GUIDE - How to Boot macOS Installer on Intel Laptops using OpenCore [UEFI] (2024)

How to Boot macOS Installer on Intel Laptops using OpenCore (UEFI)

An EliteMacx86 Exclusive Guide - This guide covers booting of macOS installer on Intel Laptops using OpenCore.

Overview

Booting macOS installer on Laptops can be a challenging for the new users. This guide covers a complete step to boot the macOS installer on your Laptop using OpenCore boot loader. Users who are not using OpenCore, can update their configuration for OpenCore and continue to use it.

OpenCore is one of the most advanced boot loader yet and it can boot upto almost any OS. With this, it has several advantages.

For more information on Desktop installation, refer to the guide linked below.

Get your hardware details

Before you start, get to know about your hardware. Starting your journey without knowing your hardware will make your journey difficult with no any chance of success. Also when seeking for support, the hardware details should be present in your profile.

Read here:

Before you start with this guide, here's are few requirements

• A working Internet connection.
• A 16 GB or larger USB Flash Drive.
• A complete backup of your system.

Note:
We advise you to perform a complete backup of your system along with the existing installation. In case something goes wrong, you can restore it using the backup you created.

To start with the guide, you'll also need to have access to fully functional computer running Mac OS X 10.7.5 or greater. This requirement is must as you need to access to Mac App Store in order to download a copy of macOS and create an installation USB Flash Drive later on.

Download a copy of macOS

The very first step is to download a copy of macOS. The copy of macOS is available for free to download for anyone who has purchased Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Lion, or Mountain Lion or has a Mac with OS X Mavericks or greater. Download the copy of macOS from Mac App Store using your Apple ID on any Mac or functional computer running OS X 10.7.5 or later.

Depending on the macOS version you want to install, follow the steps below

Here are the steps to download the copy of macOS Sierra

1. Open Mac App Store
2. Log in into App Store with your Apple ID
3. Find macOS version you want to install and start downloading

Once the download is complete, it will appear in your Applications folder.

Creating a Bootable USB Flash Drive with Createinstallmedia

The next step is to create a bootable installation drive.
To create the installation USB, createinstallmedia method is recommended.

For Big Sur:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB

For Catalina:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB

For Mojave:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB

For High Sierra:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB

For Sierra:

sudo "/Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB

At this point, the bootable USB can be only used to boot Mac only. In order to boot the Laptop using the USB, follow the steps below.

Note:
For High Sierra and later, 16GB USB is recommended.

Preparing OpenCore Bootloader

To prepare OpenCore boot loader, you need to download OpenCore.
Download the Release folder followed by the release version.
When extracting, you'll get 4 folders which has been listed below.

1. Copy X64 to your working directory and follow the steps below

Adding required ACPI (SSDTs)
Drivers are mandatory which allows several important function and is required to boot the system. Follow the steps below to add the drivers.

Adding Required Drivers
Drivers are mandatory which allows several important function and is required to boot the system. Follow the steps below to add the drivers.

2. Copy the additional drivers to: /EFI/OC/Drivers

Notes

• Without HFSPlus.efi, you won't be able to see any HFS+ volumes including your installation drive.
• All the unliked drivers can be found at: X64/EFI/OC/Drivers

Adding Required Kexts
In order to boot into the installation, you need to add the necessary kexts. To add the necessary kexts, follow the steps below.

1. Download the above kexts.
2. Extract the kexts from the RELEASE folder.
3. Copy the kexts to: /EFI/OC/Kexts

Notes

• Do not download the project files. The pre-built binaries/downloads are available in the README.md section. Make sure you read it carefully.
• Download the latest version for better support.
• Use the kext from RELEASE folder and RELEASE.zip file.
• Do not place unnecessary kexts here. It might prevent booting the installer.
• Only use basic kexts which is required to boot off the installer. You can install the rest required kexts at the time of post-installation.
• The VirtualSMC package includes Battery and Sensors plugins (SMCBatteryManager.kext, SMCDellSensors.kext, SMCLightSensor.kext, SMCProcessor.kext, and SMCSuperIO.kext). You do not need these kexts for booting the installer.
• USBInjectAll.kext is not required on AMD systems.
• If you're using a M.2 SSD, and plan to use Sierra, read the NVMe compatibility covered in FAQ: https://www.elitemacx86.com/threads/faq-read-first-frequent-questions-related-to-laptop.136/
• Do not use "SATA-unsupported.kext" and "CtlnaAHCIPort.kext" together.
• The Optional kexts are purely depended on the hardware need. If you're having a matching hardware, then only add the kexts otherwise adding unnecessary kexts isn't a good idea.

Selecting a Config.plist File
OpenCore comes with a default config.plist file. This config.plist cannot be used to boot most of the systems. You'll need to configure the config.plist according to your hardware, mainly graphics and other devices.

We've already created a separate thread on configuring your config.plist to boot the installer. Depending on your hardware, create a config.plist according to the guide. For more information on config.plist, follow the guide below.

For Intel:

Installing OpenCore Bootloader
1. Mount the EFI partition of your Bootable USB you created in previous step.
2. Copy the EFI from your working directory which you created earlier to EFI partition of your USB.

Now you’ve successfully installed OpenCore, the required drivers, kexts and config.plist and the USB Flash drive is ready to boot off your target Laptop.

DGPU Support

DGPU isn't supported on Laptops when using macOS. A dedicated GPU can only work on a Laptop if it meets the requirements listed below. The compatibility is covered in another section of this forum.

• Compatible DGPU
• Intel GPU must be factory disabled.

HDMI/DP/mDP/Type-C DIsplay

HDMI, DP, mDP and Type-C Displays are supported. For more information, refer to the requirements and limitations outlined below.

Ports tied to Intel

• If the ports are tied to Intel, you'll require to disable the DGPU via DSDT and SSDTs patches.
• If you're not willing to patch DSDT and SSDTs, you can use "-wegnoegpu" boot arg as a temporary solution.

Ports tied to NVIDIA/AMD

• On Some Laptops, the HDMI/DP/Type-C ports might be tied to NVIDIA or AMD GPU instead of Intel. In such cases, the ports tied to NVIDIA or AMD will not perform any output and the system may crash when a display cable is plugged to the respective port.
• To drive display in such scenario, do not disable the DGPU, either NVIDIA or AMD.
• If you're using "-wegnoegpu" boot arg, or a DSDT/SSDT patch, you must remove it to drive the display.

DVMT-prealloc

Since Broadwell, the Laptop requires DVMT-prealloc set to be 64MB, as demanded by Broadwell and later Graphics kexts or it will likely result in a Kernel Panic. Normally, this can be set via BIOS. However, there are several manufacturers which doesn't allows to set this from BIOS. There are two methods to unlock the DVMT-prealloc. Either flashing an unlocked BIOS or modifying the variable using EFI Shell or any other similar method.

The other workaround is to use "minStolen patch" which can disable the DVMT-prealloc check. Even if the patch is enabled, on few machines, the Graphics kexts may result in a Kernel Panic. It's because OpenCore cannot patch a kext that loads outside of Kernel cache and these Graphics kexts may not be in cache. To fix this issue, there's a workaround from RehabMan. Just use an invalid ig-platform-id (0x12345678) and then boot the installer. Do not use an invalid Fake ID as it will not serve the purpose. Once you're done with the installation and reach the Desktop, rebuild cache and boot normally with the required ig-platform-id.

To rebuild cache, you can use the command below in Terminal

sudo kextcache -i/

Notes:

• If your Laptop has the required DVMT-prealloc, you can remove the 32MB patch.
• The DVMT pre-alloc is applicable to IGPU only.

4K/UHD/QHD

4K/UHD/QHD panels are supported. For more information, refer to the requirement and limitation outlined below.

• DVMT-prealloc must be set to 64MB. Few Laptops such as Lenovo Yoga can requires 96 or 128MB.
• minStolen patch can disable the check for required DVMT-prealloc. However, the patch may cause glitches or screen flickers.

Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt hardware is supported. For more information, refer to the requirement and limitation outlined below.

• Compatible Thunderbolt Chipset.
• The Thunderbolt information will not load under  > About This Mac>System Report>Thunderbolt unless you flash your Thunderbolt chip.

Touchpad

Touchpad are supported. For more information on I2C Touchpad, refer to the requirement and limitation outlined below.

• Compatible I2C Touchpad.
• DSDT or SSDT patching.

Fingerprint and Biometric

Fingerprint and Biometric hardware are not supported at all and you'll need to disable the respective hardware.