Cyberdevs Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 12 minutes ago, Gigamaxx said: I think I recall someone mentioning the difference in EFI vs UEFI in the vbios. At least for older Mac AMD cards. But I think testing with an Apple EFI vbios flash it disabled the bios or boot for windows. Not really sure about this it’s from memory about 2 years ago. EFI vs UEFI? Well, the thing is that it happens on Legacy, EFI and UEFI systems so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the actual ROM's version completely but we know that the Mac version of the GPU's EFI ROM which are being used by Apple's GPU will have certain effects on Mac hardware not that it's being used by Hacks or it will make any difference anyway, for instance if you put an after market GPU inside a MacPro the preboot screen won't show up unless you use either a Mac Edition GPU or modify the ROM for being used by the Mac's EFI loader. So in conclusion I agree with the statement that @Pavo has made earlier that the flashing issue is due to the different initialization steps specially when the macOS takes control of the GPU but the as @arsradu already mentioned before and I confirm that, the flashing doesn't happen all the time. It gets from none to a whole screen flash and I don't know why it's happening. If you ever managed to find the explanation that you are referring to that would be great if you can share it please so I can understand the situation better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigamaxx Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 4 minutes ago, Cyberdevs said: Well, the thing is that it happens on Legacy, EFI and UEFI systems so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the actual ROM's version completely but we know that the Mac version of the GPU's EFI ROM which are being used by Apple's GPU will have certain effects on Mac hardware not that it's being used by Hacks or it will make any difference anyway, for instance if you put an after market GPU inside a MacPro the preboot screen won't show up unless you use either a Mac Edition GPU or modify the ROM for being used by the Mac's EFI loader. So in conclusion I agree with the statement that @Pavo has made earlier that the flashing issue is due to the different initialization steps specially when the macOS takes control of the GPU but the as @arsradu already mentioned before and I confirm that, the flashing doesn't happen all the time. It gets from none to a whole screen flash and I don't know why it's happening. If you ever managed to find the explanation that you are referring to that would be great if you can share it please so I can understand the situation better. From what I recall it was regarding the initializing of AMD cards. Back during Sierra when we needed IGPU or a helper card. Before WEG or rad deinit. Maybe something can be done in those fixes or incorporated into them if it can be solved? If you don’t get the initializarion or handoff the bootscreen goes smoothly like a real Mac. But you have no acceleration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberdevs Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 4 minutes ago, Gigamaxx said: From what I recall it was regarding the initializing of AMD cards. Back during Sierra when we needed IGPU or a helper card. Before WEG or rad deinit. Maybe something can be done in those fixes or incorporated into them if it can be solved? If you don’t get the initializarion or handoff the bootscreen goes smoothly like a real Mac. But you have no acceleration. Yeah I remember having those issues when the black screen issue started with Sierra, but the thing is even on new iMacs there's a gap between the first stage of the boot process and the second stage but there is no flashing in between. On older Macs with a grey boot (as you mentioned) there is a slight dimming effect and that's where the OS starts to initialize the GPU. I will upload a video later just to show how it loads if you like to see that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigamaxx Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 2 minutes ago, Cyberdevs said: Yeah I remember having those issues when the black screen issue started with Sierra, but the thing is even on new iMacs there's a gap between the first stage of the boot process and the second stage but there is no flashing in between. On older Macs with a grey boot (as you mentioned) there is a slight dimming effect and that's where the OS starts to initialize the GPU. I will upload a video later just to show how it loads if you like to see that. What about setting the loading screen to white background? That would at least hide it a bit? Yea the break comes at gIOScreenlockstate, or right after during the handoff. Verbose mode gives me a bit less of the flash, check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberdevs Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 29 minutes ago, Gigamaxx said: What about setting the loading screen to white background? That would at least hide it a bit? Yea the break comes at gIOScreenlockstate, or right after during the handoff. Verbose mode gives me a bit less of the flash, check it out. Yeah the verbose has the same flash even though it's not as noticeable as the the full boot mode, I haven't tested the white boot screen though let me see how it turns out 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandokan71 Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 I had same issue with RX 570 4GB (Asus). I was using DVI output. Solved by using HDMI output instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberdevs Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 @Gigamaxx This is an iMac17,1 with an AMD R9 M395 GPU. 2018-10-25 20.08.38.mov @sandokan71 The issue happens on DVI, HDMI and DP as well. So either you are lucky or we are unlucky. This issue is happening on all of my AMD GPUs (7790, R9 270X which are connected by HDMI cable to the displays and my RX 580 which is connected to two displays with DP to HDMI cables). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unixb0y Posted October 25, 2018 Author Share Posted October 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Cyberdevs said: @Gigamaxx This is an iMac17,1 with an AMD R9 M395 GPU. 2018-10-25 20.08.38.mov @sandokan71 The issue happens on DVI, HDMI and DP as well. So either you are lucky or we are unlucky. This issue is happening on all of my AMD GPUs (7790, R9 270X which are connected by HDMI cable to the displays and my RX 580 which is connected to two displays with DP to HDMI cables). I have a MacBook Pro without dedicated graphics chip and even that has a 'break' during the boot (loading bar stops for a bit) so I'm not sure that the break on real Macs is 100% graphics related ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ How do you set the boot screen to be white? (I suppose with a black Apple or is it simply blank then?) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberdevs Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 7 minutes ago, unixb0y said: I have a MacBook Pro without dedicated graphics chip and even that has a 'break' during the boot (loading bar stops for a bit) so I'm not sure that the break on real Macs is 100% graphics related ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ How do you set the boot screen to be white? (I suppose with a black Apple or is it simply blank then?) Well the gap is way longer in Mojave and I'm not really sure why. About the White screen I tried to set the DefaultBackgroundColor to 0XFFFFFF under the Boot Graphics section but it simply didn't work so I have no idea how to make that happen, maybe @Gigamaxx can tell us how to change the boot screen color properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unixb0y Posted October 25, 2018 Author Share Posted October 25, 2018 49 minutes ago, Cyberdevs said: Well the gap is way longer in Mojave and I'm not really sure why. About the White screen I tried to set the DefaultBackgroundColor to 0XFFFFFF under the Boot Graphics section but it simply didn't work so I have no idea how to make that happen, maybe @Gigamaxx can tell us how to change the boot screen color properly. I see! I'm staying on HS on the MBP for now anyway.. :-) Yup that would be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigamaxx Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Cyberdevs said: Well the gap is way longer in Mojave and I'm not really sure why. About the White screen I tried to set the DefaultBackgroundColor to 0XFFFFFF under the Boot Graphics section but it simply didn't work so I have no idea how to make that happen, maybe @Gigamaxx can tell us how to change the boot screen color properly. Well, it works, somewhat. I didn't try on RX 480-580 only my RX 460. The first half is white screen but it goes black and then the black progress bar finishes. Clover Configfurator boot settings select apple, see pic. Can someone test on RX 480-580 models? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberdevs Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 I'll give it a try in a sec on my 580. So I shouldn't change the settings in the Boot Graphics section right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigamaxx Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Cyberdevs said: I'll give it a try in a sec on my 580. So I shouldn't change the settings in the Boot Graphics section right? I just stopped by home to test real quick (working for a living), I just selected that setting. But if we could get a log and determine what it is doing maybe we could extend it to the 2nd stage of the boot? Clover boot out menu was normal no changes just after enter it’s old school apple boot screen, then black, then woosh and black progress bar. Edited October 25, 2018 by Gigamaxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberdevs Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Update: Well the first boot stage is grey now but there's no progress indicator and the flash is still there although it's less visible 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigamaxx Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 1 minute ago, Cyberdevs said: Update: Well the first boot stage is grey now but there's no progress indicator and the flash is still there although it's less visible Me too except the flash, but RX 460. I do get a black screen between the boot cycles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberdevs Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 2 minutes ago, Gigamaxx said: Me too except the flash, but RX 460. I do get a black screen between the boot cycles. yeah the gap is there no matter what, it's even present on the real Macs as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberdevs Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 The weird thing is that the flash thingy doesn't happen every once in a while, that's the most annoying part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arsradu Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 (edited) 13 hours ago, Cyberdevs said: 2018-10-25 20.08.38.mov That. How can we have that? I don't mind that black gap. I would be happy with that gap. I've had it with my GTX 650, as well. Though, funny enough, it was a shorter gap with that card than it seems to be on real Macs. LOL Anyway, I don't mind that at all. I just don't want that stupid flash in my face. :)) And, as you said (and as I experienced myself), the damn thing doesn't always happen. But it does happen often enough to be annoying. And yes, it doesn't matter which connector type you're using. At least, in my experience, I tried DVI/HDMI/DP. No adapters. Same flash with all of them. And it's exactly as you said, Cyber. It goes from none, to only a little bit at the bottom, to a full screen flash. And in this case, bigger is not better. :)) And...I took a look at our hack SSDT. We don't have any of that, do we? No LCD, no nothing... At least this is what mine looks like. Edited October 26, 2018 by arsradu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberdevs Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 No we don't have any of those settings in our SSDTs and I need some help to create a more specific SSDT for our GPUs to include the connector types and other necessary stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unixb0y Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 Maybe as additional input: My GPU fans turn on as soon as I click the power button and simultaneously with the screen flash they ramp up to max for a second and then turn off. Do your cards do the same? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arsradu Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 (edited) 2 minutes ago, unixb0y said: Maybe as additional input: My GPU fans turn on as soon as I click the power button and simultaneously with the screen flash they ramp up to max for a second and then turn off. Do your cards do the same? Mine does. But I think that's intended. The problem is (I think) because something requires suddenly more power (which probably also causes the flashing in the first place). I think the fans only react accordingly. I think it does the same when booting Windows though. So I wouldn't worry about that too much. Edited October 26, 2018 by arsradu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unixb0y Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 1 minute ago, arsradu said: Mine does. But I think that's intended. The problem is (I think) because something requires suddenly more power (which probably also causes the flashing in the first place). I think the fans only react accordingly. That's an interesting idea.. I thought maybe it's part of the 'initialisation' or so. It could have been a hint towards the Hackintosh booting from the iGPU and then switching to the GPU when the flash occurs because it would be the first moment that the computer knows it has and should use the GPU and only initialises it at that point. In other words: I'd expect it to do a 'fan test' or anything like that as soon as I press the button and not half-way into the boot process Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arsradu Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 (edited) 4 minutes ago, unixb0y said: That's an interesting idea.. I thought maybe it's part of the 'initialisation' or so. It could have been a hint towards the Hackintosh booting from the iGPU and then switching to the GPU when the flash occurs because it would be the first moment that the computer knows it has and should use the GPU and only initialises it at that point. In other words: I'd expect it to do a 'fan test' or anything like that as soon as I press the button and not half-way into the boot process You would be right...except the iGPU is disabled. And, I think it also occurs on systems without an iGPU. So...I don't think that's it. It is part of the "initialisation", but if your theory was correct, when you boot Windows, with the iGPU disabled, you should have no image until Desktop. Which is not the case. So I think the card IS initialised on boot. The problem occurs when switching modes. From UEFI, to OS. I could be wrong though. Edited October 26, 2018 by arsradu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unixb0y Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 4 minutes ago, arsradu said: You would be right...except the iGPU is disabled. And, I think it also occurs on systems without an iGPU. So...I don't think that's it. It is part of the "initialisation", but if your theory was correct, when you boot Windows, with the iGPU disabled, you should have no image until Desktop. Which is not the case. So I think the card IS initialised on boot. The problem occurs when switching modes. From UEFI, to OS. I could be wrong though. I know, right.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigamaxx Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 8 hours ago, unixb0y said: I know, right.... Has anyone noticed with IGPU only at the same boot point the multiple apples on the screen? This is with rudimentary device ID and ig platform settings. I uploaded an EFI from someone with a similar laptop as mine and it got rid of that. I’m trying to remove items one at a time to narrow it down to what fixed it, but I believe it is in the kexts to patch area or add properties. Removing the SSDTs didn’t have an effect. Maybe we need a patch for the initialization point to smooth it out. The problem is to figure out what to patch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts