Hervé

There can be no comparison between CPU utilisation under windows and that under macOS. Both OS operate differently and latter is more power hungry than the former due to reliance on graphics. So yes, battery life is very often reduced under macOS in comparison to Windows.

I've no USB Type-C flash drive or no adapter to test a Type A USB key directly off the USB Type-C port.

Because, on any given laptop: dGPU is located @1 (IO address 0x00010000) iGPU is located @2 (IO address 0x00020000) in the same respect that HDEF audio device is always located @1b or XHC USB3 controller device is located @14. That's standard across the board.

Wifi support depends entirely on the card you have; support is not generic and, over the years, gradually reduced to some specific Broadcom chips. Transition from mini-PCIe to M.2 format reduced choice even further. Check our FAQ section and inventories on the matter.

Kexts folder is a bit of a mess: Lilu + WEG but alongside, there is FakePCIID_Intel_HD_Graphics + AppleBacklightFixup AirportBrcmFixup alongside AtherosWiFiInjector.kext + IOath3kfrmwr.kext USBInjectAll + USBPorts_E7440 and SSDT-UIAC-E7440.aml in ACPI/patched folder That ain't gonna work properly... Clover config: ACPI patch to rename ECDV to EC alongside a patched table SSDT-EC in ACPI/patched folder Drop of CpuPm + Cpu0Ist SSDT tables without a generated CPUPM SSDT whilst PluginType is enabled Methink things need to be cleaned up and the packs available in existing guides used... And, of course, installing the debug tool would require to unlock the protected file system...

Darwin 17.7, so High Sierra it would appear... I've split OP's threads into 3 x separate Mojave/El Capitan/High Sierra threads for clarity's sake; especially as everything had just been added to another member's thread related to HD520 graphics acceleration under High Sierra on that E7270 platform.

All you need to to to upgrade from Mojave to Catalina is: add the necessary Embedded Controller ACPI device renaming update Clover to a version that supports Catalina of not already done The kexts you used for Mojave should do for Catalina, you may only need to update those such as Lilu & Plugins (WEG, AppleALC); the rest should be Ok. Once you've initiated the upgrade to Catalina, you have to complete it (starting at booting temporary partition "install Catalina from...") and that takes a few reboots. No way to revert to Mojave... If you've done something differently, you 'll have to be specific about it. Right now, we've no idea about what you've done and what you're using.

By now, you should know the drill... If you want assistance, please provide the supporting material... FAQ section to be consulted on that matter if necessary.

Patched DSDT is irrelevant here (it's only provided to support Fn-F11/Fn-F12 brightness control). I had no patched DSDT when I 1st tested the WD15 Dock. I've no way to say whether your USB Type-C works or not.

It's not just SNB graphics kexts from High Sierra, it also involves replacing several graphics related frameworks and repairing permissions. The trouble is that it's not sustainable to updates and needs to be redone after each update, pending which you may encounter trouble booting or actually using the computer (like not being able to open up a Finder window or executing programs). Given that it also remains buggy since there is no Metal graphics acceleration, it's not worth the hassle in my opinion.

Please, no "bro" here, it's considered disrespectful. No support for distros here either so if that's the path you choose, I invite you to seek assistance elsewhere (the one you mentioned has its own forum after all). Before you even contemplate engaging on this Hackintosh road, please note that: GeForce G610M is based on Fermi GF119 and would not be properly supported beyond El Capitan (if supported at all given you're using a dual-GPU laptop and that Optimus is not supported on Hackintosh) HD3000 graphics has no support beyond High Sierra 10.13; it's not compatible with Metal and was therefore dropped in Mojave (there are tricks to run HD3000 in Mojave/Catalina with OpenGL graphics acceleration only but it's increasingly difficult and complex to support and not bug free; I discourage it). So, if you want to run macOS, I recommend that you: proceed with a vanilla-only installation call on a dedicated SSDT table to disable your nVidia dGPU and save battery stick to High Sierra, it'll run perfectly or so, HD3000 being a little buggy at times in macOS Good luck.

Standard/default VRAM settings for HD3000 are: 2GB RAM -> 256MB VRAM 4GB RAM -> 384MB VRAM 8GB RAM -> 512MB VRAM That's Apple's own settings, defined in the SNB framebuffer. As such, what you obtain is perfectly normal. Any changes from those settings result from framebuffer patching and I've included those (in disabled mode) in the Clover config files I posted in my guide, at least the latest ones, probably not the earliest ones. Details for HD3000 VRAM increase are available in many Mac and Hackintosh forums. Here for instance.

I can certainly use external USB HDD/USB keys through the WD15 Dock connected to the USB Type-C of my 7490.

CMD+Shift+3 for full screenshot CMD+Shift+4 for selected window screenshot -> Look up your Preference Panels...

It does not really matter you got the old kext from a different thread, it's the exact same one (HiSie's v328)... Allow me to correct your statement about the patch. The Clover binary patch applicable to Catalina simply is: Kext: AppleAHCIPort Find: 40600200 Replace: 00000000 The other 2 x patches you referred to (and those were mentioned for Mojave) appear totally irrelevant because the target (i.e. Find) binary code (hex strings) does not exist in the vanilla kext. At least not in 10.15.2.'s... By the way, Clover Configurator includes a Base64 to Hex converter.

I very much doubt the patched DSDT of the E6230 has anything to do with your issue... Your patched AppleAHCIPort kext is of High Sierra (beta?) origin (v328), re-versioned to v999. It probably came from here or here and details of the alternative to reverting kext (i.e. binary patch) were posted here. Given the very origin of the kext, I'm not too surprised it now causes KP in Catalina. What you ought to do is find the alternative to replacing/superseding Catalina's vanilla AppleAHCIPort kext by a now inappropriate older version and actually apply the relevant binary patch to Catalina's own kext. Once you find details of the patch, simply apply them to the kext cache through Clover's built-in on-the-fly patching facility. I suggest you start here and/or Google for "Hotplug Catalina" / "Hotswap Catalina"... More suitable than kext superseding here. As usual, the key is to know what you're doing and why you're doing it.

GT 840M is Maxwell and therefore requires nVidia Web Driver, if at all supported...

After so many years, I don't think these old laptops need much revisiting today...

'seems you're trying to update through the Combo update. That may require you to lift the file system RO restriction 1st. Why don't you try to update through the Update PrefPane instead? It worked perfectly and without issues on the 4 x Hacks I updated (all running with Clover r509x).

Indeed, I'm running latest BIOS A20 + A19's patched DSDT. With regards to screen brightness, make sure you've install the Clover NVRAM options to save settings. You can then check backlight level up with command: nvram -p or nvram backlight-level I certainly always obtain the same brightness level (and audio level to that effect) on startup/restart as I had on shutting down.

You're running Catalina and need to change your Catalina root system from protected Read-Only to Read-Write in order for the script to be able to write to /usr/bin. Please consult the related topic in our FAQ section. You need to familiarise yourself with some of the basic essentials of macOS and Catalina.

Maybe you can re-use some of the stuff available in the guide I wrote some time ago...

Not wanting to blow my own horn but there is a Catalina guide for the E6230... https://osxlatitude.com/forums/topic/8883-dell-latitude-e6230-with-i5-3340mi7-3540m-hd4000-and-1366x768-lcd-el-capitansierrahigh-sierramojavecatalina/?do=findComment&comment=94847

I'd definitely say so but don't miss this InsanelyMac thread that fully covers this model (at least for Mojave at time of writing). Catalina will use the same approach but the tricks to obtain graphics acceleration differs a little.

Apologies if this comes up quite late after all those years but I've come to realize I never posted about the trick I've been using for some time to further get rid of the small graphics glitches/corruption that inevitably effect the E6x20 HD3000 laptops; I'm talking about those defects such as horizontal black lines or occasional pixelisation that keep appearing over time, especially after repeated Sleep & Wake. Now, for the life of me, I just can't remember where I found it (probably IM but I would not bet money on it) but using a SwitchResX-generated custom resolution with a 62Hz refresh rate fixed the issue on my E6220. I've set this as the default resolution using DisplayMenu app. Details are as follows: This, combined with VRAM increase, nearly totally removes the infamous glitches.