MP 1,1-5,1 2010 MP 5,1 powers on, makes a couple of noises, but shows black screen and won't boot

[To the Macs]

I am using a 2010 Mac Pro 5,1 (A1289), single 6-core 3.46GHz Intel CPU, nVidia GTX680 2GB, 48GB RAM, with four 2TB HDDs, two opticals, and a Sonnet USB 3.1 four-port expansion card. it's on MacOS 10.14.6 ("Mojave"). I also have Windows 7 installed on Drive 4, which has worked well for the few Windows apps I use here and there.

I bought this unit last January for my music studio, and it has performed just fine up to about three weeks ago. At that time, it has started to exhibit unusual behavior, in that it doesn't boot up normally when I push the power button. The little white LED goes on and the fans spin (I've looked inside to check this), but it doesn't go any farther. It makes a "clunk" sound like one of the optical trays is going to open (but it doesn't), then a couple of "tsh tsh" sounds, which I suspect is from a hard drive. After that, nothing. It just sits there. The three times I've had this happen so far, it would eventually restart later, but this last time, no dice no matter what I try.

I've tried NVRAM reset. Nothing. I've tried PRAM reset. Nothing. I've tried Safe Mode. Nothing. I've tried swapping the CR2032 cell on the board. Nothing. I've tried to see if it was in Sleep Mode. Nope. The screen just has this little floaty thing that says "No source signal". I have seen a little red LED on the processor board, just to the left of the RAM, flick on for a split-second, but that's about it. I even swapped out the RAM for the ones that originally came with the computer, but again, nothing. This sucker is brain-dead.

I really like this machine because of all the space for hard drives, the PCI slots that allow expansion, and the quiet operation, but I am starting to wonder if I made a mistake with it. Maybe it's too old. Maybe I should have stuck with a PC. Maybe I need to take out a mortgage to buy an M1 or a "new" Mac Pro (starting at $7500 at your friendly Apple Store).

I don't like the Mac Mini because it's too small to take the storage I'm used to (pretty hard to do much on Cubase with a 250GB SSD and 4GB RAM). I dislike the iMac because it's just a fatter display with everything built inside, and if something blows up, you have to throw it away because it's all modularized so you can't fix just that part (a person I know had to ditch his because the GPU cratered and he couldn't get it repaired). I'm not a real fan of the "trash can"/"Darth Vader Helmet" from 2013-19 because again, they're all modular inside that dark cylinder. You certainly can't fit four hard drives in one of those, and I've heard they have thermal problems because the components are so jammed together that air has a tough time flowing through there to carry away any excess heat.

And I still really like Logic Pro, which doesn't run in Windows. Therefore, if I can't get this machine going again, I'm still going to want another Mac, because it does everything I want it to do.

Except start up.

 

[tsialex]

What's the status of the diagnostic LEDs? See page 33 to 38 of the Apple Technician Guide (what is usually called Service Manual).

PDF: Apple Mac Pro Mid 2010 Mid 2012 Technician Guide Service Manual

Mac Pro (Mid 2010/Mid 2012) published: 2012-06-11 resolved (1 new document): =============================== Apple Mac Pro Mid 2010 Mid 2012 Technician Guide Service Manual [pdf. 2012/06/11] =============================== Is this service manual available? I see it only referenced here and of...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[macguru9999]

Well, it COULD be the processor tray but everytime (5/5?) I have seen those symptoms its been the backplane board that has failed. Just to be sure I would try swapping the processor tray if you know anyone with another 5,1. But if I am right you can get another backplane on ebay from the US. If you really have no access to another one you could always buy a spare computer (5,1) and move your stuff across, after you do your troubleshooting and think about doing the backplane swap so you have a working spare...

 

[To the Macs]

I did more checking. I took out the GPU and tried to boot that way, but it did the same nothing that it did before. I also tried pushing the diagnostic button on the backplane board (aka "logic board"), and saw two lights: the green one second from the top, and the amber one below that, but nothing else. Finally, thinking that the main boot sector might be corrupted, I took out the main system drive (No. 1, the leftmost of the four in these units), transferred it into an external hard-drive case, and checked that it would read as an external drive with the MacBook I also keep around (with cars, a spare tire is mandatory; with computers, a spare computer is always a good idea!). It did; I saw the name of the disc, and checked a few folders to see that everything looked reasonably normal.

From there, after reading the above post about backplane failures on these models, I had a few choices. My original thought had been that the GPU had died (notwithstanding that its fan still spins on power-up), so I had been seeking another one. However, I also realized that any communication with the GPU goes through the PCI slot it's connected to on the backplane, and if the BP is faulty, it might not output any signals to the GPU.

The GPU might still be good after all this, because I opened it up, blew out what little dust there was since the last cleaning, and looked for bad caps and other electronic issues, but found nothing.

One more thing I was thinking of trying was to see if it will start from the bootable copy of High Sierra that I have on a USB stick, but I'm not holding out much hope for success. Having gone this far, it would only amount to an experiment.

From here, I figured that instead of spending hundreds on a replacement GPU and installing it to no change, or procuring a logic board, putting that in, and still not getting any boot up, I have decided that I'll try to find another MP of similar vintage (anything from 2009-12 will work because that's the second series of MPs; 2006-2008 are first series units with earlier architecture and less upgradability, and too old for my liking), so that's where I'm at right now.

Thanks for the suggestions. Once I get that replacement MP, I'll have things going again.

 

[macguru9999]

You MUST get a true 5,1. Either a 2010 or 2012 (same thing) in order to troubleshoot. Do not skimp and get a 2009 because the processor trays and backplanes are NOT interchangeable. Having a spare 5,1 will be a good investment , assuming its capable of doing the editing work you require going forward.

 

[To the Macs]

Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate all the advice.

My 5,1 is dead and remains dead, but will serve as a good source of parts for the next unit that comes into my studio.

I'm definitely looking for a new 5,1, but I've hauled out my MacBook Pro and am using that to get some work done until one comes up. It seems that the single-CPU models are far more abundant on the market (and quite a bit cheaper, too), but I would prefer not to have too many visits from the Spinning Rainbow Pizza, therefore, I feel a dual would be better for me. Hopefully, there's one somewhere with my name on it!