Power Mac G4 Firmware Update 4.2 8 Download LINK

HI, I am looking for a download for the above firmware updater. I got a G4 AGP with the old firmware, and I can't find it anywhere online, the links are all old. Could someone direct me to a link/download that works? Thanks!!

Thanks so much, Allan. You are exactly right. I have been using a G4 AGP with a Sonnet processor and used to have all the necessary updaters, and all my music software and hardware is all G4 era. It's getting on, and I got a chance to pick up another G4 for change, and it turns out it's in pretty good shape. I have another Sonnet processor I want to put in, and couldn't find my firmware updater, and all the google pages had outdated links. I don't use the Apple support pages much, and it's changed so much I couldn't figure out how to find it. I was going to use it for parts, but it is pretty clean so I might completely swap out the one I am using for this one, after getting a new hd and RAM for it. Thanks again, one headache cured! I used to use OS 10.4/OS 9.2.2 and go between both, but I started having a lot of trouble with the screen going nuts one me when switching to OS 9.2.2 from OS 10x, so I completely dumped the idea and just use the G4 2. OS9.2.2 for my music, and now have a Mini for other communications. A lot less stress. Thanks again for finding that page. I bookmarked it and downloaded. Michael

You should have the most recent firmware installed in your Power Mac G4. The newest version for this Power Mac is Power Mac G4 Firmware Update 4.2.8, which is only for Sawtooth, Gigabit Ethernet/Mystic, and Digital Audio Power Macs. To install this firmware update, you must boot into Mac OS 9.1-9.2.2 from a writable partition.

Apple has released a firmware update for PowerMac G4 models named Firmware Update 4.2.8. The new update includes improved support for Mac OS X, FireWire target disk mode, network startup, gigabit Ethernet support, and more. From Appleis ReadMe:

Metal - Previously, Apple's default graphics library for graphics acceleration was OpenGL (Open Graphics Library), used on iOS and Mac OS. Over time, OpenGL fell behind in performance and features when compared to a library like Microsoft's DirectX. Without an ideal candidate to replace it (OpenGL's successor, Vulkan, would not be released until 2016), Apple created it's own graphics library called Metal and shipped it in 2014 on iOS 8 first. Later, Apple ported Metal to OSX. Mac OS 10.14 Mojave uses Metal to now power Mac OS. The new API does not support many old GPUs as their drivers were not updated. Metal often draws ire from users as it dropped support for many older GPUs that OpenGL drivers had. Regardless had Apple used Vulkan, there'd been a day of reckoning with older hardware and support that Apple was unlikely to support.

The Mac Pro 2006s (1,1) and 2009s (4.1) occupy a special place as both can be updated to enable a wider range of CPU configurations with a software update. The Mac Pro 1,1 to 2,1 enables later CPU (Clovertown) support. The 4,1 gets the bigger boost. The firmware update enables Westmere Xeon CPUs and faster bus/RAM. Once a 4,1 is flashed to the 5,1 firmware, it can then use all the 5,1 firmware updates, which enable quite a few goodies like APFS booting, native NVMe support, and such. This is one of those times when a software upgrade makes all the difference. See the CPU upgrades section for more details on CPU configurations. There is no performance difference between a flashed firmware Mac Pro vs. a Mac Pro that shipped with later firmware assuming the hardware configurations are the same.

Mac Pro 4.1s are flashable to the Mac Pro 5,1 firmware. Once flashed, they are a Mac Pro 5,1 and thus can use all Mac Pro 5,1 firmware updates. Below is a collection of links, all demonstrating how to upgrade a Mac Pro 4,1 -> 5.1. There are multiple guides on how to flash the Mac Pro 4,1 -> a 5,1. You will need the MacProFirmwareToolUpdate utility.

Despite the obvious age of the Mac Pro 5.1s, someone or at least a group of someones are/is managed to throw a few bones to the community by providing updates for the Mac Pros 8 years after their release, an olive branch. Stability-minded users should not use beta OSes. Both 10.13 and 10.14 have been welcome surprises for Mac Pro 5,1 users, including firmware updates to enable APFS support, and later NVMe booting. However, with macOS 10.15.x dropping 5,1 support, the Mac Pro 5,1s have hit the end of the road for EFI updates. Forum member, Tsialex of MacRumors (one of the experts on Mac Pros on the interwebs) has compiled and maintained a list of Firmware versions for the Mac Pro 5.1. I highly recommend this blog post as I've directly lifted his notes from it, but there's more info in his original blog post. I credit his work below. The BootROMs are distributed as part of the Mac OS upgrades. It is unlikely that we will see continued firmware updates for the Mac Pro 5.1s in Catalina.

All Firmware updates are performed during the OS installation process. A Mac Pro can be updated to the latest firmware and continue to run older OSes. Mac OS 10.13 can run off an NVMe drive. Now that the classic Mac Pros have been dropped unceremoniously for 10.15 Catalina in Appleistic planned-obsolescence fashion, it's safe to assume that we've seen the last firmware updates.

Sometimes firmware upgrades can be tricky. Users occasionally will see the "The program has encountered an error: 5570". There's a MacRumors thread, what's wrong? Why won't you let me upgrade 4,1 to 5,1 firmware? and MacProUpgrade: I'm trying to update my firmware for 4,1 to 5,1. I'm following the procedures, and I'm stuck at this error. Most threads recommend starting with disabling SIP, which the HouseOfMoth's guide starts with.

Mojave doesn't always make the update process clear, and it's possible to get stuck on 138.0.0.0.0 or 140.0.0.0.0, and miss upgrading to the last firmware released version 144.0.0.0.0. The most tried and true solution is to have a spare drive or volume to install Mac OS 10.13, High Sierra, on. Then download from High Sierra the last version of Mojave, 10.14.6. The easiest way for most people is to use DOSDUDe1's Mojave installer, and ignore the installer.

Again, the Mini-Glossary covers EFI, but the short answer is that EFI that Apple used on its earliest Intel Macs predates the UEFI standard; thus, it creates issues around pre-boot graphics card drivers (hence lack of pictures before the drives fully load with aftermarket cards) and also with other OSes expecting UEFI. Typically, with PCs, before EFI, the boot order went: bios -> MBR (Master boot record) -> bootloader -> Kernel. With UEFI, this changed to UEFI -> EFI bootloader -> Kernel. Thus a properly partitioned drive for the EFI world has an EFI partition + GUID partition. However, Apple's implementation of both EFI and UEFI is unusual, to say the least, as as famed eclecticlight.co points out the EFI partitions aren't particularly used for anything besides perhaps firmware updates. OpenCore provides a way to modify EFI to provide UEFI-like functionality. It works by adding a middle step to the boot sequence that can be altered, Mac EFI bootloader -> OpenCore Bootloader -> Kernel. This additional step is crucial as it allows OpenCore to inject changes without physically modifying the OS. This is much more desirable than OS patching, as changes happen as part of the boot sequence and will not be overwritten when the OS is updated.

For many pros using legacy apps, High Sierra can wreak havoc on support. Many users have chosen to continue using HFS+ as it ensures compatibility with some legacy applications. Note: for Mac Pro 5,1 users, this can interfere with later firmware updates. MacProUpgrade group members, for instance, report that Updating to 10.4.5 firmware won't install with HFS+ on the boot drive.

CPUs are (mostly) plug-and-play upgrades but require applying thermal paste (thermal grease) to the CPU for proper heat transfer from the CPU to the heatsinks. There are many tutorials on how to upgrade a CPU, including YouTube videos and pictorial guides. In the case of the Mac Pro 1,1 and Mac Pro 4.1, the firmware can be updated to include support for later-generation CPUs using the same socket type. See Firmware Upgrades for more details on Firmware upgrades. Lastly, the Mac Pro 4.1s use delidded CPUs for dual-core models. See the Delidding CPUs section for more details.

For a long time, the Vega 56s have been one of the best value GPUs for the Mac as they can grow with your setup. They can be flashed to use the Vega 64 firmware to increase performance. It isn't quite as fast as running a Vega 64, but it is close. That said, without a power supply modification, many users (self-included) experienced crashing when the GPU hit intensive loads and required reflashing it to Vega 56 Firmware. If you intend to mod your PSU, you can always flash a Vega 56 to a Vega 64 for a nice speed boost after you modify it.

Without any firmware updates or modifications, Mac Pros can boot AHCI SSDs, which faster than the standard SATA drives via PCIe sleds offering significantly faster speeds, often double that of SATA SSDs but tend to cap out at 1500 MB/s (usually more roughly in the 1 GB/s mark). Most NVMe adapters also accept AHCI. However, due to the speed limitations, and age, there aren't many models on the market. The price per GB tends to be high, as the industry has largely pivoted to NVMe.

* The Evo and Evo Pro variants of the 970 are Mac compatible. There is a firmware update for the Evo Plus that fixes issues. Most drives at this point should have the new firmware preinstalled at this point in time, but it should be noted.

Fusion Drives have become en vogue once again thanks to the partial support that earlier versions of MacOS had regarding NVMe and Mac Pro 3.1s lacking firmware updates. NVMe isn't natively bootable prior to the 140.0.0.0.0 firmware update for the Mac Pro 5.1s, but Fusion drives are.

For the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1s, it's highly recommended to update to the latest firmware to ensure compatibility with later gen GPUs as some users have had issues getting video to output or to get the Bootcamp utility to function properly. 2b1af7f3a8