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MP 1,1-5,1 Can I flash my 2008 MacPro (3,1 upgraded to 4,1) to 5,1?

E

ErCe75

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 20, 2024
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2
Hi everyone,

I have a 2008 MacPro, which originally should be the 3,1 model. However, it has already been upgraded to 4,1. My question is:

  • Is it also possible to flash it to 5,1?
  • If so, are there any specific risks or compatibility issues I should be aware of?
I'm curious if anyone has experience with this kind of setup or any advice on how to proceed.

another issue is actually...


I'm currently trying to install macOS Monterey on my Mac Pro (originally 3,1, upgraded to 4,1) using an OpenCore boot USB. However, I've encountered an issue during the installation process, and I hope someone can help.

Here are the details:

  • The GPU is an AMD HD 5700.
  • I created an OpenCore boot USB with macOS Monterey.
  • In the boot screen, the OpenCore options are missing, but I can select the "OpenCore Boot EFI" icon to start the installation process.
  • I can format the SSD using Disk Utility and initiate the macOS installation.
The problem arises after the first installation phase:

  1. The installation starts and progresses for about 35 minutes.
  2. The system restarts, but instead of continuing the installation from the SSD, it boots back to the USB installer and shows the macOS Recovery environment again, and i have no option when i hold ALT/Option key to see boot from SSD.
I've already tried resetting the NVRAM multiple times, but it hasn't resolved the issue.

Does anyone have an idea what might be causing this or how to fix it? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Borowski said:
If it is really a 2008 MP3.1 - no.

Even the conversion to a 4.1 is impossible. Maybe this was done by a software hack to mask the real machine identifier.
Click to expand...
It is definitely originally a 3.1 Mac Pro as it has DDR two RAM at 800 MHz,

When i Type in Terminal sysctl hw.model its tell me 4,1
 
ErCe75 said:
The installation starts and progresses for about 35 minutes.
  1. The system restarts, but instead of continuing the installation from the SSD, it boots back to the USB installer and shows the macOS Recovery environment again, and i have no option when i hold ALT/Option key to see boot from SSD.
I've already tried resetting the NVRAM multiple times, but it hasn't resolved the issue.

Does anyone have an idea what might be causing this or how to fix it? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help.
Click to expand...
I think you should be holding down the option key on boot, selecting the "EFI" disk, which will get you into the Open Boot, then you should see a MacOS installer disk - select that.

... if I'm understanding correctly...

Or, as above, select the EFI, then the SSD.
 
Thank you for your response!

If I understand correctly, you're suggesting that after selecting the EFI, I should manually choose the SSD as the next boot option. I've tried this approach, but unfortunately, it gives me not the option boot from SSD, normaly after click the EFI Boot from Opencore he must me give the option click to SSD boot, but this is not present, the system still boots back to the USB installer instead of continuing the installation from the SSD.

maybe i musst firstly upgrade bootloader?

how can i check what of version bootloader is installed in recovery modus terminal?
 
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Are you saying that you don't see the option to select a boot drive after the EFI selection?

If that's the case, then you need to rebuild the Opencore, with the option to delay/select the boot drive after the EFI.
 
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typonaut said:
Are you saying that you don't see the option to select a boot drive after the EFI selection?

If that's the case, then you need to rebuild the Opencore, with the option to delay/select the boot drive after the EFI.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the clarification!

I wasn’t aware of this option to delay/select the boot drive after the EFI selection. I’ll rebuild the OpenCore USB stick tomorrow with this setting enabled and test it again.

I’ll report back with the results—thanks for pointing this out!
 
Even if the 3,1 could run the 4,1 or 5,1 firmware (it can not).

It has a 2 MB firmware flash. The 4,1 / 5,1 firmware is 4 MB.

And, of course, no, it would not run the 4,1/5,1 firmware if you upgrade the flash.

You cannot convert a Diesel to a Petrol by reprogramming the ECU…
 
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Macschrauber said:
Even if the 3,1 could run the 4,1 or 5,1 firmware (it can not).

It has a 2 MB firmware flash. The 4,1 / 5,1 firmware is 4 MB.

And, of course, no, it would not run the 4,1/5,1 firmware if you upgrade the flash.

You cannot convert a Diesel to a Petrol by reprogramming the ECU…
Click to expand...

Thank you for your explanation!

However, I’m struggling to understand how my Mac Pro is reporting as a 4,1 in the Terminal when I run the command sysctl hw.model in recovery mode. It clearly states MacPro4,1.

What’s even more confusing is that this machine is equipped with DDR2 RAM modules running at 800MHz. As far as I know, Mac Pro 4,1 models should have DDR3 RAM.

Could there actually be a Mac Pro 4,1 with DDR2 RAM running at 800MHz, or is there some other explanation for this configuration?

Thanks again for shedding light on this!
 
typonaut said:
Are you saying that you don't see the option to select a boot drive after the EFI selection?

If that's the case, then you need to rebuild the Opencore, with the option to delay/select the boot drive after the EFI.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestion!

Could you clarify where I can find the setting to enable the delay/select boot drive option? Is this something that’s configured using the OpenCore Legacy Patcher, or is it done through a different tool? I’ve looked through the OpenCore Legacy Patcher settings but couldn’t find any specific option for this.

Any guidance on where to find this setting or how to configure it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again for your help!
 
bax2023 said:
Can you show us System Information screenshot ?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I can't provide a System Information screenshot right now, as there is no macOS currently installed on the machine.

Do you know if there are any Terminal commands that could display similar system details? I’ve already tried sysctl hw.model, which returns MacPro4,1, but I’d like to verify additional information if possible.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated—thanks for your help!
 
ErCe75 said:
I’ve already tried sysctl hw.model, which returns MacPro4,1, but I’d like to verify additional information if possible.
Click to expand...

This is from software spoofing, MacPro3,1 can't be cross-flashed to anything else, differently than a MacPro1,1 that can be cross-flashed to MacPro2,1 or MacPro4,1 which can be cross-flashed to MacPro5,1.

While DDR3-800 is a possibility with a MacPro4,1 if the DIMM is 4Rx4, DDR2 is not possible.
 
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tsialex said:
This is from software spoofing, MacPro3,1 can't be cross-flashed to anything else, differently than a MacPro1,1 that can be cross-flashed to MacPro2,1 or MacPro4,1 which can be cross-flashed to MacPro5,1.

While DDR3-800 is a possibility with a MacPro4,1 if the DIMM is 4Rx4, DDR2 is not possible.
Click to expand...

Thank you for pointing that out!

When I rebuild the OpenCore USB stick next time, I’ll make sure to check the SMBIOS spoofing settings to see if they are set to Minimal or Disabled. This might explain why the system is identifying as a MacPro4,1.

I now understand that DDR3-800 is possible with a MacPro4,1 if the DIMM is 4Rx4, but DDR2 RAM is definitely not supported.

I’ll check the RAM configuration tomorrow again to ensure everything matches the specifications for the MacPro4,1. Thanks for your help in clearing that up!
 
If you can open the side panel, you can at least confirm with 100% certainty if it's a 3,1 or not:

comparemacs.jpg

Source: https://blog.greggant.com/images/posts/2018-05-01-macpro/comparemacs.jpg

edit: The 4,1 / 5,1 lacks the second grey heatsink in the lower bay for single processor models.
 
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arw said:
If you can open the side panel, you can confirm at least the 3,1 or 4,1 mystery:
comparemacs.jpg
Click to expand...

Definitiv the middle one 3,1 @tsialex
maybe found the missmatch named Spoofing the Hardware ID :), i´ll will check it Tomorrow again.

Since we’re now pretty sure this is a MacPro3,1 based on the images (big thanks to arw)
, and it’s showing as MacPro4,1 in the terminal due to SMBIOS spoofing.

I’ve been thinking about the issues I’ve been encountering during the macOS installation, and I believe they may have been caused by selecting the MacPro4,1 SMBIOS for the EFI when creating the installation USB with OCLP.

Tomorrow, I plan to create a new installation USB with the correct SMBIOS setting for MacPro3,1 and will test it again. I’m confident that this should resolve the issues I’ve been facing.

Thank you all for your suggestions and help so far!
 
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ErCe75 said:
Thank you for the suggestion!

Could you clarify where I can find the setting to enable the delay/select boot drive option?
Click to expand...
Start OCLP, click on settings, in the "Build" tab, under the "General" heading (on the right hand column) click the "Show OpenCore Boot Picker", then set the "Boot Picker Timeout" to whatever suits you (maybe 20 seconds?).

Then rebuild and install OpenCore.
 
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I was finally able to continue working on my Mac Pro today. I created a new USB installer for macOS Monterey using OCLP with the correct SMBIOS settings for MacPro3,1. Initially, the boot options appeared as expected—I was able to select the OpenCore EFI, and then the option to install macOS Monterey.

However, when the system attempted to boot into recovery mode, it froze for about 30 minutes. I forced a restart, and since then, the situation has worsened.

Here’s what’s happening now:

  • On startup, the chime sounds get´s, but I get the flashing question mark (?) symbol, indicating no bootable device is recognized.
  • None of the USB ports (front or rear) seem to work anymore. I tried connecting a keyboard, mouse, and USB installer, but nothing is being recognized, even when using a USB hub.
  • try to Resett NVRAM not possible USB not works.
  • I removed the PRAM battery, waited for 5 minutes, and reinstalled it, but this also didn’t help.
  • As a last resort, I installed a PCIe USB card and tried connecting a keyboard through it, but unfortunately, it didn’t work either.
I’m at a loss for what to try next. If anyone has suggestions or tips for troubleshooting this issue, I’d be extremely grateful 😔

EDIT 1: I also tried SMC reset following steps:

  1. Shut down Mac.
  2. Unplugged the power cord and waited for 15 seconds.
  3. Plugged the power cord back in and waited for 5 seconds.
  4. Pressed the power button to turn the Mac back on.
Unfortunately, this didn’t resolve the issue either.

EDIT 2: found same issue aboud no USB in this thread --> No USB
maybe same issue i have, and brick Bootloader?
 
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typonaut said:
FWIW I have not seen this issue on a mid-2012 5,1 – the USB works without further patching (in fact I have been unable to run the further patch). But, as noted, it is flagged in the OCLP documentation.
Click to expand...
I don't see that issue for myself, as I have the USB stuff plugged in my Cinema Display on the test bench. What acts as a hub of course.

Other test machine is on a kvm switch, also acts as a hub.

My 3,1 is also hooked to a cinema display.

Could be another issue, of course.
 
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Macschrauber said:
The coin cell is no pram battery, pram is long gone. The battery is for the rtc clock and system manager controller.

USB 1 hardware should be routed thru a USB hub.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the information about the battery—I didn’t know that it’s only for the RTC clock and the system manager controller.

Regarding your suggestion to use a USB hub, I actually mentioned earlier in my thread that I tried connecting my devices through a USB hub, but unfortunately, that didn’t work either.

I appreciate your input nonetheless—thank you!
 
Hi Guys,

today i can boot it up with macOS El Capitan, have the SSD installed on different mac install on different mac macOS El Capitan and put drive to again to macPro3,1 and its boot up, but USB not works i have install a PCIe USB 2.0 Controller on this i can use USB Keyboard and Mouse, but the front USB or Rear USB Ports not Works, after try to Install Monterey
before that works, now i can't not reset NVRAM the USB not works, USB only Works with USB PCIe Controller with this not Possible reset NVRAM, can i do somethink repair bottom ore give el capitan in way of next restart thats do start force reset NVRAMUntitled1.pngUntitled2.pngUntitled3.pngUntitled4.png
 
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