You’re now watching this thread. If you’ve opted in to email or web notifications, you’ll be notified when there’s activity. Click again to stop watching or visit your profile to manage watched threads and notifications.
You’ve stopped watching this thread and will no longer receive emails or web notifications when there’s activity. Click again to start watching.
Apple dropping on-going development for FireWire devices that were supported with the Core Audio driver standard is a catastrophe for a lot of struggling musicians who need to both keep up to date on security updates that come with new OS releases, and continue to utilise their hard earned investments in very expensive and still pristine audio devices that have been reduced to e-waste by Apple's seemingly tone-deaf ignorance in the cries for on-going support.
I have one of said audio devices, and I'd like to keep using it while keeping my 2019 Intel Mac Book Pro up to date with the latest security updates and OS features.
Probably not the first time you gurus have had someone make the logical leap leading to a request for something like this, but I was wondering if it might be somehow possible of shoe-horning the code used in previous versions of Mac OS that allowed the Mac to speak with the audio features of such devices to run inside the Ventura version of the OS.
Would it possible? Would it involve a lot of work? I don't think I'd be the only person willing to pay for a third party application or utility that restored this functionality.
There has to be 100's of thousands of people who would be happy to spare some cash to stop their multi-thousand dollar investment in gear to be so thoughtlessly resigned to the scrap heap.
Any comments or layman-friendly explanations as to why this couldn’t happen would be gratefully received!
Hello Tyronet and thank you for compiling a definitive, clear guide, foolproof even for a noob like me.
I had arrived at a similar process after consulting every single thread online about the topic, collecting all the links, all the texts, and feeding everything to ChatGPT.
Despite this, ChatGPT, which is unfortunately lazy and stupid, responded with the following when I asked it to compare the two guides:
Comparison and Conclusions
Accuracy and Details:
The guide by "tyronet" is more detailed regarding the configuration of "Startup Security Utility" and the management of kernel extensions, which is a critical step for allowing unsigned extensions.
My guide lacks specific details about the configuration of "Permissive Security."
Flexibility and Methodology:
The "tyronet" guide focuses exclusively on a specific workflow (installation via package and then fixing permissions), while my guide offers alternatives such as using extraction tools like "Suspicious Package."
Reboot and Authorization Details:
The "tyronet" guide mentions a double reboot and the need to confirm the use of kernel extensions in security settings, something not covered in detail in my guide.
Security Recommendations:
Both guides emphasize the importance of re-enabling SIP, but the "tyronet" guide is more explicit about potential warning messages and necessary actions if the device does not function after re-enabling SIP.
Conclusion: The "tyronet" guide is more specific and detailed in some crucial steps, especially regarding advanced security settings and the reboot process. It is advisable to integrate the missing details, such as "Startup Security Utility" settings, into the initial guide to ensure a more complete and robust solution.
Given this, I attempted to integrate a section into the guide regarding "alternative solutions" or to cover the possibility that AppleFWAudioVentura.pkg might not work correctly:
Appendix: Alternative Solutions and Troubleshooting
This section provides an in-depth look at alternative methods and solutions to issues that may arise during the installation and configuration of kexts on macOS, particularly for AppleFWAudio.kext. These solutions are intended to address specific code signing errors, permission issues, and other technical obstacles.
Manual Extraction of the Kext
If the installation of the AppleFWAudioVentura.pkg package does not work, you can manually extract the kext using tools like Suspicious Package or Pacifist.
Using "Suspicious Package" and "Pacifist"
Suspicious Package: A macOS application that allows you to examine the contents of installation packages (.pkg) without installing them. It is useful for verifying the presence of specific files and extracting them if necessary.
Download and Usage: Download the application from the official website. After installation, drag the .pkg package into the application to explore its contents.
Pacifist: Similar to "Suspicious Package," it allows you to explore and extract the contents of installation packages, particularly useful if Suspicious Package is not sufficient.
Download and Usage: Available on the CharlesSoft official website. After downloading and installing the application, you can search within packages and extract specific files.
Extraction Procedure
Open the Package:
Open AppleFWAudioVentura.pkg with "Suspicious Package" or "Pacifist."
Locate and Extract _AppleFWAudio.kext:_
Find the AppleFWAudio.kext file within the package and extract it to a temporary location, such as the desktop.
Copy to /Library/Extensions/:
Copy the extracted kext to the /Library/Extensions/ directory using the command:
Monitor the system for any stability issues, such as crashes or kernel panics. If issues arise, consider removing the problematic kext or re-enabling SIP.
I have no idea if this will be helpful as it was compiled by ChatGPT, but I hope it can be useful in some way.
Here are all the links collected online on the topic, hoping they can be helpful as well:
FWIW, I did the Sequoia 15.0 (24A335) update today on my 2023 Mac Mini M2 Pro. Reinstalled the patch and authorised the kext from the pop-up in Privacy & Security System Settings. Shut down, plugged in the FW adaptors and my Onyx into a port on the Mac Mini, and got stuck in a restart-crash loop. Took it out, restarted, then plugged it into a spare TB3 socket in my Belkin TB3 Express Dock while the system was running, and there it is! My Onyx lives to survive another round of Apple's updates. So far it's been up for about 4 hours and working great.
Did the Sonoma 14.7 update and I also had to reinstall the patch. SIP had been re-enabled --without kext, so all I had to do was re-install the AppleFWAudioVentura.pkg, and allow it in System Settings > Privacy & Security (the installer prompts for this, then says it failed; but kext was installed). I also ran the chown command, but not sure how necessary that was. Restarted and was back up recognized and running fine
Unfortunately, my experience with it has not been so good. The system went back into a startup-crash-restart loop again after a sleep that involved powering down my Onyx mixer overnight. The thing is quite power hungry, so I like to turn it off when it's not being used. I've disconnected it for the time being. I'm thinking of applying a razed earth approach and rebuilding my system and account from scratch to wipe nearly 15 years of migrated junk from it and seeing if that helps, but I'm dreading that.
It is promising, however, that the fix worked as well as it did when it did. Gives us all hope.
Updated to Sequoia 15.0.1. Reinstalled the fix, and I have the same situation again whereas if the TB4 to TB3 to FW400 adaptors are plugged directly into the second TB4 socket on the Mac Mini M2 Pro, a get a crash-restart loop. Remove it from there, and then plug it into the TB3 port of one of my Belkin TB docks, it boots and the Onyx mixer is visible and useable. I'm pretty certain that if I was to try and restart with that connected, there's a good chance it will crash again. It's like I need to remember to unplug it before attempting a restart. Well, a little inconvenient at worst, but at best, I'm still using my lovely Onyx. :-)
I did all the procedure on Mac Mini M1 2020 Sonoma and worked great. However, I'm trying to do the same on an external drive, I could install the kext file, but when rebooting, it asks to allow extension to be used, and then reboot to apply changes. But after rebooting, it asks the same thing, "Open Privacy and Security to allow extensions" and this never ends. My Mac Mini is 256 Gb, and as music producer I need to work in a bigger disk, so... Any advice?
@RicMX Whoa, boy. Ok. Rant warning - Ok, so about that... Seems that none of this (and a lot of other things) will work when you boot off an external HDD. This is due to the security regime that Apple uses that is hard-wired into the SSD that is soldered onto the motherboard. I went through this for months with Apple, even getting senior people in on the conversation, and they were all very tight lipped about how it worked and why what we're trying to do won't work when booting off an external drive. In a nutshell, you MUST boot the Mac OS off the internal drive, whether you like it or not. Google how to move your profile account to an external drive and do that. You can also set yourself up to run external apps off an external drive and it works for the most part, although it can be tricky to maintain, so much more so than having everything in a "vanilla" Mac OS installation, and Apple only really want to support that, ie: OS, account, apps, etc, on the internal HDD. They say it's for "security", and I guess it is mostly, but it's also to force you to pay the Apple Tax on the internal storage options. It's a pretty elaborate scam, but they end up getting two Mac purchases off you. One for the small internal HDD, with you there thinking you can simply boot off an external one, spend a month or to fluffing around trying to get it to work, and then the second one where you throw your hands up in the air, give up, and buy a second one with a larger internal HDD.
FWIW - I've upgraded to Sequoia 18.2 just now. Unplugged my FW Onyx. Restarted. Re-installed the AppleFWAudioVentura.pkg. Restarted. Allowed the Mac to boot. Plugged my device back in, and all seems well again. This fix is a gift that just keeps on giving! Thank-you!
How to Successfully Boot macOS with Your Audio Interface Connected Without Crashes
Hello everyone! A huge thank you to matt9 and all of you. Thanks to your help, I was able to install my Prism Sound Orpheus on Sequoia successfully! YES It works on Sequoia
I have found a way to restart the computer or boot without having to disconnect the interface.
Prevent IOFireWireAVC.kext from Loading
Steps to Block the Kext:
Open Terminal and create a configuration file to block the kext:
Restart your Mac normally with the FireWire audio interface connected.
Your FireWire device should now work without needing to be unplugged when rebooting, while also avoiding Wi-Fi issues and system crashes.
If you encounter any issues, you can reset the changes using:
sudo nvram -d boot-args
The only remaining issue is that when the computer goes into sleep or standby mode, it crashes after about one minute upon waking up. Therefore, it is recommended to disconnect the interface before waking the computer.
For those who have experienced issues installing the matt9 pkg and its kext AppleFWAudio.kext, very important:
The operating system must be installed on an internal disk, not on an external SSD.
If you want to keep your current system running, you can create a new volume using Disk Utility and install macOS Sequoia there, keeping both systems separate.
