MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 5,1 will not power on. Turns off a few seconds after powering on.

[srscott]

Hi,

My Mac Pro tower 5,1 Mid 2010, will not stay powered on. After powering on the computer I hear the fans start and then around 5 seconds it will power of. The symptoms appear to be sporadic. If I keep messing around with it by powering it of and on again it will eventually stay powered on and work normally. I would leave it powered on for days and it would seem fine. Then eventually I’ll come back to the PC after a few days and it would be powered off. And the whole process starts again where I would keep playing with the power and it will eventually stay powered on for a while.

I originally thought it was the memory because when removing the all the RAM sticks and only leaving 1 - 4GB stick in and powering the computer on it seemed to be more consistent in powering on. However that was short lived recently because I left the machine powered on overnight and in the morning same issue. The computer again shut down on it’s on.

I would really like to correct the issue. Yes the computer is a Mid 2010 Mac but it is a great machine and I would hate to have to get rid of it. It has 24GB RAM and 4 drives..

If anyone has any ideas on what the component could be that is causing my issue please help. I’m not sure it the Processor/RAM tray causing the issue or possibly the motherboard. In either case I would purchase a replacement if I knew for sure which component it is.

Does anyone know of a repair shop that specializes in the older Macs that can help diagnose exactly what my issue is? I’m located in CT but would ship the PC to a repair shop that could help.

Thank you for any help you can provide.

-Sean

 

[fastlanephil]

I assume you have tried resetting the SMC.

Could it be a bad PSU?

 

[srscott]

Hi,

sorry I should have put the steps I’ve tried.

yes I tried resetting the SMC as well as the PRAM. I’ve checked the diagnostic lights on the motherboard and nothing jumps out. It’s just weird because one minute nothing works and the next I’ll reset the smc, unplug the power then plug it back in and power on and the unit works for a little while; but then shuts down after a few days.

Sometimes it will run without issue for weeks at a time. Anything’s possible but I didn’t think it was the PSU because it’s always getting power. But its possible it maybe not be getting full power.
I thought maybe the CPU tray or motherboard. If you have any other ideas please let me know..

Thank you for replying.
[automerge]1590339244[/automerge]

 

[Rico Muerte]

I had an issue with a 3,1 about 5yrs ago where it would only stayed powered for 20mins at a time, & as it got worse 5-10mins at a time. Ended up being the logic board that needed replacing.
If you can get your hands on a PSU try replacing that (really easy job). If it's not that, then perhaps the main board...
At least with the 4,1/5,1 machines have a separate logic/CPU board

 

[srscott]

I’m going to try starting with the PSU as you guys have suggested. I will update the thread once I’m able to determine if that resolved the issue.

Thank you,