MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 5,1 (Mid 2012) - Boots up but no video output (black screen)

[swleo]

Hi all,

After a restart, my Mac Pro 5,1 boots up without video output, I can access the files and content via a networked computer, so I can confirm booting up is not an issue.

My Mac Pro:
Mac Pro 5,1 (Mid 2012)
3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
3 x 16GB 1066Mhz DDR3 ECC
1 x 1TB SATA SSD / 2 x 1TB SATA HD / 1 x 4TB SATA HD
27" Apple LED Cinema Display

I was running on Mojave 10.14.6 with MSI Radeon RX 580 Gaming X 8GB before the error occurred, connect to my 27" Apple LED Cinema Display through HDMI via QGeeM HDMI to Mini DisplayPort adaptor.

The system boots up with the chime with a brief red LED flash on CPU tray.

Methods I have tried:

1. Reset PRAM / NVRAM (4 chimes)

2. Reset SMC

3. Replace PRAM Battery (CR2032)

4. Connect to Samsung Curved LED Monitor (C27F591FD) via HDMI and DisplayPort

5. Connect to Apple LED Cinema Display via DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adaptor

6. Replace GPU with MSI Radeon RX 580 Armor 8GB OC

7. Tested both MSI Radeon RX 580 Gaming X 8GB and MSI Radeon RX 580 Armor 8GB OC on my PC - no issues

8. Tested the Apple LED Cinema Display with my PC via DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adaptor - no issues

When upgrading to Mojave, I installed the new OS to my 1TB SSD and kept High Sierra 10.13.6 in its original 1TB HD. To make sure my logic board is working, I replaced the GPU with the stock ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB and boot with High Sierra - everything works fine.

The only thing that I have not tested or replace is the power supply (I do not have the equipment to test), this is a gamble I am not willing to make if I do not know the cause of the issue, was told it was a GPU fault by a technician and bought one, yet doesn't solve the problem.

Kindly seek your advise / insights. Thank you!

 

[Macschrauber]

You may try a triple nvram reset (hold the keys alt-cmd-p-r until it chimes 4 times on cold boot).

And: we dont have a cmos battery, it's just for the rtc (real time clock)

 

[swleo]

You may try a triple nvram reset (hold the keys alt-cmd-p-r until it chimes 4 times on cold boot).

And: we dont have a cmos battery, it's just for the rtc (real time clock)

I have tried with double NVRAM reset (3 chimes), will try with 4... hopefully it will make a difference... thanks!

 

[swleo]

I tried with triple NVRAM reset (4 chimes), still doesn't work

 

[MIKX]

Try shutting down + remove the mac pro power cord.

Now. . .

Remove the graphics card + any other PCIe cards

Remove ALL RAM except two sticks.

Remove ALL HDDs / SSDs

Try booting up using the TRIPLE, CONSECUTIVE NVRAM "Happy Mac Chimes " ( HOLD THE P = R = Option + Apple keys until you hear THREE CHIMES.

Good Luck.

 

[swleo]

Try shutting down + remove the mac pro power cord.

Now. . .

Remove the graphics card + any other PCIe cards

Remove ALL RAM except two sticks.

Remove ALL HDDs / SSDs

Try booting up using the TRIPLE, CONSECUTIVE NVRAM "Happy Mac Chimes " ( HOLD THE P = R = Option + Apple keys until you hear THREE CHIMES.

Good Luck.

OK, I will give it a shot, thank you!

 

[tsialex]

Did you installed AirDisplay? AirDisplay kexts are incompatible with AMD GPUs after High Sierra and will make the screen go black.

- Mojave black screens with AMD Polaris GPUs (RX 4xx/5xx) note:

Some people are getting black screens with Mojave when using RX 4xx/5xx GPUs, if you are having it, do a clean install or debug your kexts, seems a problem with incompatible Air Display kexts. Read here.

 

[swleo]

Did you installed AirDisplay? AirDisplay kexts are incompatible with AMD GPUs after High Sierra and will make the screen go black.

Hi, I don't think I did any AirDisplay installation manually... Unless it is in some system updates or sorts...

 

[swleo]

Thanks to you, tsialex for reminding me on something that I did before the restart...

I was trying to record my video conference with sound and installed Soundflower... I removed soundflower.kext and everything runs perfectly... thank you once again and also shoutout to Macschrauber and MIKX for offering your tips and advice...