Native macOS Mojave install (no virtualisation)

[Middleman]

Hi guys,

So I managed to achieve booting natively on the VCS with 4K output - now you can do the same!
These are the instructions on how to boot macOS Mojave 10.14.6 on the Atari VCS.

What you need beforehand:
2 x 16GB USB Flash Disk (recommended brand Sandisk)
A spare Mac/Hackintosh (ideally) to download and edit files

A copy of MountEFI https://github.com/corpnewt/MountEFI

A copy of Opencore Configurator
A copy of Clover Configurator

USB keyboard and mouse (attached to VCS)
(Optional) 32GB DDR4 RAM for laptops

(Optional) 250/500GB M.2 SATA SSD

Getting a copy of macOS Mojave:
If you have a Windows only system you can follow this guide to make a bootable USB stick
but download Mojave instead of Catalina:

https://pureinfotech.com/create-macos-bootable-usb-windows/

If you have a Mac, you can grab a copy of macOS using this script and running it in Terminal:

https://github.com/corpnewt/gibMacOS

Most of the following instructions were run on a Mac:

To run script, right-click gibMacOS.command and select Open.

When you run the script it will show you a list of available downloads. You must select the

'full install' of Mojave 10.14.6 (18G103) (which usually is around 6.52GB).

Once it has downloaded you need to create the Mojave installer on the USB. To do this

type this in Terminal: 

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

Once it's done, you'll need to copy the following attached EFI folder onto your USB stick's bootable EFI partition. The file is a ZIP so must be decompressed first.

First you must run MountEFI to mount the USB's EFI partition. Right-click to open MountEFI.command script and then select your USB's number in the Terminal list. Type in your password, and your EFI root directory will appear in your Finder. Select the EFI partition and drag the EFI folder you downloaded into root.

You'll need to then run Opencore Configurator (right-click to Open) to add in your unique system UUID and board serials. So select the config.plist under /EFI/OC/config.plist and edit it.

Go to PlatformInfo on the left, and select Datahub - Generic - PlatformNVRAM tab on the top. Select generate underneath the UUID field on the right.
It should create a unique system UUID key. You'll need to also do this for your system Serial Number and MLB field keys on the left. If your Serial Number or Board ID doesn't generate, you'll need to get a copy from Clover Configurator. Simply run Clover Configurator, go to the SMBIOS section, select the Mac model using the arrows key on the bottom right corner highlighting iMac19,1 and then simply copy the Serial Number on the left to Serial Number in Opencore, Board Serial Number on the right to MLB in Opencore Configurator, and the ROM value to the two ROM value fields in Opencore Configurator. What you should end up with is something looking like this. Then Save the file.



Make sure the top half of Databub section on top does NOT contain a UUID key or any other keys.

Preparing the VCS BIOS:

To make macOS bootable on the VCS you'll need to make it Hackintosh-friendly. These are some of the settings.
But first we must boot into Atari VCS pressing Esc key with the magic words 'Piano18482' for Supervisor mode.

Once in, change the BIOS to the following settings:

Boot Configuration > Fast Recovery > Off
Peripheral Configuration > Trust Platform Module > Disabled
ACPI Table/Features Control > HPET Support > Disabled

CPU Related Setting > SVM Support > Enabled, SVM Lock > Disabled, SMM Code Lock > Disabled
Above 4GB MMIO > Enabled

H2OUve Configuration > Disabled

Boot > USB Boot > Enabled, EFI Device First > Enabled
AMD PBS > Discrete GPU's Audio > Keep HW Default Setting

Press F10 and reboot into BIOS

Administer Secure Boot > (enter password) > Enforce Secure Boot > Disabled

Press F10 and reboot

Installing macOS

To install macOS, simply plug in your Mojave USB stick and boot the VCS by pressing ESC key. You should
be able to see your USB Flash shown on top in BIOS. Select it and it will boot the Opencore bootloader in

the VCS. At the boot page, select Install macOS Mojave icon on your keyboard, and it will run the installer.

When it finishes, it will ask you to install on to which device. I used another Sandisk USB flash drive but you

should be able to use any drive. Select the Disk Utility, give it a name and format the drive as APFS format.
Then quit Disk Utility and select Install Mojave in the menu for your USB drive.

Once the installer completes, you'll need to run it a 2nd and 3rd time. The VCS will reboot and you will need

to hit ESC key again to re-select your USB stick to reboot.

Once installation is completed, you'll need to just copy your Mojave USB's EFI folder to the Mojave drive of

your macOS installation using the methods above, so you can boot from your main drive. That's it!

EFI.zip

[Middleman]

Almost forgot to mention, under Boot in BIOS you will also need to select:

Boot Type > Dual Boot Type

USB Boot > Enabled

EFI Device First > Enabled

[Middleman]

Good news folks,

I can now confirm the VCS can also run Big Sur! Just use the same settings and EFI folder, no other changes needed. ?

 

[Charles Darwin]

does audio work?

[Middleman]

1 hour ago, Charles Darwin said:

does audio work?

The internal audio does not work because I think as we haven’t got any proper AMD Picasso GPU driver support, the codec hasn’t been yet enabled (it is an AMD codec). But audio can work another way. I used a 3rd party USB to DAC adapter by CyberDrive, plugged it in and it was recognised by the VCS right away. Video playback was also working great and very smooth - so yes it is possible it that sense.

 

As it stands I’m still investigating ways to make the GPU work better under macOS. The GPU is a Vega 3 so there’s a good chance everything should work if the settings are set correctly.

[Allpaul]

On 2/6/2021 at 4:16 AM, Middleman said:

I used a 3rd party USB to DAC adapter by CyberDrive

Can you post a link to the one you are using? I don't want to leave anything to chance.

[skorphy]

Thanks for this!

[Middleman]

5 hours ago, Allpaul said:

Can you post a link to the one you are using? I don't want to leave anything to chance.

Yes sure. The version I used was a slightly earlier one of this with a normal USB-A connector. It is now USB-C but should still work if you attach a small adapter. > https://cyberdrive.audio/products/copy-of-clarity-aura-dac-impact-bass

 

or this one (which has a USB-A connector) > https://cyberdrive.audio/products/clarity-feather-dac
 

both are Mac compatible