Mac Pro 5.1 / flashed EVGA Geforce GTX 980

[Denyo]

Hi everyone, this is my very first post here and im wondering if someone can help me out with my little problem or point me to the most relevant thread.

Sorry in andvance if this problem was is already discussed, there so many threads and i could not find the right one.

I have a flashed NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4096 MB and everything works fine so far with the latest web driver (17G3025 / 387.10.10.10.40.108).

The only thing, when i start my mac, he don´t boot right away. I have to press the "alt" key to select my SSD drive where High Sierra is installed and then he starts as usual.

So my question: Is there any way to fix that, so if, how?

Thanks for any help!

My current Setup:

 

[cdf]

Perhaps try System Preferences > Startup Disk and make sure that your disk is selected.

 

[Denyo]

Perhaps try System Preferences > Startup Disk and make sure that your disk is selected.

I already tried this, i removed all other SSD´s except one, which is selected.

 

[h9826790]

Since you have a flashed card, you can alway a perform a PRAM reset, then select the boot drive (and web driver) again.

 

[Denyo]

Since you have a flashed card, you can alway a perform a PRAM reset, then select the boot drive (and web driver) again.

Will try this definitely again, thanks for the advice!

But i made a mistake today. I installed multibeast and tried to fix my problem with that. (Was a stupid idea to install that.)
Now I have a efi partion and I want to remove it. Do you maybe now how?

I didn't now that multibeast is designed for Hackintosh.

I did also some research, and multibeast can cause more problems on a reel mac, thats why want to remove it.

Anyways my Mac Pro still works without any problems. I just want to remove that efi partion.

 

[h9826790]

Will try this definitely again, thanks for the advice!

But i made a mistake today. I installed multibeast and tried to fix my problem with that. (Was a stupid idea to install that.)
Now I have a efi partion and I want to remove it. Do you maybe now how?

I didn't now that multibeast is designed for Hackintosh.

I did also some research, and multibeast can cause more problems on a reel mac, thats why want to remove it.

Anyways my Mac Pro still works without any problems. I just want to remove that efi partion.

Multibest is the software to make macOS installer for Hackintosh.

What you actually installed is Clover.

You can simply mount the EFI partition and delete the associated folder. (WARNING: Deleted the wrong folder / file can completely kill the OS)

Or simply leave at there. The PRAM reset will make your Mac ignore it during boot anyway.

 

[Denyo]

Multibest is the software to make macOS installer for Hackintosh.

What you actually installed is Clover.

You can simply mount the EFI partition and delete the associated folder. (WARNING: Deleted the wrong folder / file can completely kill the OS)

Or simply leave at there. The PRAM reset will make your Mac ignore it during boot anyway.

I´ll rather have a clean Mac

I managed to mount the efi partion from the terminal. Which folders do I have to delete? Just the clover folder?

I was concernd to damage somehow my hardware?! Is that possible with clover?

 

[ActionableMango]

It seems your computer is stuck on trying to boot a non-bootable partition, so you are forced to manually override the boot choice. Then you made another partition with Clover, which you are now going to try to delete.

This is precarious stuff. Backup your important files before you do anything else.

In fact the best way out of this is probably just to backup your files, wipe the drive completely including all partitions, install MacOS fresh, install your apps, and restore your files.

 

[Denyo]

Backup your important files before you do anything else.

This is precarious stuff. Backup your important files before you do anything else.

Im on a brand new SSD, only high Sierra installed.
All my important data is on another SSD so i should be on the safe side.

I need just to fix that one boot problem.

[doublepost=1542229412][/doublepost]

It seems your computer is stuck on trying to boot a non-bootable partition, so you are forced to manually override the boot choice. Then you made another partition with Clover, which you are now going to try to delete.

This is precarious stuff. Backup your important files before you do anything else.

In fact the best way out of this is probably just to backup your files, wipe the drive completely including all partitions, install MacOS fresh, install your apps, and restore your files.

Thats exactly what want to do. I just don't know how to wipe the drive including the partitions!
I reinstalled it today the OS from scratch, but the clover partition is still on it.

Whats the best way to get rid of the hidden partions?

 

[ActionableMango]

Thats exactly what want to do. I just don't know how to wipe the drive including the partitions!

Use Disk Utility to erase the whole drive (select the disk, not any particular partition).

You can't wipe the drive you're currently booted from. So boot from a different drive. Any major OS will do.

If you don't have any other bootable operating systems, boot from your OS X install media and use Disk Utility there.

 

[Denyo]

Ok, i will try this again.

BTW: I erased my drive with the Disk Utility before from bootable USB with High Sierra that I created.

I hope the hidden partion from clover will be erased too! Last time it didn't work, thats why I wanted to delete it manually.

Im gonna also put the original ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB back and install the OS from scratch and hope everything will work how it should.

Thanks for helping!

 

[ActionableMango]

BTW: I erased my drive with the Disk Utility before from bootable USB with High Sierra that I created.

I hope the hidden partion from clover will be erased too! Last time it didn't work, thats why I wanted to delete it manually.

Erase can be done at either the disk level or volume level depending on what you select. If you select a volume or all visible volumes, then it's just doing to erase those volumes. If you do an erase at the disk level, it should wipe out everything, or at least that's what it used to do. I am vaguely aware that it was nerfed at some point.

Are you saying you did an erase at the DISK level and it didn't erase hidden partitions? If that's true, then something has changed since I last used Disk Utility, which was admittedly years ago. In that case you'd have to use a third party partition manager or the command line.

 

[Denyo]

Erase can be done at either the disk level or volume level depending on what you select. If you select a volume or all visible volumes, then it's just doing to erase those volumes. If you do an erase at the disk level, it should wipe out everything, or at least that's what it used to do. I am vaguely aware that it was nerfed at some point.

Are you saying you did an erase at the DISK level and it didn't erase hidden partitions? If that's true, then something has changed since I last used Disk Utility, which was admittedly years ago. In that case you'd have to use a third party partition manager or the command line.

I tried it like u said but it didn't work...

The partition is in the APFS Container and it won't let you easily erase it. It will give you always an error: can't be erased!
The only way in know to do it is with the terminal with following command:

diskutil apfs deleteContainer disk0s1 (in my case disk1)

I´ll let you know if this way worked...

 

[h9826790]

I´ll rather have a clean Mac

I managed to mount the efi partion from the terminal. Which folders do I have to delete? Just the clover folder?

I was concernd to damage somehow my hardware?! Is that possible with clover? View attachment 804137

It can't damage the hardware by removing the wrong files / folder.

I tried it like u said but it didn't work...

The partition is in the APFS Container and it won't let you easily erase it. It will give you always an error: can't be erased!
The only way in know to do it is with the terminal with following command:

diskutil apfs deleteContainer disk0s1 (in my case disk1)

I´ll let you know if this way worked...

Make sure you set "Show All Devices", and then select the DISK, not the container, not the partition.

Then "Erase" it.

 

[Denyo]

It can't damage the hardware by removing the wrong files / folder.

Thats good to know! I was afraid a litte bit.


I solved that right now. The terminal did magic for me, all partitions where erased with the following command:
diskutil apfs deleteContainer disk0s1 (in my case disk1)

Otherwise it was not possible in my case, even if you show all devices.
In my opinion the cleanest solution to get rid of the Clover EFI partition.

Will update tomorrow my OS to the latest version and install my Nvidia GPU again.
Hope the little boot problem is gone then.

Thanks for helping!

 

[Denyo]

Back again to my boot problem with my flashed NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4096 MB.

I tried it with a SMC reset = no luck!
Mac Pro starts normal after SMC, selecting the WebDiver, Restart = same problem!

I did a fresh reinstall of High Sierra to the latest version = no luck

Nvidia Card is working! NVIDIA Web Diver is working! I have no glitches, so acceleration works fine...




I really don't know why my Mac Pro don't power on the Monitor or boot as usual after a restart.
The Monitor is a Samsung, connected with HDMI Displayport.



Only when press the ALT key while booting and select my SSD, everything works normal.

I also guess, I don't need to work with these terminal commands: because my Mac Pro is using it!?!

sudo nvram boot-args="nv_disable=1 (disables the standard driver in OS X)
sudo nvram boot-args="nvda_drv=1" (force to use NVIDIA Web Diver)

I could live with that little problem but it would be nicer when everything is working as it should.

Does anybody have any ideas what that can be?

 

[AlexMaximus]

Back again to my boot problem with my flashed NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4096 MB.

I tried it with a SMC reset = no luck!
Mac Pro starts normal after SMC, selecting the WebDiver, Restart = same problem!

I did a fresh reinstall of High Sierra to the latest version = no luck

Nvidia Card is working! NVIDIA Web Diver is working! I have no glitches, so acceleration works fine...

View attachment 805267
View attachment 805266

I really don't know why my Mac Pro don't power on the Monitor or boot as usual after a restart.
The Monitor is a Samsung, connected with HDMI Displayport.

View attachment 805268

Only when press the ALT key while booting and select my SSD, everything works normal.

I also guess, I don't need to work with these terminal commands: because my Mac Pro is using it!?!

sudo nvram boot-args="nv_disable=1 (disables the standard driver in OS X)
sudo nvram boot-args="nvda_drv=1" (force to use NVIDIA Web Diver)

I could live with that little problem but it would be nicer when everything is working as it should.

Does anybody have any ideas what that can be?

The HDMI port has been a frequent source of bugs & errors in my past. Try a different port on your gpu.

 

[Denyo]

The HDMI port has been a frequent source of bugs & errors in my past. Try a different port on your gpu.

I have 3 display ports, one HDMI and one DVI-I, tried all of them with NO LUCK :/

Any other suggestions?

 

[flowrider]

^^^^May I ask who flashed your card?

Lou

 

[Denyo]

^^^^May I ask who flashed your card?

Lou

Sure you can! ^^

I bought it on ebay a while ago... was probably a bad idea! I learned later from macvidcards.... :/

I also bought on ebay my upgraded CPU´s, from 8 core to a 12 core, and worked with no problems.
Installation was very easy...

I have no clue how to flash this card, never did it.
Maybe its not probably flashed?

 

[AlexMaximus]

Back again to my boot problem with my flashed NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4096 MB.

I tried it with a SMC reset = no luck!
Mac Pro starts normal after SMC, selecting the WebDiver, Restart = same problem!

I did a fresh reinstall of High Sierra to the latest version = no luck

Nvidia Card is working! NVIDIA Web Diver is working! I have no glitches, so acceleration works fine...

View attachment 805267
View attachment 805266

I really don't know why my Mac Pro don't power on the Monitor or boot as usual after a restart.
The Monitor is a Samsung, connected with HDMI Displayport.

View attachment 805268

Only when press the ALT key while booting and select my SSD, everything works normal.

I also guess, I don't need to work with these terminal commands: because my Mac Pro is using it!?!

sudo nvram boot-args="nv_disable=1 (disables the standard driver in OS X)
sudo nvram boot-args="nvda_drv=1" (force to use NVIDIA Web Diver)

I could live with that little problem but it would be nicer when everything is working as it should.

Does anybody have any ideas what that can be?

Based on this #16 post, I think your GPU & Nvidia driver may not the problem. In my opinion, this looks like a clear boot partition problem. The problem could be a fine detail, such as choosing the correct reinstall / new OSX install routine. You said you installed High Sierra. How? There are differences in

- Complete HDD wipe
- Time Capsule incremental backup re-install
- Time Capsule master backup re-install
- Apple Appstore Internet re-install from the web
- USB Stick install

Somehow it feels, you may have a kind of left over OSX fraction on a different HDD that is interfering with your new install. OSX somehow gets redirected to your fraction, but not to the brand new install. How many HDDs are in your system at the moment? Are there other/old OSX fractions on other HDDs other then your Start up Disk?

Another "Biggi" is the file system. Apple changed from standard legacy file system to Apple File system, HS is known to make problems with a mixed system. Bootcamp support does not really work on AFS. I think you should have a close look on your HDDs, this smells like some old forgotten OSX installed leftovers. Boot your system with only one HDD installed, remove any other HDD. Stick with the old file system, the AFS most likely makes problems in the cMP. Is your HS partition an AFS based install?

The GPU port layout is correct and looks exactly like my 980TI.

 

[Denyo]

Based on this #16 post, I think your GPU & Nvidia driver may not the problem. In my opinion, this looks like a clear boot partition problem. The problem could be a fine detail, such as choosing the correct reinstall / new OSX install routine. You said you installed High Sierra. How?

I installed it from a USB stick:

- Downloaded OSX from AppStore and made a bootable installer.
- I have 2 brand new SSD´s. ^^
(Just one SSD is plugged in, and all other slots are empty)

- Booted from USB stick installer and went into recovery mode.
- Then into terminal and erased the ssd. Also deleted all partitions and closed the terminal!
- Went back and installed it as usual. (Installer window opens automatically when u close the terminal)

- Original GPU was installed:
(ATI RADEON HD5870 1GB)

- Maybe my USB card is making the troubles while im installing OS X?
(PCI-EXpress enhancement card - 4x USB3.0)

- After finishing install, im updating OS X, and then i changed the GPU (Geforce GTX 980 SC)
- Needed a SMC reset. Then the Monitor powered on, at the Login u could see that u need a driver.
- Then I installed the WebDriver.

The GPU & Driver are working fine, last time I tried a 2nd Monitor and it worked too.
Like I said, the problem is only when I restart and while booting up. Monitor won't power up,
it seams there is no signal, only the ALT "Key" wake him up.

Then I select my Drive - and everything is normal.

Somehow it feels, you may have a kind of left over OSX fraction on a different HDD that is interfering with your new install. OSX somehow gets redirected to your fraction, but not to the brand new install. How many HDDs are in your system at the moment? Are there other/old OSX fractions on other HDDs other then your Start up Disk?

Just one!
How can that be on a brand new SSD ? (Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB)
Btw the drive is installed in an IcyDockAdapter and then plug into the 1st slot.

Another "Biggi" is the file system. Apple changed from standard legacy file system to Apple File system, HS is known to make problems with a mixed system. Bootcamp support does not really work on AFS. I think you should have a close look on your HDDs, this smells like some old forgotten OSX installed leftovers. Boot your system with only one HDD installed, remove any other HDD. Stick with the old file system, the AFS most likely makes problems in the cMP. Is your HS partition an AFS based install?

Since High Sierra your SSD will be automatically converted into an APFS File System when u install it?!

The GPU port layout is correct and looks exactly like my 980TI.

So it should work?!

Thanks a lot for the support!

 

[AlexMaximus]

I installed it from a USB stick:

- Downloaded OSX from AppStore and made a bootable installer.
- I have 2 brand new SSD´s. ^^
(Just one SSD is plugged in, and all other slots are empty)

- Booted from USB stick installer and went into recovery mode.
- Then into terminal and erased the ssd. Also deleted all partitions and closed the terminal!
- Went back and installed it as usual. (Installer window opens automatically when u close the terminal)

- Original GPU was installed:
(ATI RADEON HD5870 1GB)

- Maybe my USB card is making the troubles while im installing OS X?
(PCI-EXpress enhancement card - 4x USB3.0)

- After finishing install, im updating OS X, and then i changed the GPU (Geforce GTX 980 SC)
- Needed a SMC reset. Then the Monitor powered on, at the Login u could see that u need a driver.
- Then I installed the WebDriver.

The GPU & Driver are working fine, last time I tried a 2nd Monitor and it worked too.
Like I said, the problem is only when I restart and while booting up. Monitor won't power up,
it seams there is no signal, only the ALT "Key" wake him up.

Then I select my Drive - and everything is normal.



Just one!
How can that be on a brand new SSD ? (Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB)
Btw the drive is installed in an IcyDockAdapter and then plug into the 1st slot.



Since High Sierra your SSD will be automatically converted into an APFS File System when u install it?!



So it should work?!

Thanks a lot for the support!

I just got back from the Apple Store in Munich regarding a different question, but related to your problem.
They told me to stick to the old file system when using Windows boot camp in HS to have the old style boot selector mode (ALT). Somehow the new AFS does not work well with boot camp. - For me, this means my really great Bootcamp / Apple Hybrid System days are counted and soon to be over. Mojave does not go this route, I will need to freeze up my Hybrid system on High Sierra permanently with my current Nvidia GPU configuration. -> We sit in the same boat.

This means for you, if you did install High Sierra with AFS, your booting/boot screen most likely does not work for you anymore.
I think you need to install HS with the old classic file system, this will give you back your boot screen capability.
Its the only problem that makes sense in your case. Do a fresh HS install with the old file system and see what happens.
The only reason why I did not experience this problem is that of my El Capitan master drive. I am always one or two OSX versions behind because of reliability risk issues and boot camp complexity. Unfortunately, I will have to upgrade eventually to HS myself.

https://malcont.net/2017/09/how-to-...sierra-without-filesystem-change-hfs-to-apfs/

I am sure there is a great macrumors forum info in the software section as well. I did not have time to read on this yet. Good luck and give a short feedback if the problem was solved.

 

[netkas]

This could be the issue with the "3rd party" rom for gtx980,

try command

ioreg -l -w0 | egrep revision

and post here result

 

[Denyo]

This could be the issue with the "3rd party" rom for gtx980,

try command

ioreg -l -w0 | egrep revision

and post here result

Could u provide me a bit more information about this command pls?

| | | | | "rom-revision" = <"MacProFX.io">

| | | | | "NVDA,romrevision" = <"GTX980V1">

...the whole thing?