MP 1,1-5,1 2009 5,1 installed apple security update, won’t fully boot.

[JayAreKicks]

If this thread exists somewhere please link me to it, I have not been able to find anything about this after digging for a bit.

I have a 2009 Mac Pro 5,1 running OS 14.6
2 Intel Xeon 2.66GHz 6-Core X5650 Processors
64GB DDR3 RAM (8x8GB)
4TB HDD
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX580 (8GB)
Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge 2.0
Samsung 49" CHG90 144Hz Monitor.

The only issues I’ve ever had were on restarts I wouldn’t get a boot screen maybe 20% of the time. Otherwise everything has been fully functional with no issues for the past 2 years.

Yesterday morning my system preferences showed a security update so I restarted the computer to install the update.

After hearing it restart 3 or 4 seperate times, it finally came on and displayed a window asking which disk to use but showed no disks in the selection box. Only disk available is the 4TB HDD.

I couldn’t do anything but restart from there so I chose restart to see if it would show the disk the second time around.

This was the final time I’d see anything on the monitor from the computer.

Now any time I try to start it up it powers on, the HDD starts up, all fans including GPU start up, chime sounds, and that’s it. Nothing appears on the monitor. Then pressing the power button once more immediately powers off the machine.

I’ve tried multiple power cables, 2 different monitors, using DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI on the original ATI Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Card, a GTX 680 2GB MSI Lighting Card and my current RX580. NVRAM resets, and tried to boot into recovery mode for each swap. Changed the PRAM BR2032 battery.
All of these changes were made after full disconnects from power for 5-7 minutes each, and only connecting the usb cable for the keyboard, the power cable, and the display cable. Also left everything completely disconnected for 12 hours and tried again to no success.

The NVRAM resets always get to the third or fourth chime then still nothing happens.

The monitor always turns on once the machine is powered on and searches for inputs with a signal, after cycling through all 4 inputs twice the screen goes dark. If I disconnect the cable from the port on the graphics card though, the monitor switches to a searching for input screen and stays on that screen until it’s reconnected and then goes dark again once connected.

I’m not sure if there’s something I missed as far as the regular steps to take for an issue like this but I’m at the point where I don’t know what else to do to get it to power on fully and appear on the monitor.
The machine is currently back to the original configuration I listed at the top.

Is it time to give up?

 

[tsialex]

Did you tried to do a clean install on another disk? Current BootROM installed?

 

[JayAreKicks]

Did you tried to do a clean install on another disk? Current BootROM installed?

I have not, currently I don’t have another compatible disk for the machine but one is on the way. Just waiting for shipping now. I believe the current BootROM is installed but I can’t check any of the information now.

 

[tsialex]

I'm assuming that the only GPU that you have that have pre-boot configuration support is the Apple HD 4870. While you can do a clean install with a GPU that don't have pre-boot configuration support, any non-macEFI flashed PC GPU, it's a little complex procedure for someone that don't know how to do it, see at the how to do it below, install Sierra or High Sierra via a createinstallmedia USB installer with your HD 4870.

You can get past macOS installers with the Apple Support article linked below:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683

How to make a createinstallmedia USB installer:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system.

support.apple.com

Note about GPU support:

• HD 4870 with a MacPro5,1 you can install Snow Leopard to High Sierra.
  
• GTX 680 can install Mountain Lion to High Sierra with USB installers, Mojave only booted from macOS to another disk (clean installs of Mojave with GTX 680 don't work from createinstallmedia USB installers)
  
• RX 580 without pre-boot configuration support can install 10.12.6 on wards, but you need to remove all disks, install only a completely erased/nuked disk and the createinstallmedia USB installer - without doing exactly this way you can't boot the createinstallmedia USB installer, since USB have the least priority at boot time and anything else with be booted instead.

 

[tsialex]

Forgot to ask, did you checked the DIAG LEDs? EFI_DONE should be lit when you press the DIAG button.

 

[JayAreKicks]

Forgot to ask, did you checked the DIAG LEDs? EFI_DONE should be lit when you press the DIAG button.

Going to try setting up the USB for the boot now. The EFI_DONE led does not light up

 

[tsialex]

Going to try setting up the USB for the boot now. The EFI_DONE led does not light up

Sure, check if you can get any boot screens with your HD 4870.

If the EFI_DONE is not lit when you press the DIAG button, the backplane is not completing POST and won't boot - usually is a BootROM corruption problem.

 

[JayAreKicks]

Sure, check if you can get any boot screens with your HD 4870.

If the EFI_DONE is not lit when you press the DIAG button, the backplane is not completing POST and won't boot - usually is a BootROM corruption problem.

Is this something that a reinstallation on a new disk would solve?

 

[tsialex]

Is this something that a reinstallation on a new disk would solve?

Nope, you gonna need a replacement backplane, or SPI flash replacement card (like a MATT card).

 

[JayAreKicks]

Nope, you gonna need a replacement backplane, or SPI flash replacement card (like a MATT card)

Ok thank you for your help! I’ve got a new backplane coming in tomorrow so I’m hoping to have everything back to normal soon.

 

[tsialex]

Ok thank you for your help! I’ve got a new backplane coming in tomorrow so I’m hoping to have everything back to normal soon.

I hope it solves your immediate problem, btw, did you asked if the replacement backplane was already cross-flashed to MP5,1?

An early-2009 backplane with the original MP4,1 firmware will not boot with Xeon X56xx processors (Westmere), only with a X55xx/E55xx/L55xx (Nehalem). Only after cross-flashing to a MP5,1 firmware you can boot a Westmere Xeon with an early-2009 Mac Pro. A MP4,1 backplane will need the original Nehalem Xeons to work, before cross-flashing it to MP5,1.

Another thing, an early-2009 cross-flashed to MP5,1 have a NVRAM volume slightly incompatible with the MP5,1 firmware and the same thing will happen again down the road. The only way to avoid it is with a BootROM reconstruction service that will make everything inside the BootROM image MP5,1 compatible.

 

[JayAreKicks]

I hope it solves your immediate problem, btw, did you asked if the replacement backplane was already cross-flashed to MP5,1?

An early-2009 backplane with the original MP4,1 firmware will not boot with Xeon X56xx processors (Westmere), only with a X55xx/E55xx/L55xx (Nehalem). Only after cross-flashing to a MP5,1 firmware you can boot a Westmere Xeon with an early-2009 Mac Pro. A MP4,1 backplane will need the original Nehalem Xeons to work, before cross-flashing it to MP5,1.

Another thing, an early-2009 cross-flashed to MP5,1 have a NVRAM volume slightly incompatible with the MP5,1 firmware and the same thing will happen again down the road. The only way to avoid it is with a BootROM reconstruction service that will make everything inside the BootROM image MP5,1 compatible.

I made sure the board was from an early 2009 that’s been flashed to 5,1 with BootROM version 144.0.0.0.0

 

[JayAreKicks]

After changing the backplane it still gives the exact same issue. EFI_DONE light still does not come on.

 

[JayAreKicks]

I hope it solves your immediate problem, btw, did you asked if the replacement backplane was already cross-flashed to MP5,1?

An early-2009 backplane with the original MP4,1 firmware will not boot with Xeon X56xx processors (Westmere), only with a X55xx/E55xx/L55xx (Nehalem). Only after cross-flashing to a MP5,1 firmware you can boot a Westmere Xeon with an early-2009 Mac Pro. A MP4,1 backplane will need the original Nehalem Xeons to work, before cross-flashing it to MP5,1.

Another thing, an early-2009 cross-flashed to MP5,1 have a NVRAM volume slightly incompatible with the MP5,1 firmware and the same thing will happen again down the road. The only way to avoid it is with a BootROM reconstruction service that will make everything inside the BootROM image MP5,1 compatible.

I’m not sure what else to do now, new backplane still doesn’t light up EFI_DONE

 

[tsialex]

From what you wrote on the 1st post and the EFI_DONE being off, the biggest probability was the backplane - unless you got a defective replacement backplane or a replacement backplane still with a MP4,1 firmware.

Did you checked if EFI_DONE is off when you remove all SATA disks, disconnect the DVD(s) and all PCIe cards? Defective SATA devices can block/lock the south bridge and EFI_DONE won't become lit.

Do you have access another Mac Pro (early-2009 to mid-2012) to confirm that your CPU tray + PSU still work correctly and eliminate any other possible issues?

 

[JayAreKicks]

From what you wrote on the 1st post and the EFI_DONE being off, the biggest probability was the backplane - unless you got a defective replacement backplane or a replacement backplane still with a MP4,1 firmware.

Did you checked if EFI_DONE is off when you remove all SATA disks, disconnect the DVD(s) and all PCIe cards? Defective SATA devices can block/lock the south bridge and EFI_DONE won't become lit.

Do you have access another Mac Pro (early-2009 to mid-2012) to confirm that your CPU tray + PSU still work correctly and eliminate any other possible issues?

I removed everything and still get no EFI_DONE led. I don’t have another Mac Pro to test the cpu tray. The seller of the backplane assured me it’s a working board from an early 2009 MP flashed to 5,1 with 144.0.0.0.0 BootROM.

 

[tsialex]

I removed everything and still get no EFI_DONE led. I don’t have another Mac Pro to test the cpu tray. The seller of the backplane assured me it’s a working board from an early 2009 MP flashed to 5,1 with 144.0.0.0.0 BootROM.

You wrote previously that the Mac Pro still chimed, back then did you removed everything SATA/PCIe and checked the EFI_DONE LED?

If what the seller say stands, time to find a friend that have a Mac Pro or buy the cheapest working one to diagnose yours. You can make more money than what you spend with a cheap Mac Pro selling the confirmed working parts later.

 

[JayAreKicks]

You wrote previously that the Mac Pro still chimed, back then did you removed everything SATA/PCIe and checked the EFI_DONE LED?

If what the seller say stands, time to find a friend that have a Mac Pro or buy the cheapest working one to diagnose yours. You can make more money than what you spend with a cheap Mac Pro selling the confirmed working parts later.

I don’t think on the previous backplane I tried to check EFI_DONE without the HDD or PCIe cards.

I guess I’ll have to buy a cheap one then.
With another one what am I testing in mine? just the CPU tray?

 

[tsialex]

For these tests, don't matter the year (early-2009 to mid-2012) or if it's single or dual CPU, buy the cheapest working one that you can find, you gonna use it as a test mule to diagnose your defective Mac Pro parts, one by one.

First test your suspected PSU with the known working Mac Pro and the working PSU with the defective Mac Pro. After the PSU test, do the same with the CPU tray.