MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 5,1 no longer showing display image

[ssj92]

I have the cMP 5,1 (specs in sig). It was working fine with macOS 12.4 this whole time. I have a Startech PCIe 2-NVMe adapter that had a 1TB SK Hynix & 512GB SM951 SSD. I took out the SM951 today to put into a different PC. After that the cMP no longer showed a boot screen. I can hear the chime.

Things I tried:

SMC reset
NVRAM reset (3 times in a row)
Put old GTX 980ti (macvidcards efi) & HDD with high sierra (removed all PCIe cards such as 6800XT, TB3 card, NVMe PCIe card)
Tried booting into firmware mode (holding power button)

The computer turns on, does the chime, but stays on black screen.

Anything else I can try? I just find it weird, it's been working for months and I decide to remove 1 SSD and it stops working.

Thanks

 

[tsialex]

Access it via screen sharing and check if the GPU/display are detected correctly.

 

[ssj92]

Access it via screen sharing and check if the GPU/display are detected correctly.

I never set up screen sharing on the mac so I don't think it'll work. I tried connecting to it but get an error saying make sure screen sharing is enabled on the mac.

I did try pinging it using terminal on a different mac and got a reply...so the computer itself is technically on.

I tried different hdmi cable, displayport, different display but cannot get image.

 

[tsialex]

I never set up screen sharing on the mac so I don't think it'll work. I tried connecting to it but get an error saying make sure screen sharing is enabled on the mac.

I did try pinging it using terminal on a different mac and got a reply...so the computer itself is technically on.

I tried different hdmi cable, displayport, different display but cannot get image.

SSH is enabled? You can enable screen sharing via SSH.

You can also install an AppleOEM GPU and do a clean install of High Sierra. GTX 980 flashed is not a good card for diagnostics.

 

[ssj92]

SSH is enabled? You can enable screen sharing via SSH.

You can also install an AppleOEM GPU and do a clean install of High Sierra. GTX 980 flashed is not a good card for diagnostics.

No SSH. It's weird, everytime I switched back to GTX 980Ti it always worked after NVRAM reset at least.

If I put in 6800XT it does the chime and then shuts itself off after like a minute.

Unfortunately I originally bought this computer with 980Ti already installed. Never got the original gpu.

I have GT 240, GTX 275, and GTX 1080 at home.

Any idea what could have happened? I'll try switching the gpu to a different pcie slot since I haven't tried that yet.

 

[tsialex]

No SSH. It's weird, everytime I switched back to GTX 980Ti it always worked after NVRAM reset at least.

If I put in 6800XT it does the chime and then shuts itself off after like a minute.

Unfortunately I originally bought this computer with 980Ti already installed. Never got the original gpu.

I have GT 240, GTX 275, and GTX 1080 at home.

Any idea what could have happened? I'll try switching the gpu to a different pcie slot since I haven't tried that yet.

NVIDIA GPUs that need webdrivers don't have macOS installer support, but since you wrote that is a flashed one, you can try to install 10.13.6 to a new disk. Others GPU you have won't work.

 

[tsialex]

I took out the SM951 today to put into a different PC. After that the cMP no longer showed a boot screen. I can hear the chime.

Btw, this was the disk of your OC ESP?

 

[ssj92]

Btw, this was the disk of your OC ESP?

Originally yes. I had installed macOS Monterey 12.4 on the 1TB drive at some point in time and had installed OC on that drive. I formatted the 512GB drive probably a month ago so it doesn't make sense it would cause this issue.

 

[ssj92]

Alright, nothing I try shows video output.

Before the 980Ti would show apple boot screen but even that has black screen.

Both GPUs work fine in a PC

 

[tsialex]

First thing, check the RTC BR2032 battery voltage, replace it if below 3.00V.

Now remove all SATA disks, disconnect all DVDs, remove all the PCIe cards, but your GPU, all PCIe disks and reset your NVRAM continuously at least 5 times.

Check if after that you have anything on your display, should have the grey screen with the blinking folder or your Mac Pro behaves differently at power on.

 

[ssj92]

First thing, check the RTC BR2032 battery voltage, replace it if below 3.00V.

Now remove all SATA disks, disconnect all DVDs, remove all the PCIe cards, but your GPU, all PCIe disks and reset your NVRAM continuously at least 5 times.

Check if after that you have anything on your display, should have the grey screen with the blinking folder or your Mac Pro behaves differently at power on.

BR2032 read 2.97V

Replaced with CR2032 , disconnected sata drive and dvd drive. only pcie device is 980ti, reset nvram 5 times, still nothing on screen.

I am using HDMI port on GPU but did try a DP to HDMI adapter and DVI to HDMI adapter and nothing.

 

[tsialex]

BR2032 read 2.97V

Replaced with CR2032 , disconnected sata drive and dvd drive. only pcie device is 980ti, reset nvram 5 times, still nothing on screen.

I am using HDMI port on GPU but did try a DP to HDMI adapter and DVI to HDMI adapter and nothing.

You are using a 4K or 1440p DP1.4+ Display? Did you tried with an older more compatible display?

 

[ssj92]

You are using a 4K or 1440p DP1.4+ Display? Did you tried with an older more compatible display?

Originally it was 4K panel but I've been trying a 1080p 60hz panel after first day and nothing.

I do have a super old dvi 1440x900 display I can try

 

[tsialex]

Originally it was 4K panel but I've been trying a 1080p 60hz panel after first day and nothing.

Pre-boot configuration support don't always work with all the GPU outputs, you should double check with all the outputs and with different cables/adapters. For example, my flashed HD 7870GHz don't work with pre-boot configuration support via HDMI, only DP and DVI.

If you tested the display/cables/GPU with another Mac Pro/PC and you are sure that everything works, maybe it's time to check the backplane/bypass the BootROM with a MATT card.