MP 1,1-5,1 cMP 2009 5,1 BRICKED by Mojave update 10.14.3->10.14.6 - HELP!!!

[classic_eliot]

Need expert advice... Following an update, if my cMP won't boot, won't chime and won't reset PRAM, is the logic board the culprit? Is there any way to roll back the EFI using a second computer? Can I replace the piece that actually stores the EFI, or must I replace the whole logic board? The trouble began when I let Apple install a system update.
I was running stably with 10.14.3 and 140.0.0.0.0 - 2009 cMP 4,1->5,1 dual X5690, 96 GB 1333 MHz, RX570 8GB, NVMe boot drive. After months of update notices, I finally caved and downloaded 10.14.6. It prompted to reboot to install the updates. There was no firmware update notice. It powered down, then wouldn't boot; no chime. Flashing PRAM did nothing. I held it for 6 minutes, and made numerous attempts. Cannot enter Safe or Recovery modes. Have tried booting from the SATA clone I made before updating, with all pcie cards pulled and no other drives installed. Have tried booting from a High Sierra USB installer disk. Have tried all of the above with a known-working GT120 card. I have a second 2009 cMP that is still on MP51.0084.B00 and it boots with both the NVMe and SATA clone and both the GT120 and RX570. I can see that the NVMe drive is still operating with 10.16.3 so the Mojave update did not install. *Importantly, I did not remember to disable SIP before updating.* I think this may be my issue. Of course I cannot disable it now because I cannot boot into recovery mode. So now what?
I have gone through the 'minimal configuration' steps from the technician guide. I get stuck at "11. Startup tone heard (if not, reset PRAM)" because flashing the PRAM does nothing. The (wired) keyboard is working fine on my other cMP.
Anything else I should try? Thanks 🙏

 

[tsialex]

Need expert advice... Following an update, if my cMP won't boot, won't chime and won't reset PRAM, is the logic board the culprit?

If the EFI DONE led are off when you press the diagnostic button, could be that the SPI flash is corrupted.

Is there any way to roll back the EFI using a second computer?

No.

Can I replace the piece that actually stores the EFI, or must I replace the whole logic board?

You can't replace the SPI flash, but you can repair it (desolder, reprogram, solder again) if you have the equipment and skills. Or you can buy a MATT card (replacement SPI flash), but it's usually more costly than an used replacement backplane.

The trouble began when I let Apple install a system update.

System Updates don't update the BootROM, only the full Mac App Store installer can do it, so your problem is probably elsewhere.

I was running stably with 10.14.3 and 140.0.0.0.0 - 2009 cMP 4,1->5,1 dual X5690, 96 GB 1333 MHz, RX570 8GB, NVMe boot drive. After months of update notices, I finally caved and downloaded 10.14.6. It prompted to reboot to install the updates. There was no firmware update notice. It powered down, then wouldn't boot; no chime. Flashing PRAM did nothing. I held it for 6 minutes, and made numerous attempts. Cannot enter Safe or Recovery modes. Have tried booting from the SATA clone I made before updating, with all pcie cards pulled and no other drives installed. Have tried booting from a High Sierra USB installer disk. Have tried all of the above with a known-working GT120 card. I have a second 2009 cMP that is still on MP51.0084.B00 and it boots with both the NVMe and SATA clone and both the GT120 and RX570. I can see that the NVMe drive is still operating with 10.16.3 so the Mojave update did not install. *Importantly, I did not remember to disable SIP before updating.* I think this may be my issue. Of course I cannot disable it now because I cannot boot into recovery mode. So now what?
I have gone through the 'minimal configuration' steps from the technician guide. I get stuck at "11. Startup tone heard (if not, reset PRAM)" because flashing the PRAM does nothing. The (wired) keyboard is working fine on my other cMP.
Anything else I should try? Thanks 🙏

SIP or software updates has nothing to do with this. Apple updates don't need SIP enabled or disabled whatsoever to be completed.

Software updates don't touch the SPI flash, only full installs with the Mac App Store full installer touch the SPI flash to upgrade the BootROM code.

MP51.0084.B00 can't boot a NVMe blade, native support was added by 140.0.0.0.0.

 

[classic_eliot]

Wow, thanks tsialex for going through it point by point. You are right about B00 not booting from the NVMe drive. Sorry, I was remembering wrong. The OS could only see it once it booted from the SATA drive.

The EFI DONE led is not illuminating. However, on my working system, it's not illuminating either. I checked after booting, and didn't see it come on during the startup process. Am I missing something?

Ok, so it's not related to SIP. That's good. Is there a chance it is related to having a firmware lock? I am pretty sure I had disabled that, but I can't say 100%.

Someone recommended I try using Clover Configurator to install an EFI onto the system. Have you ever used that?

System Updates don't update the BootROM, only the full Mac App Store installer can do it, so your problem is probably elsewhere.

Any idea where that might be??!

 

[MIKX]

Make sure that you DO NOT have any Mac OS Installers in your Applications folders

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[tsialex]

Wow, thanks tsialex for going through it point by point. You are right about B00 not booting from the NVMe drive. Sorry, I was remembering wrong. The OS could only see it once it booted from the SATA drive.

The EFI DONE led is not illuminating. However, on my working system, it's not illuminating either. I checked after booting, and didn't see it come on during the startup process. Am I missing something?

Ok, so it's not related to SIP. That's good. Is there a chance it is related to having a firmware lock? I am pretty sure I had disabled that, but I can't say 100%.

Someone recommended I try using Clover Configurator to install an EFI onto the system. Have you ever used that?


Any idea where that might be??!

EFI DONE diagnostic LED will always work when you press diagnostic button at boot, but you need a real Apple OEM GPU present.

Clover Configurator is a tool to generate an emulated Mac EFI for PCs, it can't repair a Mac BootROM in anyway, this was a non-sense suggestion.

Test your suspect backplane with your working Mac Pro, test your suspect Mac Pro with the working backplane.