A newbie's problems with OpenCore Prodesk G4 400 SFF

[indibil]

Hi, many years ago I built a Hackintosh with Clover, but things have changed a lot and I'm not very skilled.

 

I have a Prodesk G4 400 with an i5 7500 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB NVMe drive with a PCIe x4 adapter, because the motherboard doesn't have NVMe. With this configuration, it works fine with Linux Mint, but I wanted to install only OSX Ventura.

 

I found this EFI folder on GitHub, which I've attached (it now has OpenCore updated to the latest version), and with either the original or the latest OpenCore, I'm having the same problem: it gets stuck at this point when booting from a USB drive.

 

https://github.com/hoanngothanh/HP-Prodesk-400-G4-SFF-Opencore-EFI

 

EFI folder

 

I don't have any SATA devices connected. Maybe I'll add an HDD in the future.

 

Can you help me? I think my BIOS is configured correctly, but I'm not sure anymore. There's no AHCI option anywhere; I think it's set to that by default.

 

I'm a bit hopeless at these tasks, so I looked for a ready-made EFI folder.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[deeveedee]

Since the GitHub repo you're using claims to have success with Big Sur, you might want to start with Big Sur testing first.

 

EDIT: you may also need to try a different USB thumb drive.

Edited January 15 by deeveedee

[indibil]

Thank you for responding.

I would be interested in Ventura; a friend will be the one using it.

I am using a USB3 flash drive created according to the method described on the OpenCore website under Linux. Newer operating systems show a crossed-out symbol after booting.

Perhaps some kext is not compatible with Ventura?

Thank you.

[LockDown]

22 minutes ago, indibil said:

systems show a crossed-out symbol after booting.

is this the one? chosen smbios is not compatible

Edited January 16 by LockDown

[indibil]

48 minutes ago, LockDown said:

is this the one? chosen smbios is not compatible

Yes, this one shows up if I try Sonoma, or any version after Ventura.

So the EFI folder from GitHub won't work for me? Wow, I’m afraid it’s going to be complicated, right? Or is there an easy way to generate an SMBIOS?

[indibil]

My EFI folder doesn't contain a smbios.plist file, only config.plist.

What should I do to fix this? I've tried several combinations this afternoon and haven't had any luck.

Is there anyone with this system who could share their EFI folder?

Thanks

[indibil]

Hi, I've been making "fixes" to the errors OCAuxiliaryTools was giving me regarding the config.plist file, and I've also updated the kext and OpenCore to the latest version.

But now I can't boot from the DMG file. I only have two options: External, and neither of them boots from the .dmg file on the USB drive.

Do you know what I might have changed that's preventing it from recognizing the recovery folder?

Thanks

 

EFI Revised

 

[Asural]

50 minutes ago, indibil said:

Hi, I've been making "fixes" to the errors OCAuxiliaryTools was giving me regarding the config.plist file, and I've also updated the kext and OpenCore to the latest version.

But now I can't boot from the DMG file. I only have two options: External, and neither of them boots from the .dmg file on the USB drive.

Do you know what I might have changed that's preventing it from recognizing the recovery folder?

Thanks

 

 The OpenCore Menu is displayed, but it seems the USB is not recognized.
If you create UTBMap.kext in Windows with USBToolx, it will be compatible with Catalina through Sequoia.

 

It appears you're booting with OpenCore 1.6.0, but the EFI configuration is different, so try duplicating OpenCore-1.0.6/X64/EFI and building it again.
We recommend reading this guide and creating the required ACPI with SSDTTime post-install in Windows.

 

[indibil]

21 minutes ago, Asural said:

 

 The OpenCore Menu is displayed, but it seems the USB is not recognized.
If you create UTBMap.kext in Windows with USBToolx, it will be compatible with Catalina through Sequoia.

 

It appears you're booting with OpenCore 1.6.0, but the EFI configuration is different, so try duplicating OpenCore-1.0.6/X64/EFI and building it again.
We recommend reading this guide and creating the required ACPI with SSDTTime post-install in Windows.

 

 

Thanks for replying.

The problem is that I only have Linux on this machine, and I'll only be replacing it with Ventura.

Before repairing config.plist, it showed me the option to boot from DMG.

So, with OpenCore 1.0.6, do I need a different folder structure?

I'm really bad at this stuff.

[Asural]

25 minutes ago, indibil said:

 

Thanks for replying.

The problem is that I only have Linux on this machine, and I'll only be replacing it with Ventura.

Before repairing config.plist, it showed me the option to boot from DMG.

So, with OpenCore 1.0.6, do I need a different folder structure?

I'm really bad at this stuff.

 

If you're using Linux, you should be able to create a USB installation of Windows 10 or 11 from FireFox by going to the Microsoft download page.
If you're using an HP machine, you can authenticate it for free automatically or with HP Support Assistant, so give it a try.

[strangeron]

If you are going to perform an installation using system restore;

1. Format USB drive/Fat32 2. Create the com.apple.recovery.boot folder and the EFI folder next to it.

Note: Internet connection is required. Installation will begin in approximately 2 minutes.

[indibil]

1 hour ago, strangeron said:

If you are going to perform an installation using system restore;

1. Format USB drive/Fat32 2. Create the com.apple.recovery.boot folder and the EFI folder next to it.

Note: Internet connection is required. Installation will begin in approximately 2 minutes.

 

That's exactly how I have it installed. I have the USB formatted to FAT32 as described on the OpenCore website, and the EFI and recovery folders are included. I also have a wired internet connection. I want to install Ventura.

 

With the folder downloaded from GitHub for the Prodesk G4 400, I can boot up to the point I showed in the first post. With the "updated" EFI folder (using OCAuxiliaryTools), I can't get the bootloader to recognize the .dmg files at boot.

https://github.com/hoanngothanh/HP-Prodesk-400-G4-SFF-Opencore-EFI

 

I previously attached the link to my EFI folders, both the original and the "updated" one.

 

EFI folder

EFI updated

 

I tried with the EFI folder from a Prodesk G3 600, and the same thing happens; I get stuck at the same point.

 

https://github.com/bytecntrl/HP-ProDesk-600-G3

 

Is it an incorrect Ethernet driver? A wrong BIOS setting? It's driving me crazy; I've been struggling with this all day.

 

 

[strangeron]

Try it. (With NVRam Reset)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WJTf19rTCT4sIcXd5Y2WCrhpToPLXxV-/view?usp=sharing

[indibil]

8 hours ago, strangeron said:

Try it. (With NVRam Reset)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WJTf19rTCT4sIcXd5Y2WCrhpToPLXxV-/view?usp=sharing

 

Thanks for that contribution.

 

I've tried it, and I only get a black screen after selecting Opencore in the boot menu, nothing else. I've done an NVRAM reset.

 

I had the iMac 19.1 BIOS and I took the opportunity to try iMac 18.3 and iMac 18.2, and I get the same result.

 

At least now it seems to skip the boot menu; before, it always returned to it.

 

Is NVMEfix.kext not necessary on this model if I'm going to use an NVMe drive in the PCIe x4 port? I see that the kext isn't included.

 

Thanks.

[Asural]

1 hour ago, indibil said:

 

Thanks for that contribution.

 

I've tried it, and I only get a black screen after selecting Opencore in the boot menu, nothing else. I've done an NVRAM reset.

 

I had the iMac 19.1 BIOS and I took the opportunity to try iMac 18.3 and iMac 18.2, and I get the same result.

 

At least now it seems to skip the boot menu; before, it always returned to it.

 

Is NVMEfix.kext not necessary on this model if I'm going to use an NVMe drive in the PCIe x4 port? I see that the kext isn't included.

 

Thanks.

 

Please check if your NVMe is compatible with MacOS.
 

[strangeron]

3 hours ago, indibil said:

I've tried it, and I only get a black screen after selecting Opencore in the boot menu

Pre-loading will begin in 2 minutes. Maybe even longer. You'll have to wait.

[Asural]

19 hours ago, Asural said:

 

 The OpenCore Menu is displayed, but it seems the USB is not recognized.
If you create UTBMap.kext in Windows with USBToolx, it will be compatible with Catalina through Sequoia.

 

It appears you're booting with OpenCore 1.6.0, but the EFI configuration is different, so try duplicating OpenCore-1.0.6/X64/EFI and building it again.
We recommend reading this guide and creating the required ACPI with SSDTTime post-install in Windows.

 

It seems that all of this is also described as operating on Linux.
 

[indibil]

18 minutes ago, strangeron said:

La precarga comenzará en 2 minutos. Quizá incluso más. Tendrás que esperar.

I can't guarantee the time, but I have sometimes waited longer than that without success.

This afternoon I will try again, but maybe I have been waiting for about 5 minutes.

 

7 minutes ago, Asural said:

It seems that all of this is also described as operating on Linux.
 

 

USBtoolBox seems to work only on Windows, right?

 

 

[Asural]

3 hours ago, indibil said:

IUSBtoolBox seems to work only on Windows, right?

 

This is a reference video
 

[indibil]

Hello.

I've been testing it, and every time I manage to get it to start, I always get stuck at the same point:

 

 

I'm starting to suspect there might be something wrong with the BIOS. I've taken some pictures. Could you take a look and see if I have any incorrect settings? I've lost count of how many things I've changed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks!!

 

 

 

 

[deeveedee]

On 1/15/2026 at 12:19 PM, indibil said:

I have a Prodesk G4 400 with an i5 7500 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB NVMe drive with a PCIe x4 adapter, because the motherboard doesn't have NVMe. With this configuration, it works fine with Linux Mint, but I wanted to install only OSX Ventura.

 What is the make/model of your NVMe drive?

 

EDIT: Did you follow the recommendations in this thread to see if your NVMe drive is compatible?

Edited January 19 by deeveedee

[indibil]

I tried removing the NVMe drive and the result is the same. This is my NVMe hard drive.

 

 

 

[deeveedee]

8 minutes ago, indibil said:

I tried removing the NVMe drive and the result is the same.

 

If you removed the NVMe drive and you still can't boot your USB, then you have eliminated the NVMe drive as your immediate problem.  Just know that SK Hynix drives have been known to cause problems with macOS.  You may want to boot Windows with your NVMe drive and check to see if there are any firmware updates for it.

 

EDIT: Have you tried booting with other USB thumb drives?

 

EDIT2: Have you tried booting the Big Sur installer just to see if that works (since the repo you copied appears to have last been tested with Big Sur)?

Edited January 19 by deeveedee

[indibil]

14 hours ago, deeveedee said:

 

If you removed the NVMe drive and you still can't boot your USB, then you have eliminated the NVMe drive as your immediate problem.  Just know that SK Hynix drives have been known to cause problems with macOS.  You may want to boot Windows with your NVMe drive and check to see if there are any firmware updates for it.

 

EDIT: Have you tried booting with other USB thumb drives?

 

EDIT2: Have you tried booting the Big Sur installer just to see if that works (since the repo you copied appears to have last been tested with Big Sur)?

 

Alright.

For now, I'm going to focus on getting the installer to start, then I'll see if the NVME works for me or if I need to look for another one. I installed this one because I had it unused, it's not a high-performance drive.

From the previous BIOS photos, I don't know what could be wrong.

[Asural]

19 hours ago, indibil said:

Hello.

I've been testing it, and every time I manage to get it to start, I always get stuck at the same point:

 

 

I'm starting to suspect there might be something wrong with the BIOS. I've taken some pictures. Could you take a look and see if I have any incorrect settings? I've lost count of how many things I've changed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks!!

 

 

 

 

 

It seems to be stuck on WEG, what is the connection between the PC and the monitor?