GUIDE How to Boot macOS Installer on Laptops using Clover (UEFI/Legacy)

[EliteMacx86]

Booting macOS installer on laptops can be a challenge for the new users. This guide covers a complete step to boot the macOS installer on your Laptop using Clover bootloader. Those who are not using Clover, can update their configuration for clover and continue to use it.
Clover is one of the most advanced bootloader yet and it can boot upto almost any OS. With this, it has several advantages.

If you're having a laptop which is UEFI capable, follow the UEFI guide.
If you're having a laptop which doesn't have UEFI capabilities, then follow the Legacy guide.

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: https://www.elitemacx86.com/threads/read-me-first-laptop-compatibility.133/
https://www.elitemacx86.com/threads/faq-read-first-frequent-questions-related-to-laptop.136/

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 and is only valid method to prepare the installer.

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 --nointeraction

For High Sierra:

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

For Sierra:

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

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: Minimum 8GB of USB is required. For High Sierra and later, 16GB is recommended.

Installing Clover Bootloader

1. Download Clover EFI Bootloader
2. According to your laptop, either Legacy or UEFI, install the Clover Bootloader.
3. Extract the Clover EFI bootloader installer package and right click on the .pkg file and select Open.
4. By default, the Clover Bootloader will select the system drive i.e Macintosh HD. Simply click on Change Install Location and select your installation Drive i.e Install macOS High Sierra.
5. Click on Customize and configure the following settings.

For UEFI:

If you’re using a UEFI based laptop, then it’s recommended to install Clover as a UEFI. Configure the following options for UEFI.

• Install Clover for UEFI booting only
• Install Clover in the ESP
• Themes: BGM (You can select any)
• Drivers64UEFI: OsxAptioFixDrv-64 or AptioMemory Fix and ApfsDriverLoader-64
  

For Legacy:

If you’re using a Legacy BIOS, then it’s recommended to install Clover as a Legacy. Configure the following options for Legacy BIOS.

• Install Clover in the ESP
• Bootloder: Install boot0af in MBR
• CloverEFI: CloverEFI 64-bits SATA
• Themes: BGM (You can select any)
  

The rest necessary drivers will be installed automatically by default.
6. Confirm the above options and click on Install. When promoted, enter your password. The clover bootloader will be installed to your installation drive.
7. Once done, simply click on Close.

Notes :

• You need one additional driver. HFSPlus.efi
• Without HFSPlus, you won't be able to see any HFS+ volumes including your installation drive.

Downloads

• HFSPlus.efi : https://github.com/JrCs/CloverGrowerPro/raw/master/Files/HFSPlus/X64/HFSPlus.efi

8.Copy the additional drivers to: /EFI/Clover/drivers64UEFI

Now you’ve successfully installed clover and the required drivers on your USB. After installing the Clover bootloader, the EFI partition should be mounted on your Desktop.

Placing required kexts

In order to boot into the installation, you need to place the necessary kexts. Follow the guide below to place the necessary kexts.

Navigate to: EFI/CLOVER/kexts/
Remove all the folders, 10.x, except 'Other'.

Downloads

• Lilu.kext
• VirtualSMC.kext
• WhateverGreen.kext
• USBInjectAll.kext
• VoodooPS2Controller.kext

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.

Copy all the kexts from the release folder downloaded above.
Navigate to /EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Others/ and place all the 5 kexts (Lilu.kext, VirtualSMC.kext, WhateverGreen.kext, USBInjectAll.kext, and VoodPS2Controller.kext)

Notes :

• 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.
• If your SATA uses RAID mode instead of AHCI mode, you'll need to use an injector. This can fix no drives detected at Disk Utility.
• If you have an unsupported SATA controller (8086:a103, 8086:9d03), use SSATA-unsupported.kext. This will fix the above mentioned issue(No drives detected at Disk Utility).
• 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/

Selecting a Config.plist File

When installing Clover, it places a default config.plist file. This config.plist cannot be used to boot most of the laptops. You'll need to configure the config.plist according to your hardware, mainly graphics and other devices.

Once again, Thanks to RehabMan who made this easy for us. You can select a config.plist which matches to your hardware from his repository : https://github.com/RehabMan/OS-X-Clover-Laptop-Config.
It's easy to select among the list of config.plists. You can look at the config.plist and select the appropriate config.plist according to your graphics and screen resolution.

Suppose, if your laptop uses Intel HD Graphics 520, then select "config_HD515_520_530_540.plist". If your screen resolution is 1366x768, use that one. The screen resolution only applies to Intel HD Graphics 3000 and 4000.
The later series doesn't depends on the resolution.

Note :

• Download the entire Zip from using the Clone or Download button to get all files.

Copy the selected config.plist file and paste it to /EFI/Clover. When promoted, replace the file. Make sure to rename it as "config.plist".

Note :

• Clover can only recognize config.plist file so make sure you rename the copied plist to config.plist.
• Always use -v (verbose option) so that you can track the progress of the installer and the errors encountered.
• If you get any kernel panic due to the graphics, due to DVMT-prealloc, use an invalid ig-platform-id (0x12345678) to boot to the installer and fix the graphics later on, at the time of post-installation.

DVMT issues with Broadwell/Skylake/Kaby Lake/Kaby Lake-R/Coffee Lake/Whiskey Lake/Comet Lake
The graphics kext requires DVMT-prealloc to be set to 64mb or larger. This has become necessary from the Broadwell graphics. Commonly, the laptops manufacturers sets the DVMT to 32MB which isn't sufficient and will likely result in a kernel panic.

There are few ways to set the DVMT even if your BIOS doesn't have option to set. But remember, they are risky!
You can read more about DVMT in the laptop FAQ.

Since most laptops come with insufficient DVMT-prealloc, the plists by RehabMan includes a 32MB patch by default.

Note :

• If your laptop has DVMT-prealloc option, set it to 64MB Only.
• If you're having a QHD/UHD/4K Display, then set the DVMT to 96MB or 128MB.
• If you've option to set the DVMT, remove or disable the 32MB patch from your config.plist.

Also, even if the patch is enabled, you can still get panics. It is because Clover 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 to the installer. Do not use an invalid Fake ID as it will not serve the purpose. Once you are able to boot with the invalid ig-platform-id and enter your desktop, rebuild cache, then boot normally with your required ig-platform-id.

To rebuild cache, you can use Terminal:

sudo kextcache -i /

CPU Power Management

With some old Laptop hardware such as Sandy Bridge, if you get a kernel panic related to AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement or ACPI platform, you need to drop the OEM SSDTs. A quick way to fix is to check "AppleIntelCPUPM" in Kernel and Kext Patches section of your config.plist. Once you install the OS, you can patch the SSDT for CPU PM. To read more about CPU PM, read here.


Now, the USB Flash drive is ready to boot off your computer.

 

[EliteMacx86]

[Guide] How to Boot macOS Installer on Laptops using Clover (UEFI/Legacy)

Preparing Tools for Post Installation
The next step is to place the required tools, kexts to the another Flash Drive which will help you in the post installation. This will also benefit those users who don't have another system. Once the Internet connection is available, you can continue the process from the build itself.

1. Insert your another USB
2. Format the USB with the following parameters
Under Name type Post Install
Under Format select Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)
Under Scheme select GUID Partition Map, and click on Erase.

When done, click on Done.

3. Copy the important tools such as DPCIManager, Clover Configurator, IOReg, MaciASL.
4. Also, copy the Ethernet kext so that you can have a working Internet connection on your build.

When done, simply eject your second Flash Drive.

UEFI/BIOS settings

These settings vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model.
Here are the common settings

• Set Optimized Defaults.
• Set Windows 8/10 Features to Other OS.
• Set Network Stack to Disabled.
• Set Secure Boot to Disabled.
• Set SATA Mode to AHCI.
• If your Laptop has a VT-d Option, disable it.
• If your Laptop has Intel Virtualization Technology, enable it.
• If your System has Fast Boot Option, Disable it.
• If your System has a Legacy Boot Option, enable it.
• If your Laptop has a CSM(Compatibility Support Module), enable it.

Notes :

• For some laptops, when disabling Secure Boot, you might need to clear the Security keys, Platform Keys (PK).
• For some laptops, you need to set Administrator password when disabling Secure Boot otherwise you might get "Secure Boot Fail" message when booting using USB installer.

 

[EliteMacx86]

[Guide] How to Boot macOS Installer on Laptops using Clover (UEFI/Legacy)

Booting the Installer using USB

After preparing your installation USB, you're ready to install on the target laptop.
Plug the USB flash drive in USB 2.0 port and boot to boot menu
Select your USB with the UEFI prefix and it will boot to clover
Select Boot macOS Install from Install macOS High Sierra/Sierra/Mojave and press enter to boot.

Note :

• When having a Dual GPU laptop, you'll need to disable the discrete GPU in order to boot the installer. Read here: https://www.elitemacx86.com/threads/guide-how-to-disable-discrete-graphics-in-dual-gpu-laptops-nvidia-amd.180/

When at installation screen, select your preferred language and continue
Select Disk Utility and continue, click on View and select Show all Devices.
Now select your Hard Drive or SSD on which you want to install macOS.
Make sure that you don’t select partition, select the Drive and click on Erase button.

Under Name type Macintosh HD (You can rename it later on).

Under Format select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (Upto Sierra), for High Sierra and later, use APFS

Under Scheme select GUID Partition Map, and click on erase button.

Note: For Sierra, use GUID Partition Map. As APFS is available since High Sierra

Close Disk Utility
Select Install macOS and continue with the options.

Now select Macintosh HD and click on Install.
This will take couple of minutes and will restart at "Less than a minute is remaining". Upon completion, the system will automatically restart. The laptop will restart to complete the installation. Here it ends the first phase of the installation.
When the laptop restarts, select Boot macOS Install from Macintosh HD or (Your drive name) and then boot.

It will continue the second phase of the installation. Upon completion, the laptop will automatically restart. Here it ends the second phase of the installation.
After installation, boot it using USB, but this time select Macintosh HD or (Your drive name).
The first boot maybe slower as the caches are not build yet. Once the caches are built, it will boot normally.
When you're at the welcome screen, continue with the basics options such as Keyboard setup, Network, Computer Account and Privacy settings.

Now the installation is complete, but the drive isn't bootable yet. You need to configure the Post Installation

 

[EliteMacx86]

[Guide] How to Boot macOS Installer on Laptops using Clover (UEFI/Legacy)

Post Installation

After installation, Post Installation needs to be performed. The post installation is required to achieve the fully system functionality.
Typically, the post installation includes enabling boot from the system drive, Graphics, Network, Audio, and USB.

Boot from System Drive
This is one of the most important part as it allows to boot it using the system drive without any need of installation USB.
Mount the EFI Partition.

Be sure to mount both the EFI partitions of your Hard Drive and macOS Sierra Bootable USB. Both the EFI partition of your Hard Drive and USB Flash Drive will be mounted on your Desktop.

Assuming that you’ve mounted your EFI Partition, continue the following.

Open your EFI Partition of your Hard Drive.

Select EFI folder and then move to Trash.

Now open your EFI Partition of your macOS Sierra Bootable USB.

Now copy the EFI folder to your EFI Partition of your Hard Drive.

By using this method, You’ll able to install Clover Bootloader automatically to your Hard Drive without any use of Clover Bootloader.

However for few Legacy Systems, you may need to install Clover Bootloader.

Graphics
Depending on the Graphics your system uses, either Intel HD Graphics (integrated), should work Out of the Box. If not, check your config.plist.

Notes:

• If you don't have a NVIDIA or AMD Graphics, you must delete all the properties from the Devices section and uncheck the "Inject ATI" and "Inject NVIDIA".
• If you've NVIDIA or AMD Graphics, follow the below to enable Graphics. Few Graphics have certain requirements. Make sure to follow the guide carefully.

Network
Depending on the Network Chip (Ethernet), your system uses, follow the guide here. The required files can be downloaded from the download section.

Audio
Depending on the Audio Codec your system uses, either Realtek, VIA, Conexant, or Sound Blaster X, follow the guide here to enable Audio on your build. The required files are available in the download section.

Brightness

Trackpad

Battery Meter

USB Ports
Depending on the USB Chipset your system uses, either Intel, ASMedia, or Fresco Logic, follow the guide here to enable USB Devices on your build.

Thunderbolt

Power Management

After completing the post-installation, restart your system and you would be running macOS High Sierra on your build. If you encounter any issue, post your queries in the appropriate section.

A big Thanks to all the developers and testers who made this easy. Without them, this guide would have never been possible.

Troubleshooting and further System Optimizations
After completing the guide, few things such as Power Management, HDMI Audio, may not work by default. Here's a list which will serve in fully optimizing your system after this guide. This list will be updated from time to time.

[Guide] How to Patch Laptop DSDT and SSDTs
[Guide] How to Patch DSDT for a working Battery Meter
[Guide] How to Disable Discrete Graphics in Dual GPU Laptops (NVIDIA/AMD)
[Guide] How to Enable Backlight Control on Laptop
[Guide] How to Remap Brightness Hotkeys on Laptop
[Guide] Enable Intel IGPU HDMI/DP Audio (Sandy/Ivy/Haswell/Broadwell/Skylake/Kaby Lake/Kaby Lake-R)
[Guide] Enable Native Power Management on Laptops
[Guide] How to Fix Trackpads on Laptops including Gestures
[Guide] How to Unlock DVMT Pre-Allocated on Laptops
A Beginner's Guide: How to Patch AppleHDA for Laptops
[Fix] Audio Distortion when using Headphones on Laptops

 

[ngc294]

Hello,

according to this guide ([Guide] How to Boot macOS Installer on laptops using Clover (UEFI / Legacy) I have proceeded, unfortunately I'm not in the installer, the laptop crashes with kernel Panic and then reboot ! What could I try ?

Thank you every answer

 

[ngc294]

P.S. panic(cpu 1 caller 0xffffff800076ccdf): initproc exited -- exit reason namespace 2 subcode 0x4 description : none
uuid info:
0x10f595000uuid =............
...........................
...........................
kdp_poll: no debugger deviceconnection.473D31EABEB93F9B)17; root:xnu-3789.51.2-3/RELEASE_X86_64023

 

[EliteMacx86]

Hello,

according to this guide ([Guide] How to Boot macOS Installer on laptops using Clover (UEFI / Legacy) I have proceeded, unfortunately I'm not in the installer, the laptop crashes with kernel Panic and then reboot ! What could I try ?

Thank you every answer

According to your profile, your Laptop has Intel Pentium 3550M CPU which is not supported for macOS.

 

[ngc294]

But I can install Snow Leopard from Install DVD ?!

 

[long08]

I follow the instructions but I can't boot into clover.
Main: Intel® HM76 Express Chipset
CPU: Intel® Core™ i3-2370M 2.40 GHz*1
VGA: Intel® HD Graphics 3000
SSD: Su800

 

[EliteMacx86]

But I can install Snow Leopard from Install DVD ?!

Unsupported CPU