GA-Z270X-DESIGNARE for Pro Tools 12

[Edhawk]

Try this:

Boot your normal drive.
While on the Clover boot screen, highlight your Hackintosh HD icon.
press the spacebar and select 'Safe Mode' -x and boot the system.

Dinner has just been called, back in 15 minutes.

 

[aaquilato]

OK.
That worked. Booted into Safe Mode.
Screen is Purple but we're in.

 

[Edhawk]

Unfortunately you can't mount the EFI folder in Safe Mode but you can make some changes to reverse the changes I made.

Navigate to your EFI backup folder on the root of your Hackintosh HD.

Make a copy of one of the most recent backups of your CLOVER folder. Copy it to the 'Clover' USB. Make sure it is not a copy of my CLOVER folder.

Now, Go to your trash bin and right-click on the GenericXHCI and NullPowerManagement kexts. Select 'Put Back'.

Open Terminal and enter these commands (in bold) one at a time, this will repair permissions and rebuild the kernel cache for /Library/Extensions and /System/Library/Extensions:

sudo chmod -Rf 755 /S*/L*/E*​

sudo chmod -Rf 755 /L*/E*​

sudo chown -Rf 0:0 /S*/L*/E*​

sudo chown -Rf 0:0 /L*/E* ​

sudo kextcache -i /​

​

Exit Terminal and restart your computer for the repairs to take effect.

Easiest way to get these commands right when entering them in to Terminal is to copy and paste each line, one at a time and press enter after pasting the line of text to activate it.

 

[aaquilato]

Here is my latest MultiBeast Config.

 

[Edhawk]

Given your system specifcations you have made a number of erroneous choices when configuring your Multi-Beast installation.

I would change the following:

• 3rd Party SATA - Not needed for Kaby Lake system
• 3rd Party eSATA - Not needed for Kaby Lake system
• Intel Generic AHCI SATA - Not needed for Kaby Lake system
• NullCPUPowerManagement.kext - CPU Power Mangement fixed by adding config.plist entry Plugin Type=true
• 3rd Party USB 3.0 - Obsolete for most newer systems & versions of macOS.
• 7/8/9 Series USB Support - not needed for Kaby Lake, used for Ivy Bridge or Haswell
• System Definition iMac 14.2 - should be iMac 18.3 to match your CPU.

 

[aaquilato]

Ed, for some reason the .aml files cannot be downloaded here.

 

[aaquilato]

Here are the two cards I added and they both worked right out of the box.

https://www.newegg.com/rosewill-mod...b-card/p/N82E16815166026?Item=N82E16815166026

https://www.newegg.com/startech-com...b-card/p/N82E16815158443?Item=N82E16815158443

 

[Edhawk]

OK, so the two USB cards you have installed use the following controllers:

• Rosewill RC-505 - Renesas chipset
• StarTech PEXUSB312C2 - Asmedia - ASM2142 chipset

Neither will affect the 15 port limit Apple introduced, nor will they require any patches, as the port limit and patches are only for Intel USB ports.

I assume you have mXHCD.kext installed to /Library/Extensions or the /CLOVER/kexts/Other folder, and this driver will be activatiing the USB ports on the two PCI-E cards.

 

[Edhawk]

Here is a copy of the SSDT-UIAC-A2AF-Z270X-Designare.aml I created for your Z270X-Designare system. I have also attached an SSDT-EC.aml which will need to be used alongside the SSDT-UIAC.

To install these SSDT's you need to mount your macOS drive, use Clover Configurator.

Open Clover Configurator - this is the Home screen with nothing selected.

Navigate to the 'Mount EFI' tab below the 'Tools' heading in the left hand navigation bar

Select the 'Mount Partition' button next to your macOS drive.

In my case this is the APFS Container [Mojave, Preboot, Recovery, VM]. Now when the System control window pops up you need to enter your password.

This action will allow Clover Configurator to mount the hidden 'EFI partition'.

An new Hard Drive icon will appear on your desktop, named 'EFI'.

Select the 'Open Partition' button in Clover Configurator.

This will open the EFI Partiton/HD icon. This screenshot shows the contents of my EFI partition.

Open the 'EFI' folder.

This screenshot shows the contents of my EFI folder.

Open the 'CLOVER' folder.

This screenshot shows the contents of a standard CLOVER folder, using Clover_v2.5k_r5099.

Open the 'ACPI' folder.

This screenshot show the contents of a standard ACPI folder, with three sub-folders.

Open the 'patched' folder.

This screenshot shows the the contents of my 'patched' folder.

Yours will be empty or may possibly contain the SSDT-XOSI.aml.

This is the location where you need to copy the two SSDT's. /EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched folder.

I usually drop the leading /EFI designation when writing locations in any posts in the forum, so I wold write /CLOVER/ACPI/patched.

Hope that helps.

 

[aaquilato]

Ed, as I said, when I couldn’t get the main HACK HD to boot/post properly I just booted from the backup HD. Then I cloned it over.
I have NO idea what changed.
I didn’t “go in” and make any physical changes.

I needed the machine to boot and to work on a Pro Tools session that was booked in the studio.
And I didn’t want to do that from the backup HD.

That HD is there for EXACTLY this reason. When the main HD crashes due to “whatever”, I can clone back and keep working.

The client was extremely happy with the way the machine responded. No beach balls, no waiting for anything to load, no hiccups of any kind.
The processors were running at less than 20%. Everything was fast.
Sessions loaded quickly. Saves to the external USB-c drive, which we were also recording to were fast and glitch free.
God only knows what kind of performance I’ll get when everything is running at the proper speeds.

And all this without a graphics card, which EVERYONE says is needed for fast screen re-draws.
So at the moment I have a good stable Pro Tools machine.
That’s half the battle won.

 

[aaquilato]

Here is a screen shot I took after adding the two SSDT files.

 

[Edhawk]

Post a copy of your Bootlog and IOReg. That will show more clearly what is happening with regards how the two SSDT's are working or not.

 

[aaquilato]

Files attached below.

 

[aaquilato]

Hi Ed.
Bootlog attached.

 

[Edhawk]

Post a copy of your new CLOVER folder as there are a few issues that are in need of amending in your bootlog.

 

[aaquilato]

Here ya go...

 

[aaquilato]

Screen shot from About this Mac

 

[Edhawk]

OK, RX580 8GB graphics card. I see you are still using the really large screen resolution for the TV.

We have been here before so you should know that to expect.

I have revised your CLOVER folder, as follows:

1. Removed all the ACPI tables from the /CLOVER/ACPI/origin folder, they are not needed.
2. Added the following SSDT's to your /CLOVER/ACPI/patched folder:
   • SSDT-USBX.aml, for USB power management
   • SSDT-XOSI.aml, for macOS to better recognise your system, works with rename patch
3. Deleted the following drivers from your /CLOVER/drivers64UEFI folder
   • AptioMemoryFix-64.efi - you have OsxAptioMemoryFix-64.efi, you do not need both
   • AudioDxe-64.efi - causes delays in boot
   • VBoxHfs-64.efi - slow HFS driver
4. Added HFSPlus-64.efi to the /CLOVER/drivers64UEFI folder
5. Deleted the numbered OSX folders from /CLOVER/kexts, leaving just the Other folder
6. Updated the following kexts in your /CLOVER/kexts/Other folder:
   • Lilu.kext
   • WhateverGreen.kext
   • IntelMausiEthernet.kext
7. Deleted the following kexts from the /CLOVER/kexts/Other folder:
   • AtherosE2200Ethernet.kext, not needed for Intel Ethernet
   • RealtekRTL8111.kext, not needed for Intel Ethernet
8. Added MacOSX theme to /CLOVER/themes folder

I have made the following changes to your config.plist:
ACPI section:

• Added a number of DSDT/SSDT rename patches so your system provides component names that macOS expects to find.
• Added a number of ACPI fixes
  • FixPIC
  • FixShutdown
  • FixHPET
  • FixRegions
  • FixMutex
  • DeleteUnsued
  • FixRTC
  • FixTMR
• Added PluginType=true Generate options for native CPU power Management
• Deleted Drop Tables entry - MATS, as this is not present in your ACPI tables
• Added ACPI fix - FixHeaders=true

Boot Section:

• Deleted nv-disable=1 boot argument
• Added the following boot arguments:
  • darkwake=10, for your Gigabyte motherboard
  • Added debug=0x100 and keepsyms=1, in case of kernel panic, so system doesn;t reboot automatically.
  • Added verbose boot argument -v
• Set NeverHibernate=true
• Set Debug=false

Devices Section:

• Deleted Fake ID for IntelGFX=0x12345678, left as 0x0
• Added USB Inject=true, FixOwnership=true
• Set Audio ResetHDA=true
• Added Device > Properties for your Intel graphics, to work with WhateverGreen.kext:
  • AAPL,ig-platform-id = 03001259 (Kaby Lake IGPU with dGPU)
  • Framebuffer-patch-enable = 0100000
  • Framebuffer-stolenmem = 00003001

GUI Section:

• Added mouse double-click speed
• Removed Scan > Custom Legacy=First, with a UEFI motherboard this should not be used.
• Added three Hide Volume names, to clean up your Clover boot screen:
  • Preboot
  • Recovery
  • Legacy
• Changed Clover theme from Tonymacx86 to MacOSX, for testing purposes

Graphics Section:

• Set RadeonDeInit=true, required for your RX 580 dGPU

Kernel and Kext Patches section:

• Added Kernel Fix - KernelXCPM=true
• Deleted the three raise USB port limit patches for Mojave 10.14.4
• Added the Four raise USB port limit patches for Mojave 10.14.6, your current OS
• Added the two USB port limit patches for Catalina versions 10.15.0, 1, 2 & 3, in case you upgrade in the future
• Added Black Screen Patch for RX580, just in case.

Rt Variables Section:

• Populated MLB with Board Serial Number from SMBIOS
• Generated ROM based on SMBIOS iMac 18.3

SMBIOS section

• Generated new SMBIOS using iMac 18.3 so all fields are populated, not just serial number, Product Model and Bios fields

Hopefully this revised CLOVER folder and config.plist will work without any issues.

Hopefully you have your USB installer to hand .

Copy this CLOVER folder to the USB EFI partiton and EFI folder, to replace the CLOVER folder on the USB.

Then use the USB to boot the system, press F12 when teh system bios screen shows, this will bring up a list of boot drives, select the UEFI drive for the USB. This should boot Clover from the USB.

It should be apparent immediately that this is not your normal boot, as the boot theme will be different to your normal boot theme. That being the case, select your macOS drive and let me know how you get on.​

​

If you see your normal Tonymac boot theme, you have not selected the correct USB partition, reboot the system and press F12 again and select the other USB partition.​

​

If the system kernel panics with this CLOVER folder and config, which it might, take a photo of the verbose screen text and post it here, so I can amend the CLOVER folder as necessary.​

​

If the USB boots through to the OS, post a new Bootlog so I can see what if anything needs tweaking to get you the best boot and system running that we can.​

 

[aaquilato]

Copy this CLOVER folder to the USB EFI partition and EFI folder, to replace the CLOVER folder on the USB.

That USB drive that always is connected to this machine ans is the ONLY way I can boot back from a failure.
When everything was going sideways, I always had that to boot back from.
If I replace that folder, what happens if the machine won't boot?

It will still boot from the EFI folder on my Hack HD? Correct?

Should I place that "original EFI folder" somewhere else on the USB drive? Or rename it?

The machine has been working really well.

Thoughts?

 

[aaquilato]

OK.
Here we go!