Flashed ATI 5870 - No More Boot Screen?

[MacDann]

I have an ATI 5870 that was flashed so I got a boot screen. I've had it for probably three years running on my Mac Pro 3,1. A week or two ago I bought a 30" ACD to replace one of the two 23" ACDs I've been running on it, both displays being run off the DVI ports on the card. I have a third monitor (22" Asus) that I run off the Display port on the card to get the boot screen.

I no longer get a boot screen on the third monitor that runs off the Display port. I bought it from a guy on eBay who was selling a lot of these at the time, and he did a really good job with support and extras that came with the card.

Based on what I see, I suspect the higher resolution of the 30" ACD is the culprit. Here's why:

The Asus monitor that used to show the boot screen now gives an "out of range" message on the screen when connected to the card via the Display port. Since the only thing that has changed is the use of the 30" ACD, which has a much higher resolution than the 23" ACDs I had been using, I have to believe that the higher resolution, which the Asus monitor is not capable of displaying, is the reason why I don't see a boot screen on it any longer. I would add that if I left the Asus monitor on after booting into the system, it would act as a mirror of the primary monitor.

I'm curious as to opinions on this line of thought. It's the only thing that makes sense to me. I'm assuming that if I obtained another monitor that could display the same resolution of the 30" ACD I would once again have a boot screen on it.

MacDann

 

[haralds]

I have the same thing with my UW38. I think the EFI tops out at 2560x1440 or something like that.
I switch to an HDMI cable to restrict the resolution if I have an emergency and need the boot screen. Just setting it on the monitor does not seem to work.

 

[MacDann]

Good to know, thank you! The 5870 has HDMI, so I need to get a monitor that will do HDMI and see if that works.

MacDann

 

[h9826790]

That sounds strange to me. The 30” ACD exist well before the Mac Pro 5,1. In fact, when I bought my 4,1 back in 2009, the 30” ACD is one of the official monitor option (and it’s the most expensive one). Hard to imagine the Mac EFI cannot show boot screen properly because of the monitor’s resolution.

 

[MacDann]

I did try to run my Asus monitor off the HDMI output last night, but didn't get a signal. This would be different from the "out of range" message it was displaying when connected to the Displayport output. My Displayport dongle was still plugged into the card at the time, however, I'm not sure if this matters or not. To be sure I'm going to try it again today with the Displayport dongle removed and see if I get a signal out of the HDMI port.

MacDann

 

[Fl0r!an]

The 5870 is supposed to show the boot screen on one of its DVI ports, not on any other ports.

All other ports are not supported, because I never managed to fix the port mapping for the other ports (I assume the eBay guy just copy&pasted my ROM). Due to the mismatched port mapping it's entirely possible that your DP port is able to work as long as it gets correct EDID information from one of the other ports.

I assume that you'll see a boot screen on your DVI ports if you disconnect the DisplayPort monitor (also disconnect the dongle!).

Btw, this is the exact reason why this ROM shouldn't be sold and why you shouldn't support anyone by buying it.

 

[MacDann]

Thank you!

About all I can tell you about the eBay seller was that they were somewhere in IL, if I recall correctly. I bought the card maybe three years ago. I have a cable dongle that was used with the DisplayPort as well as a “stub” sort of dongle that’s just a DVI plug with a cover on the back side. You plugged this in to one of the DVI ports to force the boot screen to another port as I recall.

Anyway, I’ll pull the DisplayPort dongle tonight and see if I get a boot screen on my ACDs.

Again, thank you!

MacDann

 

[MacDann]

I pulled the Display port dongle and got no displays - nada - out of the card. I cleared the PRAM and the displays came back, but no boot screen.

I'm wondering if I need to use the dongle to force the boot screen.

I have attached copies of the instructions he gave with the card. By using one of the dongles can I get the boot screen on the second DVI port? It sounds like I can....

Thanks!

MacDann

 

[ActionableMango]

I have attached copies of the instructions he gave with the card.

Wow that was really, really terrible. I can't believe someone thought it would be okay to sell that.

If you have budget left over I'd just buy a used PC 680, flash it for boot screens, and throw the kludge away.

 

[MacDann]

A flashed GTX 680 has been on my radar for a while, just have to budget for it. This just came up because the boot screen I've been used to seeing for several years is now gone. A bit jarring, but I didn't use it a lot thank goodness.

MacDann

 

[h9826790]

A flashed GTX 680 has been on my radar for a while, just have to budget for it. This just came up because the boot screen I've been used to seeing for several years is now gone. A bit jarring, but I didn't use it a lot thank goodness.

MacDann

ActionableMango means buy a non-flashed GTX680 and then flash it by yourself, but not buying a flashed 680 directly.

It's so much cheaper, and safer to flash it by yourself. And if something goes wrong, it's easier to fix as well (because you have the original firmware on hand).

There are lots of badly flashed card on the market, charge you quite a bit extra money, and eventually only give you trouble.

 

[Fl0r!an]

Wow that was really, really terrible. I can't believe someone thought it would be okay to sell that.

Well, at least the number of dongles involved makes it look like a real Apple product.

Back to topic: Doesn't look like my ROM. I'd suggest dumping the ROM and making a new one based on my EFI (found in "Radeon Port Mapping" thread @ netkas.org). It's not perfect either, but not that bad.

 

[MacDann]

I was able to get it going this morning by plugging the DVI dongle into the first DVI port, a 23" ACD in the second, and the cable dongle with my Asus monitor in the Displayport.

Put everything back the way I had it (30" ACD, 23" ACD, Asus in DP) and it stopped working. So the issue must be the resolution of the monitor in the first DVI port affecting what gets tossed out on the DP.

Anyway, a GTX 680 is in my future, and yes, I'll flash it myself, thank you.

Thanks to all for the assistance!

MacDann

 

[haralds]

I have the same thing with my UW38. I think the EFI tops out at 2560x1440 or something like that.
I switch to an HDMI cable to restrict the resolution if I have an emergency and need the boot screen. Just setting it on the monitor does not seem to work.

It's actually a Dell U3818DW - typo. Somebody suggested forcing it into the DP1.1 mode. It turns out, there is a way! You have to go to the online menu, select the DP input and hold the check button for 10s. That will toggle the modes!

No more crawling underneath the desk. I confirmed I can get the Boot Menu - yeah!