MP All Models Mac Pro Help Needed (New to macs)

[supra3turbo]

Hi All,

I have been given a Macpro, the only other mac i have is a 1990 ish Performa 630 which ive had since i was little, so i have no idea about the new ones, and know very little about the old ones.


It has a GT610 (i think) graphics card, and ddr2 ram, and i believe twin xenon processors, My friend got it working when he bought it, it had macos on it then he formatted the harddrives sold 3 of them and kept one in this machine.
I cannot get it to display anything on the screen, with one stick of ram in it makes the mac startup sound, then nothing at all on the screen, the motherboard diag button says trickle and power on i believe.

I would like to install some OS off a USB stick windows or Mac os then i can have a play with it.

What am i doing wrong, surely its something simple, i did read about something to do with pre post display output or somethig but im not sure.

Thanks - Joe

 

[MarkC426]

Find out which Mac Pro model you have, i.e. which year it was made, to start with.

 

[supra3turbo]

Find out which Mac Pro model you have, i.e. which year it was made, to start with.

it says on the bottom copyright 2006 so i think thats the year it was made, any serial numbers i can give you or anything?

 

[MarkC426]

This is a first generation macpro (1.1) then.

 

[supra3turbo]

This is a first generation macpro (1.1) then.

Ah ok, well im learning Ive left it on and its just a black screen and its restarted twice now and nothing, how do i get something on the screen? Surely there is a post, or bios or something

 

[MarkC426]

Try booting into recovery, see below.

Mac startup key combinations - Apple Support

Learn about the Mac features and tools that you can access by holding down one or more keys during startup.

support.apple.com

 

[supra3turbo]

Try booting into recovery, see below.

Mac startup key combinations - Apple Support

Learn about the Mac features and tools that you can access by holding down one or more keys during startup.

support.apple.com

Hi There,
I held the windows key and R down and all it does is flash the numlock caps and scroll lock lights over and over, still makes the mac sound though

 

[supra3turbo]

one thing i have noticed is the GPU present light does not light up, could this be the issue? it wa working perfectly fine until he formatted the harddrives, but i cant immagine software causing a no detect of the GPU?

Thanks - Joe

 

[supra3turbo]

Hi There,
I held the windows key and R down and all it does is flash the numlock caps and scroll lock lights over and over, still makes the mac sound though

now my keyboard is just flashing those lights connected to my windows pc and all the backlights have gone off.... this is so strange

 

[supra3turbo]

now my keyboard is just flashing those lights connected to my windows pc and all the backlights have gone off.... this is so strange

my corsair keyboard is now ruined as far as i can tell its just flashing the numlock lights and stuff, no backlight and half the keys dont work like the mac has somehow flashed it or something, if i hold the diag button down on the motherboard the gpu detect light blinks and goes off, im utterly confused here totally baffled as to whats going on

 

[MauiPa]

recycle bin?

 

[supra3turbo]

recycle bin?

if i was an utter imbecile and thought it was totally knackered i would have already thrown it, but it was working perfectly fine, as i am not used to macs, i need to know why there is no display output, is there supposed to be a post? a bios? i have no idea at all about them, thats why i am here asking people who use them and could possibly know about them.

If i am on the wrong forum and there is nobody here capable of delving into the technical side of things, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks - Joe

 

[supra3turbo]

recycle bin?

if i was an utter imbecile and thought it was totally knackered i would have already thrown it, but it was working perfectly fine, as i am not used to macs, i need to know why there is no display output, is there supposed to be a post? a bios? i have no idea at all about them, thats why i am here asking people who use them and could possibly know about them.

If i am on the wrong forum and there is nobody here capable of delving into the technical side of things, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks - Joe

 

[MarkC426]

Hang in there.
Some other member's will probably chime in, who know more about diagnostics etc.....

 

[Mactech20]

Hi Joe,

Here is a link to Mac Pro upgrade information- It will tell you more than anyone will here.

The Definitive Classic Mac Pro (2006-2012) Upgrade Guide

The largest/most-complete guide to all possible classic Mac Pro upgrades covering OS, Firmware, GPU, CPU, Storage, USB, THunderbolt and Network upgrades.

blog.greggant.com

Given that you have a 1,1 Mac Pro you are pretty limited with being able to do anything. The maximum supported operating system officially by Apple is Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 which came out in 2011. People can get it to El Capitan 10.11.6 with some hacking but even that came out in 2015.

The official supported windows operating system by apple is 32 bit Windows 7. Here is a link to bootcamp compatibility.

Install Windows 7 on your Mac using Boot Camp - Apple Support

Learn about the requirements and steps to install Microsoft Windows 7 on your Mac with Boot Camp.

support.apple.com

I have managed to get windows 10 64 bit running on a 1,1 Mac Pro but it took a couple hours and was exceptionally slow. I wouldn't attempt it unless you have a Solid State Drive and at least 8GB of Ram.

I would say the first thing you need to do is get Mac OS X Lion on your computer. You can find the link to download it here. It requires you have 2GB of ram.

Mac OS X Lion Installer - Apple Support

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is available for older systems that are not compatible with the latest version of macOS

support.apple.com

 

[supra3turbo]

Hang in there.
Some other member's will probably chime in, who know more about diagnostics etc.....

Yeah i will, ive not shot put the thing out of the door yet, i just thought it would be nice to have a mac setup as well, i always liked my 630, but with it being so old and scici harddrive i dont want it to die, as my grandma and grandad have some voice files on there i recorded when i was about 10, so i dont want to loose them.

im sure i will get there in the end, i wish it had onboard display output but it doesent seem to have, i have the original mac display here too but i didnt get sent the power supply with it so i cant try that, but ive tried DVI and HDMI on this GT610 and nothing at all.

 

[Mactech20]

Yeah i will, ive not shot put the thing out of the door yet, i just thought it would be nice to have a mac setup as well, i always liked my 630, but with it being so old and scici harddrive i dont want it to die, as my grandma and grandad have some voice files on there i recorded when i was about 10, so i dont want to loose them.

im sure i will get there in the end, i wish it had onboard display output but it doesent seem to have, i have the original mac display here too but i didnt get sent the power supply with it so i cant try that, but ive tried DVI and HDMI on this GT610 and nothing at all.

If the video card is dead- I would pick up one of these. Official Apple Card and pretty cheap.

Apple ATI Radeon HD 4870 512mb PCIe Video Graphics Card 630-9854 for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple ATI Radeon HD 4870 512mb PCIe Video Graphics Card 630-9854 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[supra3turbo]

Hi Joe,

Here is a link to Mac Pro upgrade information- It will tell you more than anyone will here.

The Definitive Classic Mac Pro (2006-2012) Upgrade Guide

The largest/most-complete guide to all possible classic Mac Pro upgrades covering OS, Firmware, GPU, CPU, Storage, USB, THunderbolt and Network upgrades.

blog.greggant.com

Given that you have a 1,1 Mac Pro you are pretty limited with being able to do anything. The maximum supported operating system officially by Apple is Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 which came out in 2011. People can get it to El Capitan 10.11.6 with some hacking but even that came out in 2015.

The official supported windows operating system by apple is 32 bit Windows 7. Here is a link to bootcamp compatibility.

Install Windows 7 on your Mac using Boot Camp - Apple Support

Learn about the requirements and steps to install Microsoft Windows 7 on your Mac with Boot Camp.

support.apple.com

I have managed to get windows 10 64 bit running on a 1,1 Mac Pro but it took a couple hours and was exceptionally slow. I wouldn't attempt it unless you have a Solid State Drive and at least 8GB of Ram.

I would say the first thing you need to do is get Mac OS X Lion on your computer. You can find the link to download it here. It requires you have 2GB of ram.

Mac OS X Lion Installer - Apple Support

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is available for older systems that are not compatible with the latest version of macOS

support.apple.com

Hi There,

THank you for your reply.

I have about 32gb of ram alltogether but im running 4gb at the moment, i will try and figure out how to get the operating system to install, but with no display output i just cant see it happening. Its like the motherboard needs drivers to output a display i will have a read and try and figure it out, can i get this mac OS to install from a USB stick because i have one here with windows 10 on that still doesent turn the screen on or whatever, can i just use windows to put macOS on the usb stick?

I have a 1TB SSD here ready to go in it when i can get it working

 

[GMShadow]

Your friend gave you a boat anchor.

It won't boot with one stick of RAM - the system needs them installed in pairs, one on each card on the corresponding slot.

If it's truly a GT610 that won't show a boot screen because it's not a Mac capable card. That's not an issue when there's an OS installed, but you won't be able to install an OS without a Mac certified card because you can't get the boot screen to select a boot option.

You'll need the correct card for a 1,1, either a Mac capable 7300 GT, an Intel Mac capable X1900XT, or the Mac certified Quadro FX 4500.

 

[supra3turbo]

Your friend gave you a boat anchor.

It won't boot with one stick of RAM - the system needs them installed in pairs, one on each card on the corresponding slot.

If it's truly a GT610 that won't show a boot screen because it's not a Mac capable card. That's not an issue when there's an OS installed, but you won't be able to install an OS without a Mac certified card because you can't get the boot screen to select a boot option.

You'll need the correct card for a 1,1, either a Mac capable 7300 GT, an Intel Mac capable X1900XT, or the Mac certified Quadro FX 4500.

There we go thats the issue then.

I need a mac capable graphics card, it was working fine he had 16gb of ram detected, and some more in a box, he formatted the harddrive and then gave it to me, so the reason its not working is because the graphics card cant see anything to output, if there was a pre installed OS on the drive, it would boot right into MacOS?

This makes sense i think, ive been pulling my hair out trying to understand it, ive worked with windows since i was about 13 and im 32 now, so this is totally new for me.

I will try and either get a macOS installed to a harddrive or get a graphics card thats compatable with this machine with no OS on, and install it that way

Thanks all - Joe

 

[supra3turbo]

all i have at the moment is a laptop running windows 10, is there a way to install the right version of macOS to something (usb stick or a partition on the harddrive) and just swap it into the mac? just a thought haha

 

[Mactech20]

Hi There,

THank you for your reply.

I have about 32gb of ram alltogether but im running 4gb at the moment, i will try and figure out how to get the operating system to install, but with no display output i just cant see it happening. Its like the motherboard needs drivers to output a display i will have a read and try and figure it out, can i get this mac OS to install from a USB stick because i have one here with windows 10 on that still doesent turn the screen on or whatever, can i just use windows to put macOS on the usb stick?

I have a 1TB SSD here ready to go in it when i can get it working

To my knowledge, You can't get lion to install with a USB stick but I might be wrong. If Command Option R keys isnt pulling up internet recovery which I don't think it will for a system so old you will most likely need to burn it to a DVD. The ATI Radeon 4870 is a decent choice for your tower. It originally came out with the 2009 Mac Pro but will work in any Mac Pro as long as it has an operating system between 10.5-10.13.

There are plenty of links online to installs like this: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-burn-your-own-os-x-lion-install-dvd-or-usb-drive-5823096

Every one I have found however requires a Mac to begin with. You could always buy a cheap installer off of eBay?

You won't be able to do this from a windows machine because the format needs to be Macos extended Journaled which isn't available on windows.

 

[deconstruct60]

one thing i have noticed is the GPU present light does not light up, could this be the issue? it wa working perfectly fine until he formatted the harddrives,

Have you tired to remove the GPU completely and then reseat it and reconnect power. If transported on a bumpy ride there is small chance .

The light is for a Apple sanctioned Mac compatible GPU. Random GPUs won't necessarily light that up.


Mac OS X versions from way back in the distant era that will run on a Mac 1,1 typically came on CD-ROMs . [ They were non-free OS upgrades that had to buy and typically folks want a material thing when they buy a OS in those days. ] Technically, the CD-ROM that came with the machine should have been given to you on the transfer. ( exactly to get around corrupted boot drives like this on Macs that can't internet boot into recovery. The copy of Mac OS X is suppose to be transfered with the machine. ) Mostly likely though this is a resale of a resale. ( changed hands two or more times and CD ROM got lost along the way. )

 

[deconstruct60]

To my knowledge, You can't get lion to install with a USB stick but I might be wrong. If Command Option R keys isnt pulling up internet recovery which I don't think it will for a system so old you will most likely need to burn it to a DVD.

"... macOS Internet Recovery is a new part of macOS. If your Mac was manufactured from late 2011 onwards and is running OSX 10.7 (Lion) or later, then you will be able to use Internet Recovery Mode with no adjustments required. ..."
How to Reinstall macOS in Internet Recovery Mode (mackeeper.com)

Apple did some firmware updates for some 2010 Macs to loop them in also, but 2006 model isn't even oriented to boot 64-bit firmware let alone something from the 2011 era.
The 2006 (1,1) Mac Pro has been on the obsolete list for many, many years.


There are some folks selling Apple OS X CD-ROM disks. ( may be a mac repair shop or very long term Mac business user that might let someone temporary use an boot CD to see if get the system running. )


There are uploaded disk ISOs out there ( may or may not be secure and at least "off the reservation" legal wise. ). And ISO image is an ISO imagine; windows can burn that because not particularly looking at the individual files in a ISO image... the whole disk is a bunch of bits. typically on Macs though disk images are kept in a .DMG ( disk image file); Windows doesn't really handle that.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Just scanned through this thread...and in case nobody posted full specs, nicely consolidated here.