MP 1,1-5,1 5,1 stopped responding, won't boot

[mw360]

Hi all, I have a patient on the table here.

Signs of life:

White power light comes on, stays solid.
GPU fan running.
When booting a red led flashes once just near ram slot no.4, and flashes once when powering off
CPU case fans are running
Some mechanics start-up sounds, probably the CD drive.

Signs of death:
No picture on monitor at all
Not showing as a wifi client on the router
No response to shift, d, opt or eject when booting
No caps lock light
No chime, no beeps, no flashes on the power light

Tried:

Reseating CPU/ram tray, ram, SSD, GPU
SMC reset
Disconnecting everything except the power cable

Other notes:
massive amounts of dust inside, all needed to be blown away & pretty warm temperatures here today
in case it had overheated I've left it off for an hour or so
The OS is on an SSD, removing the drive gives the exact same response.
OS is whatever the last officially supported OS was
I don't have many spare parts here for testing, just a blank SSD, no OSX CDs

 

[tsialex]

Hi all, I have a patient on the table here.

Signs of life:

White power light comes on, stays solid.
GPU fan running.
When booting a red led flashes once just near ram slot no.4, and flashes once when powering off
CPU case fans are running
Some mechanics start-up sounds, probably the CD drive.

Signs of death:
No picture on monitor at all
Not showing as a wifi client on the router
No response to shift, d, opt or eject when booting
No caps lock light
No chime, no beeps, no flashes on the power light

Tried:

Reseating CPU/ram tray, ram, SSD, GPU
SMC reset
Disconnecting everything except the power cable

Other notes:
massive amounts of dust inside, all needed to be blown away & pretty warm temperatures here today
in case it had overheated I've left it off for an hour or so
The OS is on an SSD, removing the drive gives the exact same response.
OS is whatever the last officially supported OS was
I don't have many spare parts here for testing, just a blank SSD, no OSX CDs

Download the Apple Technician Guide for your year model and check the DIAG LEDS, around page 28, if when you press the DIAG button the EFI_DONE LED is off, you have a brick.

 

[mw360]

Download the Apple Technician Guide for your year model and check the DIAG LEDS, around page 28, if when you press the DIAG button the EFI_DONE LED is off, you have a brick.

EFI DONE light is off. ?

 

[tsialex]

EFI DONE light is off. ?

These are your options:

1. Buy a replacement backplane on eBay and replace the backplane yourself, cheapest option if you can't solder SMD. Remember that you need a 2009 backplane if you have an early-2009 Mac Pro. If you have a mid-2010 or mid-2012 you can use either 2010 or 2012 backplanes. Don't mix early-2009 backplanes with mid-2010/mid-2012 CPU trays, or vice-versa - either scenario is a SMC firmware version mismatch and all your fans will run at maximum RPM, full time and without any software control.
2. Buy a Mac Pro MATT card and use it as a replacement SPI flash, this is not recommended since all MATT cards are clones and won't work for iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime. A replacement backplane is usually cheaper.
3. Desolder, reprogram and solder back the SPI flash, chip U8700 on the backplane. It's not possible to read or write to the SPI flash memory while it's soldered on the MP5,1 backplane. A cheap SPI flash programmer like ch341a will work for read/write the BootROM after the SPI flash memory is desoldered from the backplane. Start reading here, read all my posts on the subject from there. I strongly recommend that you replace your original SPI flash memory with a brand new one, don't solder it back to the backplane, it will fail soon since SPI flash memories have limited lifetime (manufacture rated for just 100.000 erase/write cycles) when used as NVRAM for a Mac Pro. Again, most hard bricks are caused by the failure of the SPI flash, it's a US$ 2 component easily available, MXIC MX25L3206E, just replace it! Btw, yes, you can use a MXIC MX25L3206E as a modern replacement for the two older models SST25VF032B and MXIC MX25L3205D used on early-2009 and mid-2010 respectively, Apple did it for mid-2012 Mac Pros.
   
   Mojave has the generic MP51.fd firmware image inside the full installer, it's enough for boot your Mac Pro again but not for iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime login.
   
   

   Install\ macOS\ Mojave/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/Firmware/MP51.fd

 

[mw360]

Thanks for your help! Desoldering is a bit much for me, but replacing the backplane doesn't look so bad.

Can I verify its a 2010 by looking at it? It says A1289 on the back, but I'm not sure that excludes the 2009.

 

[tsialex]

Thanks for your help! Desoldering is a bit much for me, but replacing the backplane doesn't look so bad.

Can I verify its a 2010 by looking at it? It says A1289 on the back, but I'm not sure that excludes the 2009.

You can check the SSN with Apple:

Check Your Service and Support Coverage - Apple Support

Check your Apple warranty status. Enter a serial number to review your eligibility for support and extended coverage.

checkcoverage.apple.com

If your Mac Pro is an used one, it's better to check the suffix of the backplane MLB SSN, BH9A and BH9B backplanes are mid-2010/mid-2012.

• early-2009: 1LTB, 1LTC, BH7A, DCVKA?
  
  DCVKA? are the last 6 digits for 17 digits refurbished boards, the last digit is variable. Examples: DCVKAC, DCVKA6, DCVKAV, DCVKA9
• mid-2010 & mid-2012: BH9A, BH9B

 

[MikeDavies99]

These are your options:

1. Buy a replacement backplane on eBay and replace the backplane yourself, cheapest option if you can't solder SMD. Remember that you need a 2009 backplane if you have an early-2009 Mac Pro. If you have a mid-2010 or mid-2012 you can use either 2010 or 2012 backplanes. Don't mix early-2009 backplanes with mid-2010/mid-2012 CPU trays, or vice-versa - either scenario is a SMC firmware version mismatch and all your fans will run at maximum RPM, full time and without any software control.
2. Buy a Mac Pro MATT card and use it as a replacement SPI flash, this is not recommended since all MATT cards are clones and won't work for iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime. A replacement backplane is usually cheaper.
3. Desolder, reprogram and solder back the SPI flash, chip U8700 on the backplane. It's not possible to read or write to the SPI flash memory while it's soldered on the MP5,1 backplane. A cheap SPI flash programmer like ch341a will work for read/write the BootROM after the SPI flash memory is desoldered from the backplane. Start reading here, read all my posts on the subject from there. I strongly recommend that you replace your original SPI flash memory with a brand new one, don't solder it back to the backplane, it will fail soon since SPI flash memories have limited lifetime (manufacture rated for just 100.000 erase/write cycles) when used as NVRAM for a Mac Pro. Again, most hard bricks are caused by the failure of the SPI flash, it's a US$ 2 component easily available, MXIC MX25L3206E, just replace it! Btw, yes, you can use a MXIC MX25L3206E as a modern replacement for the two older models SST25VF032B and MXIC MX25L3205D used on early-2009 and mid-2010 respectively, Apple did it for mid-2012 Mac Pros.
   
   Mojave has the generic MP51.fd firmware image inside the full installer, it's enough for boot your Mac Pro again but not for iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime login.
   
   

   Install\ macOS\ Mojave/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/Firmware/MP51.fd

Download the Apple Technician Guide for your year model and check the DIAG LEDS, around page 28, if when you press the DIAG button the EFI_DONE LED is off, you have a brick.

Hello. I have exactly the same symptoms but all diag lights are on. This is a 4.1, we let it sit for 4 months. tried to boot and got the same behavior the OP is describing. The PVRAM batt was low so I replaced it and did SMC reset a few times. The only difference it after 5 minutes or so the rear fan speeds up.
Thanks
Mike

 

[tsialex]

Hello. I have exactly the same symptoms but all diag lights are on. This is a 4.1, we let it sit for 4 months. tried to boot and got the same behavior the OP is describing. The PVRAM batt was low so I replaced it and did SMC reset a few times. The only difference it after 5 minutes or so the rear fan speeds up.
Thanks
Mike

Look, there is no magic bullet, you have to do the basic diagnostic steps and for that you have to download the Apple Technician Manual and follow the steps.

It's usually more than one defect for a Mac Pro with the EFI_DONE LED lit to not work/boot.

The only way to cheat the diagnostic process a little is to test the PSU and CPU tray in a know working Mac Pro, one at a time.

 

[tsialex]

Btw, my advice for you back on this previous thread stands:

Mac Pro 5,1 Power light flashes. No memory diag lights?

To me Ebay is the market.. Yes they are old. But they are still in demand. And they still kick ass. And while I am at it, I can check the processor tray in my ailing 5,1 in this one. Then power supply as they are easy to swap.. That makes my trouble shooting much easier.. And I can sell either...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[MikeDavies99]

Hi all, I have a patient on the table here.

Signs of life:

White power light comes on, stays solid.
GPU fan running.
When booting a red led flashes once just near ram slot no.4, and flashes once when powering off
CPU case fans are running
Some mechanics start-up sounds, probably the CD drive.

Signs of death:
No picture on monitor at all
Not showing as a wifi client on the router
No response to shift, d, opt or eject when booting
No caps lock light
No chime, no beeps, no flashes on the power light

Tried:

Reseating CPU/ram tray, ram, SSD, GPU
SMC reset
Disconnecting everything except the power cable

Other notes:
massive amounts of dust inside, all needed to be blown away & pretty warm temperatures here today
in case it had overheated I've left it off for an hour or so
The OS is on an SSD, removing the drive gives the exact same response.
OS is whatever the last officially supported OS was
I don't have many spare parts here for testing, just a blank SSD, no OSX CDs

Hello.
Were you able to find the problem? Thanks.

 

[mw360]

Hello.
Were you able to find the problem? Thanks.

No, we looked into getting a replacement backplane as suggested by tsialex but we were gifted an iMac which got us out of trouble. I planned to get around to it later, but it’s getting less likely as time goes on.

 

[MikeDavies99]

No, we looked into getting a replacement backplane as suggested by tsialex but we were gifted an iMac which got us out of trouble. I planned to get around to it later, but it’s getting less likely as time goes on.

Thanks. Take care.

 

[dimitre]

These are your options:

1. Buy a replacement backplane on eBay and replace the backplane yourself, cheapest option if you can't solder SMD. Remember that you need a 2009 backplane if you have an early-2009 Mac Pro. If you have a mid-2010 or mid-2012 you can use either 2010 or 2012 backplanes. Don't mix early-2009 backplanes with mid-2010/mid-2012 CPU trays, or vice-versa - either scenario is a SMC firmware version mismatch and all your fans will run at maximum RPM, full time and without any software control.
2. Buy a Mac Pro MATT card and use it as a replacement SPI flash, this is not recommended since all MATT cards are clones and won't work for iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime. A replacement backplane is usually cheaper.
3. Desolder, reprogram and solder back the SPI flash, chip U8700 on the backplane. It's not possible to read or write to the SPI flash memory while it's soldered on the MP5,1 backplane. A cheap SPI flash programmer like ch341a will work for read/write the BootROM after the SPI flash memory is desoldered from the backplane. Start reading here, read all my posts on the subject from there. I strongly recommend that you replace your original SPI flash memory with a brand new one, don't solder it back to the backplane, it will fail soon since SPI flash memories have limited lifetime (manufacture rated for just 100.000 erase/write cycles) when used as NVRAM for a Mac Pro. Again, most hard bricks are caused by the failure of the SPI flash, it's a US$ 2 component easily available, MXIC MX25L3206E, just replace it! Btw, yes, you can use a MXIC MX25L3206E as a modern replacement for the two older models SST25VF032B and MXIC MX25L3205D used on early-2009 and mid-2010 respectively, Apple did it for mid-2012 Mac Pros.
   
   Mojave has the generic MP51.fd firmware image inside the full installer, it's enough for boot your Mac Pro again but not for iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime login.
   
   

   Install\ macOS\ Mojave/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/Firmware/MP51.fd

I have some SPI Flash memory here, for ESP8266 upgrades, what is the memory size needed for U8700 ?

 

[tsialex]

From the model names you can deduct the size, 32Mb. You can only use the three listed, no substitutions.