Easy installation of El Capitan (10.11.5) in 5960X CPU!

[Saijohn]

Thanks Fabiosun!!

Will try and report back. 

 

BTW, should I download the Beta or Master for Pike's script?

[B-San]

Hi all! I have managed to follow this guide to get my 5960X running El Cap with an Asus X99-A (1st gen) and 64GB of Crucial RAM.

 

Although my system has been working great with Yosemite and #####/Chimera, I figured it was time to get acquainted with El Capitan, since this guide and Macintosh HD have opened up that possibility.

 

At this point I have switched my BIOS to boot UEFI, successfully installed El Cap 10.11.6, read thru this thread to get acquainted with various Clover settings which have allowed me to get my Geekbench up to 4065 / 31775. It was also a pleasant surprise that I could keep xHCI enabled so that USB 3.0 is functioning without sacrificing processing performance. Also I have Ethernet, PCIe DSP processing cards, Thunderbolt and bluetooth (USB dongle) all working  .

 

After I felt I had things functioning on a performance level, I created a duplicate partition and copied my install to it via Carbon Copy Cloner, and then used Migration Assistant to copy over my apps from the Yosemite Drive. From there I updated a few apps and software - before running my stress tests (Pro Tools 12.5 with over 500 instances of resource-intensive plugins running at a buffer-size of 256 playing audio in loop-playback mode overnight), which the system passed with flying colors  . 

 

The only issue I seem to be having is that El Cap will randomly fail to boot - a situation that a few others in this thread have been experiencing .

 

I came across Fabiosun's suggestion, but I may have something confused, as I'm a relative noob with Clover:

 

 

Have you tried to set rt variables with different values?
I solved that problems with 0x67 and 0x03 values
If you use clover bootloader try also to use -f flag in boot arguments

 

 

Does this mean when using Clover Configurator in the Rt Variables section, I enter the value "0x67" in the 'CsrActiveConfig' box, and "0x03" in the 'BooterConfig' box? Or is it the other way around?

 

So far I've tried both ways, in addition to adding the -f bootflag in the 'boot' section, but there may be something I'm overlooking.

 

 

I've attached my plist file in case there is something else I may not have set correctly... This file is from before I experimented with changing the two values within in the CsrActiveConfig & BooterConfig boxes.

 

 

Oh yeah, I've also been booting into my original partition so that I can use KCPM Utility Pro to repair disk permissions and rebuild cache in my new partion, and vice-versa.

 

This looks to be a great community, so any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated - and hopefully my config may be useful to others who have similar specs to myself!

config_B-San_before_.plist.zip

[Saijohn]

Hi B-San, congrats on your setup.

 

Just to answer your question I first had a 5960x now moved on to 6950x and have been using 0x28 for Booter Config & 0x3 for CsrActiveConfig on both CPU.

Not sure what the difference is compare to using 0x67 for Booter Config might be for Xeon Chipsets since Fabiosun is not using a 5960x nor 6950x.

Also, you can use Clover Configurator and check FixDarwin in Acpi.

Give it a try and report back.

 

Hi all! I have managed to follow this guide to get my 5960X running El Cap with an Asus X99-A (1st gen) and 64GB of Crucial RAM.

 

Although my system has been working great with Yosemite and #####/Chimera, I figured it was time to get acquainted with El Capitan, since this guide and Macintosh HD have opened up that possibility.

 

At this point I have switched my BIOS to boot UEFI, successfully installed El Cap 10.11.6, read thru this thread to get acquainted with various Clover settings which have allowed me to get my Geekbench up to 4065 / 31775. It was also a pleasant surprise that I could keep xHCI enabled so that USB 3.0 is functioning without sacrificing processing performance. Also I have Ethernet, PCIe DSP processing cards, Thunderbolt and bluetooth (USB dongle) all working  .

 

After I felt I had things functioning on a performance level, I created a duplicate partition and copied my install to it via Carbon Copy Cloner, and then used Migration Assistant to copy over my apps from the Yosemite Drive. From there I updated a few apps and software - before running my stress tests (Pro Tools 12.5 with over 500 instances of resource-intensive plugins running at a buffer-size of 256 playing audio in loop-playback mode overnight), which the system passed with flying colors  . 

 

The only issue I seem to be having is that El Cap will randomly fail to boot - a situation that a few others in this thread have been experiencing .

 

I came across Fabiosun's suggestion, but I may have something confused, as I'm a relative noob with Clover:

 

 

 

 

Does this mean when using Clover Configurator in the Rt Variables section, I enter the value "0x67" in the 'CsrActiveConfig' box, and "0x03" in the 'BooterConfig' box? Or is it the other way around?

 

So far I've tried both ways, in addition to adding the -f bootflag in the 'boot' section, but there may be something I'm overlooking.

 

 

I've attached my plist file in case there is something else I may not have set correctly... This file is from before I experimented with changing the two values within in the CsrActiveConfig & BooterConfig boxes.

 

 

Oh yeah, I've also been booting into my original partition so that I can use KCPM Utility Pro to repair disk permissions and rebuild cache in my new partion, and vice-versa.

 

This looks to be a great community, so any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated - and hopefully my config may be useful to others who have similar specs to myself!

[B-San]

Hi B-San, congrats on your setup.

 

Just to answer your question I first had a 5960x now moved on to 6950x and have been using 0x28 for Booter Config & 0x3 for CsrActiveConfig on both CPU.

Not sure what the difference is compare to using 0x67 for Booter Config might be for Xeon Chipsets since Fabiosun is not using a 5960x nor 6950x.

Also, you can use Clover Configurator and check FixDarwin in Acpi.

Give it a try and report back.

 

Hi Saijohn, thank you very much and glad there's other enthusiasts hard at work over the holiday weekend!

 

Your explanation makes perfect since, and yes the values of 0x28 and 0x3 are what my setup originally had after following the install guide, so I have now reverted back; also I found 'FixDarwin' in Acpi has been checked since my initial install as well.

 

So assuming everything is now correct in my RT Variables section, should I keep rocking with the -f bootflag?

 

Another possible mistake I may have made could be regarding a change I made to the 'Kernel and Patches' section - where in the FakeCPUID box I entered the value of '0x0306E4' as opposed to '0x0306F2' (update: I get a much lower GB score with '0x0306F2').

 

Also in the CPU section, I entered the same value (0x0306F2 or 0x0306E4 respectively) in the 'Type' box.. Although I've read that this 'Type' box is purely cosmetic, should I leave that box blank or enter something else?

 

Either way, it seems my attempts are relatively unsuccessful since I've been unable to have my CPU to be displayed as anything other than 'Unknown' when selecting 'About this Mac'.

 

 

Lastly, I do remember coming across another post in this thread suggesting to have 'FixDarwin' unchecked? Is this something worth trying? 

 

 

Another curious thing I've noticed is that when in the process of reboots and subsequent mounting of my EFI partition, my El Capitan drive's device location alternates between disk0 and disk1. I wonder if this has something to do with my boot issues, as Clover may be confused if the boot-drive's device location is changed from which it is accustom to - and thus looking into the other EFI partition which the subsequent folder only contains an 'APPLE' folder?

 

 

Thanks again and I'll be looking forward to your thoughts or those from anyone else participating in this thread!

[The Veteran]

@Fabiosun, 

   

Hi guy, I wish U can say hello to "EL PAPA" for me and ask him to bless us as well on this project

 

So the question for is, What value you have on the config plist for (BooterConfig) & (CSRActive) also on Kernel and Kexts, what U have on (FakeCPUID) and if you have the kernelHaswellE box unchecked. Also on the Kernel to Patch what are the ones that you are using. And last did you have to generate a (UserDefined.cfg) for your Xeon? if yes, could you be so kind to help me and explain me how to? Thanks for your time, that I can consume from you.

[Saijohn]

If it boots fine then u can uncheck -f. I dont really think Fix Darwin has much effect checked or uncheck. I just leave it at what works.

Leave CPUid at 0x0306E4 for now. CPU showing unknown is normal. It is just cosmetics. People change that just for looks.

I wouldn't worry about it as long as the system works. For now just leave it blank in Type box. You want stability and performance for now.

You should read the post by Fabiosun on how to generate SSDT for optimal Power Management by using Pike's script. Maybe you need your own SSDT instead of using Augustopaulo since you are using X99-A and not Deluxe.

Regarding relocation of boot drive... disk0 or disk1.... Try removing one of the drives (backup) from the system if convenient. Dont really need the backup drive in the system if it boots fine consistently. I think the main problem could be you need your own SSDT. Which I am also looking forward to fix on my system too.

 

 

Hi Saijohn, thank you very much and glad there's other enthusiasts hard at work over the holiday weekend!

 

Your explanation makes perfect since, and yes the values of 0x28 and 0x3 are what my setup originally had after following the install guide, so I have now reverted back; also I found 'FixDarwin' in Acpi has been checked since my initial install as well.

 

So assuming everything is now correct in my RT Variables section, should I keep rocking with the -f bootflag?

 

Another possible mistake I may have made could be regarding a change I made to the 'Kernel and Patches' section - where in the FakeCPUID box I entered the value of '0x0306E4' as opposed to '0x0306F2' (update: I get a much lower GB score with '0x0306F2').

 

Also in the CPU section, I entered the same value (0x0306F2 or 0x0306E4 respectively) in the 'Type' box.. Although I've read that this 'Type' box is purely cosmetic, should I leave that box blank or enter something else?

 

Either way, it seems my attempts are relatively unsuccessful since I've been unable to have my CPU to be displayed as anything other than 'Unknown' when selecting 'About this Mac'.

 

 

Lastly, I do remember coming across another post in this thread suggesting to have 'FixDarwin' unchecked? Is this something worth trying? 

 

 

Another curious thing I've noticed is that when in the process of reboots and subsequent mounting of my EFI partition, my El Capitan drive's device location alternates between disk0 and disk1. I wonder if this has something to do with my boot issues, as Clover may be confused if the boot-drive's device location is changed from which it is accustom to - and thus looking into the other EFI partition which the subsequent folder only contains an 'APPLE' folder?

 

 

Thanks again and I'll be looking forward to your thoughts or those from anyone else participating in this thread!

[B-San]

If it boots fine then u can uncheck -f. I dont really think Fix Darwin has much effect checked or uncheck. I just leave it at what works.

Leave CPUid at 0x0306E4 for now. CPU showing unknown is normal. It is just cosmetics. People change that just for looks.

I wouldn't worry about it as long as the system works. For now just leave it blank in Type box. You want stability and performance for now.

You should read the post by Fabiosun on how to generate SSDT for optimal Power Management by using Pike's script. Maybe you need your own SSDT instead of using Augustopaulo since you are using X99-A and not Deluxe.

Regarding relocation of boot drive... disk0 or disk1.... Try removing one of the drives (backup) from the system if convenient. Dont really need the backup drive in the system if it boots fine consistently. I think the main problem could be you need your own SSDT. Which I am also looking forward to fix on my system too.

 

Okay sounds good and many thanks for the timely reply!

 

I will try deleting my other partition and unplugging my Yosemite drive to see if the booting issue becomes resolved.

 

Generating a SSDT for power management sounds like something I may want to experiment with - but I am perfectly fine with the machine not having power management, if that means it's firing on all cylinders all the time. 

 

Having said that, is there anything I can do to make sure that no power-management features are enabled (I've disabled all C-States in the BIOS and also have all C-State options unchecked in Clover Configurator)..

 

Any additional thoughts welcome and as always, much appreciated!

[Saijohn]

Always have a bootable backup of your current working drive in case something happens, unless you have a working Mac that can repair permissions & rebuild cache. 

Disable EIST in Bios and have nullcpupm.kext inside EFI/Clover/kext/10.11 should do the trick if you want it at peak frequency at all times.

 

Okay sounds good and many thanks for the timely reply!

 

I will try deleting my other partition and unplugging my Yosemite drive to see if the booting issue becomes resolved.

 

Generating a SSDT for power management sounds like something I may want to experiment with - but I am perfectly fine with the machine not having power management, if that means it's firing on all cylinders all the time. 

 

Having said that, is there anything I can do to make sure that no power-management features are enabled (I've disabled all C-States in the BIOS and also have all C-State options unchecked in Clover Configurator)..

 

Any additional thoughts welcome and as always, much appreciated!

[thenightflyer]

To fix the unknown cpu in about my mac just add "CPU type 2561" and  set frequency to a value that will be shown as your cpu freq (i set 4300) to clover config in CPU tab.

[thenightflyer]

Not sure what it is but Augustopaulo suggested to repair permissions and rebuild cache with a backup or a real mac. It could be the tools that he provided.... I use KCPM Pro and it seems like this app does not allow repair and rebuild on the currently used drive. Augutopaulo provided other apps that can perform the task on the current working drive, but I tried it once before and did not seem to work. Therefore, I just kept using KCPM Pro on a macbook pro. There are other apps that are able to perform this task, but dont want to bother trying out others when I know what works already. 

Hi mate, just a question for you. Please can you paste here the complete command line you used to create your SSDT for cpu with Pike's script? 

[Saijohn]

Hi Nightflyer,

 

To fix the unknown cpu in about my mac just add "CPU type 2561" and  set frequency to a value that will be shown as your cpu freq (i set 4300) to clover config in CPU tab.

 

Is this only for Haswell-E or 5960x? Or do you think will work for Broadwell-E too??

 

Hi mate, just a question for you. Please can you paste here the complete command line you used to create your SSDT for cpu with Pike's script? 

 

I have not performed this yet. You can refer to Fabiosun's post #310, I think his instructions and knowledge regarding this would be much better than coming from me.

Not really sure if you need to generate your own SSDT though, since you have the same MB and CPU as Augustopaulo. Just my opinion, but I could be wrong.

 

Cheers

[thenightflyer]

Hi Nightflyer,

 

 

Is this only for Haswell-E or 5960x? Or do you think will work for Broadwell-E too??

 

 

I have not performed this yet. You can refer to Fabiosun's post #310, I think his instructions and knowledge regarding this would be much better than coming from me.

Not really sure if you need to generate your own SSDT though, since you have the same MB and CPU as Augustopaulo. Just my opinion, but I could be wrong.

 

Cheers

"CPU type 2561" is referred to use with my 5960x cpu.

I thought you made your own SSDT for your cpu. 

[Saijohn]

Nope, didnt have time yet...

 

"CPU type 2561" is referred to use with my 5960x cpu.

I thought you made your own SSDT for your cpu. 

[The Veteran]

Hi The Veteran, "El Papa" is at few minute from the place I live

 

Too much question :-) :-)

 

answer to this:

Are you using Nullcpupowermanegemnt kext to boot?

 

then I can go a more confident advice to your config.

 

Also bios parameters are important.

 

Let me know if i can i would like to help you

 

My next goal is to have a perfect power management , till now I have but I can achieve better results in PM

Pikeralpha is helping to understand how to support our unsupported CPU

 

read here:

https://github.com/Piker-Alpha/ssdtPRGen.sh/issues/257

Yes Fabiosun I did request your help, and if I did ask too many question well, I do ask for apologies. yes I'm using NullCPUpowerManagement.kext. I have the same CPU as yours but different MB, in which I think its not too much of a different anyway.

So I gave it a try to the Pikers Script and it shows 2 warnings not error, one of the warnings it refer to the CPU type that you mention above where do I place that to re-run the script. could you send me your config.plist file so I can see it with clover configurator, so I can do so adjustments on my? Thanks

[The Veteran]

No need to apologies.. I was joking :-)

For config.plist, I ask to you about using or less nullcpupowermanagemntkext because i don't want that you create some damages at your very valuable cpu

At this stage, and in my case, power management is not working and pikeralpha in that thread is investigating if we have a chance to have it working

 

In my test, I have seen if  i use some cpu bios parameters very high temp ( up during test in very few seconds) I refer in particular in "specified for core " value...

so.. I am scared to give some advices

 

regarding your system try to put cpu parameters in auto the start osx

in clover see the attached files

For my rig it is mandatory to have fakecpuid as you can see, kernel patch, and brumbaer 5960x patch

Cpu type helps to eliminate cpu warning when you generate ssdt but it is cosmetic I think

 

With these parameters I can boot without nullcpupm (you have to delete it before restarting OS X )

 

Let have a spare disk to recover

I don't be responsible for any damage...please be careful ;-)

HEY FABIOSUN, don't worry I know and I know that everything I do is on my own and my fault, I will delete the NULLcpu, change those two things in config.plist and generate the SSDT. file and place it on the EFI/patched folder.

 

My CPU is under water cooling not worries there for me. Also in boot flags are you using XCPM  or w/out it. That is it for now. Thanks

[The Veteran]

I forgot to ask the last question what you have in config.plist in (RT Variables) for Booter and CsrActive? what values you have dial in.

[Saijohn]

So just found this http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/explaining-os-x-el-capitan-security-changes-workarounds-and-current-information.170611/

 

CsrActiveConfig is for enabling/disabling SIP.

 

Relevant user options for SIP are as follows:
csr-active-config 0x0 = SIP Enabled (Default)
csr-active-config 0x3 = SIP Partially Disabled (Loads unsigned kexts)
csr-active-config 0x67 = SIP Disabled completely

 

Hi B-San, congrats on your setup.

 

Just to answer your question I first had a 5960x now moved on to 6950x and have been using 0x28 for Booter Config & 0x3 for CsrActiveConfig on both CPU.

Not sure what the difference is compare to using 0x67 for Booter Config might be for Xeon Chipsets since Fabiosun is not using a 5960x nor 6950x.

Also, you can use Clover Configurator and check FixDarwin in Acpi.

Give it a try and report back.

[Saijohn]

Quick question, do you leave your ram settings at Auto or XMP in the Bios?

 

The Veteran,

this is my config.plist in my clover/kest/10.11 folder there is only fakesmc kext

In S/L/E i use some kext adviced in OP

No nulcpupm kext in my OS X rig

[thenightflyer]

Quick question, do you leave your ram settings at Auto or XMP in the Bios?

Don't set ram with XMP because you could have problems with stability of your system. It's better you put DDR4 frequency in manual mode and set for ex. 2400 or 2800. XMP affect processor speed and behaviour.

[Saijohn]

Never worked on a xeon before, and didn't see anyone mention about xmp here.

Maybe it was, but I somehow overlooked it.

Regardless, sorry for any inconvenience.

 

Pay attention, my cpu is a xeon, ram for v4 xeon can work till 2400Mhz

xeon V3 till 2133

Your Cpu is different and you can push at their speed

 

IE

If I put bios in XMP my system does not start because my dimms are at 2666

 

In my bios i have enabled xmp and changed frequency to 2666. Never had any issues.

I have tried with out XMP and set it to 2800. But was not stable. maybe need to loosen the timing a bit and/or up the SA

 

Don't set ram with XMP because you could have problems with stability of your system. It's better you put DDR4 frequency in manual mode and set for ex. 2400 or 2800. XMP affect processor speed and behaviour.

[Balamut]

Well GM is out.

[B-San]

Always have a bootable backup of your current working drive in case something happens, unless you have a working Mac that can repair permissions & rebuild cache. 

Disable EIST in Bios and have nullcpupm.kext inside EFI/Clover/kext/10.11 should do the trick if you want it at peak frequency at all times.

 

Yes I use a hard drive duplicator so that I always have a bootable backup on hand in case $#!+ hit the fan.

 

Oh yeah, I always have EIST disabled in the BIOS and I also already have the nullcpupm.kext inside nside EFI/Clover/kext/10.11 - but thanks again, as this reassures me that I'm in the right direction!

[B-San]

To fix the unknown cpu in about my mac just add "CPU type 2561" and  set frequency to a value that will be shown as your cpu freq (i set 4300) to clover config in CPU tab.

 

Many thanks! I entered in the exact value of my clock (3876) and now the systems seems to boot every time upon my initial series of tests   .

 

Before changing the CPU freq in Clover, my CPU would display in 'About this Mac' as 3.06GHz, but I was never too concerned in the past as my GeekBench scores would reflect the proper over-clock settings. In retrospect, I'm guessing that discrepancy may have case some form of conflict - resulting in the irregular boot issue when moving to El Cap/ Clover...

 

 

AHHH!! Just as I was about to post this, I encountered the boot issue again... 

 

Do you think I should make any changes to the 'BusSpeedkHz' box? And if so, where would I find that information in my BIOS so that I can retrieve the correct value? I understand that Core-i processors did away with front-side-bussing, so maybe I should look at my BCLK Frequency (which is 102.0)?

 

When reading the following section on clover-wiki.zetam.org - it warns that "UEFI booting will produce an inaccurate value", and  advises to "manually specify the value, which is calculated more accurately during a boot with Clover EFI".

 

Thoughts?

[Saijohn]

You might be having issue bcoz you are playing with bclk. Try leave that at 100 and OC normally by sync all cores and increase multiplier only.

I know you want to squeeze every little bit of juice out of that cpu. But stability is more important than raw power.

Fabiosun is playing with bclk because he has a xeon.

 

Many thanks! I entered in the exact value of my clock (3876) and now the systems seems to boot every time upon my initial series of tests   .

 

Before changing the CPU freq in Clover, my CPU would display in 'About this Mac' as 3.06GHz, but I was never too concerned in the past as my GeekBench scores would reflect the proper over-clock settings. In retrospect, I'm guessing that discrepancy may have case some form of conflict - resulting in the irregular boot issue when moving to El Cap/ Clover...

 

 

AHHH!! Just as I was about to post this, I encountered the boot issue again... 

 

Do you think I should make any changes to the 'BusSpeedkHz' box? And if so, where would I find that information in my BIOS so that I can retrieve the correct value? I understand that Core-i processors did away with front-side-bussing, so maybe I should look at my BCLK Frequency (which is 102.0)?

 

When reading the following section on clover-wiki.zetam.org - it warns that "UEFI booting will produce an inaccurate value", and  advises to "manually specify the value, which is calculated more accurately during a boot with Clover EFI".

 

Thoughts?

[Saijohn]

Guess we can stop tinkering our systems since we'll probably move on to 10.12 soon....

 

http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/macos-sierra-upgrade-available-on-september-20th.201421/

 

Well GM is out.