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eEFI Progress for Mac eGPUs


MVC

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I am using Akitio TB2 chassis.

Working on ways to use eEFI to solve Mac TB2 issues.

In past we have been able to allow boot screens on 2014 Mini and 2013 nMP via eGPU and display output in OS X.

Nobody else has done this, as far as I am aware.

Have moved forward, now able to have fully active progress bar during boot and multiple displays on TB2 Macs in OS X.

And the big one, I am typing this on a Maxwell equipped nMP that is running 2 displays via 750Ti. Doesn't always boot via eEFI, but can.

Next up are GTX980 and Titan-X.

They are proving more problematic but at least we have first Maxwell running as internal card. Have made some eEFI discoveries, but also some OS issues.

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Great news! I would like to help with testing with my Titan X as well, as I cannot get a successful boot past 10.10.1!

Did you ever get screen output in OS X?

Or was it just CUDA?

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]14968[/ATTACH]

Did you ever get screen output in OS X?

Or was it just CUDA?

10.10.1: Works just as well as a Maxwell card would. The only difference is that it's recognised as an NVIDIA Graphics Device. Otherwise, I get screen output and acceleration.

10.10.3: It booted up maybe two times, ever. Otherwise, it crashes during OS X bootup (i.e. when the bar below the Apple logo is around 20% of the way through) or it can only be used for GPGPU use. I have a couple of crash reports too.

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Mark, try connecting to a display via nMP HDMI cable, then connect the TB cable to lower left TB output when the screen first comes up on HDMI. (ie, when Apple appears and Progress bar starts unrolling)

I have had best luck that way.

10.10 didn't have name for Titan in it, hence the generic name.

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Mark, try connecting to a display via nMP HDMI cable, then connect the TB cable to lower left TB output when the screen first comes up on HDMI. (ie, when Apple appears and Progress bar starts unrolling)

I have had best luck that way.

10.10 didn't have name for Titan in it, hence the generic name.

I apologise for not being clear at all, but I forgot to mention that I am running my Titan on a Late 2013 rMBP with the 750M dGPU!

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Have multiple screens working now on Titan-X in nMP.

Akitio 2 with external power for card.

Modded eEFI and system files.

Next: Hopefullpost-31171-14495000113597_thumb.pngy WIndows

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@MVC: Great news again. Guess the eGPU is getting more and more interessting. Hope to read more about the eEFI soon, because I have to clue what it is (maybe an alternative/modded firmware)… :D

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@MVC I know it's still a mystery why my GTX970 eGPU kernel panics Yosemite booting on my Radeon dGPU 2011 mini (despite working great in Windows) - but do you think it's worth trying to flash it as a solution?

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@MVC I know it's still a mystery why my GTX970 eGPU kernel panics Yosemite booting on my Radeon dGPU 2011 mini (despite working great in Windows) - but do you think it's worth trying to flash it as a solution?

Didn't someone with a similar Mini get a GTX980 working in OS X? That would really point to another issue.

In my experience, my eEFI cards solve 2 principal issues:

1. Getting into OS X on TB2 Macs

2. Getting into Windows on MBR installs and avoiding Error 12

They can provide boot screens on other setups but my TB1 rMBP gets into OS X with ease, with or without eEFI. And my 2014 Mini can get into Windows with or without eEFI.

I tried the auto-fixer app that someone posted for the kexts and it ran and when I rebooted, I lost driver acceleration. I opened the modded kext and it looked correctly modded, but it just didn't work. Rather than dig deeper I just installed one that I modded and it worked again. SOMETHING was subtly wrong with the auto-modded one. It may have been due to fact that I ran Nvidia update and then ran the mod script without a restart.

Anyhow, I wish that you could use the HD image of the guy with the similar Mini. It really feels like there is some small thing askew. I don't see anyone else with TB1 Mac having this sort of issue.

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eEFI is a term I came up with

Macs have traditionally used their own version of EFI

PCs started using UEFI. Apple has continued to modify their EFI to suit their whims.

MacVidCards has been making EFI to match Apple's implementation on desktops. The needs for eGPU are different and will continue to require tuning to make them work right on TB2 Macs.

So eEFI is something we are crafting from pieces of past EFIs and UEFI and some other elements. Since we have been doing the same for Desktop Macs we have a serious jump on writing these.

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So, I am sitting on my Mini and typing via a AMD7970.

Good news - We have enabled boot screens and multi display from the 7970 in OS X on the Mini and nMP.

Bad News - Windows is proving difficult on both, at least for now

Worse news - Not only does the EFI need to be made specifically for each particular card, there then need to be several system driver mods to make this work smoothly with many displays

Worse still news - the system driver mods are also specific to the machine, we currently see no way to have a "do this mod and it will work" as the original mods required - did I mention that these will need to be updated for each OS update?

It's a mess guys, Apple has found ways to bugger up eGPU on TB2 machines. I can't PROVE that it is on purpose, but that would be my opinion

We will eventually be able to offer specially modded cards that should enable boot screens and enable some of this stuff. But each card and machine combo is going to require specific kexts being modded that will enable that card on that machine. And these mods will likely need to be updated for each update of OS. It is going to be difficult. Apple has one way or the other effectively put up some serious roadblocks. Windows is still a problem for nMP and the Mini using AMD 7970. I have run into Sedor on MR and asked him to see if his nMP gives similar trouble in Windows. Maybe I'm just "doing it wrong"

So, sorry to be bearer of bad news but the ever thinning success rate of newer Macs and eGPU isn't imaginary. It has gotten much harder, both on machine and driver level.

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Didn't someone with a similar Mini get a GTX980 working in OS X? That would really point to another issue.

Not as far as I can find. Only different cards, different minis and different OSes. But never mind - I don't mean to threadjack.

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So, I am sitting on my Mini and typing via a AMD7970.

Good news - We have enabled boot screens and multi display from the 7970 in OS X on the Mini and nMP.

Glad to hear that you have tested also AMDs. Enabling two displays doesn’t require nothing more than Apple’s native drivers and a couple of IOPCITunnelCompatible true values. I am running 3 AMD eGPUs on 2014 Mac mini. One of them is 7970 with two monitors.

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Bad News - Windows is proving difficult on both, at least for now

Haven’t yet tested, this is a brand new Mac mini. I grabbed one quickly from a local store because Apple raised prices:

Apple Raises Prices in Europe and Canada as U.S. Dollar Remains Strong - Mac Rumors

Worse news - Not only does the EFI need to be made specifically for each particular card, there then need to be several system driver mods to make this work smoothly with many displays

I didn’t modify EFI, neither on the Mac side or GPU side and two displays work on 2014 Mac mini as the above picture shows.

Worse still news - the system driver mods are also specific to the machine, we currently see no way to have a "do this mod and it will work" as the original mods required - did I mention that these will need to be updated for each OS update?

Regarding AMDs and 2014 Mac mini, no machine specific mod is required, only GPU codename specific and sometimes GPU specific. I could make a script. The nMP is an exception, because of dual dGPUs.

Not as far as I can find. Only different cards, different minis and different OSes. But never mind - I don't mean to threadjack.

Almost the same Mac mini, the difference was your Radeon dGPU:

http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7910-diy-egpu-macbook-experiences-74.html#post132575

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And FYI, I got accelerated Nvidia screen output too with the 2014 model. Not yet a perfect solution, needs more reverse engineering, but a proof that it's possible without eEFIs. The boot screen is the only thing that I don't have via eGPU, likely requires EFI mods, but getting the booting menu via Mac mini's HDMI interface or just wait for the login screen is ok for me. If you have installed SSD, internal or external, it's much faster.

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I should have been clearer.

Until earlier this week I could only get 1 display working on Nvidia cards. Now there is no limit.

I never tried AMD before. Not a fan but decided that to be precise I needed to figure out what is in way of eGPU and what is specific to AMD and/or Nvidia.

So, I had no idea how many displays worked on AMD. Quite likely that AMD will work better into Windows without eEFI, at least until it gets refined.

I look forward to your future progress on Nvidia, let me know how many displays you get going that way.

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