How to Hackintosh macOS Catalina on AMD FX and Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P with OpenCore 0.5.8

May 13, 2020 admin Mac 54

The new OpenCore 0.5.8 is here and I have tested this version on my AMD FX build. So following up on my previous Hackintosh build, now I use the Gigabyte GA-970a-D3P motherboard replacing my AsRock 970. The Gigabyte GA-970-D3P supports UEFI which makes the Hackintosh installation a lot easier. This motherboard also still very reliable to handle the AMD FX 8350. Even it’s an old system but it can run macOS Catalina very well.

The new OpenCore 0.5.8 has been released a few days ago and I want to give it a try. And to be honest, this new version brings a lot of technical improvements. I am not a Hackintosh Guru but now making the macOS Catalina up and running on non-Apple hardware is getting easier. You can do it as well.

Hackintosh Specifications:

What’s work

  • Audio
  • Graphics acceleration
  • Shut down, restart
  • LAN
  • Apple ID
  • etc.

What’s not

  • Sleep

Steps to Install Hackintosh Catalina on AMD FX-8350 and Gigabyte GA-970a-D3P using OpenCore 0.5.8

Step 1. Create Catalina USB Bootable Drive

As always, we need to create a Catalina USB bootable drive. You can follow these steps below depends on which OS you are currently using

Step 2. Configure the OpenCore Boot loader

The boot loader is an important part of Hackintosh. Without a correct boot loader, the system will not boot. I choose to use the latest OpenCore 0.5.8 on this build. OpenCore is a great boot loader. It’s not simple but there is a pretty comprehensive guide to configuring the OpenCore. This is the place you should start.

In order to configure the OpenCore boot loader, you will need a working Windows 10 or Mac.

Download OpenCore

Windows 10

First, let’s download the latest OpenCore from the link below. I use the debug version because it gives us better and more complete information, error logs, etc. In Windows, if you created the bootable disk using gibmacOS, you will have the OpenCore files already. It’s in the partition called BOOT. Please note that we still need to configure this EFI folder.

https://github.com/acidanthera/OpenCorePkg/releases

In my case, I use the OpenCore version 0.5.8. Download it as a zip file and then extract it to your temporary folder.

First, you need to copy the EFI folder to your EFI partition. If you created your USB bootable disk from a Windows 10, you should have this EFI folder already in the BOOT partition.

macOS

After you created the USB bootable disk on your Mac, you will need to mount the EFI partition on that USB disk. Use Clover Configurator software to mount the EFI partition.

Configure the EFI folder

ACPI

By default, there are no files in this folder. So, we are going to add some. Download the following files and put in the ACPI folder.

We are done with the ACPI folder. I only add these two files for my build.

Drivers

Next, we are going to modify the Drivers folder. You will see a bunch of .efi files in this folder.

We only need these two files to be in the Driver folder. Remove the rest. I put the download link to the file if you don’t have it.

In some cases, HfsPlus.efi does not work on some AM3+ motherboards. So, I choose to use VBoxHfs.efi instead of HfsPlus.efi. But remember, use one of these. Do not use both together. It won’t work.

Tools

There are many files in the Tools folder. For now, we do not need them. So, remove everything from this Tools folder.

Kexts

Kexts files are very important for our OpenCore build. These files are needed by macOS to enable some hardware such as audio, LAN etc. There is no kexts file available the Kexts folder right now. We need to add them manually. For this particular build (AMD FX 8350 and Gigabyte GA-970a-D3P), we need the following kexts.

Configure config.plist

After we finish populating the drivers, kext and other stuffs, now we need to configure the config.plist. config.plist is a configuration file that will allows our Hackintosh to boot. Without a proper config.plist file, our system won’t boot and we will not be able to install macOS Catalina.

We will not create the config.plist from scratch. We will use the provided sample.plist in the Docs folder. Copy this sample.plist and put under the OC folder on your USB installation disk. Don’t forget to rename it to config.plist.

First, let’s take a look at my complete EFI folder below.

To edit the config.plist file, you will need this software: ProperTree. It works on both Windows and macOS. Download ProperTree.

I will not explain the steps to configure the config.plist here. There is a better and more complete guide on how to configure the config.plist for various hardware. Please read and follow this guide below.

https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Desktop-Guide/

Step 3. Configure the BIOS

In order to build a successful Hackintosh, we need to configure the BIOS correctly. The Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P comes with a UEFI bios so it is very easy to configure. Change the following in the BIOS

  • OS Type ==> Other OS
  • Boot Mode Selection ==> UEFI Only
  • On Chip SATA Type ==>AHCI
  • XHCI Hand-off ==> Enabled
  • EHCI Hand-off ==> Enabled

Step 4. Boot your PC

Once everything is ready, now it’s time to boot the PC. Note every errors if any and then go to the OpenCore Troubleshooting Guide to get the fix. Below, you can download my EFI folder. But, you may need to adjust it to match your hardware configuration.

https://app.box.com/s/hvmeuxcr3y3gxh59zle9xpxy5w52qbq8

53 Comments

  5. Hello, I want install MacOS Cataline in my AMD FX8350 with my mothervideo R9 270X. It is possible?. Thank you. I wait your answer.

    Reply

      • I have the same motherboard and an ati rx 280x but I can’t get it to shut down. The fans and LEDs remain on, but the screen is black.

        I have copied fragments of your congif.plist that I was missing, but it still does not turn off.

        Reply

  15. hello,
    I have these problems, what should I do?

    00:000 00:000 OCA: Inserted ACPI table has length mismatch 69432 vs 557582858, ignoring
    00:050 00:050 OC: Failed to add ACPI SSDT-EC-USBX-AMD.aml – Invalid Parameter

    Reply

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