MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 5,1 can't boot to Mac OS Installer from flash drive

[Dashingsuper]

I just recently bought a Mac Pro 5,1 that was used, and I am attempting to reinstall mac OS on it as the hard drive was 100% wipes, no partitions or anything, I know that it works as I get display out and before I bought it, I got it to boot to a Linux flash drive so the USB ports work and I've even tried the OS installer on the flash drive my Linux install was on and it still didn't boot to it. It just sits at the blinking folder screen. This is now the only mac I have ever owned so I have been doing it from windows.

I am using Transmac to flash the .dmg file of snow leopard I got from apple, I just don't know if just isn't seeing the flash drive as bootable or if during the boot process the keyboard I am using is not initializing fast enough for the inputs to be recognized (keychron k4 plugged in to usb and set to mac). So, when holding alt/option + R nothing happens and same for when holding D.

A second question is that while I was able to test that the system can boot to something I don't know if the hard drive works is there a way to see that it works on windows, or will I just have to wait to see if it shows up during the OS install process? It spins and doesn't make any weird noises. Though I do need to hook it up to my windows desktop and try to run crystal disk or something to see if it does work.

Any help is appreciated I am proficient with windows but know next to nothing about macs. Also, don't know where I would get the specs except by looking at the parts directly so I don't know what the CPUs, I know it has a 1tb WD hard drive (unknown if working), 8GB of ram and I assume the GPU is an ATI Radeon HD 5770 based on what it looks like and what I can find that they came with.

 

[Dayo]

TransMac should apparently be able to create a bootable Mac OS install USB on Windows but the term "MacPro5,1" can be broad.

Some refer to an Early 2009 MacPro (MacPro4,1) that has had MacPro5,1 firmware flashed in as being a MacPro5,1. I wouldn't even know what the minimum Mac OS version such a hybrid can install is.

Apple themselves, refer to both the Mid 2010 and 2012 Mac Pros as MacPro5,1 but the former has a minimum Mac OS of 10.6 Snow Leopard while the later is 10.7 Lion.

So Snow Leopard may fail to install on a Mid 2012 but will certainly install on a Mid 2010 although both are MacPro5,1.

I will suggest you try Lion, or better still, Mountain Lion, which all "MacPro5,1" can definitely install (including the flashed hybrids), instead of Snow Leopard.

You can download the Lions direct from Apple here:

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

 

[tsialex]

TransMac should apparently be able to create a bootable Mac OS install USB on Windows but the term "MacPro5,1" can be broad.

Some refer to an Early 2009 MacPro (MacPro4,1) that has had MacPro5,1 firmware flashed in as being a MacPro5,1. I wouldn't even know what the minimum Mac OS version such a hybrid can install is.

A cross-flashed early-2009 Mac Pro follows the same limitations/requirements as a mid-2010.

You can not identify a cross-flashed early-2009 unless you check the SMC version or querying the SSN with Apple, which macOS installers does not do it.

Apple themselves, refer to both the Mid 2010 and 2012 Mac Pros as MacPro5,1 but the former has a minimum Mac OS of 10.6 Snow Leopard while the later is 10.7 Lion.

The mid-2012 Mac Pro follows the same limitations/requirements as the mid-2010, same board-id, same GPUs, etc. You need to query Apple servers to know that is a mid-2012, everything else is the same.

So Snow Leopard may fail to install on a Mid 2012 but will certainly install on a Mid 2010 although both are MacPro5,1.

You can install 10.6.5 and newer to a mid-2012, no problem.

The problem is that Snow Leopard retail DVDs or the free MobileMe upgrade DVD that everyone have in a drawer somewhere are 10.6.3 while a mid-2010 requires a special build of 10.6.4.

The sure way to install Snow Leopard is to download the mid-2010 Mac Pro Factory Restore DVDs from the Internet Archive.

691 6744 A,2Z,Mac Pro. Mac OS X Install. Mac OS v10.6.4. Disc v2.0 2010 (DVD DL) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

691 6744 A,2Z,Mac Pro. Mac OS X Install. Mac OS v10.6.4. Disc v2.0 2010 (DVD DL)

archive.org

 

[Dayo]

So the archive image if wanting 10.6 Snow Leopard, useful for running PPC apps via Rosetta (needs to be specifically activated in the installer - I just reinstalled this last week from my stashed DVD incidentally) or if insisting on sourcing directly from Apple, 10.7 Lion.

BTW if using the 15 day TransMac trial and need a USB installer later, I wrote a script to create such from packages on the Apple page linked earlier:

Creates Bootable USB for Mac OS Lion to Monterey (Excluding Mavericks)

Creates Bootable USB for Mac OS Lion to Monterey (Excluding Mavericks) - Install_USB_Maker.sh

gist.github.com

 

[Dashingsuper]

A cross-flashed early-2009 Mac Pro follows the same limitations/requirements as a mid-2010.

You can not identify a cross-flashed early-2009 unless you check the SMC version or querying the SSN with Apple, which macOS installers does not do it.



The mid-2012 Mac Pro follows the same limitations/requirements as the mid-2010, same board-id, same GPUs, etc. You need to query Apple servers to know that is a mid-2012, everything else is the same.



You can install 10.6.5 and newer to a mid-2012, no problem.

The problem is that Snow Leopard retail DVDs or the free MobileMe upgrade DVD that everyone have in a drawer somewhere are 10.6.3 while a mid-2010 requires a special build of 10.6.4.

The sure way to install Snow Leopard is to download the mid-2010 Mac Pro Factory Restore DVDs from the Internet Archive.

691 6744 A,2Z,Mac Pro. Mac OS X Install. Mac OS v10.6.4. Disc v2.0 2010 (DVD DL) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

691 6744 A,2Z,Mac Pro. Mac OS X Install. Mac OS v10.6.4. Disc v2.0 2010 (DVD DL)

archive.org

I was able to do this and I mounted the ISO to a flash drive and it had no issue booting off of that, new issue, within the installer I do not see my Hard drive that is in it, I pulled the hard drive and it works when i plug it into my windows system it sees all 1tb and that it was not initialized, I initialized it and put it back in and it still will not detect the hard drive, nothing in disk utility either.

I have plugged the hard drive into all 4 bays and nothing, I also plugged in my windows ssd boot drive into all 4 also nothing, i plugged the same ssd into a sata to usb and put it into a usb port and it worked, so sadly i think it is the ports or the PSU, is there a way to test which it is or if you have other suggestions let me know.

 

[tsialex]

I was able to do this and I mounted the ISO to a flash drive and it had no issue booting off of that, new issue, within the installer I do not see my Hard drive that is in it, I pulled the hard drive and it works when i plug it into my windows system it sees all 1tb and that it was not initialized, I initialized it and put it back in and it still will not detect the hard drive, nothing in disk utility either.

I have plugged the hard drive into all 4 bays and nothing, I also plugged in my windows ssd boot drive into all 4 also nothing, i plugged the same ssd into a sata to usb and put it into a usb port and it worked, so sadly i think it is the ports or the PSU, is there a way to test which it is or if you have other suggestions let me know.

Some WD Blue HDDs does not work with a MacPro5,1. If your SSD is a Samsung QVO (or equivalent from other brands, like Crucial BX 500), also won't work.

MacPro5,1 is very picky with SATA/NVMe devices, you should search if anyone had success with the devices you are trying to make it work.

 

[Dashingsuper]

Some WD Blue HDDs does not work with a MacPro5,1. If your SSD is a Samsung QVO (or equivalent from other brands, like Crucial BX 500), also won't work.

MacPro5,1 is very picky with SATA/NVMe devices, you should search if anyone had success with your devices.

It’s a WD black HDD and I think it is what came with it originally because it does have the Apple logo on the information sticker but I’ll look into it.

 

[tsialex]

It’s a WD black HDD and I think it is what came with it originally because it does have the Apple logo on the information sticker but I’ll look into it.

12/13 years old HDD, I'd try a compatible SATA device before thinking that the SATA ports or the PSU are damaged.

 

[Dashingsuper]

12/13 years old HDD, I'd try a compatible SATA device before thinking that the SATA ports or the PSU are damaged.

Good point but 2 things I didn't mention yet, 1 according to crystal disk the hdd has less powered on hours than any drive in my windows system, 7039 hours unless crystal disk is lying though its power on count is significantly higher at 72304 so you might be right about the drive being bad but, 2 this was bought from a "salvage" location not like scrap computers but where items that had insurance claims on them went, specifically it was claimed due to lightning damage to the building it was in, I tested it there and I mostly reached out because it could boot to the Linux drive just not an mac install so i knew the important bits worked.

The HDD works fine when I plug it into my windows computer though that's why I think its the SATA ports, the backplane board, or the PSU, no idea which or how to tell which it might be, I got the computer for $50 so its fine this is just gonna be a project for me if its one of those 3 things.

I will look and see if I have/can get a compatible drive and see if it shows up because I do think that the SSD I tried was an HP so. Worst comes to worst I could always just do external drives for the boot drive and just use a large external one.

Update: I took out the cd drive and plugged the original HDD into it and it showed up in the installer so it is something with the SATA ports.