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[SCRIPT] Automating the installation of eGPU on OS X (inc display output)


euqlaog

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@cyphersk8

Hey, sorry to say that this is the wrong topic to ask that question. The script is to get your eGPU running in OS X, not Windows.

But to get you on your way on getting it to work in Windows you can do the following. As it seems, you encounter the code 12 issue. This means you have Windows 10 installed in MBR mode (some kind of legacy mode). You can also re-install Windows 10 in EFI mode, which will (most likely) resolve this issue.

To do this, when you have a USB drive with the Windows 10 install image on it, during booting of your iMac, press the Alt-key to bring up to boot selection menu. You should see multiple options for your drive, including an EFI one. Use the EFI option to start the installation of Windows in that mode.

 

However, if re-installing Windows 10 is not an option, you can use @Tech Inferno Fan Setup 1.30 software to resolve the issue. You can buy it here: 

 

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Apologies about where to post the topic.

 

Windows is installed as EFI mode and was double checked. I think it might have something to do with the 5K iMac having only a single Thunderbolt bus (with 2 ports). I believe that windows being booted off a Thunderbolt drive AND the eGPU is causing resource conflicts. I'll to clone the boot drive to a usb 3.0 drive to see if it resolves the issue. Otherwise, I'll try @Tech Inferno Fan setup, but isn't he recovering from his accident still?

 

Should I create my own topic for this? Any admin wish to copy my post and replies into a new thread? Cheers! Hopefully we can get this figured out. 

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@goalque

Thanks for helping!

During the first reboot after the installation, when the progress bar got stuck I forced shutdown, unplugged my GPU then rebooted again and ran "sudo ./automate-eGPU.sh -a", no boot issues occurred afterwards.

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There is still an issue with imac 5k: when you use automate-eGPU.sh as is, in order to connect external monitor to the gpu. Your internal screen looses the original 5k resolution. Is it possible to accelerate the external screen only?

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My wish is to use internal mac gpu for internal 5k display and external 980ti for external monitor, which is Full HD only.

Edited by aiv
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@goalque

 

Thanks for your ongoing help, it worked!!! 

 

I did what you said, ran the uninstall script, updated OS X to 10.10.5 and then ran the install script again. This time my mac mini restarted no probs and the GTX 980 is recognised and running in OS X.

 

The only thing is it seems to work ok for general things, but when I've gone to do some benchmarking (Heaven and LuxMark) the entire system crashes to a black screen and reboots. I've tried a few times now and always get a crash. Is this normal? It doesn't seem normal as I've seen others post benchmarks.

Edited by pixxelpusher
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  • 3 weeks later...

For the life of me I can't get my early 2013  MacBook Pro running a fresh install of 10.11.5 to recognise my eGPU. My hardware set-up consists of the following:

1. E
arly 2013 MacBook Pro with the GT650M

2. Fresh install of OS X 10.11.5
3. Corsair CX750M PSU

4. ASUS GTX 980 and EVGA GTX 960 

5. Akitio PCIe TB chassis.
6. Custom made 2 x 6pin cable to barrel plug
7. Paperclip to power up PSU

The Akitio powers up as do the fans on the GPU. When I run the install script I just get stopped at the "Thunderbolt device is connected, but no external GPUs detected". I've tried this with the  eGPU connected to an external monitor via HDMI and with no monitor connected. I'm just lost as to why my set-up doesn't work. Both GPUs are brand new so should be good to go.

Matt 

Edited by 360precision
wrong MBP model
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2 hours ago, 360precision said:

When I run the install script I just get stopped at the "Thunderbolt device is connected, but no external GPUs detected".

Means that the eGPU doesn't appear in the I/O registry, and signifies a hardware issue. Please check that all the power connectors are plugged in properly. Try also a different TB cable/port.

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1 hour ago, goalque said:

Means that the eGPU doesn't appear in the I/O registry, and signifies a hardware issue. Please check that all the power connectors are plugged in properly. Try also a different TB cable/port.

 THis is the output from the connected TB devices:

        AKiTiO Thunder 2 Box:

 

          Vendor Name: inXtron

          Device Name: AKiTiO Thunder 2 Box

          Vendor ID: 0x41

          Device ID: 0x236

          Device Revision: 0x1

          UID: 0x0041023614701BC0

          Route String: 3

          Firmware Version: 24.1

          Port (Upstream):

              Status: Device connected

              Link Status: 0x2

              Speed: Up to 10 Gb/s x2

              Current Link Width: 0x1

              Cable Firmware Version: 1.1.0

              Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.14.0

          Port:

              Status: No device connected

              Link Status: 0x110

              Speed: Up to 0 Gb/s x2

              Current Link Width:

 

To power up the Atikio I have two 6 pin cables plugged into the peripheral ports on the PSU wired into the barrel connector with 2 x 12V on the centre pin and 2 x ground on the outer. I've also swapped the cables and ports around :(cable.jpg

 

Matt

Edited by 360precision
Added photo of cable.
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@360precision I had a very similar issue with "TB connected but no egpu detected", and bugged me for weeks. What fixed it for me was removing the 2 halves of the boards in the Akitio case, and detaching/reattaching them to each other. They may just be loosely connected. Never had a problem since for months. Not a elegant solution, but worth a shot if nothing else works ;). Goodluck

Edited by kblack21
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18 hours ago, kblack21 said:

@360precision I had a very similar issue with "TB connected but no egpu detected", and bugged me for weeks. What fixed it for me was removing the 2 halves of the boards in the Akitio case, and detaching/reattaching them to each other. They may just be loosely connected. Never had a problem since for months. Not a elegant solution, but worth a shot if nothing else works ;). Goodluck


Thanks for the suggestion, tried it but still no luck. Going to buy a different case.

 

Matt

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Complete noob when it comes to running this script, so, I would really appreciate some easy guidance here. 

 

I am running OS 10.11.5 on a iMac(27-inch, Late 2012) and I am ready to run the goalque script but before I do so, I just want to make sure I do things in the right order to prevent bigger problems.

 

Full computer specs here:

 

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012)

Processor 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX 1024 MB

 

eGPU hardware on hand here:

 

Apple Thunderbolt Cable 2.0m

EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Ti 6GB GDDR5

be quiet! DARK POWER PRO 11 750W PSU

Akitio Thunderbolt2 PCIe Expansion Box

Powered Riser Cable 16X PCI-E

 

 

According to http://osxdaily.com/2015/10/05/disable-rootless-system-integrity-protection-mac-os-x/ I need to disable System Integrity Protection first, correct? or no?

 

From what I understand the goalque script should detect OS X product and build, and automatically download and install correct Nvidia web driver, sounds great! Should I uninstall old drivers?

 

So, download goalgue to desktop, open up Terminal and then execute the commands below?

chmod +x automate-eGPU.sh
sudo ./automate-eGPU.sh

and thats it?

 

Oh and I found this video very helpful but I am unsure what exactly is outdated in it. What instructions to follow and what to throw out.

 

 

Edited by burrlin
forgot link
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19 hours ago, iddinmx said:

has anyone tried installing the script nvidea driver on the new MacOS Sierra 10.12 Dev Preview?

At present, 10.12 is confidential pre-release seed software, and as a developer I recall that we are not allowed to talk about it much before public beta.

 

-skipdriver option enabled acceleration and eGPU screen output even though the script hasn’t changed for 6 months.

 

5 hours ago, burrlin said:

According to http://osxdaily.com/2015/10/05/disable-rootless-system-integrity-protection-mac-os-x/ I need to disable System Integrity Protection first, correct? or no?

Correct.

 

5 hours ago, burrlin said:

From what I understand the goalque script should detect OS X product and build, and automatically download and install correct Nvidia web driver, sounds great! Should I uninstall old drivers?

Not necessary.

 

5 hours ago, burrlin said:

So, download goalgue to desktop, open up Terminal and then execute the commands below?


chmod +x automate-eGPU.sh
sudo ./automate-eGPU.sh

and thats it?

 

Yes. Download anywhere you like and run from there.

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@goalque

 

 

Hi Goalque,

 

I set up an eGPU, and used your script.  I clicked on "About This Mac" and I could swear it said GTX970. 

 

Then I unplugged the eGPU. The screen froze. I restarted, and now it doesen't work anymore... Every time I click "About This Mac" it says GTX 650M (dGPU). 

 

I have tried running the uninstall script commad, uninstalling from nvidia manager, switiching between graphics drivers settings on the menubar... Countless restarts... Nothing seems to work. 

Insert existing attachment

Strangely, the mac recognizes the 970 in the System Report, see pic. 

H

Screen Shot 2016-06-16 at 3.42.14 AM.png

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Hello,

 

I ran the script and i get this message "Thunderbolt device is connected, but no external GPUs detected." I am pretty sure its a hardware issue but I am not exactly sure what. 

 

When I use the PSU(750W) to power the GPU GTX 980 ti and the pcie riser through the molex I get nothing, no fans spinning or anything. When I use the Akitio power supply everything starts spinning and lighting up but still no GPU detected.

 

Any ideas anyone?

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2 hours ago, burrlin said:

Hello,

 

I ran the script and i get this message "Thunderbolt device is connected, but no external GPUs detected." I am pretty sure its a hardware issue but I am not exactly sure what. 

 

When I use the PSU(750W) to power the GPU GTX 980 ti and the pcie riser through the molex I get nothing, no fans spinning or anything. When I use the Akitio power supply everything starts spinning and lighting up but still no GPU detected.

 

Any ideas anyone?

 

 

Try the paperclip to force the power supply on... On my setup, i cut all of the other wires off and just tied the green and black together

 

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@aakashraj @goalque

 

Is there any other way of avoiding the paperclip trick? I have a be quiet! DARK POWER PRO 750W PSU and all the wires/cables are black. This is all very confusing because it seems that I have seen other people online set all of this up without any 'tricks,' for example in this video, seems to be no paperclip tricks. It seems the PSU powers through the molex connection.

 

 

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Ok I have worked out my problem and now the eGPU is up and running!!! 

 

The problem was with the power connector cable I made running from the PSU to the Akitio, the wire I used was too thin which caused it to cut out on load (I new nothing about wire gauge and how it related to the power flowing through it, but I do now). So I bought some thicker wire and remade the cable and it worked straight away. It held strong through some benchmarks in both Mac and PC Bootcamp, and I haven't had a crash yet. Also starts up every time, don't have to do any weird timing things with my card, just plug it in and switch on the computer.

 

Thanks again @goalque for your help. I've attached the results of some tests I've been doing and it seems to perform similar to when the card is in my Mac Pro desktop, maybe 10-15% performance difference depending on the task. Also I measured the power load taken by the PSU using a wall outlet meter and it measured 211W max during the Heaven benchmark, all other tests were below that amount.

 

eGPU Benchmark Results.jpg

Edited by pixxelpusher
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