2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and OS X El Capitan

[FlorisVN]

Hi All

I upgraded my Mac Pro 1,1 as follows:

- firmware flashed to 2,2
- 32GB RAM
- Mac-flashed Nvidia Quadro 4000 graphics card
- Pikified OS to 10.11

The upgrade worked fine for a week then the graphics card seems to not be recognised or is malfunctioning.
Graphics card light and fan still operating and 6 pin connector green light on.


I put the old factory graphics card back in and I can boot from 10.7.5.
I can also boot from the OS 10.11 disk.
So it seems 10.11 is working fine.

I have downloaded and installed Nvidia Drivers for both 10.7.5 and 10.11. But no signal to screen.

Any help/ideas gratefully received.

Cheers

Nick

simple sounds like your nvidia card is dead.
This can happen.

Replace it with another compatible nvidia or AMD/ATI card is my advise.

 

[maxmmm]

Hello everybody,

Here I have installed El Capitan on my Mac Pro 1.1 via the procedure proposed by Pikify.

Everything works fine for 1 week, then the mac freezes and shuts down.
From then on, it's impossible to turn it back on. It turns on, I hear the chimes and off by itself.

I thought it could come from the security update that you apparently don't need to install. However, I had unchecked the box that allows automatic updates in the system preferences.

Do you have any idea where the problem could come from ?

Thanks to all of you,

Max

 

[Eddie_go]

Greetings everyone.
A new System update appeared today on the App Store for OS 10.11.6.
It doesn't seem to require a restart, but I'm too happy to have been able to upgrade my 'old' Pro 1,1 to El Capitan to mess things up with a virtually useless and potentially 'dangerous' update.
The update says something about straightening things up with some 32 bit apps.
Does anyone have any clues on what to do with the update? Has anyone tried to install it? Successfully?
All the best,
Edmond.

 

[res6jya6]

On a MP1,1 - what are my options for Bluetooth and WiFi on El Capitan? I don't NEED WiFi as I prefer the ethernet connection but I wouldn't mind the benefits of Bluetooth! Is there a particular module that works better than others for these older Pros?

 

[Eddie_go]

On a MP1,1 - what are my options for Bluetooth and WiFi on El Capitan? I don't NEED WiFi as I prefer the ethernet connection but I wouldn't mind the benefits of Bluetooth! Is there a particular module that works better than others for these older Pros?

I have the same question, the Bluetooth card inside my MP 1,1 disconnecting much too often.

 

[res6jya6]

I have the same question, the Bluetooth card inside my MP 1,1 disconnecting much too often.

Have you made sure you aren't connected to the wrong antenna cable? IIRC the 1,1s had issues where the antenna cable labeled BT was not in fact the BT cable but the Airport one... I'll see if I can't find the website I was looking at for that (they had the correct wiring labels available).

EDIT: Found it quite quickly - http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/Mac_Pro/Bluetooth_MacPro_install/Bluetooth_MacPro_install.html

This guy is using a BT 1.1 module, I'd rather have 2.0 for faster file transfers/faster Hotspot connectivity.

 

[Eddie_go]

Have you made sure you aren't connected to the wrong antenna cable? IIRC the 1,1s had issues where the antenna cable labeled BT was not in fact the BT cable but the Airport one... I'll see if I can't find the website I was looking at for that (they had the correct wiring labels available).

Thank you for your reply.
I doubt that might be the problem, since both my WIFI and Bluetooth connections have been working flawlessly for so many years (my MP was born in 2007). My guess is the Bluetooth card might be 'tired'--though I don't see how this can happen to a card...

 

[velkom]

Hi All!
I've a problem with a Mac Pro 2.1 installing El Capitain.

USB completely stops working at the 10.11 language selection, both front and back ports. Thus making it impossible to use mouse and keyboard. Both with preconfigured image at post #4,993 and with a pikifi drive (starting from a original 10.11 image from apple site).

Mac Pro 2.1 (with 2007 firmware)
16GB RAM
nVidia GT8800 512MB
Crucial MX500 500GB + HGST 1TB SATA drive
... work perfectly with 10.6.8 Snow Leopard

PRAM reset don't solves the problem.

Thanks in advance.
V

 

[CharCat]

Right. I can't remember what method I used to drop El Capitan onto my cMP 1,1/2,1 but I did and it works. Except for sound. I swapped audio ports and the speakers definitely work. (Sorry if I'm yrlly. As I said, the speakers definitely work.) If I try to play any audio, be it iTunes, VLAN, or whatever, nothing. The progress bar is moving. Did I miss something? The Ol' Cheez Grayter worked kust fine with Mountain Lion & Mavericks.

 

[Eddie_go]

(...)

EDIT: Found it quite quickly - http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/Mac_Pro/Bluetooth_MacPro_install/Bluetooth_MacPro_install.html

This guy is using a BT 1.1 module, I'd rather have 2.0 for faster file transfers/faster Hotspot connectivity.

Thanks again. This might be a good start if I were to replace my current BT card.

 

[cakey]

I have one question about the ram. I have the 2,1. Can the slots only take 4GB?
I saw someone on eBay selling 32GB 4 x 8GB.
Cheers.

 

[joevt]

I have one question about the ram. I have the 2,1. Can the slots only take 4GB?
I saw someone on eBay selling 32GB 4 x 8GB.
Cheers.

For the MacPro2,1, OWC says 32 GB is the max using 8 x 4GB.

https://eshop.macsales.com/upgrades/mac-pro-8-core-early-2007-3.0-ghz/memory

 

[Inspector42]

After a long time of not really using my upgraded MacPro1,1 running ElCaptipan I have identified a new use case. Since it is dealing with sensitive data I decided to activate FileVault and to my surprise the initial login-in screen is now "terminal style" just showing "login:". I can enter my username and then a itemized menu shows, offering to (1) enter the password, (2) reset password with recovery key, (3) restart and (4) shutdown (see attached picture). It basically does the job, but I have a keyboard with German layout attached and at this "login shell" defaults to the US layout, making entering special characters a challenge.
The boot drive (/dev/disk0) is an M-SATA SSD formatted as HFS+ and has an EFI and a Recovery partition.
On my other systems with APFS SSD there is also a pre-boot partition and the login screen showing for encrypted boot disks looks identical to the normal login screen although I think it stems from the pre-boot partition.

Here is the output of diskutil list (just overwrote the UUID of the encrypted partition with X):

/dev/disk0 (internal, physical): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: GUID_partition_scheme *512.1 GB disk0 1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1 2: Apple_CoreStorage System (EC) 511.1 GB disk0s2 3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3 /dev/disk1 (internal, physical): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: GUID_partition_scheme *200.0 GB disk1 1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk1s1 2: Apple_HFS El Capitan 160.4 GB disk1s2 3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk1s3 4: Microsoft Basic Data MSDOS 22.8 GB disk1s4 5: Apple_HFS Install OS X El Capitan 15.8 GB disk1s5 /dev/disk2 (internal, physical): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk2 1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk2s1 2: Apple_HFS Users 999.9 GB disk2s2 /dev/disk3 (internal, physical): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk3 1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk3s1 2: Apple_HFS Video Edit 999.9 GB disk3s2 /dev/disk4 (internal, virtual): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: Apple_HFS System (EC) +510.7 GB disk4 Logical Volume on disk0s2 XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX Unlocked Encrypted

I have installed 10.11.6 (15G22010) using rthpjm´s pikify script with a reverted kernel of 2017-005 security update (thanks to @rthpjm) and everything is working including the boot into the recovery partition.

Now the question: Is this minimalistic log-in shell for encrypted boot drives normal or am I missing something in settings or partition wise ? It would be nice if the German layout would be supported during login like it is when booting from an unencrypted drive. I have search around and could´t really find anything useful - Apple´s user documentation does not include any technical details and I immediately get lost in the developers documentation library

 

[Eddie_go]

I have one question about the ram. I have the 2,1. Can the slots only take 4GB?
I saw someone on eBay selling 32GB 4 x 8GB.
Cheers.

My guess is your 2,1 is 'better' than my 1,1.
I bought a few used 8 Go modules on eBay and they worked fine for a few months, although they are now more 'flexible' (see picture below).



The slots showing 4 Go are actually filled with 8 Go modules, half of that memory not mounting properly, obviously.
Which is to say: a MP 2,1 is capable of dealing with 8 Go modules. Then it's only a matter of how old and how efficient those modules are.

 

[Nick Cox]

Recommendations please for fastest graphics card which I can install into an Mac Pro 1,1 updated as follows:

- firmware flashed to 2,2
- 32GB RAM
- Pikified OS to 10.11

Cheers

N

 

[the_brendanburg]

What's the best way to wipe a boot volume and do a clean install El Capitan on Pikified Mac Pro 1,1? Haven't been able to do it. I'm planning on finally retiring my trusty old machine and I've tried wiping the drive and installing from the recovery partition but that just gives me the message that El Capitan is already installed. I have the boot drive cloned and can boot to it.

 

[Eddie_go]

What's the best way to wipe a boot volume and do a clean install El Capitan on Pikified Mac Pro 1,1? Haven't been able to do it. I'm planning on finally retiring my trusty old machine and I've tried wiping the drive and installing from the recovery partition but that just gives me the message that El Capitan is already installed. I have the boot drive cloned and can boot to it.

What I did on my own MP 1,1 was this: I totally erased the disk on which I wanted my Pikified El Capitan installed. I booted from a second disk on which I had 10.6.8 and I followed the exact procedure described in posts 1390 and 1391 by rthpjm on this very forum. I hope this helps.

 

[the_brendanburg]

Thanks, Eddie. That worked - completely forgot you just choose the volume you want to install the OS on. I did have to change the system date but it rebooted right back into the installer and completed.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Recommendations please for fastest graphics card which I can install into an Mac Pro 1,1 updated as follows:

- firmware flashed to 2,2
- 32GB RAM
- Pikified OS to 10.11

Cheers

N

One of the two below:

AMD R9 280x (need to flash bios for boot screen)

Nvidia GTX980 (need nVidia web drive, no boot screen)

It's the OS (El Capitan) that limits the support of the graphic cards.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

On a MP1,1 - what are my options for Bluetooth and WiFi on El Capitan? I don't NEED WiFi as I prefer the ethernet connection but I wouldn't mind the benefits of Bluetooth! Is there a particular module that works better than others for these older Pros?

Option 1:
Buy a compatible Bluetooth Dongle. My cMP 1,1 came to me without the internal bluetooth anyway.

Hideez USB Bluetooth Adapter for PC, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Raspberry Pi – Low Energy, Long Range Bluetooth Adapter for Mouse, Keyboard, Headphones, Speakers, Printers, Black

USB smart Bluetooth dongle, a special accessory for systems that are not Bluetooth 4.0 compatible. Thumbnail size allows you to leave it on laptop or PC and no need to remove.

www.amazon.com

Option 2:
Buy a wifi-bluetooth card that was ripped off a Macbook, and an adapter to PCIe slot.
You will need to reroute the USB cable that used to be connected to the internal bluetooth unit, it's annoying but you can use the internal USB port. Option 1 is cheaper anyway, if you don't have to pay the extra shipping fee.

 

[Nick Cox]

One of the two below:

AMD R9 280x (need to flash bios for boot screen)

Nvidia GTX980 (need nVidia web drive, no boot screen)

It's the OS (El Capitan) that limits the support of the graphic cards.

Thank you

 

[Nick Cox]

Hi Nguyen Duc Hieu

Sorry to sound like a newby (!) but do you know if I need to get the Nvidia flashed for Mac?

Cheers

Nick

 

[Nick Cox]

Yeah, that works too!



I’m running it on a Apple 5870 and it’s great.

Hi

I have the same set up as you and I'm buying a new graphics card. Is it necessary to get a Radeon 5770 or 5780 flashed for Mac or will any version of that card with the Apple Mac Pro 1,1 (flashed to 2,2).

Any advice please!

Cheers

Nick

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hi Nguyen Duc Hieu

Sorry to sound like a newby (!) but do you know if I need to get the Nvidia flashed for Mac?

Cheers

Nick

No you don't. I flashed my GTX680 but still no boot screen.
I also have a AMD HD6670 2GB (PC card) which works fine on both Lion and El Capitan, just no boot screen.
I still have the original 7300GT for the boot screen when I need.
If the boot screen is essential for you, there are 2 options:

1> PC card: AMD HD7950 or R7 280, you need to make the Vbios yourself and flash. (require a CH341a programer + clip, or a Pc running DOS/Windows)

2> A Mac card

For more info, check this article, I read it a dozen time at least.

The Definitive Classic Mac Pro (2006-2012) Upgrade Guide

The largest/most-complete guide to all possible classic Mac Pro upgrades covering OS, Firmware, GPU, CPU, Storage, USB, THunderbolt and Network upgrades.

blog.greggant.com

 

[spankythetanky]

Hey guys.

I have a couple of questions..

( I am using a Mac Pro 1.1 flashed to 2.1 )

Firstly,

I am trying to install a clean version of El Capitan from my MacBook on which I have installed Catalina.
When I try to install the El Capitan on Catalina it says it isn't possible so he won't let me to start up the El Capitan installation and install it on external SSD. Second thing I tried was opening disk utility from cmd+r option, I formated the ssd but I dont have an option of installing the El Capitan, only reinstalling the Catalina, I have a bootable usb with El Capitan installation on. And it just wont recognize the SSD.
Is there any tutorial for this particular problem ?

Would it be possible to install the latest version of OSX supported by 1.1 then upgrade it to El Capitan?

Secondly,

Would it be a better option to install the newest version of Ubuntu on it?
I use this computer primarly for basic video editing, would love to try Davinci Resolve so switching software isn't the problem. I just don't want to lose the crazy power I get from FCPX.

Thirdly,

I have an option for upgrading the graphics card for 1050 TI, I am nut sure will mac work with that card. ?


If you have any suggestions for my Mac Pro that would be very helpful !

Thank you,

Have a nice day!