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Mac Pro Repair

drewsof07

drewsof07

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Oct 30, 2006
2,018
445
Ohio
One of my worst fears has come to pass, not hearing a "Bonnng!" followed by seeing the gray apple on my trusty 2008 Mac Pro. After beginning a major project for work last week (of course) I put it to sleep for the night, came back the next day, and nothing. After pulling all but the primary hard drive and original RAM, resetting SMC or whatever it is called these days, attempting a PRAM reset, and firmware button reset, I get nothing but fans and a blinking power light. No logic board status lights are lit and the riser card lights flash at boot as they should.
Had to resort to lugging the 50lb beast to the Apple store that is 70 miles away.
Genius tried most of the usual tricks: target disk, SMC reset, etc. before "admitting" it for repair with "no idea what could be wrong," over $1500 of parts on order and an estimated repair time of 10-14 days :(

I don't see much in the way of information or history on Mac Pro repairs here; what, if any experiences have you all had with desktop repairs in-store? I've read various horror stories online about Mac Pro repairs starting then they cascade until the computer is either out of warranty or replaced as a "lemon."
 
dimme said:
Are you under Applecare? If so don't worry.
Click to expand...
I do have Applecare, but I added a lot of 3rd party equipment (RAM, GPUs, ODD, Wifi). Just hoping they don't try to pin the failure on those components.
(I removed everything that wasn't stock and still got the same result, btw). And it all worked fine for the months preceding.
I think I'm just a worry wart :eek:
 
I know you said you pulled all but the ram and boot disk, but did you remove the graphics card as well? I've seen a number of threads where a busted video card stumped Apple "geniuses" and ended up being the culprit all along!
 
Johnf1285 said:
I know you said you pulled all but the ram and boot disk, but did you remove the graphics card as well? I've seen a number of threads where a busted video card stumped Apple "geniuses" and ended up being the culprit all along!
Click to expand...

I did not. I didn't think the GPU would affect booting. I'm not even getting a boot tone, doesn't the tone signal that the CPU and RAM check out before even registering the other components?
 
Any news on this?

Did you try to troubleshoot it by removing the GPU, resetting pram and nvram and all that jazz and then boot it before you had sent it to the Applestore? If you heard the startup sound then, then I would say its the GPU (obviously you won't be seeing anything unless you have another GPU on hand).

Which GPU does your Mac Pro have? These modern GPU's run very hot and some seem to be prone to failure after about 2-3 years which is pretty unfortunate.

Edit -

I realize you do have Applecare, but having these "geniuses" tinkering away on your computer replacing needless part after part is a waste of time. Hopefully they narrow down which component had failed without keeping you out of commission for too long!
 
Thanks for your reply, yeah I tried everything I could think of and rebooted after each one. Just fans and a blinking power indicator.
I have 2 of the nVidia GT120s, I upgraded from the original ATI 2600 that came with it. I dropped it off on Feb 3rd, I have heard nothing since and this makes day 10 without my Mac Pro :(
I'm concerned at this point...

Johnf1285 said:
Any news on this?

Did you try to troubleshoot it by removing the GPU, resetting pram and nvram and all that jazz and then boot it before you had sent it to the Applestore? If you heard the startup sound then, then I would say its the GPU (obviously you won't be seeing anything unless you have another GPU on hand).

Which GPU does your Mac Pro have? These modern GPU's run very hot and some seem to be prone to failure after about 2-3 years which is pretty unfortunate.

Edit -

I realize you do have Applecare, but having these "geniuses" tinkering away on your computer replacing needless part after part is a waste of time. Hopefully they narrow down which component had failed without keeping you out of commission for too long!
Click to expand...
 
Well when I've had this failure, it's been one of two things: blown video card, or bad RAM. Are you sure you didn't have a bad stick of RAM?
 
Velin said:
Well when I've had this failure, it's been one of two things: blown video card, or bad RAM. Are you sure you didn't have a bad stick of RAM?
Click to expand...

I took every stick out and tried booting with only 1GB stick of RAM. I then replaced that one with another and tried rebooting again with the same results. I figured the odds of two different brands failing at the exact same time was slim to none.
 
Update:
Just got a call from my Apple store. They have replaced both the logic board and PSU and still cannot get my machine to boot. The genius is going to set up a replacement, pull all my 3rd party gear, and have a CTO computer shipped to the store for me to pick up.

I love Applecare :D
 
drewsof07 said:
Update:
Just got a call from my Apple store. They have replaced both the logic board and PSU and still cannot get my machine to boot. The genius is going to set up a replacement, pull all my 3rd party gear, and have a CTO computer shipped to the store for me to pick up.

I love Applecare :D
Click to expand...

Awesome to hear!
 
drewsof07 said:
Update:
Just got a call from my Apple store. They have replaced both the logic board and PSU and still cannot get my machine to boot. The genius is going to set up a replacement, pull all my 3rd party gear, and have a CTO computer shipped to the store for me to pick up.

I love Applecare :D
Click to expand...

now that is the rockstar treatment:)
 
karsten said:
now that is the rockstar treatment:)
Click to expand...

It was quite nice. Turns out they had a match at the store for my specs, so I went in tonight and picked up the new machine as well as my parts neatly wrapped in static bags. The genius even let me keep the original primary drive so I can do my own migration at home. 5 stars as far as I'm concerned. Now to get back to my installation :p
 
exactly the opposite experience

My 2009 quad core Nehalem suffered 3 logic board failures in 12 months.

Every time I sent it back for repair, the shipping cost me $600 both ways.

Apple refused to replace the machine so on the last trip back for repair I told Powermax to keep it and I took a $1300 credit.

From now on I am buying laptops only - I'm not going through that again.

I really like Apple products but that whole experience has dampened my zeal somewhat.
 
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