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- Jul 22, 2018
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- OS X/macOS
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- Bootloader
- OpenCore (UEFI)
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How to Create OpenCore Config.plist for your Unsupported Mac [Mac Pro/iMac/Mac Mini]
An EliteMacx86 Exclusive Guide - By following this guide, you'll be able to create a OpenCore config.plist for booting macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac.
Overview
You might have been wondering why OpenCore is needed on a real Mac? The answer is simple, your Mac will lack encoding and macOS update function. To enable encoding and macOS updates, you'll need to use OpenCore. OpenCore will provide you encoding and seamless updates just like a supported Mac model under Software Update in System Preferences.
The config.plist is a system configuration file for the Hackintosh and allows to boot macOS. Without a config.plist, no machine can boot into macOS.
A sample config.plist file is bundled with OpenCore. The config.plist which comes with OpenCore, is the default config.plist and is not optimised for all the systems. It can boot into some installation but when talking about the majority, it will fail to boot on most of the newer machines and high end builds.
Also, it's a good idea to create a config.plist for each specific system which will exclude the errors and trouble while installation and you can easily boot into macOS installation. The configuration file is written in XML and can be edited using a plist or text editor. But we don't recommend you to use a text editor as it has a chance of config.plist file corruption. The best way to edit a config.plist is to use some specific tools like Xcode, Plist Editor Pro etc..
This guide covers a creation of basic config.plist which will allow to boot your unsupported Mac models. To check whether your hardware is supported or not, check the compatibility table mentioned in this guide.
Notes:
The guide discuss about all the configurations for each unsupported Mac models which are compatible with macOS Big Sur. The guide provides the configuration for the following Mac lineups.
Compatibility List
The compatibility for each Mac lineups has been described in the each specific installation guide which are linked below.
For Mac Pro
www.elitemacx86.com
For iMac
www.elitemacx86.com
For Mac mini
www.elitemacx86.com
Preparing Config.plist
Before you prepare your config.plist, you need to grab a sample config.plist.
To obtain a sample config.plist, follow the guide below.
www.elitemacx86.com
After grabbing the config.plist, use any .plist editor and setup your config.plist for your target system as described below.
An EliteMacx86 Exclusive Guide - By following this guide, you'll be able to create a OpenCore config.plist for booting macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac.
Overview
You might have been wondering why OpenCore is needed on a real Mac? The answer is simple, your Mac will lack encoding and macOS update function. To enable encoding and macOS updates, you'll need to use OpenCore. OpenCore will provide you encoding and seamless updates just like a supported Mac model under Software Update in System Preferences.
The config.plist is a system configuration file for the Hackintosh and allows to boot macOS. Without a config.plist, no machine can boot into macOS.
A sample config.plist file is bundled with OpenCore. The config.plist which comes with OpenCore, is the default config.plist and is not optimised for all the systems. It can boot into some installation but when talking about the majority, it will fail to boot on most of the newer machines and high end builds.
Also, it's a good idea to create a config.plist for each specific system which will exclude the errors and trouble while installation and you can easily boot into macOS installation. The configuration file is written in XML and can be edited using a plist or text editor. But we don't recommend you to use a text editor as it has a chance of config.plist file corruption. The best way to edit a config.plist is to use some specific tools like Xcode, Plist Editor Pro etc..
This guide covers a creation of basic config.plist which will allow to boot your unsupported Mac models. To check whether your hardware is supported or not, check the compatibility table mentioned in this guide.
Notes:
- This guide is only for users who are having unsupported Mac and wish to run macOS Big Sur.
- All the properties and schemes must be defined. Do not delete sections unless specified in the guide or OpenCore will result in error.
- If a section is not described in the guide, do not use that section. Simply leave the section blank or don't configure it as it has no relation with your Mac mode.
- This guide is as per OpenCore 0.6.3 (Release) standards.
The guide discuss about all the configurations for each unsupported Mac models which are compatible with macOS Big Sur. The guide provides the configuration for the following Mac lineups.
- Mac Pro
- iMac
- MacBook Pro
- Mac mini
Compatibility List
The compatibility for each Mac lineups has been described in the each specific installation guide which are linked below.
For Mac Pro

GUIDE - How to Install macOS Big Sur on Unsupported Mac Pro [MacPro3,1, Mac Pro4,1 and MacPro5,1]
How to Install macOS Big Sur on Unsupported Mac Pro An EliteMacx86 Exclusive Guide - This guide covers a clean installation of macOS Big Sur on Unsupported Mac Pro, unofficially. The guide supports Mac Pro3,1, Mac Pro4,1 and MacPro5,1. Overview Recently, Apple announced their new macOS...

For iMac

GUIDE - How to Install macOS Big Sur on Unsupported iMac [iMac 8,1 to iMac14,3]
How to Install macOS Big Sur on Unsupported iMac An EliteMacx86 Exclusive Guide - This guide covers a clean installation of macOS Big Sur on Unsupported iMac, unofficially. Overview Recently, Apple announced their new macOS lineup i.e macOS Big Sur 11.0 which is Apple's newest and most awaited...

For Mac mini

GUIDE - How to Install macOS Big Sur on Unsupported Mac mini [Mac mini3,1 to Mac mini6,2]
How to Install macOS Big Sur on Unsupported Mac mini An EliteMacx86 Exclusive Guide - This guide covers a clean installation of macOS Big Sur on Unsupported Mac mini, unofficially. Overview Recently, Apple announced their new macOS lineup i.e macOS Big Sur 11.0 which is Apple's newest and...

Preparing Config.plist
Before you prepare your config.plist, you need to grab a sample config.plist.
To obtain a sample config.plist, follow the guide below.

GUIDE - How to Obtain OpenCore config.plist
How to Obtain OpenCore config.plist An EliteMacx86 Exclusive Guide - This guide covers obtaining config.plist for OpenCore bootloader. To obtain config.plist for OpenCore, you need to download OpenCore. 1. Download the Release folder followed by the release version. When extracting, you'll get...

After grabbing the config.plist, use any .plist editor and setup your config.plist for your target system as described below.
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