MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 5,1 - x5690 - Windows 10

[chacheebuns]

Hey all,

I recently picked up some 2x x5690's and installed them in my cMP. In windows, under system information, its only using 1 cpu out of the 2 (showing 6 cores, 12 processors) but under device manager showing 24 processors. I originally thought it was because i had windows home edition so I upgraded to pro and im still getting the same issue. Any ideas?

 

[Soba]

[Edits: Corrected link to BootROM thread. Thanks, Alex! Also clarified some points.]

Not sure this will help your problem, but I note from your screenshot you're running BootROM version MP51.887.0085.B00 (it's a bit hard to see as it's almost obscured behind one of your red highlighting rectangles). This is an older BootROM and might cause problems with Windows 10, as Alex points out below.

1) Upgrade your BootROM to 144.0.0.0, though doing so will require a Metal GPU. Note that you don't need to install Mojave to update the BootROM; you just need to run the Mojave installer and then quit it after updating the BootROM. See the first post in this thread:

MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)

Please fully read this first post, you will probably find that you have one or more problems described into the various notes below. Mojave will only install if you have upgraded your BootROM to the current release and your Mac Pro have a Metal capable GPU*. If you are trying to install Mojave...

forums.macrumors.com

If you do not have a Metal GPU, at least update your BootROM to MP51.0089.B00 using the High Sierra 10.13.6 full installer from the Mac App Store. The instructions for this are also in the linked thread.

2) If the problem persists after BootROM update, try forcing Windows to re-detect your CPUs.

I suspect your issue is because you were running Windows 10 Home (which does not support more than 1 physical CPU) and then Windows did not properly detect the CPUs when you upgraded to Windows 10 Pro.

A possible "solution" would be to do a clean install of Windows 10 Pro and then I suspect your problem will disappear. This might be a royal pain in the neck if you have a lot of things already installed and configured in Windows.

Device Manager is displaying the correct CPU info, so I don't expect this to help, but try right-clicking each CPU in Device Manager, then selecting Uninstall (yes, all 24 of them). Then immediately reboot the system and see if anything changes.

3) If this still does not help, I'm curious what you see when you run msconfig and if the system is being artificially limited to fewer cores. Can you follow the instructions from this page under "Changing Core Settings in Windows 10" and report back as to what is showing in msconfig?

How To Enable All Cores in Windows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8zA6C4T-JM The evolution of Central Processing Units, or CPUs, is a fascinating and complex topic to study. From the

www.techjunkie.com

 

[tsialex]

Not sure this will help your problem, but I note from your screenshot you're running BootROM version MP51.887.0085.B00 (it's a bit hard to see as it's almost obscured behind one of your red highlighting rectangles). Upgrading to 144.0.0.0 is probably a good idea, though doing so will require a Metal GPU. Note that you don't need to install Mojave to update the BootROM; you just need to run the Mojave installer and then quit it after updating the BootROM. See the first post in this thread:

MP5,1: BootROM thread | 144.0.0.0.0

For MacPro5,1 BootROM upgrades, please read the first post of the thread below to know how to do the firmware upgrade: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mp5-1-what-you-have-to-do-to-upgrade-to-mojave-bootrom-upgrade-instructions-thread.2142418/ For MP4,1 to MP5,1 cross firmware flashing...

forums.macrumors.com

I suspect your issue is because you were running Home, which does not support more than 1 physical CPU, and then Windows did not properly detect things when you upgraded to Pro. A possible "solution" would be to do a clean install of Windows 10 Pro and then I suspect your problem will disappear. This might be a royal pain in the neck if you have a lot of things already installed and configured in Windows.

Device Manager is displaying the correct CPU info, so I don't expect this to do anything, but try right-clicking each CPU in Device Manager, then selecting Uninstall (yes, all 24 of them). Then immediately reboot the system and see if anything changes.

If that does not help, I'm curious what you see when you run msconfig and if the system is being artificially limited to fewer cores. Can you follow the instructions from this page under "Changing Core Settings in Windows 10" and report back as to what is showing in msconfig?

How To Enable All Cores in Windows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8zA6C4T-JM The evolution of Central Processing Units, or CPUs, is a fascinating and complex topic to study. From the

www.techjunkie.com

BootROM thread is for advanced users and won't make sense for most people, this is the detailed one:

MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)

Please fully read this first post, you will probably find that you have one or more problems described into the various notes below. Mojave will only install if you have upgraded your BootROM to the current release and your Mac Pro have a Metal capable GPU*. If you are trying to install Mojave...

forums.macrumors.com

@chacheebuns don't use Windows 10 with any BootROM earlier than MP51.0089.B00, you will have serious problems with Intel microcode and never use it with MP51.0087.B00, you will brick your Mac Pro.

 

[chacheebuns]

Thanks @Soba and @tsialex. Needed a fresh install of windows for it to see both cpus. Also updated to BootROM MP51.0089.B00. Cant go any further as I dont have a metal gpu. Gonna try to see if i get one.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Spacedust]

Got the same issue under Windows 8.1 running latest Bootrom 144.0.0.0. Replaced 2x X5675's with 2x X5690's and macOS sees both CPU, while Windows sees just one.

 

[tsialex]

Got the same issue under Windows 8.1 running latest Bootrom 144.0.0.0. Replaced 2x X5675's with 2x X5690's and macOS sees both CPU, while Windows sees just one.

Windows version? I'm not sure for 8.1, but for Windows 10 only Pro and Workstation can use and recognize physical dual CPU processors.

 

[Soba]

Got the same issue under Windows 8.1 running latest Bootrom 144.0.0.0. Replaced 2x X5675's with 2x X5690's and macOS sees both CPU, while Windows sees just one.

This is a common problem when changing CPUs on any system, unfortunately (PCs as well as Macs).

I'm going to assume that you are not using Windows 8.1 Home and thus Windows correctly detected both physical CPUs before the upgrade, but if suggestions 2 & 3 in my post above don't yield results for you, a reinstall of Windows might be the best way, which I realize is not exciting.