MP 1,1-5,1 CPU change/ cleanup and fans full blast on original 5.1 12 core

[pizzigri]

Hello everyone, first post but been lurking for, like forever… So I got a used 2010 Mac Pro Dual. The Mac arrived with bent feet, but it booted - although there was no OS in the machine. Got a nice used empty case and had heart surgery of everything inside the Mac transplanted into the new case.
I also had a pair of X5690 cpus and I replaced the original X5670 in the tray; since I also own a single core 4.1 flashed to 5.1 cMP, I just placed the drive of that machine into the Dual just to test booting it up. The Mac boots, there’s a HD5870 inside so I can see the boot / pre boot messages. In any case, the fans start to blow full speed a few moments after power up, and they stay that way. The machine boots right into the OS (it’s El Capitan for now), the About This Mac reports correctly the SMC versions of both tray/system… in reality, the first time I did boot up the Mac it did not show the tray at all, and the fans were blowing, however, RAM, CPUs etcetera was all reported and worked. I took out the tray and placed it back in thinking of maybe a bad contact. Now it does show SMC as above, but still fans are at full blast. So, I downloaded RomTool and disabling SIP as per Tsialex instructions, dumped the ROM, and checked the free space as he describes. With dual 6 core cpus and 8 Dimms (48gb RAM) free space is 24034, and I did not manage to see obvious corruptions as he makes examples of in the post of the cMP firmware. The EFI version is the very first MP51.007F.B03 the owners never updated it.
WHat can I do? What else could be causing this very annoying fan problem? I looked at all the results from the search, and could not come up with anything.

 

[Macschrauber]

Download MacsFanControl and check out the temperatures, especially Northbridge.

 

[spidertnt]

check the black plastic connector shown in the bottom corner of this picture ...it can break and not properly connect .

I had this issue on one . Everything works fine but fans high after post

 

[pizzigri]

OK, so I controlled the heatsink fan connectors and they're all fine. So I installed MacsFanControl ad there are no temp info on any part of the tray! And now, I again have the issue hat the SMC version of the tray does not appear in the hardware overview. I am quite worried!

 

[Matty_TypeR]

Sounds to me like the CPU tray has its own fault, the reason the SMC does not show up and fan's run at full speed. If you have another CPU tray it would be the way to test, then you can say if back plain issue or CPU tray. But from what your saying no info from CPU tray, temps ect I would say CPU tray fault.

 

[Macschrauber]

Check the pins of the cpu tray (not the cpu socket, the one that goes in the backplane) for bent ones.

If there are bent ones double check the socket in the backplane.

Its unlikely all sensors failed at the same time. Guess you did a smc reset?

 

[pizzigri]

I did check them and they seem ok, can I spray them with a contact cleaner or I can do worse? I believe if something went kaput that is a controller, MCU or temp interface rather than the physical sensors.... how can I check this?

 

[pizzigri]

So I have an update, and I also remembered a very important thing. The very, very first time I booted the machine at home (not at the seller’s place) I made a mistake, and placed a hd with Windows 10 on it. The Win OS was installed on a standard PC and never intended to be booted on a Mac. A blue screen happened, obviously, so I turned off the mac and replaced the disk. And that’s when the story above starts. In the meantime I purchased a single CPU tray from Ebay, that was guaranteed working, for Mac Pro 2010 - 12. it finally arrived, I insta it on the machine and it worked! the first boot was perfect. Everything was fine and the smc version was visible and the same between backplane and tray.
Alex, this is a completed different Mac than the one you worked on for the bootrom!
and this evening, I connected the Mac and turned it on. Heart in my shoes.... again, fans full blast after boot and the tray smc version not recognized... the rest of the machine is entirely functional. Unless there is something like Covid that spreads like a virus, I can’t imagine why this happens. Can anybody help, given what people suggested above has not worked?
I would exclude the tray at this point, unless the backplane somehow corrupts the smc eprom on the tray.

 

[pizzigri]

I am also weary of testing the trays on my only remaining completely functional 2010 mac pro, which I spent a lot of money and effort to build.
I am a bit desperate....

 

[tsialex]

Run ASD and screenshot/take a picture when the test fails, maybe will give you clues. Start from a deep NVRAM reset, SMC reset.

 

[pizzigri]

OK. So here is the facts: every single test with EFI ASD fail at sensor/fan level. But here is the thing: I reseated the tray, and then... everything works correctly. All tests passed, all green. I removed the single cpu tray and put back in the double: same thing. Both EFI and OS ASD tests passed (took a LONG time). So it must be a failure in contact - obviously on the backplane. But, pins are perfect, no bent ones (which btw would be impossible to repair anyway)... the thing also started doing it on an odd boot, and I just reseated (without removing it all the way) the tray and voila - works. It's driving me mad. I also reset the NVRAM, I did it a couple times from terminal.

 

[pizzigri]

Hello f anyone is interested, I pinpointed the fault in the backplane board. Both 2010 cpu trays work perfectly in multiple 2010/12 Mac Pros, but any tray will not work 5 out of 6 times in this one. When it works, i can go for days without issue, but once powered down and booted again, it will not recognize the tray smc.
i cannot fathom what may cause this. I also tried to upgrade the firmware. Could it be a corrupted bootrom?

 

[tsialex]

Could it be a corrupted bootrom?

Possible, but I'd check for hardware problems first.

Do the basic maintenance, like physical clean-up, BR2032 replacement, de-oxidant spray to the contacts and etc. After all that, run ASD again and see if the SMC still continue to fail.