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Attention fellow Admins Mods: Long Post. Edit as you see fit.
My test Mac for this project is a late 2008 MacBook Pro with 8 GB of ram and an SSD in place of the spinner hard drive.
I don't boot the MacBook Pro more often because I find using two different versions of the macOS on two diffent machines annoying. The perfect reason to try a hack I'd seen which allows running Mojave on some unsupported hardware. The process is fairly simpble but it is important to follow the directions carefully. Note that you will be following these steps on the unsupported Mac.
The Adventure Begins
1. Go to the information page for the macOS Mojave Patcher Tool. You may find it handy to print this page. We're going to use information on this page to determine whether or not the patcher stands a chance of working on your hardware. This pge also has a link to the software that you will need. You might find this YouTube video helpful.
2. Go to the Apple menu on the Mac and choose "About This Mac". From there you want to run the System Report and click on the Hardware Section. Make note of the model identifier (MacBook Pro 5.1 for example). Compare the model identifier on your machine to the list of supported hardware on the Mojave Patcher Tool support page. If your Mac isn't on the list its probably not worth going forward. In my case my MacBook Pro has an indetifier number of 5.1 and the 5 series is listed as supported so it's time for the next step.
3. With the System Report still open look at the list of options on the left side of the screen and scroll down to the Network section and choose WiFi and make note of the Card Type and the numbers and letters that follow. Compare your network card number to the half dozen or so cards listed on the support page that do not work. If you have an unsupported card and you apply this patch anyway your card will probably stop working if you apply the patch. You can now close the System report window.
If you have an unsupported card, it seems to me, that you have three options:
a. Don't apply the patch. In opther words you're stuck with an OS less than Mojave.
b. Live without wifi
c. Look for a third-party dongle that will work with the patcher.
While you are on the Patcher support page take a look at the Known Issues section of the support page. It discusses some potential graphics issues that may occur if you proceed. This could be important since the primary reason many older Macs can't support Mojave is that the graphics card (GPU) doesn't support Metal.
Preparing for the Patch - You've chosen to go forward.
4. If you don't have a current backup, I strongly suggest you make one in case something goes wrong. I'm not responsible for the death of the dinosaurs, fall of the Roman Empire, or losss of your data.
5. Download and install the Mojave Patcher Tool from the support page.
6. The next step will be to disable System Integrity Protection if you're running El Capitan or later. You cannot do this from your main volume. Reboot your Mac and hold down the Option key to boot to the Recovery partition. the video suggests using Command-r but I find the Option key more reliable. Once you're booted from the recovery partition go to the Utilities menu and launch Tereminal.
7. From Terminal type csrutil status and press Enter.
a. If Terminal reprots System Integrity Protection is Enabled type csrutil status disable and press Enter. When Terminal reports that System Integrity Protection is disabled, it's safe to reboot the Mac normally.
b. If Terminal reports that System Integrity Protection is disabled simply reboot the Mac normally.
Create The Installer - You need a USB flash drive of at least 16 GB
8. Plug in a 16 GB or larger flash drive and use Disk Utility to format the drive as MacOS Extended, Journaled and GUID Partition mapping.
9. If you don't have the Mojave installer you'll need to download it. If you already have the Mojave instller use the Finder's Get Info command to check the file size. Currently the full installer is almost 6 GB in size. Some users have reported that their Mojave download from the app store is much smaller. If yours is significantly less than that,it's best to re-download the file.
The Mojave patcher tool has a means of downloading the Mojave installer. This method seems to consistently download the full installer so I suggest using that method. Launch the app and choose Tools>Download. Don't put the installer on the same USB drive you are planning to use to finish the installation.
10. Once the download is complete Click the Mojave icon insde the patch tool and the file selction window opens for you to select the Mojave file you just downloaded. On the right side of the app screen select the drive that you want to install Mojave on and select Start Operation.
It will take several minutes for the process to complete. you'll have to be watching the screen carefullly to see the message that tells you the process is complete.
The Installation Process
11. Reboot your Mac and hold down the Option key. When your startup options appear select the USB drive that you built the installer onto. It may appear with a name like Mac OS X Base System. Click there and follow the normal installation procedure. If you'll cehck the video it has some tips for which format to choose for the disk that Mojave will be instlled on if you are doing a complete install. Some older Macs may not support APFS for example. This is covered starting at about the 8:00 mark of the video. The installation may take a few minutes longer than usual.
12. When the installer completes and the Mac reboots you will probably see the "No" or "Prohibited" symbol (cilrcle with diagonal line through it). Power off the Mac, wait a few minutes, and power on again. Hold down the Option key until you see the startup options. Choose the Mojave installer again.
13. When the rebot finishes you should see a small list of options on the left side of the screen. Choose your language and then chose the Post Install Tool. When that tool runs select your Mac model from the list. This is the other reason to know the Mac model identifier number we located earlier. Make sure you choose the right one.
14. Once you select the right model select the drive that you have installed Mojave onto (typically the boot drive). You're not selecting the USB with the installer. Press the Patch button and let this last routine run. When it's finished Reboot the Mac.
When the reboot completes, with any luck, you'll be booted into Mojave. Walk throuugh the screen to make any settings options you may need to change.
Final Thoughts
When updates to Mojave appear you can download and install them from the App Stoore just as you would on a supported machine. You may find that there are some anomalies such as Safari being very slow to load pages and perhaps a few other things. If this happens download the Mojave version of Onyx and run the routiines in the Maintenance tab. You must check the options in the Maintenance and Rebuilding sections of Onyx. The other sections in that tab are optional.
My test Mac for this project is a late 2008 MacBook Pro with 8 GB of ram and an SSD in place of the spinner hard drive.
I don't boot the MacBook Pro more often because I find using two different versions of the macOS on two diffent machines annoying. The perfect reason to try a hack I'd seen which allows running Mojave on some unsupported hardware. The process is fairly simpble but it is important to follow the directions carefully. Note that you will be following these steps on the unsupported Mac.
The Adventure Begins
1. Go to the information page for the macOS Mojave Patcher Tool. You may find it handy to print this page. We're going to use information on this page to determine whether or not the patcher stands a chance of working on your hardware. This pge also has a link to the software that you will need. You might find this YouTube video helpful.
2. Go to the Apple menu on the Mac and choose "About This Mac". From there you want to run the System Report and click on the Hardware Section. Make note of the model identifier (MacBook Pro 5.1 for example). Compare the model identifier on your machine to the list of supported hardware on the Mojave Patcher Tool support page. If your Mac isn't on the list its probably not worth going forward. In my case my MacBook Pro has an indetifier number of 5.1 and the 5 series is listed as supported so it's time for the next step.
3. With the System Report still open look at the list of options on the left side of the screen and scroll down to the Network section and choose WiFi and make note of the Card Type and the numbers and letters that follow. Compare your network card number to the half dozen or so cards listed on the support page that do not work. If you have an unsupported card and you apply this patch anyway your card will probably stop working if you apply the patch. You can now close the System report window.
If you have an unsupported card, it seems to me, that you have three options:
a. Don't apply the patch. In opther words you're stuck with an OS less than Mojave.
b. Live without wifi
c. Look for a third-party dongle that will work with the patcher.
While you are on the Patcher support page take a look at the Known Issues section of the support page. It discusses some potential graphics issues that may occur if you proceed. This could be important since the primary reason many older Macs can't support Mojave is that the graphics card (GPU) doesn't support Metal.
Preparing for the Patch - You've chosen to go forward.
4. If you don't have a current backup, I strongly suggest you make one in case something goes wrong. I'm not responsible for the death of the dinosaurs, fall of the Roman Empire, or losss of your data.
5. Download and install the Mojave Patcher Tool from the support page.
6. The next step will be to disable System Integrity Protection if you're running El Capitan or later. You cannot do this from your main volume. Reboot your Mac and hold down the Option key to boot to the Recovery partition. the video suggests using Command-r but I find the Option key more reliable. Once you're booted from the recovery partition go to the Utilities menu and launch Tereminal.
7. From Terminal type csrutil status and press Enter.
a. If Terminal reprots System Integrity Protection is Enabled type csrutil status disable and press Enter. When Terminal reports that System Integrity Protection is disabled, it's safe to reboot the Mac normally.
b. If Terminal reports that System Integrity Protection is disabled simply reboot the Mac normally.
Create The Installer - You need a USB flash drive of at least 16 GB
8. Plug in a 16 GB or larger flash drive and use Disk Utility to format the drive as MacOS Extended, Journaled and GUID Partition mapping.
9. If you don't have the Mojave installer you'll need to download it. If you already have the Mojave instller use the Finder's Get Info command to check the file size. Currently the full installer is almost 6 GB in size. Some users have reported that their Mojave download from the app store is much smaller. If yours is significantly less than that,it's best to re-download the file.
The Mojave patcher tool has a means of downloading the Mojave installer. This method seems to consistently download the full installer so I suggest using that method. Launch the app and choose Tools>Download. Don't put the installer on the same USB drive you are planning to use to finish the installation.
10. Once the download is complete Click the Mojave icon insde the patch tool and the file selction window opens for you to select the Mojave file you just downloaded. On the right side of the app screen select the drive that you want to install Mojave on and select Start Operation.
It will take several minutes for the process to complete. you'll have to be watching the screen carefullly to see the message that tells you the process is complete.
The Installation Process
11. Reboot your Mac and hold down the Option key. When your startup options appear select the USB drive that you built the installer onto. It may appear with a name like Mac OS X Base System. Click there and follow the normal installation procedure. If you'll cehck the video it has some tips for which format to choose for the disk that Mojave will be instlled on if you are doing a complete install. Some older Macs may not support APFS for example. This is covered starting at about the 8:00 mark of the video. The installation may take a few minutes longer than usual.
12. When the installer completes and the Mac reboots you will probably see the "No" or "Prohibited" symbol (cilrcle with diagonal line through it). Power off the Mac, wait a few minutes, and power on again. Hold down the Option key until you see the startup options. Choose the Mojave installer again.
13. When the rebot finishes you should see a small list of options on the left side of the screen. Choose your language and then chose the Post Install Tool. When that tool runs select your Mac model from the list. This is the other reason to know the Mac model identifier number we located earlier. Make sure you choose the right one.
14. Once you select the right model select the drive that you have installed Mojave onto (typically the boot drive). You're not selecting the USB with the installer. Press the Patch button and let this last routine run. When it's finished Reboot the Mac.
When the reboot completes, with any luck, you'll be booted into Mojave. Walk throuugh the screen to make any settings options you may need to change.
Final Thoughts
When updates to Mojave appear you can download and install them from the App Stoore just as you would on a supported machine. You may find that there are some anomalies such as Safari being very slow to load pages and perhaps a few other things. If this happens download the Mojave version of Onyx and run the routiines in the Maintenance tab. You must check the options in the Maintenance and Rebuilding sections of Onyx. The other sections in that tab are optional.
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