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joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
The other day my Mac Pro was suddenly unable to connect to my monitor. I've tried all the usual tricks and connecting to a different monitor but have had no luck. The Mac itself seems to be running as normal, along with the graphics card.
 

hwojtek

macrumors 68020
Jan 26, 2008
2,274
1,277
Poznan, Poland
1. How do you know it's "running normal, along with the graphics card"?
2. What graphics card do you use?
3. What ports do you use?
 

joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
1. How do you know it's "running normal, along with the graphics card"?
2. What graphics card do you use?
3. What ports do you use?

Thanks for the quick reply!
1. Well I guess I don't know for certain that everything Is running as normal. The Chime sound still works. A nvram reset still works. The fans on the graphics card are still running.
2. Radeon RX580
3. I use the stock USB 2.0 for audio equipment on the front, the HDMI for graphics and USB 3.0 PCIe for HDs etc
 

MarkC426

macrumors 68040
May 14, 2008
3,700
2,097
UK
Do the fans on GPU stop after boot.
An RX580 fans only usually fire up when under load.
Have you tried the other gpu ports to the monitor.
 

joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
Do the fans on GPU stop after boot.
An RX580 fans only usually fire up when under load.
Have you tried the other gpu ports to the monitor.

The GPU fans continue to run after boot.
No, I'll try that!
 

MIKX

macrumors 68000
Dec 16, 2004
1,815
691
Japan
What cables are you using ? Should be Dual Mini 6 pin to 8pin

I suggest that you shut down.

Remove the Mac Pro's power cord.

Remove the GPU

Replace it

Take out the GPU cable, then replace it.

Do the THREE CONSECUTIVE " Happy Mac Chimes NVRAM re-set like this.
NVRAM_PRAM_ResetMac.jpg

( Don't let go of the above keys until you hear the THIRD CHIME.

NOTE : If you have an ACTIVE Display Port to HDMI cable ( or an ACTIVE DP to HDMI adapter ) use that.
I use one from this company - check their cables selection if you don't need a 4k one.
https://en.j5create.com/products/jda158
 

joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
What cables are you using ? Should be Dual Mini 6 pin to 8pin

I suggest that you shut down.

Remove the Mac Pro's power cord.

Remove the GPU

Replace it

Take out the GPU cable, then replace it.

Do the THREE CONSECUTIVE " Happy Mac Chimes NVRAM re-set like this.
View attachment 960725
( Don't let go of the above keys until you hear the THIRD CHIME.

NOTE : If you have an ACTIVE Display Port to HDMI cable ( or an ACTIVE DP to HDMI adapter ) use that.
I use one from this company - check their cables selection if you don't need a 4k one.
https://en.j5create.com/products/jda158

I've tried all these and no luck again ?
 

hwojtek

macrumors 68020
Jan 26, 2008
2,274
1,277
Poznan, Poland
This leads to a conclusion that your card is dead (fans running are not a sign of a working GPU).
A chime does indicate a system powering on normally, so it's rather not the whole computer gone bust.

If you have another Mac, make your MP boot and check the network in Finder. You should see your MP as another device in the network. This will make sure your computer boots properly, albeit without working video.

And try any other video card. Any card will do, even without boot screens, it's only to make sure if it's indeed the AMD that's gone.
[automerge]1601414951[/automerge]
 

jscipione

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2017
429
243
This leads to a conclusion that your card is dead (fans running are not a sign of a working GPU).
A chime does indicate a system powering on normally, so it's rather not the whole computer gone bust.

If you have another Mac, make your MP boot and check the network in Finder. You should see your MP as another device in the network. This will make sure your computer boots properly, albeit without working video.

And try any other video card. Any card will do, even without boot screens, it's only to make sure if it's indeed the AMD that's gone.
[automerge]1601414951[/automerge]

Not all RX 580 cards spin the fan down on idle so this does not mean that your card is dead. I’ve experienced the same problem but I don’t know how to fix it other than what you’ve already done which is to power the machine all the way down, give it a few seconds, then turn it back on. If that doesn’t work try a PRAM reset, and if that doesn’t work theN you need to look for other problems. One time this happened to me and removing the USB3 card fixed the issue, but I have no clue why.
 

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
13,602
Start connecting your Mac Pro via ScreenSharing from another Mac and check SystemInformation to see if the GPU is still recognised.

Then install another GPU and check if everything is working, could be a problem not related with the RX 580 itself.
 
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joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
Start connecting your Mac Pro via ScreenSharing from another Mac and check SystemInformation to see if the GPU is still recognised.

Then install another GPU and check if everything is working, could be a problem not related with the RX 580 itself.

I don't think screensharing is turned on on my MP.

So I've tried the stock Nvidia GTX680 and I've now got picture, but it stays on this loading screen and doesn't move...
 

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tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
13,602
I don't think screensharing is turned on on my MP.

So I've tried the stock Nvidia GTX680 and I've now got picture, but it stays on this loading screen and doesn't move...
So, your problem is not directly related to the GPU itself, it's probably the macOS install or your main drive. Test with a clean install on another drive.

Mojave won't install with a GTX 680 from a macOS USB install disk, only works from macOS to another disk, so use High Sierra or earlier.
 

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,656
8,587
Hong Kong
I don't think screensharing is turned on on my MP.

So I've tried the stock Nvidia GTX680 and I've now got picture, but it stays on this loading screen and doesn't move...
As Tsialex said, your problem is NOT GPU related, but macOS's (software) issue.

Your RX580 won't display until GPU driver is loaded (unless you flash it, or using OpenCore etc).

Therefore, if your macOS stuck at early boot stage. No GPU driver is loaded, and your RX580 won't display anything.

Assuming your recovery partition still working correct. You should able to boot recovery partition with the RX580 only.

You may do the followings

1) Shutdown

2) remove the GTX680, and install the RX580

3) connect only one monitor to the RX580 (prefer via Display port)

4) hold Command + R to boot

the cMP should boot to recovery partition, and you should able to see the screen.

Then you can re-install macOS at there (just cover on top, no need to delete / format anything).

If you are lucky enough, your cMP should able to boot to desktop again. However, if still doesn't work, that means not the macOS itself's issue, but some other 3rd party softwares stuck during boot.

In that case, you may able to boot safe mode with your GTX680. Then you can remove the problematic software (if you know which one).

Or, most likely a quicker way, boot to recovery partition with RX580, format the hard drive, and perform a clean macOS installation.
 

joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
As Tsialex said, your problem is NOT GPU related, but macOS's (software) issue.

Your RX580 won't display until GPU driver is loaded (unless you flash it, or using OpenCore etc).

Therefore, if your macOS stuck at early boot stage. No GPU driver is loaded, and your RX580 won't display anything.

Assuming your recovery partition still working correct. You should able to boot recovery partition with the RX580 only.

You may do the followings

1) Shutdown

2) remove the GTX680, and install the RX580

3) connect only one monitor to the RX580 (prefer via Display port)

4) hold Command + R to boot

the cMP should boot to recovery partition, and you should able to see the screen.

Then you can re-install macOS at there (just cover on top, no need to delete / format anything).

If you are lucky enough, your cMP should able to boot to desktop again. However, if still doesn't work, that means not the macOS itself's issue, but some other 3rd party softwares stuck during boot.

In that case, you may able to boot safe mode with your GTX680. Then you can remove the problematic software (if you know which one).

Or, most likely a quicker way, boot to recovery partition with RX580, format the hard drive, and perform a clean macOS installation.


This looks great, thanks a lot.
I've ordered a displayport cable as I haven't got one, however with the HDMI cable I cannot boot to recovery mode. I've tested this with other HDMI cables and I still get the same problem.
I'll let you know how I get on when the cable arrives tomorrow.
 

joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
My displayport cable has arrived and it's still not working...
 

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
13,602
Install your working GPU, remove your mind disk, then do a clean install of 10.12.6 or 10.13.6 on another disk. After you get your Mac Pro working again, test your RX 580.
 

joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
Install your working GPU, remove your mind disk, then do a clean install of 10.12.6 or 10.13.6 on another disk. After you get your Mac Pro working again, test your RX 580.

I've got Sierra on another drive which I've installed and I'm still getting the same Apple boot screen as before.
 

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
13,602
I've got Sierra on another drive which I've installed and I'm still getting the same Apple boot screen as before.
Sierra is not exactly a reliable way to test the GPU since only completely updated (10.12.6 + Security Updates) will work with RX580.

If Sierra is working with your backup GPU, fully update it before testing the RX 580.
 

joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
Sierra is not exactly a reliable way to test the GPU since only completely updated (10.12.6 + Security Updates) will work with RX580.

If Sierra is working with your backup GPU, fully update it before testing the RX 580.

I'm testing it with the Stock GPU not the RX 580 and I'm still getting the same screen
 

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
13,602
I'm testing it with the Stock GPU not the RX 580 and I'm still getting the same screen
Remove all disks, any PCIe cards, simplify your Mac Pro to barebones.

Do a clean install on a new drive that you are sure that is working. See if you can get it going again.

If not, then you need to run AHT/ASD and do all the diagnostic steps.
 

joelgg

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
51
4
Remove all disks, any PCIe cards, simplify your Mac Pro to barebones.

Do a clean install on a new drive that you are sure that is working. See if you can get it going again.

If not, then you need to run AHT/ASD and do all the diagnostic steps.

This is the outcome of the new High Sierra Drive. Sometimes the bar would load further, but would never finish

How can I do a AHT/ASD on my MP? I've tried holding D and Option D but no luck?

IMG_1654.jpg
 

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
13,602
This is the outcome of the new High Sierra Drive. Sometimes the bar would load further, but would never finish

How can I do a AHT/ASD on my MP? I've tried holding D and Option D but no luck?

View attachment 963074
This GitHub article shows how to download/install/run AHT:

 
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