How I breathed new life into my 2010 MacBook Pro by installing every macOS version from 10.7 to 12.0 on different partitions using OpenCore.
In this personal project, I successfully revitalized my 2010 MacBook Pro by implementing multi-boot capabilities across multiple macOS versions, from Lion (10.7) all the way to Monterey (12.0).
For macOS versions 10.14 (Mojave) and above, I needed to use OpenCore bootloader since Apple dropped official support for my hardware. This required custom configurations, kernel extensions, and ACPI patches to make everything work properly.
The result was a fully functional machine that could boot into six different macOS versions, allowing me to test software compatibility across operating systems and extend the useful life of my hardware by several years.
MacBook Pro (Mid 2010) with Intel Core 2 Duo processor, upgraded to 8GB RAM and 1TB SSD for improved performance.
Successfully installed macOS 10.7 (Lion), 10.8 (Mountain Lion), 10.9 (Mavericks), 10.10 (Yosemite), 10.11 (El Capitan), 10.12 (Sierra), 10.13 (High Sierra), 10.14 (Mojave), 10.15 (Catalina), 11.0 (Big Sur), and 12.0 (Monterey).
Used OpenCore bootloader for macOS 10.14+ and native boot for earlier versions, with a custom boot menu to select between operating systems.
Challenge: My 2010 MacBook Pro wasn't officially supported by macOS versions after High Sierra.
Solution: Used OpenCore bootloader with custom kexts to enable hardware support for newer macOS versions.
Challenge: The NVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU in my MacBook Pro lacked proper drivers in newer macOS versions.
Solution: Implemented custom framebuffer patches and GPU configuration to enable basic acceleration.
Challenge: Managing multiple macOS installations on a single drive with a seamless boot experience.
Solution: Created a custom partition scheme with separate EFI partitions and configured OpenCore to detect all installations.
Challenge: Modern macOS versions required ACPI tables that weren't available on my older hardware.
Solution: Created custom DSDT and SSDT patches to provide the necessary hardware information to the OS.
Challenge: Newer macOS versions were sluggish on the older hardware.
Solution: Disabled unnecessary services, optimized system configurations, and upgraded to an SSD for a 2x performance boost.
Successfully installed and configured 11 different macOS versions on a single machine.
Added 5+ years of usability to a machine that Apple had officially discontinued support for.
All hardware components working properly, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, graphics, and USB ports.
The official OpenCore documentation provides detailed information about configuring the bootloader for various hardware.
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