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2008 Mac Pro - black screen on boot up

J

Jackers008

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 8, 2009
42
0
So I went to boot my mac after leaving it off during the night and now nothing is displayed on my screen. The led on the monitor just blinks as if its getting no signal but the computer itself boots as I can open the cd tray, turn the volume up and down etc. I have a 2008 2x3ghz Quad core with the ati hd 2600 xt gpu. I'm assuming that the graphics card is at fault here? I've rebooted about 30 times, unplugged all cables etc and still noting. Can someone please offer some insight into what might be wrong?

Thanks.
 
Jackers008 said:
Yeah so it seems. Its rather frustrating though as it was working fine last night then all of a sudden this :mad:
Click to expand...

Well, the good thing it that you have a Mac Pro. If it was a different Mac, you would need to spend hundreds, even a thousand to repair it as other Macs need a new logic board. Now you can just get a new GPU, that won't cost you more than 200$ or so, even less if you get used.
 
It seems like the GPU's in the 2008 MP's are dropping like flies. I had mine replaced twice in a month (then got a replacement) along with the Logic board.


As it turns out my monitor was faulty, so either Apple found some problems I didn't know about, or that I've gotten an '10 for free! :D

But that sounds exactly the same as the problem I had. Does it do it when you try to wake it from sleep too?
 
sochet said:
It seems like the GPU's in the 2008 MP's are dropping like flies. I had mine replaced twice in a month (then got a replacement) along with the Logic board.


As it turns out my monitor was faulty, so either Apple found some problems I didn't know about, or that I've gotten an '10 for free! :D

But that sounds exactly the same as the problem I had. Does it do it when you try to wake it from sleep too?
Click to expand...

No problem with mine or any of the ones at work.

It should be within normal "failure" parameters.

Electronics die over time, that is just how it is.
 
you could try to remove the card from the computer, clean it (maybe boot once without the card) and plug it back in, why not into another PCIe slot.
Have you also disconnected the main power cable and let it unplugged for half an hour? if all this does not work, I would look for a 5X70...

Good luck
 
Pressure said:
No problem with mine or any of the ones at work.

It should be within normal "failure" parameters.

Electronics die over time, that is just how it is.
Click to expand...

Just to clarify, mine had an 8800GT in it, and yes they are experiencing higher than normal failure rates, this was confirmed by a senior Applecare tech. Also just look at the number of threads about dying GPU's on here over the past 6 weeks or so.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. I have unplugged the card, tried different slots etc and still nothing. The fan on the card seems to be spinning as normal when the computer is turned on but nothing is displayed. Before the card failed nothing was suspect with the computer so I hope thats the only problem. What would be the signs if there was a logic board failure?
 
It's the card. You're not the first and not the last one :) 2600XTs just dying this way (including mine). If you hear chime, computer normally starts up and no video only - it's clear. If it would be logic board, you'd not even hear a chime in 99% of cases.
To be 101% sure, remove card, boot up (it will boot without card installed) and try to access your Mac remotely via VNC or ssh.
 
666sheep said:
It's the card. You're not the first and not the last one :) 2600XTs just dying this way (including mine). If you hear chime, computer normally starts up and no video only - it's clear. If it would be logic board, you'd not even hear a chime in 99% of cases.
To be 101% sure, remove card, boot up (it will boot without card installed) and try to access your Mac remotely via VNC or ssh.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks. It still chimes everytime I boot it and I can hear the volume adjustment when I press the keyboard button as well as opening the cd tray. What gpu would be recommended as a replacement to this? I dont use my mac for gaming so I dont need the latest and greatest :)
 
Ditto

Had exactly the same with one at work: Just in case, I replaced the mobo battery, as I know earlier Macs require a kick from this battery to get their video circuitry going - but still no go, so I got IT to get me a new graphics card. They got a 4870, and I wasn't about to say unnecessary, and all's well now. ;)
 
Jackers008 said:
What gpu would be recommended as a replacement to this? I dont use my mac for gaming so I dont need the latest and greatest :)
Click to expand...

If you want brand new, get 5770 from Apple - if its display outputs are comfortable to you (2x MDP and 1x DVI).

If you want used one, look for reference design ATI 4870 512MB and flash it with OEM ROM. It's immune to driver updates.
This is what you looking for
 
Is it possible that the 10.6.4 update could of caused the black screen etc as other people seem to be reporting graphic issues with the latest update? I had only updated the night before and in the morning this problem occurred. I'm also using a monitor that requires vga input so I am using a dvi to vga adapter. Could this have any effect on it?
 
^ I doubt that it could produce such major issue like blank screen, but never say never ;)
To rule this out, try to boot from your Install DVD shipped with machine, or simply from SL Install disc.
 
666sheep said:
^ I doubt that it could produce such major issue like blank screen, but never say never ;)
To rule this out, try to boot from your Install DVD shipped with machine, or simply from SL Install disc.
Click to expand...

Yeah I tried to boot from the install disc but still have the blank screen. Ah well new graphics card it is!
 
black screen on bootup

I too have experienced the black screen on boot up.

If you swap your screen for another screen the system boots right up. If the Ati graphics card is bad, logically, it should affect all screens. I have a large 22" screen which seems to be the only one that gets a black screen. I would like to see a few more posters switch to a smaller screen and test it. At first, I got the black screen after I downloaded a Masque slot game, which when started up, would change the resolution by blackening out and recovering with the new resolution. This time it didn't recover but stayed black. I have other Masque games that do the same thing but I don't lose the screen. If I leave my large 22" screen off for a couple of days I can get it to boot up again with the large screen. BUT you must wait for a half hr or more for it to go to the apple screen and boot up. I found that it performs some processing as if it is cleaning something up and then boots up. As of now I can boot up (restart) once or twice for different reasons, but by the thirds time I get the black screen again. YOu would think with all the screens going down Apple would know some kind of fix for it. BTW my mac pro is an early 2007 model.
 
Holy Exhumation Batman !!!

You do realize that you are posting in a nearly 2 year old thread?

The 2600XT got real led and many people got news ones from Apple.
 
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