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[GUIDE] Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma on HP EliteDesk 800 G4/G5 Mini - The perfect MacMini8,1 Hackintosh


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*** When updating EFI, try the update on a USB stick before updating your production boot volume ***

Upgraded to OC 0.7.2 with no issues. Very easy. Run ocvalidate, make the required change to your OC config.plist, upgrade your kexts, upgrade OC drivers. This upgrade is definitely NOT required for our HackMinis, but it's such and easy upgrade ...

After updating your EFI, reset NVRAM before booting macOS.

 

OC 0.7.2 EFI R001 (changes from 0C 0.7.1 EFI R001)

  • OpenCore
    • Updated BOOT/BOOTx64.efi
    • Updated OC/OpenCore.efi
    • Updated OC/Drivers/AudioDxe.efi
    • Updated OC/Drivers/OpenRuntime.efi
  • config.plist
    • Added UEFI>AppleInput>GraphicsInputMirroring (Boolean: True)
  • Kexts
    • Upgraded AppleALC.kext to 1.6.3
    • Upgraded Lilu.kext to 1.5.5
    • Upgraded VirtualSMC.kext to 1.2.6
    • Upgraded WhateverGreen.kext to 1.5.2
  • Tools
    • Upgraded
Edited by tonyx86
Added 0.7.1 -> 0.7.2 EFI changes
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Time to admit that I was wrong about the i9-9900 - it's a beast in this HackMini8,1. My incorrect conclusion about the i9-9900 resulted from benchmarking in a way that placed continual stress on the CPU (I was experiencing the thermal limits of the tiny EliteDesk Mini package after the heatsink's thermal dissipation was maxed-out). In "normal" use where the i9-9900 CPU utilization is not continuous (CPU demand is in spurts, allowing the CPU to cool between load peaks), performance is incredible. My Visual Studio Xamarin Release builds with an i7-8700 have dropped from over 3.5 minutes to 2.5 minutes with an i9-9900.

I purchased my i9-9900 for $250. You can now find it for less. If you own an 800 G5 Mini 65W, consider this i9-9900 upgrade as CPU prices drop. No rush if you're happy with your current rig, but it's nice to know that you have future upgrade options.

Many thanks to @rafale77 who first made me aware of the i9-9900.

 

GB5 Benchmarks - Note the relatively poor multi-processor performance (due to thermal limit in the tiny EliteDesk Mini package)

Spoiler

708592043_ScreenShot2021-07-13at8_43_10PM.thumb.png.2806de8a38148398c4e6bc6252669f2c.png

 

Edited by tonyx86
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Have you tried liquid metal? it was a game changer in my laptop, the thermal conductivity is so much better. Before LM I was experiencing constant throttling, and after only very rarely does it go there. The difference for me is between -15C to -20C. Under full load the CPU easily went above 90C, now the fans catch up and the CPU never goes above 65C

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@theroadw Great to hear from you!  I have tried both AS5 and NT-H1.  I didn't notice much difference.  Are you suggesting a delidded CPU or just liquid metal between the CPU heatspreader and heatsink?  I imagine that your laptop doesn't have a CPU heat spreader (direct contact between the CPU die and heat pipe).

 

Note that I don't experience "constant throttling" on my rig (even with the i9-9900).  Most of the time, the rig is silent.  The fan ramps up during extended software builds (Visual Studio / Xamarin) and when running synthetic benchmarks like Cinebench.

 

EDIT: I'm not sure if the i9-9900 has a soldered IHS.  If it does, I'm not planning to attempt a delid.

Edited by tonyx86
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8 hours ago, tonyx86 said:

delidded CPU

to make it worthwhile ;)

 

yeah I guess contact in a laptop it's easier, bare cpu, but then the nail polish dam you have to build to contain the short-circuit-liquid you are intentionally adding makes up for it in complexity

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  • 2 weeks later...
2 hours ago, tonyx86 said:

@Allan Thank you for liking my posts!  It helps me to know that someone is finding this info useful. :)

NP, and it is very useful for sure. Posts like yours turns the Hackintosh scene even more amazing.😁

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  • 3 weeks later...

Upgrade to OpenCore 0.7.3 is painless provided you recognize the new formatting of UEFI>Drivers in the config.plist. Upgrade requires the following changes from OC 0.7.2 (OC 0.7.2 changes from posted OC 0.7.1 are here). Reset NVRAM before booting with new OC.

OC 0.7.3 EFI Changes from OC 0.7.2 (OC0.7.3-EFI-r001 is attached to Post #1)

OpenCore

  • Updated BOOT/BOOTx64.efi
  • Updated OC/OpenCore.efi
  • Updated OC/Drivers/AudioDxe.efi
  • Updated OC/Drivers/OpenRuntime.efi

config.plist

  • Added UEFI>Quirks>ForceOcWriteFlash (Boolean / False)
  • Copy new UEFI>Drivers structure from Sample.plist (Path, Enabled, Arguments)

Kexts

  • Upgraded Lilu.kext to 1.5.6
  • Upgraded WhateverGreen.kext to 1.5.3
  • Upgraded AppleALC.kext to 1.6.4
  • Upgraded VirtualSMC.kext to 1.2.7

Tools

  • Upgraded
Edited by tonyx86
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After a full backup to my spare NVMe SSD, the 11.6 upgrade proceeded without issues. I left it to complete unattended and it was finished when I returned.

 

Your Mac is up to date - macOS Big Sur 11.6

Spoiler

1900196535_ScreenShot2021-09-13at7_19_42PM.png.fb9dffd5711402c9728519756bf76831.png

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but XCode 12.5.1 was updated to XCode 13 on my rig. I think it happened with the latest Safari 15.0 update, but I'm not sure why that would be the case. In any event, I need to stay on XCode 12.5.1 and now my software builds are broken. It's unfortunate that an update like this is quietly inserted without warning.

EDIT: I examined TimeMachine and see that I was running XCode 12.5.1 earlier today (prior to the Safari 15.0 update). Manually reverting to XCode 12.5.1 resolved my build issues.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I upgraded to OC 0.7.4 on my HackBookPro15,2 (not yet on this HackMini8,1). The upgrade is very easy. For those on OC 0.7.3 using the EFI attached to Post #1, the update should require the following:

Upgrade from OC 0.7.3 to OC 0.7.4

  • OC
    • Update BOOT/BOOTx64.efi, OC/OpenCore.efi, OC/Drivers/OpenRuntime.efi
  • config.plist
    • Add Comment key to UEFI>Drivers>Items
  • Kexts
    • Update AppleALC.kext to 1.6.5
    • Update WhateverGreen.kext to 1.5.4
  • Tools
    • Update Tools

 

Don't forget to Reset NVRAM after making your EFI changes and before booting macOS with the new changes. Also - it's best to test your EFI changes on a USB stick before you commit the final changes to your production drive.

Edited by tonyx86
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i was running Hackintool on my rig and noticed that my Power settings (pmset -g) were wrong. I'm not sure how/when it happened, but some of these may affect proper sleep/wake. Attached is a script that I run to restore 'proper' settings. Save the file, chmod +x the file and run it. Confirm your settings with Hackintool or pmset -g.

Read more about this here. Note that my script adds 'pmset -a hibernatemode 0'

pmset-fix.zip

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After mid-September, I was unable to print from this HackMini8,1 and from my HackBookPro15,2 (both running Big Sur 11.6) to a Windows shared printer (SMB).  I was able to resolve the problem as I explain here.

Edited by tonyx86
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The OC 0.7.4 upgrade was so easy, that I took the opportunity to restore the AudioDxe.efi driver that I had dropped in my previously posted OC 0.7.3 EFI.  OC 0.7.4 EFI R001 is now attached to Post #1.  I don't like the longer boot time caused by enabling the Audio driver, so I have it disabled in config.plist. To restore boot chime, you will need to enable the Audio Driver and change AudioSupport to true in config.plist.  

 

OC 0.7.4 EFI R001 Changes (from OC 0.7.3 EFI R001)

  • OpenCore
    • Update BOOT/BOOTx64.efi, OC/OpenCore.efi, OC/Drivers/OpenRuntime.efi
  • config.plist
    • Add Comment key to UEFI>Drivers>Items
    • Restore UEFI > Drivers > Item 2 (AudioDxe.efi) which had been dropped in OC 0.7.3 EFI R001. This driver is disabled in config.plist and must be enabled for boot chime. UEFI > Audio > AudioSupport must be changed from false to true to enable boot chime.
  • Kexts
    • Update AppleALC.kext to 1.6.5
    • Update WhateverGreen.kext to 1.5.4
  • Tools
    • Update Tools
  • Drivers
    • Restore AudioDxe.efi which had been dropped in OC 0.7.3 EFI R001. Driver is Disabled in config.plist and must be Enabled for working boot chime. Note that enabling this driver may slow boot time.


Don't forget to Reset NVRAM after making your EFI changes and before booting macOS with the new changes. Also - it's best to test your EFI changes on a USB stick before you commit the final changes to your production drive.

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Many thanks to @miliuco, @antuneddu and @MacNB who provided excellent advice and instruction for renaming the OC boot-picker volume names.  If you have multiple bootable macOS volumes and you'd like to change their names in the OC boot menu or graphics boot picker, see this post and those posts that follow for instructions.  In my case, since I only needed to change the volume names in the text-based OC boot menu, @miliuco's instructions here were sufficient for me.  When following his instructions, I did have to mount the Preboot volumes and after editing the .disk_label.contentDetails files and confirming that the boot menu item names had changed, I fully enabled SIP to restore my system to its production baseline.

 

EDIT: @miliuco provides an easier way to disable SIP here.

Edited by tonyx86
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  • 3 weeks later...

As I mentioned here, the 800 G4 and G5 Minis can accommodate 2 x M.2 NVMe SSDs and 1 x SATA HD (or SSD). In my G5 Mini HackMini8,1, I have 2 x WD SN750 500 GB M.2 NVMe SSDs and 1 x 2 TB SATA 6 HD (for Time Machine and backup). Before I apply any significant updates/upgrades to my production M.2 NVMe SSD, I clone to my second M.2 NVMe SSD (using Carbon Copy). This strategy has worked very well for me. I just performed a clone before applying the 11.6.1 update. Clone speeds are fantastic with this setup. It may seem like overkill, but if you rely on your rig for daily use and can't waste time recovering from a failed upgrade, this is a great strategy.
 

Cloning M.2 NVMe SSD

Spoiler

773550443_ScreenShot2021-10-30at11_18_50AM.png.52e904313e5587e2279519be5f9d110d.png



NOTE: After cloning a drive in the manner discussed above, the cloned volume will have a name identical to the original volume in OC's boot menu. Follow the instructions here for changing the name of the cloned volume if you want it to have a unique name in OC's boot menu.

NOTE 2: I disable Time Machine on my cloned volume, so that if I do boot the cloned volume (e.g. for Monterey upgrade testing), my cloned volume isn't writing to my Time Machine.
Edited by tonyx86
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Big Sur 11.6.1 update completed without issues. I left it unattended and it was complete when I returned, so I'm not sure how long it took to perform the update. I'm running with Open Core 0.7.4.

 

About This Mac: Big Sur 11.6.1

Spoiler

458760161_ScreenShot2021-10-30at1_38_34PM.png.01072cc63ee6b7e0213086826691aedb.png

 

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The upgrade to OC 0.7.5 is very easy. My upgrade steps are below. Test first on a USB Drive (before you upgrade OC on your primary boot volume) and be sure to Reset NVRAM after upgrading your EFI and before booting macOS.

OC 0.7.5 EFI R001 (upgrade from OC 0.7.4 EFI R001 attached to Post #1)

 

  • EFI/BOOT: Update BOOTx64.efi
  • EFI/OC: Update OpenCore.efi
  • EFI/OC/Drivers: Update OpenRuntime.efi, HfsPlus.efi (and AudioDxe.efi if you need boot chime)
  • EFI/OC/Kexts
    • Update AppleALC.kext 1.6.5 -> 1.6.6
    • Update Lilu.kext 1.5.6 -> 1.5.7
    • Update WhateverGreen.kext 1.5.4 -> 1.5.5
  • EFI/OC/Tools: Update tools
  • EFI/OC/config.plist
    • Add ACPI > Quirks > ResizeAppleGpuBars (Integer, -1)
    • Add UEFI > Quirks > ResizeGpuBars (Integer, -1)


If you're using Bluetooth, Acidenthera has posted BrcmPatchRAM 2.6.1 if you need it.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks to a suggestion from @ThExSenatoR in "the other forum," I am running with boot-arg "igfxfw=2." As described here, GeekBench5 Metal scores are better with this boot-arg.  See my initial question here and Andrey1970's response here for more background.

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The OC upgrade from 0.7.5 to 0.7.6 is very easy.  Changes from 0.7.5 are below and include boot-arg igfxfw=2 as discussed here.  My OC 0.7.6 EFI is attached to Post #1.

OC 0.7.6 EFI Changes from OC 0.7.5

  • EFI/BOOT: Update BOOTx64.efi
  • EFI/OC: Update OpenCore.efi
  • EFI/OC/Drivers: Update OpenRuntime.efi
  • EFI/OC/Kexts:
    • Update AppleALC.kext 1.6.6 -> 1.6.7
    • Update VirtualSMC.kext 1.2.7 -> 1.2.8
    • Update Lilu.kext 1.5.7 -> 1.5.8
  • EFI/OC/Tools: Update tools
  • EFI/OC/config.plist
    • Add NVRAM > Add > 7C436110-AB2A-4BBB-A880-FE41995C9F82 > boot-args > igfxfw=2
    • Remove NVRAM > Add > 4D1EDE05-38C7-4A6A-9CC6-4BCCA8B38C14 > UIScale
    • Add UEFI > Output > ReconnectGraphicsOnConnect (Boolean, False)
    • Add UEFI > Output > UIScale (Integer, 0)
    • Add UEFI > Quirks > EnableVmx (Boolean, False)

 

Test your EFI changes on a USB drive before applying the changes to your production drive. Reset NVRAM after applying the EFI changes and before booting macOS.

Edited by tonyx86
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For those planning to migrate to Monterey, I have found that my DP->DVI video adapters no longer work properly with connector types patched as Dual-Link DVI (<04000000>).  In order to boot Monterey, I need to change the patched connector types to HDMI <00080000>) with DP->DVI adapters.  See my notes here.

 

EDIT: I have found that my DP->DVI adapters work in Big Sur 11.6.2 with patched connector type HDMI, so I will be modifying my EFI baseline to use patched connector type HDMI (replacing port type DVI).

 

EDIT2: Note that in order to use DP->DVI video adapters with this rig (CFL UHD630 iGPU), I must use a "mobile" framebuffer (I'm using AAPL,ig-platform-id 0x3E920000). A "desktop" framebuffer (e.g., AAPL,ig-platform-id 0x3E9B0007) with DP->DVI video adapters results in booting to black screens. This has been true for as long as I have been patching the HP EliteDesk 800 G4/G5 Minis.

 

About This Mac: Monterey 12.1

Spoiler

180603860_ScreenShot2021-12-14at9_57_52PM.png.0e7698e03bea499244a1b73e40d4a00d.png

 

Note that my macOS Baseline is still Big Sur at the time of this post.  I won't be upgrading my production drive to Monterey until it is required for XCode updates.

Edited by tonyx86
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I have attached a revised EFI to Post #1. This revised EFI (OC0.7.6-EFI-r002) includes the following change from OC0.7.6-EFI-r001:

  • EFI/OC/config.plist: DeviceProperties > PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x2,0x0): framebuffer-conX-types are patched as HDMI <00080000> instead of Dual-Link DVI <04000000> to enable DP->DVI adapters in both Monterey and Big Sur.

Test any EFI changes on a USB drive before applying them to your production drive. After making EFI changes, Reset NVRAM before booting macOS.

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