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4,1 to 5,1 firmware

G

GP-SE

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 27, 2013
344
52
hey guys I have a 2009 4,1 machine running 5,1 firmware.

I need to downgrade back to the original 4,1 firmware, I downloaded the 4,1 EFI along with the firmware restore CD from Apple, However Netkas forum is down, is there a terminal command I can use to manually load the original 4,1 Firmware? or a way to make it use the restore CD?

this is the closest I've found: http://pubmem.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/flash-efi-firmware-update-manually-on-a-macbook-51/
 
Run the same exact firmware tool you ran to go from 4,1 to 5,1 - it will revert it back from 5,1 to 4,1.

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Just make sure you have a 4,1 CPU installed, or you won't be able to boot.
 
i don't have the tool anymore, and netkas is down, so i can't download it, unless you know where I can get the tool besides netkas?

I have a 4,1 CPU still installed, so I should be good to downgrade back to stock.
 
THANK YOU!
that worked great, back to the original 4,1 firmware now.

my next issue is trying to install windows, when I hold Option at Boot, I can choose:
Windows
EFI Windows

when I try EFI windows the computer just freezes and i need to hit the power button to shut down.
 
I might be selling the machine, so I wanted to revert it all back to stock.
 
It's pretty amazing that you can find a buyer for a 4,1 Mac Pro. I don't think anyone would pay a dollar a Dell or HP PC made in 2009!
 
superdx said:
It's pretty amazing that you can find a buyer for a 4,1 Mac Pro. I don't think anyone would pay a dollar a Dell or HP PC made in 2009!
Click to expand...

A Mac Pro 2009 (upgraded to 5,1) with a Xeon W3690 3.46 GHz Hex Core for ~ $300 is, concerning the CPU, approximately in the middle between a Mac Pro 2013 3.7 GHz Quad Core and a Mac Pro 2013 3.5 GHz Hex Core. No wonder it is still competitive…

Additionally you have to install SATA 6G/eSATA 6G/PCI/M.2/USB3-PCI-Cards, SSD's, and a newer graphics card for today's experience. But you can install it! :D And have much more than only one internal drive.

However it's still much cheaper than buying a new Mac Pro.
 
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superdx said:
It's pretty amazing that you can find a buyer for a 4,1 Mac Pro. I don't think anyone would pay a dollar a Dell or HP PC made in 2009!
Click to expand...

Figuring the base Mac Pro cost $2499 back in 2009, and the average HP or Dell PC cost $999, the Mac Pro owner can sell his 2009 Mac Pro for roughly $800 (on the high side), thereby losing $1699. The Dell/HP owner only lost $999.

Of course, it's more complicated than that, and don't forget that to make anything decent out of the 2009 Mac Pro requires spending even more money (new CPU, more RAM, SSD, and a new GPU).

I'm not saying it's a bad thing (as I did just that with a Mac Pro 2009 in my sig), but you have to remember that there aren't very many new Mac Pro generations, and most (except for the 2013) are pretty much the same. That's why people want the 2009's. When you can buy a 2009 and with a few upgrades, match the performance of a nMP, what does that say?

A PC user could have bought a PC in 2009 and a new, powerful 2014 model and still have spent less than the single Mac Pro in 2009.
 
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