MP 1,1-5,1 '09 Mac Pro can't see displays any longer

[whyrichard]

Hello Mac Pro Peeps!!!

My '09 Mac pro can no longer see any displays!!!

It is an quad, flashed and upgraded. Running Mojave. I tried two different video cards and two different monitors, same results.

I can only get it to work by remote controlling it with screen sharing from my laptop.

How to diagnose or trouble shoot?
Thanks!
Richard

 

[bsbeamer]

What exact video card(s) did you try?
How were they powered?
What port(s) were tried on each card?

 

[whyrichard]

What exact video card(s) did you try?
How were they powered?
What port(s) were tried on each card?

I was using a Radeon 7970, but when the video wasn't showing on my old 23" cinema display monitor i put in the stock one from '09 to try to diagnose.

I did a pRAM reset and it works again on my 27 apple cinema display. however when I put back my Radeon 7970, it doesn't work again. Oddly when I remote share the screen, i see 4 vertical displays (i used to run the old 23 display in a vertical format). At this point the 27 display is all black.

Could it be that the radeon 7970 is stuck thinking it is running the broken vertical monitor?

Is there a way to somehow reset the Radeon 7970? such a strange problem... thanks for any help!!!!


Richard

 

[bsbeamer]

Again - how are they powered?
Is the Radeon 7970 flashed or stock?

 

[whyrichard]

Again - how are they powered?
Is the Radeon 7970 flashed or stock?

I believe the Radeon is flashed, I bought it on ebay a year ago.
They are running on the mini display port. USB, the older version.

what do you think?
Thanks so much!
richard

 

[bsbeamer]

how are the GPU's being powered?

 

[whyrichard]

with the original '09 gpu, it was powered through the slot in the motherboard. that is the only configuration I can get working.

Before the Radeon 7970 has an extra connector, two plugs from the video card to two plugs in the motherboard.

r.
[automerge]1570557494[/automerge]
the 7970 has been working fine for the past year...

 

[bsbeamer]

Since you're not providing the exact model, I can only assume the Radeon 7970 you are using is an 8 PIN + 6 PIN configuration. This TECHNICALLY requires more power than the dual mini 6-pin on the board in Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 can provide.

The dual mini 6-pin can power:
Standard 6-pin
Standard 6-pin + 6-pin
Standard 8-pin

Your configuration is likely outside of that:
Standard 8-pin + 6-pin

And would require power modification of some kind.

Have people gotten it to work? Absolutely.

If you're TROUBLESHOOTING an issue, start there or move onto another GPU that can be easily powered by the internal dual mini 6-pins.

 

[Macschrauber]

MP4.1 Original GPU, Slot powered must be the GT120

 

[h9826790]

i put in the stock one from '09 to try to diagnose.

I did a pRAM reset and it works again on my 27 apple cinema display. however when I put back my Radeon 7970, it doesn't work again.

Sounds like the 7970 is faulty.

If you don't want to buy a new one, you may try to bake it.

 

[whyrichard]

Sounds like the 7970 is faulty.

If you don't want to buy a new one, you may try to bake it.

at what temperature?

r.

 

[MIKX]

whyrichard

These are the correct cables to power your 7970 if it has an 8 pin and 6 pin socket.

TWO X SATA to ONE x GPU 6pin

MinerParts - 6 pin to Dual SATA Adapter Cable - 18cm / 7.5 inches

This is a 6 pin PCIe to DUAL SATA adapter cable. Plug the male 6 pin PCIe connector into your PCIe power cable to convert it into 2 SATA power adapters. This is not an extension cable. The cable is pretty short, only 7.5 inches / 18 cm.

www.amazon.com

( You will lose two SATA hard drives in the main case but if you removed your DVD drive you can put those drives in that vacant space


TWO x Mini 6 pin to ONE x 8 pin to GPU socket

TeamProfitcom Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI Express Video Card Power Adapter Braided Sleeved Cable for Mac Pro Tower/Power Mac G5 15-inches

Features: Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI-e cable is to connect a PCIe video graphics card with 8 pin port to Mac motherboard with mini 6 pin port; Specification: Cable Length: 15-inches Connector 1: standard GPU 8 Pin male ; Connector 2 : 2x mini 6 pin male ( not standard 6 pin male);Gauge:18AWG In...

www.amazon.com

If you really want to power your 7970 properly with " balanced " combined power
Get an EVGa PowerLink

More info here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/evga-powerlink-with-amd-gpus.2166917/

My Sapphire Dual-X HD 7970 3gb powered with the above cables via an EVGa PowerLink

EVGa PowerLink https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-PowerLink-Support-Founders-600-PL-2816-LR/dp/B07QLF9KNG

The PowerLink was designed for Nvidia GPUs but works on AMD cards too. I use a PowerLink with my MSI RX 580 8gb and also the Sapphire Dual-X 7970 ( spare GPU ) .
Everything works.

 

[whyrichard]

yikes... and now the mac pro doesn't make a chime when I start up, and nothing shows on any monitor on my most basic video card....

i tried a pram reset and nothing. when i restart it the fans go gently, and i hear a little of the typical cpu crunching, but nothing at all appears on the screen and there is no startup chime...

what do you all think?
r.

 

[MIKX]

yikes... and now the mac pro doesn't make a chime when I start up, and nothing shows on any monitor on my most basic video card....

i tried a pram reset and nothing. when i restart it the fans go gently, and i hear a little of the typical cpu crunching, but nothing at all appears on the screen and there is no startup chime...

what do you all think?
r.

No idea you haven't provided enough info.

1.
Which brand of HD7970 do you have ? Gigabyte ? Sapphire ? XFX ?
2.
Did you install an EVGa powerLink for your 7970 with the cables shown in post #12 ?

Please be precise with your answer.

 

[whyrichard]

hmmmm...

all sorts of other stuff has happened to this old mac pro...

it powers up, but nothing on screen. no chime. led's on, fans on, but nothing on multiple screens.

And when working off my backup hard drive, it too seems to get fried. it was plugged into the wall directly. as was the mac pro, as was the screen.

no power strip.

stereo running off same circuit seems just fine (on powerstrip).

The screen which is problematic seemed to have a funky power thing too...

sigh.

r.

 

[MIKX]

whyrichard

? ? ? ? ?

1.
Which brand of HD7970 do you have ? Gigabyte ? Sapphire ? HIS ? XFX ?
2.
Did you install an EVGa powerLink for your 7970 with the cables shown in post #12 ?