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NVMe patching script by RehabMan

This script can be used to create patched IONVMeFamily.kext for non-Apple NVMe SSDs, such as the Samsung 950 Pro NVMe.

The scripts implement the patches created by Pike R. Alpha and Mork vom Ork at Pike's blog.

See these links for background:

https://pikeralpha.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/stock-apple-nvmefamily-kext-is-a-go/

https://pikeralpha.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/nvmefamily-kext-bin-patch-data/

https://pikeralpha.wordpress.com/2016/06/29/nvmefamily-kext-bin-patch-data-for-el-capitan/

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/312803-patch-for-using-nvme-under-macos-sierra-is-ready/

As I wrote on insanelymac.com:

"Although I'm generally a fan of Clover KextsToPatch, in this case I do not think it is the appropriate solution. In the normal case of a failed KextsToPatch, the kext in question just doesn't load, doesn't work, or causes panic. In the case of a failed KextsToPatch in this case, the result could be a partially patched kext, which could cause data loss. I will be installing a patched kext on my system instead of using Clover patches. The problem is the danger is great if only a portion of the patches apply to an updated system kext. In that case, the kext may load... and appear to work, but corrupt the volume due to the patch being incomplete (because of changes in the update). In that case, it would be better to use the old patched kext until a new patched kext can be created. The way I'm doing it on my system, I rename the class and bundle identifier (with additional patches) such that the patched kext can be installed alongside (in /L/E or /S/L/E, or injected) the unpatched vanilla kext."

The script here implements the strategy proposed above.

Special patches for LiteOn/Plextor/Hynix NVMe

Read here: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/312803-patch-for-using-nvme-under-macos-sierra-is-ready/page-42#entry2356251

Also, read here as Pene has proposed an alternate patch: https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/312803-patch-for-using-nvme-under-macos-sierra-is-ready/?do=findComment&comment=2617639

The various patch selections are in config_patches.plist

Special note regarding 4k block size capable drives

It may be that your drive is capable of being driven with a 4k block size instead of 512 bytes. If the drive is in 4k mode, you may be able to use the IONVMeFamily.kext without patches.

Read here: https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/312803-patch-for-using-nvme-under-macos-sierra-is-ready/?do=findComment&comment=2377304 A partial list of drives supporting 4k native:

10.13 High Sierra

With 10.13, Apple has fixed their IONVMeFamily.kext and now it supports 512 byte block sizes natively. This means for many NVMe SSDs, you do not need these patches. Still, the special patches for LiteOn/Plextor/Hynix SSDs may be necessary (see above).

10.12 Sierra Notes

With 10.12 there are a couple of procedural changes:

I will update here when/if there is a better solution.

10.12 UPDATE

By tricking the system, we can prevent IONVMeFamily.kext from loading. It involves injecting a fake "class-code" such that the IOPCIClassMatch in IONVMeFamily's Info.plist no longer matches.

With this technique, HackrNVMeFamily and IONVMeFamily can co-exist. Applies to installation scenarios and to post-install.

See here for further details: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/312803-patch-for-using-nvme-under-macos-sierra-is-ready/page-29#entry2322636

Or here: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-hackrnvmefamily-co-existence-with-ionvmefamily-using-class-code-spoof.210316/

Note: The --spoof option to patch_nvme.sh can be used to automatically generate the kext with the modified IOPCIClassMatch.

Such as:

./patch_nvme.sh --spoof 10_12_2

And the --unpatched option can be used to specify an alternate location for the IONVMeFamily.kext. For example, if you wanted to patch from a different version, or from an IONVMeFamily.kext that is stored somewhere else:

./patch_nvme.sh --unpatched /Volumes/10.11.6/System/Library/Extensions/IONVMeFamily.kext 10_11_6_sec2017-001

A note about dual-boot and 10.13

If you're using the class-code spoof on versions prior to 10.13 (eg. 10.11 or 10.12), you will notice the spoofed class-code will prevent the IONVMeFamily.kext in 10.13 from loading. And you will also notice there are no files in this project for patching 10.13 IONVMeFamily.kext. That is because the 10.13 IONVMeFamily can now deal with 512 byte blocks natively, so there is no need to patch.

But with the class-code spoof in place, IONVMeFamily.kext from 10.13 will not load (it is looking for NVMe standard class-code). For the non-dual boot scenario (eg. just booting 10.13, no other macOS/OS X versions), you can simply remove the class-codes spoof (SSDT_NVMe-Pcc.aml).

For the case of booting 10.11/10.12 + 10.13, install HackrNVMeFamilyInjector.kext to the system volume (10.13+ only). It is a simple injector kext that adds the spoofed class-code to the IO catalog, causing IONVMeFamily.kext to load for the spoofed class-code. That way HackrNVMeFamily-*.kext can be used for 10.12/10.11 and IONVMeFamily.kext (native) can be used on 10.13.

Usage:

Download the ZIP (and extract it) or make a clone of the git repository.

Contents:

Usage:

For example, if you are running 10.11.5, and had downloaded/extracted patch-nvme-master from github, to create a patched 10.11.5 kext:

cd ~/Downloads/patch-nvme-master
./patch_nvme.sh 10_11_5

I tend to use git as it was intended:

mkdir ~/Projects && cd Projects
git clone https://github.com/RehabMan/patch-nvme.git patch-nvme.git
cd patch-nvme.git
./patch_nvme.sh 10_11_5

The result is HackrNVMeFamily-10_11_5.kext. You can install it to /S/L/E, /L/E, or use Clover kext injection with it. It will not interfere with IONVMeFamily.kext and system updates will not change it.

You can also leave the patch name unspecified, and the script will determine the correct patch based on the vanilla IONVMeFamily:

./patch_nvme.sh

Or with --spoof option:

./patch_nvme.sh --spoof

You should also make sure you have no patches for IONVMeFamily.kext in your config.plist before trying to use the patched kext.

Note: The current script uses class-code matching with IOPCIClassMatch to match against any NVMe compliant SSD.

Feedback:

Feedback here: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/312803-patch-for-using-nvme-under-macos-sierra-is-ready/page-3#entry2247453

Use "Issues" at github for reporting bugs.

Change Log:

2017-04-19

2017-04-03

2017-03-29

2017-03-28

2017-01-23

2016-07-04

2016-07-03