OS X El Capitan (10.11) on Unsupported Macs macOS Extractor and MacPostFactor are apps that guide you through patching and installing OS X El Capitan (10.11), Yosemite (10.10), Mavericks (10.9), or Mountain Lion (10.8) on your older Mac. This thread focuses on OS X El Capitan. This is how to install Mac OS X 10.11 'El Capitan' on an unsupported Mac Pro. In this video, I use a Mac Pro 1,1 (that has been flashed to 2,1 firmware). Download Link View Release Notes MacPostFactor 2.0.1 July 8, 2016: Download Link Boot.efi support for El Capitan (OS X 10.11) for unsupported Mac hardware with a 32-bit only EFI by Pike R. Alpha: Download Link. OS X El Capitan on Unsupported Macs. MacOS Extractor, OS X Patcher, and MacPostFactor are apps that guide you through patching and installing OS X El Capitan (10.11), Yosemite (10.10), Mavericks(10.9), or Mountain Lion (10.8) on your older Mac. This thread focuses on OS X El Capitan. First you will need to download the restore disk image of El Capitan (10.11.6) which you will need to install onto your hard drive of the 1,1/2.1 Mac Pro. To get the image click here. Now that you have the restore image it needs to be restored to your Mac Pro. There’s a few ways to go about this.
Introduction
This project is a new and updated branch of the Yosemite tree and is targetted at OS X 10.11 El Capitan with SIP support, automatic installer detection and fake board-id injection for unsupported models of the MacPro and MacBook Pro.
Download
All downloads of boot.efi should be done from this project page. All other sources are unsupported.
Download your copy of the prebuild (32-bit) version of boot.efi for El Capitan (compiled on Microsoft Windows 10 with Microsoft Visual Studio 2015) with a black background and white Apple logo now, and verify the download by entering (either one) in a terminal window:
Or download the one for legacy hardware, with a grey background and logo for your Mac Pro and verify the download by entering (either one) in a terminal window:
Note: If the output is different, then your copy of boot.efi should not be used!
Compilation
Don't want a prebuilt copy of boot.efi then compile the source code yourself, with either Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 or 2015. The latter requires you to update the solution files, but that should be done automatically in the MS Visual Studio IDE.
Note: See also Compiling-Instructions
Thanks To
This project would not have been possible without the help of Peter Holbrook, Mike Boss and a number of other people. Peter did all compiling and Mike ran dozens of test builds that Peter pushed out over at forums.macrumors.com Awesome work guys. Job well done!
I'd also like to thank everyone else whoh helped with testing our nightly builds. Thank you so much!
Help
If you need help with the setup then please visit this macrumor thread. Developers, or people who need help with compiling boot.efi themself, can visit this macrumors developer thread.
Note: I myself don't own any unsupported Apple hardware with a 32-bit EFI implementation, so I can probably do not much for you, but there may be others to help you.
Bugs
Bugs can be reported here
Note: Please provide a clear step by step procedure to reproduce the bug. Thanks.
License
My work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License and as such you must add a link to this license. Even if you only use a download link. Also note the term 'NonCommercial' because I don't want to see my work end up anywhere else but here.
Note: 'Tiamo' released his work under a BSD-3-Clause license
Disclaimer
Copyright (c) 2014-2016, by Pike R. Alpha – All right reserved.
Download the Catalina 10.15.7 Update in Post #1 or the update from Apple's Mac App Store and run it - the updater will reboot upon completion. Note: Update will reboot several times; each time Clover picks the correct boot partition. So, sit back and relax. The update takes 2 reboots and 20 minutes to complete.
To get the latest features and maintain the security, stability, compatibility, and performance of your Mac, it's important to keep your software up to date. Apple recommends that you always use the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.

Learn how to upgrade to macOS Big Sur, the latest version of macOS.
- Or you can get the latest macOS Catalina on the App Store for other versions including High Sierra (10.13), Sierra (10.12) or El Capitan (10.11). If you’re using Lion (10.7) or Mountain Lion (10.8), you will need to upgrade to El Capitan (10.11) first before you could upgrade to macOS Catalina.
- How to Update MacBook Air: macOS High Sierra and Earlier. If you have macOS High Sierra (10.13) or an earlier operating system, such as El Capitan (10.11) or Yosemite (10.10), you'll have to update your MacBook Air using a slightly different route.
Check compatibility
If a macOS installer can't be used on your Mac, the installer will let you know. For example, it might say that it's too old to be opened on this version of macOS, or that your Mac doesn't have enough free storage space for the installation.
To confirm compatibility before downloading, check the minimum requirements for macOS Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, or Yosemite. You can also find compatibility information on the product-ID page for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook, iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro.
Make a backup
Before installing, it’s a good idea to back up your Mac. Time Machine makes it simple, and other backup methods are also available. How to download on netflix on mac. Learn how to back up your Mac.
Download macOS
It takes time to download and install macOS, so make sure that you're plugged into AC power and have a reliable internet connection.
Safari uses these links to find the old installers in the App Store. After downloading from the App Store, the installer opens automatically.
- macOS Catalina 10.15 can upgrade Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks
- macOS Mojave 10.14 can upgrade High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion
- macOS High Sierra 10.13 can upgrade Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion
Safari downloads the following older installers as a disk image named InstallOS.dmg or InstallMacOSX.dmg. Open the disk image, then open the .pkg installer inside the disk image. It installs an app named Install [Version Name]. Open that app from your Applications folder to begin installing the operating system.
- macOS Sierra 10.12 can upgrade El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, or Lion
- OS X El Capitan 10.11 can upgrade Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard
- OS X Yosemite 10.10can upgrade Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard
Install macOS
Follow the onscreen instructions in the installer. It might be easiest to begin installation in the evening so that it can complete overnight, if needed.
If the installer asks for permission to install a helper tool, enter the administrator name and password that you use to log in to your Mac, then click Add Helper.
Please allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. Your Mac might restart, show a progress bar, or show a blank screen several times as it installs macOS and related firmware updates.
Learn more
You might also be able to use macOS Recovery to reinstall the macOS you're using now, upgrade to the latest compatible macOS, or install the macOS that came with your Mac.
macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. Experience Mac to the fullest with a refined new design. Enjoy the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages. And get even more transparency around your privacy.
Check compatibility
macOS Big Sur is compatible with these computers:

MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
MacBook Air introduced in 2013 or later
MacBook Pro introduced in late 2013 or later
Mac mini introduced in 2014 or later
iMac introduced in 2014 or later
iMac Pro
Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
View the complete list of compatible computers.
If upgrading from macOS Sierra or later, macOS Big Sur requires 35.5GB of available storage to upgrade. If upgrading from an earlier release, macOS Big Sur requires up to 44.5GB of available storage. To upgrade from OS X Mountain Lion, first upgrade to OS X El Capitan, then upgrade to macOS Big Sur.
Make a backup
Before installing any upgrade, it’s a good idea to back up your Mac. Time Machine makes it simple, and other backup methods are also available. Learn how to back up your Mac.
Get connected
It takes time to download and install macOS, so make sure you have a reliable internet connection. If you’re using a Mac notebook computer, plug it into an AC power source.
Download macOS Big Sur
If you're using macOS Mojave or later, get macOS Big Sur via Software Update: choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Software Update.
Or use this link to open the macOS Big Sur page on the App Store: get macOS Big Sur. Then click the Get button or iCloud download icon.
Begin installation
After downloading, the installer will open automatically.
Click Continue and follow the on-screen instructions. You may find it easiest to start installation in the evening so that it can be completed overnight, if needed.
If the installer asks for permission to install a helper tool, enter the administrator name and password that you use to log in to your Mac, then click Add Helper.
Allow the installation to be completed
Please allow the installation to be completed without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. Your Mac may restart, display a progress bar or show a blank screen several times as it installs both macOS and related updates to your Mac firmware.
Stay up to date
Can El Capitan Be Upgraded To Catalina
After installing macOS Big Sur, you will be notified when updates to macOS Big Sur are available. You can also use Software Update to check for updates: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Software Update.
Or get macOS Big Sur automatically
If you're using OS X El Capitan v10.11.5 or later and your App Store preferences or Software Update preferences are set to download new updates when available, macOS Big Sur will download conveniently in the background, making it even easier to upgrade. A notification will inform you when macOS Big Sur is ready to be installed. Click Install to get started, or dismiss the notification to install later. When you're ready to install, just open the file named Install macOS Big Sur from your Applications folder.
El Capitan Patcher Download
Learn more
El Capitan Update To Catalina Patcher
Dosdude1 El Capitan
El Capitan Update To Catalina Islands
Should I Update El Capitan To Catalina
- If the installer shows a list of apps that are not optimised for your Mac, learn about 32-bit app compatibility, then choose whether to proceed with the installation.
- For the strongest security and latest features, upgrade to macOS Big Sur. If you have hardware or software that isn't compatible with Big Sur, you might be able to install an earlier macOS.
- You can also use macOS Recovery to reinstall the macOS you're using now, upgrade to the latest compatible macOS, or install the macOS that came with your Mac.



