty std.57600" vt100 on secure tty.serial "/usr/libexec/getty serial.57600" vt100 off secure fax "/usr/bin/fax answer" unknown off tty[00-07] "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600" unknown off secure ttyp[0x0-0xf] none network slot=36 ttyq[0x0-0xf] none network ttyr[0x0-0xf] none network ttys[0x0-0xf] none network ttyt[0x0-0xf] none network ttyu[0x0-0xf] none network ttyv[0x0-0xf] none network ttyw[0x0-0xf] none network ttys[000-999] none network Thank you for your interest however the beforementioned method doesn't work anymore in recent versions of OS X (at least in 10.9, 10.10 and 10.11). A strange thing that I have discovered is that the ">console" login method seems to at least partially works, I've tried it and I could see (only for 2 maybe 3 seconds) a console login screen (white text on black background) with the following text: Darwin 15.3.0 (or something along those lines) together with a user login prompt, sadly then the screen dims to black and I can't see anything.. I've tried it on a real Mac (MacBook Pro 13" Early 2015) and using the brightness keys to light up the screen has no effect. Could you guys try it and report back your findings? It would be immensely helpful. Now I'm going to try it on an El Capitan Hackintosh (10.11.3).. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 It works also with the hackintosh but this time I was able to use the system a little before the screen started to dim. Here are some photos: And a video: https://youtu.be/fIWXDpYbu_U Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 It would be helpful to know where to look for a system log so I can further investigate the problem. Is there a special log file for hardware related events? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smolderas Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 It would be helpful to know where to look for a system log so I can further investigate the problem. Is there a special log file for hardware related events? /var/log/system.log should be a start. You could set kernel in debug mode too... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2soldier Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 /var/log/system.log should be a start. You could set kernel in debug mode too... smolderas, thank you very much for your reply. I will certainly try and report back my findings. Have a nice day :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisrand Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 smolderas, thank you very much for your reply. I will certainly try and report back my findings. Have a nice day :-) Hello mk2soldier, just had the same need as you and found this post. So far you are the only one that has documented the process with el cap. Have you been able to accomplish what you wanted with a GUI-less OS X? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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