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macOS High Sierra (10.13) Unsupported Macs Thread
- Thread starter foxlet
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Yeah seems like something is broken on Mojave and Catalina.
I tried all catalina, mojave and high sierra.
On high sierra seems like Open GL works properly, games like CSGO and League of Legends are fully playable even on C2D on High Sierra compared to Mojave or Catalina.
And on older version of Chrome gpu acceleration works properly too, even old imac 2008 can play 1080p60 video with h264 extention.
And overall it feels like hs is snappier on older HW.
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Hi,
Just to confirm: is it youtube? Can your Mac play 1080p60 youtube in Safari? I actually remember couple of times I was able to play 1080p60 youtube video in Safari in Mojave, but most of the time it lags. Maybe my internet connection is not good(I use 4G Mobile Data).
Yes safari can do it, and older chrome versions can do it because they have working gpu, i am using like version 58.0 which has full hw support for my older mac. For example chrome 80.0 does not use old GPU at all and everything is on software rendering.
Remember these machines are old even 1080p60 is a lot for them, but if you do not multitask and just let it go, it will stutter for few seconds and then just play fine pretty much without framedrops.
Yes, this is what I figured as well.
What about the latest FirefoxESR? Will it have an old GPU support to accommodate our older Macs?
Edit: Mavericks can play 1080p60 youtube very easily in latest FirefoxESR on my late-2008 MacBook even with multitasking.
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Hello, i have checked out firefox esr, its impressive video is smooth 1080p60 even on vp9 codec. They done something good..
From the browsers i have checked out firefox esr seems to be the best..
I'm having an issue getting an iso file of mac OSX 10.13 to actually install on a 2013 air currently running Sierra. It hangs on verifiation with a file vault icon showing ? Any idea how to fix this headache ? I tried your patcher for 10.13.6 but am getting an error msg saying this machine will run High Sierra, but the 10.13.6 installer is saying I need to be running 10.13 for it to install. Thanks so much for ANY help you can provide.
macOS High Sierra on Unsupported Macs
![4lxKiPF.png]()
For the first time since OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) in 2012, macOS Sierra (10.12) changed the official minimum requirements needed for installation, leaving many older (but still perfectly capable) Macs behind. Now macOS High Sierra (10.13) brings a new set of updates, and older Macs that can possibly run them.
- MacBook (late 2009 or later)
- iMac (late 2009 or later)
- MacBook Air (2010 or later)
- MacBook Pro (2010 or later)
- Mac mini (2010 or later)
- Mac Pro (2010 or later)
Note this space!
Preliminary Tested Models List:
MacBookPro5,5 (13-inch Mid 2009) - No issues
MacBookPro5,4 (15-inch Mid 2009) - No issues
MacBookPro5,3 (15-inch Mid 2009) - No issues
MacBookPro5,1 (15-inch Late 2008) - No issues
MacBook5,1 (13-inch Unibody Aluminum Late 2008) - No issues
MacPro3,1 (Early 2008) - No issues
iMac7,1 (Mid 2007 W/BCM94360CAX and SSE4 supported T9300) - Screen brightness is controllable (NightShift works with modified CoreBrightness.frameworks)
iMac9,1 (Early 2009) - Missing Screen Brightness Controls (buttons don't work either)
MacBook5,2 (Early [Mid] 2009 MacBook) - Screen brightness not controllable (buttons don't work either), volume buttons do not work, same trackpad detected as USB mouse issue
Xserve2,1 (Early 2008) - graphics are unaccelerated with the original ATI X1300 unless an upgraded graphics card e.g. Nvidia GT 120 (from a Mac Pro) is installed
Known Patching Methods:
Automatic tools that can be used to install macOS High Sierra onto an unsupported Mac.
Using @dosdude1's Patcher Tool:
Main Page/Instructions: macOS High Sierra Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs
Download: [Direct Download]
Security And OS Standalone Updates
Thanks to AsentientBot for this newer more streamlined method.
Modifying the Security Updates or macOS Updates for Sierra or High Sierra.
Download the update.
Open the update.
Move the update.pkg to Desktop.
Open Terminal.
Enter pkgutil --expand now drag and drop the .pkg from the Desktop into the Terminal window and type after a space ~/Desktop/Expanded hit Return and wait, this takes a little while.
Open Expanded folder and then open Distribution file in Text Edit
Scroll down to the line
function InstallationCheck(prefix) {
enter the text return true; so it looks like this
function InstallationCheck(prefix) {return true;
now save the changes
Go back to Terminal pkgutil --flatten ~/Desktop/Expanded ~/Desktop/Modified.pkg
Using the .pkg extension is crucial.
macOS Catalina (10.15)
macOS 10.15 Catalina on Unsupported Macs - @0403979
macOS Mojave (10.14)
macOS 1014 Mojave on Unsupported Macs Thread - @dosdude1
macOS High Sierra (10.13)
macOS High Sierra (10.13) Unsupported Macs Thread - @foxlet
macOS Sierra (10.12)
MacOS 10.12 Sierra Unsupported Macs Thread - @redheeler
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and macOS Sierra - @Mr. Zarniwoop
OS X El Capitan (10.11):
OS X El Capitan on Unsupported Macs - @TMRJIJ
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and El Capitan - @Mr. Zarniwoop
OS X Yosemite (10.10):
OS X Yosemite on Unsupported Macs - @TMRJIJ
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and OS X Yosemite - @Mr. Zarniwoop
OS X Mavericks (10.9):
[Guide] Installing 10.9 Mavericks on older Macs. - @Wayne_819
Mac Pro 2,1 and OS X Mavericks - @5050
OS X Mountain Lion (10.8):
Success! Install 10.8 on old unsupported Mac - @Wayne_819
Hi,
I tried to install on a MacBook Pro 5,5. everytime I Boot from the USB-Stick created by the High Sierra Patcher I run into the „Stop sign“ during boot. SIP is disabled. Even deleted the old installation from the SSD and reset SMC and PRAM (yes, checked SIP is still disabled after doing it).
any ideas / help how I can get beyond the „stop sign“. Just as a reminder this is already when trying to install before doing the patches.
any help appreciated.
thanks.
jan
First please excuse my very outdated signature, its been a very long time lol. I used the High Sierra Patcher tool on my Mac Pro 3,1 and despite me still using a HDD it's running very well. I've only run into one issue so far and I've only been able to find one other thread stating the same thing, but with no resolution.
I attempted to plug in my Classic 3rd gen iPod via the front firewire 400 port which worked perfectly in El Capitan. Running High Sierra though it restarted my system and caused a continuous loop of restarts until I unplugged it. It did also cause a kernel panic. In System Profile it only sees the Firewire 800 port. It does not show the 400 at all. This is a total guess on my part, but due to Apple dropping Firewire 400 does High Sierra not support the 400 hardware and that's why it's only seeing the 800? I assume if that is the case than a 400-800 adapter would than work properly?
I apologize if this has been addressed somewhere in the past. I've been searching for a couple hours and keep hitting a wall so decided it was time to revive my old account! Thank you for any input, greatly appreciated!!
I attempted to plug in my Classic 3rd gen iPod via the front firewire 400 port which worked perfectly in El Capitan. Running High Sierra though it restarted my system and caused a continuous loop of restarts until I unplugged it. It did also cause a kernel panic. In System Profile it only sees the Firewire 800 port. It does not show the 400 at all. This is a total guess on my part, but due to Apple dropping Firewire 400 does High Sierra not support the 400 hardware and that's why it's only seeing the 800? I assume if that is the case than a 400-800 adapter would than work properly?
I apologize if this has been addressed somewhere in the past. I've been searching for a couple hours and keep hitting a wall so decided it was time to revive my old account! Thank you for any input, greatly appreciated!!
I have a mid-2009 Macbook5,2 on (unsupported) High Sierra 10.13.6 (updated through SecUpd2020-002), and use my Firewire 400 to drive an external hard disk. It works fine. System Information says "FireWire Bus: Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec", so I suspect it's still supported.
So I should've done this from the start, but better late than never! I plugged in the iPod to the rear FW400 port and everything worked as it should. Tried the front port again and sure enough, reboot and kernel panic almost immediately after it was plugged in. I was using this front port just recently on El Capitan.
Did a clean install of High Sierra using the patcher and same result when using the FW400 port. Trying a fresh install of El Capitan now to see if the problem persists in that OS or not. Will see what happens, but I plan on keeping 10.11 on one drive and 10.13 on another either way so I have some flexibility.
UPDATE: Port works perfectly fine in fresh install of El Capitan so I assume it's something with the patcher messing with that front port.
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Hello,
Did I do something stupid ?!
I wanted to do a clean install High Sierra on my Mac Pro 5,1 and someone suggested getting the installer via dosdude's site. I did, used the utility to create a USB installer and everything went fine, so far so good.
I got curious about the APFS patch though, and having looked at the discussion here it seems I didn't need to use dosdude's app at all, since my machine supports 10.13 anyway.
Am I going to run into future problems having done it this way ? Should I start again ? Or is there a way to remove the APFS patch and go back to a "clean" install ?
Thanks for any info !
Did I do something stupid ?!
I wanted to do a clean install High Sierra on my Mac Pro 5,1 and someone suggested getting the installer via dosdude's site. I did, used the utility to create a USB installer and everything went fine, so far so good.
I got curious about the APFS patch though, and having looked at the discussion here it seems I didn't need to use dosdude's app at all, since my machine supports 10.13 anyway.
Am I going to run into future problems having done it this way ? Should I start again ? Or is there a way to remove the APFS patch and go back to a "clean" install ?
Thanks for any info !
Being that the 5,1 natively supports High Sierra you should be able to take the "Install macOS High Sierra" .app file that you downloaded using DosDude's tool and use the terminal command createinstallmedia. Make sure you move the .app file to your applications folder and that your USB drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended. Detailed instructions here:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372
Since your machine is supported you don't need to create the USB through DosDude's patcher. You just need the .app file to create the install USB.
Hi, I’m trying to install high Sierra on an old MP5,1 2009. I have used dosdude1’s high Sierra patcher but somehow, I don’t know how, I have managed to lock the firmware on this machine which was working perfectly in mountain lion beforehand until I carried out this function??? anyone got a resolution please? Thanks. Mike
Hey everyone!
I have been trying to install High Sierra on a Apple MacBook Pro 15-Inch "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 (SD) but I keep running into this screen:
![IMG_1244.jpg]( "IMG_1244.jpg")
Any ideas on how to get past this? It had El Capitan installed on it previously and it was working fine so I am positive that it's not a hardware problem.
I have been trying to install High Sierra on a Apple MacBook Pro 15-Inch "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 (SD) but I keep running into this screen:
Any ideas on how to get past this? It had El Capitan installed on it previously and it was working fine so I am positive that it's not a hardware problem.
Check out dosdude1‘s high Sierra patcher for compatibility it might offer some clarity on why. Collin,Julian and others are very good on this thread about these things.
I have looked at it and I should be able to install on this Mac. Not sure why I'm having this issue.
Will do, thank you!
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@dosdude1 could you possibly help me with the issue I posted above? Thank you!
I think what they meant in advising you to use the patcher, is that's the easiest way to get the High Sierra installer from Apple, but you don't have to create the installer thumb drive with the patcher. Just use it to download the proper Apple installer.
Hi, I have a 3,1 MacPro (2x 2.8 Ghz cpu, 32 GB memory, Ati Radeon hd 5770 1 GB Gpu Mac Version, Ssd SanDisk boot drive and 3 x Sata HD (each 3TB) connected to a 27 inch Apple Cinema Display running Mac OS X 10.11.6. I would like to upgrade to High Sierra without change my GPU or loose WiFi connection (there is an Airport card with Broadcom bcm4321) with the help of dosdude tools. Is it an easy operation? The system and the apps will be stable like under El Capitan? Is it a recommended update? Thanks in advance for every suggestions.
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Have you tried setting the system date to 2018 or something(google it)? These errors are quite common even on supported systems and have nothing to do with the patcher or unsupported Macs.