Test using AMD Ryzen CPU

[DrDonk]

I recently tested the unlocker on my son's AMD Ryzen based laptop (thanks Dan), and looking for others to try it out using a vanilla macOS installation, not one with an AMD kernel or patches. The unlocker cannot patch this but we can recommend settings for the VMX file that allows macOS to run on recent AMD CPUs

The CPU spec was: AMD Ryzen 3 3200U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx @ 2.60 Ghz

It ran when the following lines were added to the VMX file:

cpuid.0.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:1011"
cpuid.0.ebx = "0111:0101:0110:1110:0110:0101:0100:0111"
cpuid.0.ecx = "0110:1100:0110:0101:0111:0100:0110:1110"
cpuid.0.edx = "0100:1001:0110:0101:0110:1110:0110:1001"
cpuid.1.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0001:0000:0110:0111:0001"
cpuid.1.ebx = "0000:0010:0000:0001:0000:1000:0000:0000"
cpuid.1.ecx = "1000:0010:1001:1000:0010:0010:0000:0011"
cpuid.1.edx = "0000:0111:1000:1011:1111:1011:1111:1111"

UPDATE
You must have Hyper-V disabled on Windows or VMware falls back to a mode called ULM. CPUID masking is not available in ULM mode as it is pushed to Windows for the low level VMX/SVM operations. You can see if VMware is in ULM mode on Hyper_V by searching the guest's vmware.log file for these 2 lines:

vmx IOPL_Init: Hyper-V detected by CPUID

Monitor Mode: ULM

Here is a link to a Microsoft artcile on disabling Hyper-V.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/application-management/virtualization-apps-not-work-with-hyper-v

Editing the VMX file

1. Read this KB article to learn how to edit a guest's VMX file safely https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2057902
2. Add the following lines to the VMX file:

cpuid.0.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:1011"
cpuid.0.ebx = "0111:0101:0110:1110:0110:0101:0100:0111"
cpuid.0.ecx = "0110:1100:0110:0101:0111:0100:0110:1110"
cpuid.0.edx = "0100:1001:0110:0101:0110:1110:0110:1001"
cpuid.1.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0001:0000:0110:0111:0001"
cpuid.1.ebx = "0000:0010:0000:0001:0000:1000:0000:0000"
cpuid.1.ecx = "1000:0010:1001:1000:0010:0010:0000:0011"
cpuid.1.edx = "0000:0111:1000:1011:1111:1011:1111:1111"
vhv.enable = "FALSE"
vpmc.enable = "FALSE"

3. Make sure there are no duplicate lines in the VMX file or the guest will not start and a dictionary error will
   be displayed by VMware.
4. You can now install and run macOS as a gu

So looking for others to try this out and report back here with any details on success or failure.

[nykiez]

Result: SUCCESS
CPU spec: AMD Ryzen 5 2500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx 2.00 GHZ
Guest OS: macOS 12.4

STEPS:

1. Add the following lines to the VMX file:

cpuid.0.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:1011"
cpuid.0.ebx = "0111:0101:0110:1110:0110:0101:0100:0111"
cpuid.0.ecx = "0110:1100:0110:0101:0111:0100:0110:1110"
cpuid.0.edx = "0100:1001:0110:0101:0110:1110:0110:1001"
cpuid.1.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0001:0000:0110:0111:0001"
cpuid.1.ebx = "0000:0010:0000:0001:0000:1000:0000:0000"
cpuid.1.ecx = "1000:0010:1001:1000:0010:0010:0000:0011"
cpuid.1.edx = "0000:0111:1000:1011:1111:1011:1111:1111"

2. Remove the following lines from the VMX file:

vhv.enable = "TRUE"
vpmc.enable = "TRUE"

[DrDonk]

Good catch on the vhv and vpmc flags which would not work on AMD. So that means we cannot have nested virtualisation or virtual performance counters, but they are usually not enabled unless really needed.

[Avasam]

AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Installing macOS 11

In previous installs on VMWare 15 with a different unlocker I had to add a bunch more settings.
All I had to do here was add the aforementioned CPU mask

I was also able to transfer my previous VM by copying over the vmx content (with cpu mask) of a new machine (and updating the name).

[DrDonk]

Thanks for letting me know.

[morphine00]

Result: Fail
CPU: Ryzen 9 5900X
VMware version: 16.2.4; using unlocker 4.2.2
Host OS: Windows 11
Guest OS: macOS Monterey 13

The guest OS doesn't even get to show me the Apple logo. I get a "Failed to start the virtual machine." Tried with both the vhv and vmpc flags set to TRUE or FALSE, no difference. I can post logs or the vmx file, just let me know what you need.

[DrDonk]

Thanks for the post. Can you attach the vmx and vmware.log file to a post please? It's tricky to see what works and does not on AMD, but I will see if there is anything obvious.

[morphine00]

Here you go. For the record, if I don't have the cpuid... lines in the VMX file, then the VM starts up, I get an Apple logo, but then it the CPU is halted.

macOS 13 .vmx.txt
vmware.log

[DrDonk]

I think it could be because you have Hyper-V enabled and VMware falls back to a mode called ULM. I believe CPUID masking is not available in that mode as it is pushed to Windows for the low level VMX/SVM operations.

Can you try disabling Hyper-V and trying again?

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/application-management/virtualization-apps-not-work-with-hyper-v

[morphine00]

I have success to report with the above configuration (macOS Monterey, VMWare 16.x, Windows 11, Ryzen 9 5900X), finally

The road to getting there was not easy, though. It was very difficult to completely disable Hyper-V in Windows 11. Here are the steps I took, and to be completely honest, I don't know which combination worked. The last thing I did was bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off but I don't know that was enough or if the other steps were required.

To check whether Hyper-V is truly disabled, run msinfo32 and the very last line should NOT read "A hypervisor has been detected..." You should instead see 4 lines of information about Hyper-V features -- yes, that's misleading, but that's what you should see..

• Windows Features ->

  Disable Hyper-V
  Disable Windows Hypervisor Platform
  Disable WSL

• Set Credential Guard Off: from info in Microsoft's website, find the HCVI Readiness Tool, save it to disk, and run DG_Readiness_Tool.ps1 -Disable -AutoReboot

• Settings -> Core Isolation -> Memory Integrity is Off

• Open an elevated Command Prompt, bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off

[DrDonk]

Good news. I know switching off Hyper-V can be a problem.

I will update the issue and the readme file.

Thanks for the testing and the feedback.

[morphine00]

No problem. If you need me to do further testing, I can.

…

On Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 21:20 David Parsons ***@***.***> wrote: Good news. I know switching off a hyper-V can be a problem. I will update the issue and the readme file. Thanks for the testing and the feedback. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#33 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ADLJLDALZNHNZ2UAVOACF7LVZVCPBANCNFSM5Z6AN4VQ> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[DrDonk]

@morphine00 Could you send me a vmare.log file from the workign guest please? I'm just checking on what CPUID masks are actually doing at runtime and it's logged in vmware.log.

Thanks

[morphine00]

There you go.
vmware.log

[DrDonk]

Thanks