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@barrykn barrykn released this 23 Sep 00:46
· 244 commits to main since this release
v0.2.0
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Learn about vigilant mode.

This release has a few major changes:

set-vars.sh had some reliability problems from the very beginning, especially on systems where a macOS installation (any macOS installation!) was encrypted with FileVault. However, Big Sur beta 5 added new restrictions on the nvram command that took those reliability problems to a new level (issue #24 in the project's issue tracker on GitHub). After considerable testing and experimentation, I concluded that the best way around this was to modify the nvram variables through direct calls to the EFI firmware API. So, this version of the patcher now adds another program to the EFI partition of a GUID Partition Map-formatted USB stick, "setvars", which runs directly on the EFI firmware without an operating system. You boot into setvars, let it do its thing and power the Mac down (this can take several seconds, but it usually takes less than 1 second), then turn the Mac back on and boot from the patched installer USB as normal. (setvars can also be installed onto a separate USB stick, but this is less elegant so is not described in the README at this time.) Thanks to Travis Parker for suggesting the idea of using the EFI partition on a GPT-formatted USB stick, thereby avoiding the need for a more difficult partitioning setup or a second USB stick.

Now that set-vars.sh has a reliable replacement. I was finally able to integrate the "trampoline" from the ParrotGeek patcher. (Thanks, ParrotGeek!) Now there is no need to run a Terminal command after booting the installer USB but before actually running the installer -- you just start the Installer and go on your way, just like on a supported Mac.

There are also new scripts in the misc-scripts directory for enabling and disabling animations. The script for disabling animations, in particular, makes Big Sur run much faster on Macs without Metal GPUs. Thanks to johncaling40 for these scripts!

Finally, the README has been thoroughly revised. Note that the steps have different numbers now. In particular, the famous "step 9" for installing the kext patches is now step 15.

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