[Guide] Z820 - El Capitan The great guide (Sucess)

[bilbo]

Yes, There is something wrong with the update. Did you update the nvidia drivers also ? 

 

I'm in 11.6 without problems but I never update the minor versions of the SO. I install it directly in last version. If you download El capitan now from appstore, the SO is updated to 10.11.6 . That is another reason because I always wait to last version x.x.6 or so, to update to the last mountain of Apple

[bennals]

No, I actually uninstalled the nvidia web drivers on the 11.6 installation before copying the 11.0 kexts across and I haven't re-installed them since.  I will test that when I get a chance though.

[despeinao]

Hi, could anybody post a working link to the original AstekFusion2Family and AstekFusion2Adapter kexts, please? The astekcorp.com and astektechservices.com ones don't work anymore. Thank you!

[amadeusex]

Merry Christmas to everyone !

 

I had some drawbacks with my MacOs installation after changing my monitor.

 

My old one albeit working just fine and with 23" big enough only came with a single vga input. After replacing it with an HP 2465 (and accidentally invoking auto update) i had major graphic glitches. Studio one (DAW-sequencer software) and logic Pro (ditto) would play back just fine but their interface would not refresh graphics unless You clicked anywhere on the app and only for some seconds.

 

Same day later and i couldn't boot from the HDD (it would stop after login - no KP just no desktop) and i had to use the installer usb to get to the OS (which as You all know sucks bc You don't have the refined system with PM yada yada yada)

 

Long story short - Together with the necessity to transfer the os to an SSD I did the installation from scratch ... again.

 

This time (and because of the fact that up to here i had my old monitor connected to the HDMI output with an active HDMI to DVI-I converter) i decided to use

lilu.kext and NvidiaGraphicsFixup which just works fine.

 

I also cleaned my DSDT from scratch and somehow didn't get the annoying error i had the first time (where i just deleted that method after trying for some hours to find a solution) and created the SSDT for power management again.

 

I tried to use the EFI folder from the HDD installation but power management wasn't working good enough (don't know why - it does now so i can't complain).

 

Also i didn't have to install any application again because migration assistant (applications/utilities) works just fine - otherwise i had to spend some days to install all that cr@p again !

 

Geek bench 3 scores are now even better - 34-35k

http://browser.geekbench.com/geekbench3/8514928

 

Cinebench 15 score is 1956 (CPU) and 54 Fps (GPU - ASUS Nvidia GTX 740)

 

 

 

My z820 has the 3.91 bios and is loaded with 64Gb ram and 2 E5 2670 v1 cpus.

 

My kexts used in S/L/E

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1B1d2EfQJ213d6cQizfa8195f8RsoIHrS

 

My EFI folder

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1x5HiyMuR9nPZIrFLW5eLkPg6IKMMr-5f

 

Happy holidays and a happy new year from Greece !

 

[bilbo]

Merry Christmas to everyone !

 

.....

 

 

I'm very very glad to read people hacking z820 succesfully !!!

 

 

 

 

Hi, could anybody post a working link to the original AstekFusion2Family and AstekFusion2Adapter kexts, please? The astekcorp.com and astektechservices.com ones don't work anymore. Thank you!

 

 

Here is the original installer. If you do some improve to patch them to work in SIerra, please, let us know

Astek_Fusion2_HBA_Driver-2.62_032813a.zip

[despeinao]

Here is the original installer. If you do some improve to patch them to work in SIerra, please, let us know

 

Thank you!

 

I've managed to make a working version for High Sierra (I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work with Sierra or earlier)

 

Binary patch for Clover (use the original driver):

<dict>
	<key>Comment</key>
	<string>Astek Fusion 2 Unrestricted</string>
	<key>Disabled</key>
	<false/>
	<key>Find</key>
	<data>
	xoGSAwAAAQ+3uYABAADoaQoAAA==
	</data>
	<key>Name</key>
	<string>AstekFusion2Family</string>
	<key>Replace</key>
	<data>
	xoGSAwAAAA+3uYABAADpBgAAAA==
	</data>
</dict>

Diff to the disassembled code (AstekFusion2Family, disassembled using otool -jtV):

--- AstekFusion2Family OR.asm	2017-12-26 21:57:32.000000000 +0100
+++ AstekFusion2Family.asm	2017-12-26 21:57:38.000000000 +0100
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-AstekFusion2Family OR:
+AstekFusion2Family:
 (__TEXT,__text) section
 _string_to_config:
 0000000000000540	55 	pushq	%rbp
@@ -19458,9 +19458,9 @@ __ZN37com_astekcorp_driver_AstekFusion2S
 00000000000146df	c6 81 8f 03 00 00 00 	movb	$0x0, 0x38f(%rcx)
 00000000000146e6	c6 81 90 03 00 00 00 	movb	$0x0, 0x390(%rcx)
 00000000000146ed	c6 81 91 03 00 00 00 	movb	$0x0, 0x391(%rcx)
-00000000000146f4	c6 81 92 03 00 00 01 	movb	$0x1, 0x392(%rcx)
+00000000000146f4	c6 81 92 03 00 00 00 	movb	$0x0, 0x392(%rcx)
 00000000000146fb	0f b7 b9 80 01 00 00 	movzwl	0x180(%rcx), %edi
-0000000000014702	e8 69 0a 00 00 	callq	__ZL18is_astek_vendor_idj ## is_astek_vendor_id(unsigned int)
+0000000000014702	e9 06 00 00 00 	jmp	0x1470d
 0000000000014707	48 83 f8 00 	cmpq	$0x0, %rax
 000000000001470b	74 7c 	je	0x14789
 000000000001470d	bf 05 00 00 00 	movl	$0x5, %edi

And I've also attached the patched drivers if you don't want Clover to patch them for you.

Unrestricted_Astek_Fusion2_HBA_Driver.zip

[bilbo]

Ooow despeinao, installed and tested. And it's works !!! Thanks a lot!!! We owe you a few beers ... A big release. :thumbsup_anim:

 

 

P:D muchas gracias

[antagon]

I´m triying to install sierra 12.6 to my Z820 and i always got stuck at the same point. No matter if i boot from USB or if I try to boot via another HD (i copied my EFI to it before), the result is always the same. I got stuck at the stop sign.

 

Does anyone have a solution for this problem?

EFI Z820.zip

[bilbo]

It´s the usb issue.

 

It's easy to see that your clover folder is absoltly wrong and messy.

 

First. You deleted the 10.x.x kext folders from KEXT folder, and all kexts are in "other"  ... Why?

 

You have also more kexts ... "WhateverGreen" ?¿?¿?¿? and I miss some folder more. Really weird.

 

Second. Open the config.plist with cloverconfigurator. Everything is wrong :surprised:

 

So, delete clover folder from your usb  and reinstall clover again following my guide. (download the last version for Sierra) .

 

Go to step 2, read this

2.1 Config.plist

 

Clover makes a config.plist with some options pre-selected. Change the original config.plist by mine. But take a look to options (with clover configurator) to understand it in order to be able to adapt them for your specs. It’s a basic config.plist. I could add more options or fixes. but is a good idea install with minimum options.

... and follow the guide . to get a right usb installer Use clover configurator to have a more clear overview.

And remember that it'a a guide for El Capitán. To install completely Sierra has several concerns. I'm working on a new guide for sierra in my spare time. I don't know how long will take it. But keep in mind that some parts of the guide need an update.

[antagon]

I changed things from your guide because i wanted to install sierra and the el capitan files didn´t work for me.

 

"other" folder: I usually put kext into this folder. Clover loads kext´s from that folder no matter which osx version you use. I´ve never experienced any issue with it.

Whatevergreen & Lilu Kext is they way to get AMD RX Cards to work properly. There´s just one other way but you need to edit the dsdt for it and i usually do that as a part of the post installation process.

 

I though it was the USB problem myself but i copied my folder to an HD and the problem persisted. 

 

Anyways, thanks a lot for your thoughts and I´ll start over again ...

[bilbo]

 

"other" folder: I usually put kext into this folder. Clover loads kext´s from that folder no matter which osx version you use. I´ve never experienced any issue with it.

 

 

I know. But I think there is no need to do that. It´s  the recomended folder to use lilu and agp ifx but for the rest of kexts .... anyway It's up to you.

 

I didn't know Whatevergreen.kext . Keep in mind that you don't need graphic working 100% . You can patch it later. But if it is neccesary, ok.

 

So focus in your config.plist. Open it with clover configurator and compare it with my config.plist for install of my stuff. Check the patches of ACPI section. You are mixing several patches  ( Rename devices to usb ) , provided by default by clover ,and my patches. Delete the rest of them and keep only my patches (see screensots of my guide). This , with USBInjectAll.kext will do the magic to boot.

 

But , you have a lot of extra patches, related with PM, and other things selected. And you have deselected a lot of essentials patchs of kernel and "kexts patches section". Your config.plist never will work.

 

In short...I I highly recommend you use my basic config plist and add only options for your graphic issue. You will be able to refine it later.

 

Luck

 

PS- Sorry If I sounded a bit rude

[antagon]

You are totally right. I left the Clover DSDT Patches in the ACPI section patches from a config i found for a high sierra installation of a Z420.

They have no meaning in both contexts, because there are HDAS, EHC1 & 2 devices in the DSDT. Important are just the renames to EH01 & 02 for USBinjectall and those are the same you have in your config.

 

I´m editing the DSDT at the moment and will try again tomorrow morning with your basic config.

[bilbo]

Hi mates.

 

I'm finishing a new guide to update our machines to Sierra . I'm close to finish it. I'm in a temp install. I have to wait for some new toy, and repeat and check all again.

 

All is still working like under El Capitan... pros (audio, graphics, drivers controllers, PM ) and cons (USB3).  some steps has been improved. But I could say we are ready to jump to next mountain in a stable way.

 

A good idea could be make a dsdt cleaned and patched for us, but it depends of the bios version. Now I'am in 3.85. (I have to use some certified bios versions).  there are a lot of versions. 3.87 , 3.88, 3.90 , 3.91 ... but I'm interested specially in 3.90 and 3.91 version,  (last versions , and less work) 

 

So please, for those with this versions, upload your whole dsdt tables for your bios version. To extract them,---use only this method---, press f4 on boot clover screen, and then, after boot,  compress and upload the folder /efi/clover/acpi/origin .

[amadeusex]

Sounds good !

 

Here's my origin folder.

 

HP z820 v1 with 3.91 bios (2011 bootblock !)

 

 

origin.zip

[bilbo]

Tanks!!!

 

(What is "2011 bootblock" ? )

[amadeusex]

Hi

 

Unfortunately HP sells two different versions of the z820 workstations. v1 and v2. v1 supports Sandy bridge CPUs and v2 adds support for ivy bridge processors.

 

The only difference is the boot block (2011 vs 2013) which cannot be upgraded via bios flash. It can be done but only with a risky procedure involving external hadware to manually flash the bios chip and resolder again onto the main board.

 

 https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/z820-e5-2600-v2-ivy-bridge-upgrade/td-p/5086052/page/7

 

 

How's that 1080 ti working ?

[bilbo]

mmm. I though that z820 v1 / v2 version was only different in bios version. So I'm gonna need bios in both versions

 

 

1080 is not working well. It works, but with some issue with hardware accelaration and working with two monitors. It doesn't have a big perfomance , either. The worst is even  the soft which I work  doesn't recognize the card. The lesson I learned these days is in despite of all the info about Pascal Support by nvidia drivers in sierra , 10xx series are not supported yet .

 

The only consolation is that in linux and windows works pretty well.

 

I'll try in high sierra, but I don't have time. Testing Sierra, working, etc

[amadeusex]

"1080 is not working well"

 

Did You try the Lilu / NvidiaGraphixFixup kexts ?

 

Gpus other than the natively supported ones tend to be difficult to configure with the MacPro6,1 definition ... 

[bilbo]

Yes I did. They're necessary to fix black screen on boot in "on-the-fly" way. I don't think that NvidiaGraphixFixup have any impact on perfomance. 

 

My last hope is try on High Sierra. But I must finish my test on Sierra.

[osx555]

Hi, what kind of problem do you have with 1080 ti? it worked all the time as gui in slot 2 without any problem or performance issues with 2 monitors on the output. now i have have two 1080 ti installed in slots 4 (gui) and 6 with perfect results in cuda applications.

 

i have problem that only front usb 2 connector is working with macpro 6.1 definition. with macpro 5.1 definition are working rear usb ports too. exist any solution for this?

 

thanks.

[bilbo]

I have some specifical problems.

 

- dual monitor DVI + Display port doesn't work on boot. I have to turn off the display port monitor on boot.

 

- some minor blocks in some UI effects (minimizing windows .. etc)

 

-Not so great perfomance as I expected. Geekbench, cinebench, unigine heaven, etc)

 

-Soft which I work doesn't recognize the card , what cold be a symptom of it's not working 100%. In linux works 100%

 

 

Please post your specs. so and driver versions, z820 specs, clover confs, kexts etcto compare.

[despeinao]

Hi, if you want the drives attached to the LSI Fusion adapter to show up as internal, just add this patch to the KextsToPatch section in Clover:

<dict>
	<key>Comment</key>
	<string>Astek Fusion 2 Fix External</string>
	<key>Disabled</key>
	<false/>
	<key>Find</key>
	<data>
		PHN0cmluZz5FeHRlcm5hbDwvc3RyaW5nPg==
	</data>
	<key>InfoPlistPatch</key>
	<true/>
	<key>Name</key>
	<string>AstekFusion2Adapter</string>
	<key>Replace</key>
	<data>
		PHN0cmluZz5JbnRlcm5hbDwvc3RyaW5nPg==
	</data>
</dict>

[m0del101]

thanks for this guide I've been able to get my z620 running without many problems

 

[marbin]

For anyone trying to get the native USB 3.0 ports to work, I would recommend buying this PCI-E card: Ableconn PUSB31P2A USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) 2-Port Type-A PCI Express (PCIe) x4 Host Adapter Card - Support Mac OS X 10.12 Sierra and Windows 10/8

Works like a charm OOB on the latest Sierra release. It costs around US $30.00, but you get the latest gen2 10gbps USB 3.1 connectivity. You can pick either Type-A, Type-C or Type-A and Type-C mixed depending on your needs.

 

Anyone else not able to shutdown or restart properly with this card installed? I boot verbose all the time just to make sure everything looks ok, usually when I shutdown I'll get a little more verbose script about shutting down. With this PCI card installed the screen goes black, the computer stays on, then reboots with a 929-fatal mca error. 

 

I'm running 10.12.6 on a HP z620 with dual 2960s 

 

If I remove the card, the computer shuts down or reboots normally. I have tried multiple PCI slots, all with the same results. 

 

any ideas? 

[La_Tristesse]

Thank you!

 

I've managed to make a working version for High Sierra (I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work with Sierra or earlier)

 

Binary patch for Clover (use the original driver):

<dict>
	<key>Comment</key>
	<string>Astek Fusion 2 Unrestricted</string>
	<key>Disabled</key>
	<false/>
	<key>Find</key>
	<data>
	xoGSAwAAAQ+3uYABAADoaQoAAA==
	</data>
	<key>Name</key>
	<string>AstekFusion2Family</string>
	<key>Replace</key>
	<data>
	xoGSAwAAAA+3uYABAADpBgAAAA==
	</data>
</dict>

Diff to the disassembled code (AstekFusion2Family, disassembled using otool -jtV):

--- AstekFusion2Family OR.asm	2017-12-26 21:57:32.000000000 +0100
+++ AstekFusion2Family.asm	2017-12-26 21:57:38.000000000 +0100
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-AstekFusion2Family OR:
+AstekFusion2Family:
 (__TEXT,__text) section
 _string_to_config:
 0000000000000540	55 	pushq	%rbp
@@ -19458,9 +19458,9 @@ __ZN37com_astekcorp_driver_AstekFusion2S
 00000000000146df	c6 81 8f 03 00 00 00 	movb	$0x0, 0x38f(%rcx)
 00000000000146e6	c6 81 90 03 00 00 00 	movb	$0x0, 0x390(%rcx)
 00000000000146ed	c6 81 91 03 00 00 00 	movb	$0x0, 0x391(%rcx)
-00000000000146f4	c6 81 92 03 00 00 01 	movb	$0x1, 0x392(%rcx)
+00000000000146f4	c6 81 92 03 00 00 00 	movb	$0x0, 0x392(%rcx)
 00000000000146fb	0f b7 b9 80 01 00 00 	movzwl	0x180(%rcx), %edi
-0000000000014702	e8 69 0a 00 00 	callq	__ZL18is_astek_vendor_idj ## is_astek_vendor_id(unsigned int)
+0000000000014702	e9 06 00 00 00 	jmp	0x1470d
 0000000000014707	48 83 f8 00 	cmpq	$0x0, %rax
 000000000001470b	74 7c 	je	0x14789
 000000000001470d	bf 05 00 00 00 	movl	$0x5, %edi

And I've also attached the patched drivers if you don't want Clover to patch them for you.

 

Thank you so much for posting this! You really made my day. I'm using a:

02:00.0 Serial Attached SCSI controller [0107]: LSI Logic / Symbios Logic SAS2008 PCI-Express Fusion-MPT SAS-2 [Falcon] [1000:0072] (rev 03) (subsys 1028:1f1c)

and was about to give up. Big thanks again.