Which macOS for Toshiba L875-S7108?

[zydoslav]

Hello,

I have Toshiba L875-S7108 with following specs:

Intel i3-3120M@2,50GHZ,
16 GB RAM (DDR3),

Apacer SSD drive

Intel HD 4000 Graphics (17" screen with 1600x900 resolution)

Bios v6.80

Currently I have Windows 7 x64 and Linux Ubuntu installed on this machine, with linux grub as a bootloader. I have 2 questions:

1. Is this machine suitable for a hackintosh? If yes, which version to choose? Is there any chance to install Big Sur on this one? Should I use OpenCore or Clover?

2. Is there any chance to keep Windows and Linux installed and have macOS as third OS? I am thinking to replace my SSD and install a bigger one (512 GB), so is it better to first install macOS, or should I install other OS's and macOS as the last OS to keep everything work?

It would be nice to hear some advices.

Edited April 2, 2022 by zydoslav

[Guest 5T33Z0]

macOS Catina with MacbookPro10,2 SMBIOS. Everything passed that and the system suffers in terms if performance

[zydoslav]

48 minutes ago, 5T33Z0 said:

macOS Catina with MacbookPro10,2 SMBIOS. Everything passed that and the system suffers in terms if performance

Thanks for your reply. It would be better to use opencore or clover for Catalina, when I have two other OS's installed on the machine?

[Guest 5T33Z0]

1. Since it's a Laptop, nothing will be easy!!!

2. OpenCore is documented better but Clover is easier for running multiple OSes since ACPI Tables won't be injected into other OSes. Try your luck following the OpenCore instal guide fo Ivy Brige Laptop: https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/

 

For Clover, this could be a starting point: https://github.com/5T33Z0/Clover-Crate/tree/main/Laptop_Configs

Edited April 2, 2022 by 5T33Z0

[zydoslav]

58 minutes ago, Hervé said:

HD4000 remains natively, supported in Big Sur so feel comfortable to proceed with that version. There are no performance issues when running Big Sur on Ivy Bridge platforms, I can vouch for this having been running Big Sur on my little Dell Latitude E6230 since it was 1st released. Support for HD4000 was officially dropped in Monterey and I certainly failed to run it decently my E6230 despite deploying the patch that many claim to work perfectly.

 

Clover or OpenCore, it's up to you but former would be easy to configure than latter if you're new to the game. To install Big Sir, use either MBP9,2 or MBP10,2 SMBIOS with -no_compat_check boot arg or a fully supported SMBIOs such as MBP11,4.

 

Post your full hardware specs if you want further assistance (LAN card, audio codec, wireless card, SD card reader, etc.)

 

Thanks for your reply! I will post full specs a little bit later, help would be welcome

What about having 3 OS's on one machine? In your opinion it's better to use clover, or opencore to get this effect? Should I install macOS first, or install other OS's and then macOS? Or maybe most safe would be removing DVD and putting second HDD there, install macOS on it and boot from this drive only when I need it? 

[Guest 5T33Z0]

1 hour ago, Hervé said:

HD4000 remains fully and natively supported in Big Sur so feel comfortable to proceed with that version. There are no performance issues when running Big Sur on Ivy Bridge platforms, I can vouch for this having been running Big Sur on my little Dell Latitude E6230 since it was 1st released. Support for HD4000 was officially dropped in Monterey and I certainly failed to run it decently my E6230 despite deploying the patch that many claim to work perfectly.

 

Clover or OpenCore, it's up to you but former would be easier to configure than latter if you're new to the game. To install Big Sir, use either MBP9,2 or MBP10,2 SMBIOS with -no_compat_check boot arg or a fully supported SMBIOS such as MBP11,4.

 

Post your full hardware specs if you want further assistance (LAN card, audio codec, wireless card, SD card reader, etc.)

 

Of course there are performance issues, because running Big Sur on a mobile Ivy Bridge CPU requires using a Haswell SMBIOS which has negative influences on thermals since the CPU constantly runs on a higher base frequency which it doesn't do when using a SMBIOS which was designed for Ivy Bridge CPUs. And I can vouch for that, since I've tested it extensively my my Lenovo T530 with an i7 3630QM.

[Guest 5T33Z0]

@Hervé

1. Using -no_compat_check is not a "proper" way to run Big Sur on unsupported hardware – it's a workaround. Nothing more, nothing less. And, of course it disables System Updates.
2. The actual proper way would be to spoof the board ID with the patches available for OpenCore as described here
3. There's even the option to force enable x86 platform plugin for Ivy Bridge via kernel patches.
4. Clover is not "a must" for this either. You can use Bootloader Chooser contianing numerous "OC" Folders, each with a differnt config file

But even then, with all of the above taken into consideration, Big Sur does not run as performant and efficient on Ivy Bridge CPUs than using macOS Catalina. Everybody who made benchmark test with various combinations of SMBIOSes, X86 Platform Plugin disabled/enabled knows this.

Edited April 3, 2022 by 5T33Z0

[deeveedee]

This is the first I've heard that -no_compat_check is improper.  I'm glad I didn't know that before, as it has been part of some of my most successful and long-lasting hacks.  @5T33Z0 -  I seldom disagree with you, but there are many ways to skin a hack.  -no_compat_check needs to remain part of our bag of tricks.

Edited April 4, 2022 by deeveedee

[zydoslav]

So, what I have for now:

 

L875-S7108 with:

mainboard PLCSF8

Intel i3-3120M@2,50GHZ,
16 GB RAM (DDR3),

Goodram SSD 512 GB

Intel HD 4000 Graphics (17" screen with 1600x900 resolution)
Realtek Ethernet controller,
Realtek RTL8188CE Wireless,
Integrated audio device

Intel 7 Series Chipset

Bios v6.80 (legacy boot, fast boot off)
Linux Ubuntu and Windows 7 installed, GRUB as a bootloader

 

What I have tried to do:

- I have downloaded Big Sur 11.6.1 installer using MDS tool and I have made a bootable USB Installer of Big Sur 11.6.1 using this tool,
- Downloaded Clover 5132 and made a bootable USB with clover,
- I have found EFI folder somewhere in the Internet, just to start (and try a lucky shot, maybe it will boot the installer... )
- Opened the config.plist with clover configurator and I have changed the resolution to 1600x900, opened the SMBIOS tag, where I have chosen MBP 10,2 SMBios as @Hervé told me to do in this thread. I have generated new ID's. There are some boot arguments defined, I didn't touch that, but -no_compat_check is there.

 

I have tried to boot clover from USB (it boots well) and I have tried to run the Big Sur installer by clover. Clover sees the installer, but when I try to boot it it shows few rows of logs and laptop reboots. (so the lucky shot was not successful)

 

I am attaching the EFI folder here, maybe you can help me where to start (or maybe its better to start without this EFI if it's useless?).

 

One more thing - when I boot clover from the usb stick I can boot my Windows 7 from clover and it runs perfectly, but I do not have an option to boot Linux Ubuntu from Clover - any idea why is that?

 

@deeveedee I am posting this thread from my E6410 (Catalina) installed with your help (works really nice) so thank you one more time!

 

Looking forward for your advices :) 

 

EFI.zip

[zydoslav]

8 hours ago, Hervé said:

Try this config:

config.plist.zip 6.04 kB · 2 downloads

 

I'm not sure your patched ACPI table is correct for the laptop. You would normally use the SSDT-EC for older laptops + an SSDT-PNLF table.

 

Still no luck and same situation, I am getting an error with config.plist (previously I have also seen it) and when I try to boot the installer i get errors like on the second screen. After them I can see that the that few rows of new logs are quickly showing (can't read or photograph them) and the laptop immediately reboots. Both screens attached. 

I have tried your config.plist and I have also found SSDT-EC and SSDT-PNLF (found them in opencore documentation, but I think that these tables are identical, no matter if I use clover of opencore.

[deeveedee]

@zydoslav Too many cooks in this kitchen will only confuse you and I don't have experience with your laptop, so I'm going to refrain from participation in your solution.  However, if I were hacking your laptop, I would use the SMBIOS MacModel that most closely matches your CPU/Graphics and I would start with the latest version of macOS that does not require -no_compat_check for your chosen SMBIOS MacModel.  After I got that working, I'd then look at upgrading MacOS (using -no_compat_check).  But that's just my preference.  Good luck!

Edited April 6, 2022 by deeveedee

[deeveedee]

@zydoslav As Herve pointed out in his now-deleted comments, upgrading macOS is not a no-brainer when using boot-arg -no_compat_check.  There are other steps you'll need to perform to upgrade macOS after installing a "natively supported" version of macOS.  Again - my preference for a new hack is to start with a natively supported macOS that does not require -no_compat_check.  Your approach is certainly up to you.

Edited April 6, 2022 by deeveedee

[Guest 5T33Z0]

@deeveedee I didn't say you can't use -no_compat_check. I said there are better ways to do it - especially with OpenCore by using macOS Virzualization capabilities to spoo a compatible board ID.

 

@zydoslav

 

• Current Clover Version is r5146 – yours is outdated
• Your Device Properties for on-board graphics are still lacking. See my Clover configs vor Ivy Bridge I linked to in one of my previous post
• The EFI you are using is missing BrcmPatchRAM and accomdating kexts to make Bluetooth work (onless it's supported natively by macos)
• You can't use USBInjectAll with Big Sur 11.3+
• You EFI Folder is missing ACPI Tables
• I suggest you get ridd of the Olarilla ACPI files and use the ones suggested in the OpenCOre install guide.

[zydoslav]

@5T33Z0  I have tried to modify my EFI with your suggestions and still no luck

Could you please look at this EFI folder now?

I have tried with 9,2, 10,1, 10,2 and 11,1 SMBIOS, when I try to boot Big Sur installer I am getting a prohibitory sign, with link to apple support (macOS incompatible with this machine). When I run the installer with -no_compat_check parameter I am getting same errors as previously.

Could it be an USB-related issue? I have noticed, that clover won't boot from USB 3.0 ports (by now I was booting it from usb 2.0, and big sur from 3.0, since I have only one usb 2.0 port). 

edit: I have tried to boot the installer & clover through the usb hub hooked to the usb 2.0 - still the same, no luck.

EFI.zip

Edited April 8, 2022 by zydoslav

[Guest 5T33Z0]

@zydoslav Why is there a DSDT.aml file in the ACPI folder? is this the system DSDT file or a patched one for this Laptop?

Edited April 8, 2022 by 5T33Z0

[zydoslav]

2 minutes ago, 5T33Z0 said:

Why is there a DSDT.aml file in the ACPI folder? is this the system DSDT file or a patched one for this Laptop?

 

It's for this laptop, generated in Windows with the script found in the opencore manual.

[Guest 5T33Z0]

So, it's unpatched then. Which "Script" from the OpenCore Manual are you referring to?

Edited April 8, 2022 by 5T33Z0

[aben]

@zydoslav Hello there!

Looks like I too am in possession of the exact Toshiba model as yours (mine is 15-inch hence L850) also from the same Ivy-Bridge generation lineup however  for the variant I possess, Toshiba decided not to have the integrated Intel HD4000 graphics module connected to the board and has only equipped with a discrete AMD mobile GPU; the HD 7670M based off of the HD 6000 series which, unfortunately, is only natively supported up until macOS 10.13 High Sierra. However I've had success in the past getting to install macOS Catalina and Big Sur (of course with no hardware accelerated graphics) purely for testing purposes so looks like I might just be able to help give you an extra hand, if required, on top of @5T33Z0's broad-experienced guidance with getting macOS installed properly on your machine as well.

Currently my Toshiba is configured with OpenCore boot-loader, although it was obviously booting off Clover up until OpenCore was released in 2019 so I really haven't tried testing with Clover releases past that time however I believe the choice of boot-loader should not be an issue since most of Clover's patching process also has to rely on Acidanthera's OpenRuntime.efi, Lilu, WhateverGreen, VirtualSMC and its plugins etc. It's just that Clover has a more user friendly config-GUI which is indeed a convenience especially in situations when trying to get macOS to boot on a system with various config files

I'll have a look at your EFI and try test out with my machine as well however do allow me sometime on that.

[zydoslav]

7 minutes ago, aben said:

@zydoslav Hello there!

Looks like I too am in possession of the exact Toshiba model as yours (mine is 15-inch hence L850) also from the same Ivy-Bridge generation lineup however  for the variant I possess, Toshiba decided not to have the integrated Intel HD4000 graphics module connected to the board and has only equipped with a discrete AMD mobile GPU; the HD 7670M based off of the HD 6000 series which, unfortunately, is only natively supported up until macOS 10.13 High Sierra. However I've had success in the past getting to install macOS Catalina and Big Sur (of course with no hardware accelerated graphics) purely for testing purposes so looks like I might just be able to help give you an extra hand, if required, on top of @5T33Z0's broad-experienced guidance with getting macOS installed properly on your machine as well.

Currently my Toshiba is configured with OpenCore boot-loader, although it was obviously booting off Clover up until OpenCore was released in 2019 so I really haven't tried testing with Clover releases past that time however I believe the choice of boot-loader should not be an issue since most of Clover's patching process also has to rely on Acidanthera's OpenRuntime.efi, Lilu, WhateverGreen, VirtualSMC and its plugins etc. It's just that Clover has a more user friendly config-GUI which is indeed a convenience especially in situations when trying to get macOS to boot on a system with various config files

I'll have a look at your EFI and try test out with my machine as well however do allow me sometime on that.

 

Thank you so much, this could be helpful. I want to keep it in clover, because I have Windows 7 x64 installed on the machine and I want to keep it working.

In meantime I have tried to make a Catalina USB installer with dosdude patcher, but the situation remains the same -  laptop reboots in the same place.

I am looking forward for message from you.

[Guest 5T33Z0]

Try this one.

 

SSDT-HPET is not necessary  when using Clover. It can be achieved using Clovers ACPI fixes.

 

• Corrected Kernel and Kext Patches
• Corrected ACPI settings
• Corrected Quirks
• Added Brcm kexts for BT
• Checke DeviceProperties for Framebuffer Patch

 

EFI.zip

Edited April 8, 2022 by 5T33Z0

[zydoslav]

Just tried this EFI, still no luck, reboots at the same place, same logs as previously appearing. I am attaching preboot.log.

preboot.log

[aben]

@zydoslav Try the below attached EFI for the time being. I haven’t gotten the chance to test with my machine yet since I’m currently away from it, will take an hour or so however I have managed to include some relevant modifications from my past Clover EFI folder. I omitted the Bluetooth kexts for now, till we can get macOS installed first. Hopefully below config works. I’ll revert back here once I have tested on my machine as well. Good luck!

EFI.zip

 

UPDATE: Just tested this EFI on my machine and was able to successfully boot into Big Sur installer. Should work for yours as well.

Edited April 8, 2022 by aben

[zydoslav]

@aben I have tried your EFI, still no luck  How did you configure your BIOS? Maybe in the bios config I have something configured wrong...

I have noticed one change - with this EFI I can boot Clover from USB 3.0 port - earlier it was not possible. The rest is the same, same logs, same errors -> reboot

Maybe I am trying to install too new version of Big Sur? With MDS the search returns only 11.6 and 11.5 versions, is there any possibility to get an installer of Big Sur <11.3?

Edited April 8, 2022 by zydoslav

[aben]

@zydoslav I tested with latest Big Sur installer so I don't think the issue lies there. What kind of medium are you using for the installer? SATA drive or USB flash?

[zydoslav]

16 minutes ago, aben said:

@zydoslav I tested with latest Big Sur installer so I don't think the issue lies there. What kind of medium are you using for the installer? SATA drive or USB flash?

 

For Clover I am using USB 3.0 stick, for Big Sur installer I am using USB 2.0 stick. What BIOS config do you have in your L850? Maybe there is something hiding in there?

 

In the meantime I have tried to make a USB stick (2.0) with dosdude  Catalina patcher with Catalina 10.15.7 and... same error, same logs, reboot. So now I think it has something to do with bios config or USB sticks..

Edited April 8, 2022 by zydoslav