nForce OS X El Capitan (10.11) APP STORE DOWNLOAD INSTALL GUIDE on a Series 6 or 7 nForce chipset / Intel CPU MOBO

[verdant]

nForce OS X El Capitan (OS X 10.11.6) APP STORE DOWNLOAD INSTALL GUIDE
on a Series 6 or 7 nForce chipset / Intel CPU MOBO

(and some other BIOS-based MOBOs as well, e.g. Asus P5Q, P5Q Pro, P5Q-E, P5Q Deluxe)

 

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INTRODUCTION

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A. Motherboard and Chipset Applicability:

 

1. Series 6 or 7 nForce chipset / Intel CPU MOBOs

 

This guide is primarily focussed on installing and running OS X El Capitan on a Series 6 or 7 nForce chipset / Intel CPU BIOS-based MOBOs with an nVidia graphics card.

 

{a} This is simply because I have an Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus  650i nForce chipset + Intel Q6600 CPU MOBO + GeForce 9800GT 512MB graphics card........but what works for the 650i should and invariably does work for the 650i Ultra, 680i, 750i, 780i, 790i, and 790i Ultra.....hence my topic tags....

 

{b} Note that in my topic tags, I say that this guide may only possibly be applicable to the 630i chipset.
This is because it is still my current understanding is that the following nForce chipsets are not fully AHCI compliant and so can be used with imk's 64bit version (or subsequent versions of the AppleNForceATA.kext, such Tora Chi Yo's AppleNforceATA 1.0.6 version based on the AnV 1.0.4 32/64 Version etc.):

 

nForce 430/410 (MCP51),

nForce 590/570/550/680i/650i/780i/750i/790i (MCP55)

nForce 430/405/400 (MCP61); nForce 560/520 (MCP65)

nForce 630a (MCP67)

 

Furthermore, the MOBOs using one of these nForce chipsets usually have the BIOS option to set the enable nForce SATA Controller and require SATA RAID to be Enabled (implicitly enabling AHCI mode) even when not running a RAID system, for the NForceATA.kext to work.
In contrast, the following nForce chipsets are/may be fully-AHCI compliant and so do not/may not work with the AppleNForceATA.kext:
nForce 560/520 (MCP65) and nForce 630a (MCP67); nForce 630i/620i/610i (MCP73), nForce 730a/720a/710a (MCP78) and nForce ION (MCP79) nForce chipsets (MCP65 and higher) support the advanced SATA features in the AHCI standard, such as NCQ etc.
The MOBOs using one of these nForce chipsets usually have the BIOS option to set the nForce SATA Controllers to "AHCI Mode" instead of "IDE Mode".

 

{c} As I use an nVidia graphics card, the guide is naturally written from an nVidia perspective; nevertheless, I hope that owners of a Series 6 or 7 nForce chipset / Intel CPU MOBO with an ATI graphics card will use it too.

 

For help with:
(i) AMD/ATI graphics cards, IM is your friend......
(ii) For help with mixed multiple AMD/ATI and/or nVidia graphics cards and /or multiple displays, Google is your friend......e.g. aqua-mac, netkas, and later others.......

 

 

2. Non-nForce chipset + Intel CPU MOBOs

 

Non-nForce chipset + Intel CPU MOBOs users may also be able to use the guide, or at least also find it interesting and even helpful in places too.......

 

I say this because:

 

{a} Each reader's MOBO brand/model typically has to have its own custom setup for DSDT/audio/networking/video etc.

 

{b} It is primarily the need for the AppleNForceATA.imk64bit.kext in /Extra/Extensions/ or in /System/Library/ Extensions/ and nForceLAN.0.64.5.kext in /System/Library/ Extensions/, as well not being able to use a SleepEnabler.kext and having issues with sleep that distinguishes nForce chipset + Intel CPU MOBOs from non-nForce chipset + Intel CPU MOBOs rather than the basic procedures for installing OS X.........

 

Hence,  I have also used my USB installer (produced using this guide) with just a DSDT.aml file swap (as any nForce chipset-specific kexts in /System/Library/Extensions are not loaded into the kernel when OS X is running on a non-nForce chipset MOBO) to suit each MOBO, to install OS X 10.11.6 onto my Asus P5Q, P5Q Pro, P5Q-E and P5Q Deluxe MOBOs......

 

 

3. Bootloader Choice 

 

Firstly, may I say that I am very pleased with all the parallel progress being made with the Clover and Enoch (Chameleon) boot loaders as they both allow OS X El Capitan and Mac OS Sierra etc. to be booted on PCs.......  

 

However,  as the user of multiple BIOS-based 'legacy LGA775' MOBOs, I am especially thankful for the efforts of ErmaC and Micky1979 (not forgetting the original efforts of all the Chameleon team) in continuing to develop the Enoch (Chameleon) boot loader to the extent that it can successfully boot OS X El Capitan (and Mac OS Sierra) on BIOS MOBOs, and it is the boot loader (r2839) that I am currently using for OS X El Capitan.

 

My primary reason for using the Enoch (Chameleon) boot loader to boot OS X 10.11.6 is that I previously used the Chameleon boot loader itself to boot OS X 10.5.8 through to OS X 10.10.5 (to which OS X 10.11.5 has now been added) all on a single MBR HDD and mostly mirrored on a single GPT HDD, along with Windows 7 and Linux on my Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus  650i MOBO.

 

Nevertheless, if and when time allows, I will investigate the use of the Clover bootloader in legacy mode for comparison and interest. 

 

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This will be a "live guide" that will evolve in length depending on:

 

(i) my very limited free time (hence my only finding some free time now to install OS X 10.11.6 as my 'real life' is so busy    ) and

 

(ii) the continued level of interest and need via posts in this topic from other 'die-hard' nForce chipset + Intel CPU MOBO users (whose nForce MOBOs simply refuse to 'die', preventing an upgrade excuse!    ), especially IM members who have followed my previous nForce install guides... 

 

So, please read the current online "live" guide before attempting to follow it, even if you had previously followed an earlier version successfully.....
 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION......via OS X El Capitan on nForce    

 

Stage 1 construction will commence upon IM member request - I need to determine the level of 'need' for this guide before spending my time on it - I hope IM members understand....     

 

Part #1 DOWNLOADS and TOOLS USED

 

Part # 2 Making a Bootable GPT Partitioned USB Flash Drive GPT/MBR OS X El Capitan(OS X 10.11.6) Installer

 

Part # 3 Installing a Bootable OS X El Capitan (OS X 10.11.6) System on either a GPT Partitioned Hard Drive Volume OR a MBR Partitioned Hard Drive Volume Using a Bootable GPT/MBR USB Flash Drive OS X El Capitan (OS X 10.11.6) Installer

 

Part #4 Cloning a Bootable OS X El Capitan (OS X 10.11.6) System installed on a GPT/HFS+ HDD (e.g. external USB HDD) to your internal HDD MBR/HFS+ OS X target volume

 

Potentially Stage 2 only by IM member request and as my time permits

 

Part #5 OS X El Capitan (OS X 10.11.6) Installation / Boot / Operation Issues

 

Part #6 How to Enable Natural Power Management ("vanilla SpeedStepping") in OS X El Capitan (OS X 10.11.6) on an nForce chipset + Intel CPU MOBO

 

Part #7 Getting Audio Working in OS X El Capitan (OS X 10.11.6

[verdant]

Reserved by verdant

[andy1997]

Last week I was presented with an nForce mobo and used parts of your 10.10 guide to setup 10.11.6 on it.

It works pretty much flawlessly, though I would love to see restart and sleep working. Do you think it is something that could be achieved?

[verdant]

@andy1997
 
Glad to hear my 10.10 guide helped you....
 
I have got restart working on 10.11.6 but will check on sleep tomorrow and let you know as soon as I can.....
 
 

[verdant]

UPDATE - sleep still remains problematic on my nForce MOBO   but at least restart is now working for me in El capitan  

1. In my DSDT.aml file I have inserted the general SMBus patch via MaciASL v1.4 and checked that the general Asus Shutdown Fix (from PJALM's Patch Repositories for MaciASL ) did not need adding to the DSDT.

2. I renamed Master Chief's OSXRestart Version 1.5c kext as OSXRestart.MasterChief.kext to give him all the credit due and put it in my 10.11.6 /S/L/E directory in place of the 64bit EvoReboot.kext (which I use without any problems at all in my 64bit OS X systems from 10.6.8 through to 10.10.5; whereas, I use the 32bit OpenHaltRestart.kext in my 32bit OS X 10.5.8 and OS X 10.6.8 systems) and then in Terminal reset the /S/L/E kext ownership and permissions and rebuilt the kernel cache file:

sudo chown -R root:wheel /System/Library/Extensions
sudo chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions
sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions
exit

I have attached the kext here for convenience: OSXRestart.MasterChief.kext.zip

[andy1997]

Thanks for the update, I just used the kext you linked to enable restart. I have no idea how I could have missed that earlier. 

 

I can confirm that my system is fully operational using clover in legacy mode, except for sleep, which doesn't work. 

[verdant]

Glad to help and that it has worked for you too

 

If you wish, it may help other IM nForce users to post your Clover legacy mode config.plist here....although I used Enoch myself for simplicity and backward compatibility etc.