Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Photios

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 17, 2009
107
22
We had a power outage, and ever since my 2010 Mac Pro is acting very flaky! After the outage, it would not startup, not even by pulling the power cord and using the reset on the mother board. After trying that several times, I went online to discover that sometimes one might need to remove all components from the machine in order to "bring it to life". So, I did that, and luckily I was finally able to get it to boot.

The problem is that every time I start up now, I have to reset the mother board, and sometimes this is necessary several times before I can get it to boot.

My question is... does this sound like the power supply is failing? I don't mind purchasing a new one, though the price is very steep (roughly $300) and I really want to keep this machine, having no desire for anything else, though I don't want to purchase the power supply only to continue having these problems. Another question related to this would be that if a power supply is flaky, can it still work and boot the machine? Also, is there anything else that would cause the erratic behavior, and inability to boot unless the mother board is reset?

Any help that someone could provide me would be most appreciated!

Photios
 
We had a power outage, and ever since my 2010 Mac Pro is acting very flaky! After the outage, it would not startup, not even by pulling the power cord and using the reset on the mother board. After trying that several times, I went online to discover that sometimes one might need to remove all components from the machine in order to "bring it to life". So, I did that, and luckily I was finally able to get it to boot.

The problem is that every time I start up now, I have to reset the mother board, and sometimes this is necessary several times before I can get it to boot.

My question is... does this sound like the power supply is failing? I don't mind purchasing a new one, though the price is very steep (roughly $300) and I really want to keep this machine, having no desire for anything else, though I don't want to purchase the power supply only to continue having these problems. Another question related to this would be that if a power supply is flaky, can it still work and boot the machine? Also, is there anything else that would cause the erratic behavior, and inability to boot unless the mother board is reset?

Any help that someone could provide me would be most appreciated!

Photios
It's almost impossible to diagnose this problem from where we are sitting. There could be half a dozen things causing the symptoms you describe. I would take it to the genius bar, and if it boots up, they can run diagnostics to tell you exactly what needs to be replaced, and the cost. You can then decide if you want to go ahead with the repair or not.

Oh, and not wanting to sound like a smart-ass here, but once you sort this out, do yourself a big favour and get a UPS, or at the very least a good quality surge protector. They are not that expensive and really should be the very first add-on anyone gets for electronic equipment in general, and desktops especially.

Many of us have found out the hard way that for the headache they can save you, they are worth their weight in gold.
 
Last edited:
We had a power outage, and ever since my 2010 Mac Pro is acting very flaky! After the outage, it would not startup, not even by pulling the power cord and using the reset on the mother board. After trying that several times, I went online to discover that sometimes one might need to remove all components from the machine in order to "bring it to life". So, I did that, and luckily I was finally able to get it to boot.

The problem is that every time I start up now, I have to reset the mother board, and sometimes this is necessary several times before I can get it to boot.

My question is... does this sound like the power supply is failing? I don't mind purchasing a new one, though the price is very steep (roughly $300) and I really want to keep this machine, having no desire for anything else, though I don't want to purchase the power supply only to continue having these problems. Another question related to this would be that if a power supply is flaky, can it still work and boot the machine? Also, is there anything else that would cause the erratic behavior, and inability to boot unless the mother board is reset?

Any help that someone could provide me would be most appreciated!

Photios
The Mac Pro really needs a UPS. A pram battery maybe, then PSU though buying a 5,1 or 4,1 $500 might even make sense
 
It's almost impossible to diagnose this problem from where we are sitting. There could be half a dozen things causing the symptoms you describe. I would take it to the genius bar, and if it boots up, they can run diagnostics to tell you exactly what needs to be replaced, and the cost. You can then decide if you want to go ahead with the repair or not.

Oh, and not wanting to sound like a smart-ass here, but once you sort this out, do yourself a big favour and get a UPS, or at the very least a good quality surge protector. They are not that expensive and really should be the very first add-on anyone gets for electronic equipment in general, and desktops especially.

Many of us have found out the hard way that for the headache they can save you, they are worth their weight in gold.

Thanks for the advice. I'll take it into a Genius Bar and see what they tell me. What's funny... Is that my son mentioned to me that he has to press the power button 2 or 3 times to get it to boot. He knows nothing about resetting the motherboard. So, I'm wondering what is going on where 2 or three presses of the power button are required. Interesting.

You're right... I never thought about a UPS... but I should have done that a long time ago.

I appreciate the input. I'll report back after I see a genius, probably the following week.

P
 
The Mac Pro really needs a UPS. A pram battery maybe, then PSU though buying a 5,1 or 4,1 $500 might even make sense

I was looking on Craigslist for a used mac pro 4,1 or 5,1. Cheapest one was $1050. You're right, at $500, it would make sense. I'm keeping an eye out. I probably could use a pram battery too!

Thank you for responding!

P
 
There seem to be people having excellent ratings on ebay that want to maintain their rating, and selling 4,1's in the $495-600 range - and ppl here having bought such. Maybe Craigslist doesn't have them for now.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.