Resolved Mac Pro Server (Mid 2012) strange antics powering up

[JedNZ]

So is getting a Matt card something I should seriously consider as a solution to my cMP not booting? 65Euro (is this the right one?) seems much cheaper than sourcing a backplane (NZ$300+ to ship to NZ).

If it does boot with the Matt card will I be able to ever repair my cMP, or will this be a permanent fix, and is the only negative that iCloud/Messages/FaceTime will never be able to be used?

 

[tsialex]

So is getting a Matt card something I should seriously consider as a solution to my cMP not booting? 65Euro (is this the right one?) seems much cheaper than sourcing a backplane (NZ$300+ to ship to NZ).

If it does boot with the Matt card will I be able to ever repair my cMP, or will this be a permanent fix, and is the only negative that iCloud/Messages/FaceTime will never be able to be used?

MATT card is a replacement SPI. Remove it, you won't boot anymore. If your problem is really a brick, it will be a solution for you.

The problem here is that you are not sure if the SPI flash and it's a steep price to pay to diagnose. Don't you know anybody that can remove the SOIC-8 chip for you?

I can program a replacement SPI flash for you, but you probably can get a replacement SPI and a ch341a SPI programmer from China for the same price of the postage here.

Ask your friends, maybe someone can desolder it for you.

 

[JedNZ]

I don't personally know any other people who are into cMPs, let alone anyone who knows what they're doing with Macs or PCs. My brother programmes and builds his own PCBs - mad inventor, and maybe he has the gear so maybe I can reach out to him.

I read your posts when you replaced your SPI trash (very nice work!) but I got a bit lost trying to work out which parts I would need if I were to give it a go - any chance you can confirm the actual items I would need if I do decide to go ahead:
SPI Flash: SST 25VF032B, like this one.
ch341a SPI programmer: like this one.
Hot air rework station: like this one.

I've bought a cMP 5,1 backplane on eBay last night from the US (more $$$ + shipping and customs tax etc) and will see if that will allow my cMP to boot up - it'll take a couple of weeks for it to arrive. If that doesn't work, what else could be the problem?

Unfortunately I didn't backup the BootROM when I first got this 5,1. It didn't even dawn on me to do it. I just did the firmware updates to 144.0.0.0.0 as I was hoping to put a NVMe blade in it. So I've gone and backed up the BootROMs in my other 3 x cMP (all 4,1>5,1) so that if they suffer a similar issue then at least I've got a chance of recovering them (with your help of course).

 

[tsialex]

Any chance you can confirm the actual items I would need if I do decide to go ahead:
SPI Flash: SST 25VF032B, like this one.
ch341a SPI programmer: like this one.
Hot air rework station: like this one.

All will work, but it's better to buy a ch341a kit with a SOIC clip or a ZIF adapter (200mil is the needed model, not the 150mil), so you don't have to solder on the adapter PCB for programming, like this one:

EEPROM BIOS USB Programmer CH341A + SOIC8 Clip + 1.8V Adapter +SOIC8 Adapter Kit

Note that this kit only have the 150mil ZIF adapter and MP5,1 SPI flash is 200mil. The included SOIC-8 clip works for both sizes.

There are cheaper hot air rework stations, but the one you linked is very reasonable.

I've bought a cMP 5,1 backplane on eBay last night from the US (more $$$ + shipping and customs tax etc) and will see if that will allow my cMP to boot up - it'll take a couple of weeks for it to arrive. If that doesn't work, what else could be the problem?

Since you already confirmed that your PSU and CPU tray are working, the only other thing that could make a backplane don't start up is the cabling or the power button.

Unfortunately I didn't backup the BootROM when I first got this 5,1. It didn't even dawn on me to do it. I just did the firmware updates to 144.0.0.0.0 as I was hoping to put a NVMe blade in it. So I've gone and backed up the BootROMs in my other 3 x cMP (all 4,1>5,1) so that if they suffer a similar issue then at least I've got a chance of recovering them (with your help of course).

Dump the original SPI flash, even if the content is corrupted, sometimes some of the hardwareIDs can still be read and will make the reconstruction easier.

Take photos the labels of the original backplane and the case, you will need it later.

 

[JedNZ]

All will work, but it's better to buy a ch341a kit with a SOIC clip or a ZIF adapter (200mil is the needed model, not the 150mil), so you don't have to solder on the adapter PCB for programming, like this one:

EEPROM BIOS USB Programmer CH341A + SOIC8 Clip + 1.8V Adapter +SOIC8 Adapter Kit

Note that this kit only have the 150mil ZIF adapter and MP5,1 SPI flash is 200mil. The included SOIC-8 clip works for both sizes.

There are cheaper hot air rework stations, but the one you linked is very reasonable.



Since you already confirmed that your PSU and CPU tray are working, the only other thing that could make a backplane don't start up is the cabling or the power button.



Dump the original SPI flash, even if the content is corrupted, sometimes some of the hardwareIDs can still be read and will make the reconstruction easier.

Take photos the labels of the original backplane and the case, you will need it later.

Brilliant. I spoke to my brother and he has all the gear and quite a lot of experience with hot air rework stations and working with components on PCBs, so I think I’ll pull on his experience rather than doing it all myself.

I’ll inspect the power button more closely. Could a faulty power button cause the cMP to crash?

 

[tsialex]

Brilliant. I spoke to my brother and he has all the gear and quite a lot of experience with hot air rework stations and working with components on PCBs, so I think I’ll pull on his experience rather than doing it all myself.

I’ll inspect the power button more closely. Could a faulty power button cause the cMP to crash?

It's possible, but it's very unlikely and the power button can be bypassed, PCB has pads for you to power on without the power button.

 

[JedNZ]

It's possible, but it's very unlikely and the power button can be bypassed, PCB has pads for you to power on without the power button.

Yeah I tried to jump the pads and it wouldn’t start.

Can I dump the SPI while it’s still in the cMP, or would I have to remove it first? Also, if I can dump it while it’s still attached to the backplane, do I just leave the cMP plugged in and then dump it, or does it have to have power jumped to it? I remember seeing a post about 3.3V somewhere - I don’t know anything about doing any of this.

 

[tsialex]

Yeah I tried to jump the pads and it wouldn’t start.

Can I dump the SPI while it’s still in the cMP, or would I have to remove it first? Also, if I can dump it while it’s still attached to the backplane, so I just leave the cMP plugged in and then dump it, or does it have to have power jumped to it? I remember seeing a post about 3.3V somewhere - o don’t know anything about doing any of this.

Removed. SOIC-8 clips don't work with MP5,1, Apple wired the circuit in a way that you can't read the SPI while soldered on the backplane when using a clip.

 

[Snow Tiger]

It's possible, but it's very unlikely and the power button can be bypassed, PCB has pads for you to power on without the power button.

Here's where . Use a flat headed screwdriver :

 

[JedNZ]

I did that and no sign of life.

I also jumped the pins on the diag button and it does shine amber (just like if I push the diag button), so I know I must be doing it right to jump the power up.

Waiting for the backplane to arrive.

 

[JedNZ]

Update: the backplane I bought on eBay arrived today and I installed it and VOILA!! it's working again. Yay!

Just before I installed the new backplane I tried starting up with the original backplane, and it did start up! Unfortunately I didn't have a GPU inside it, so I couldn't see what was happening and I couldn't remote in to try and quickly save the rom with RomTool, so I had to hard shut it down. I reinstalled a GPU and then it wouldn't start back up again. Arrghh!

So I'm pretty happy the new backplane is working. All ports and hardware is registered as working.

Just a couple of questions: I tried to backup the rom of the new backplane with RomTool and I got this warning:

These are the options when I click on the dropdown. The one with the tick is the default one.

Sounds like a previous owner (they sell heaps of these on eBay) may have installed a new Rom chip?

@tsialex or anyone else know what I should do, which option I should go with? Should I dump them all? And does this mean I won't be able to login in iCloud and have continuity, hands-off, Apple Watch unlock etc?

 

[tsialex]

Update: the backplane I bought on eBay arrived today and I installed it and VOILA!! it's working again. Yay!

Just before I installed the new backplane I tried starting up with the original backplane, and it did start up! Unfortunately I didn't have a GPU inside it, so I couldn't see what was happening and I couldn't remote in to try and quickly save the rom with RomTool, so I had to hard shut it down. I reinstalled a GPU and then it wouldn't start back up again. Arrghh!

So I'm pretty happy the new backplane is working. All ports and hardware is registered as working.

Just a couple of questions: I tried to backup the rom of the new backplane with RomTool and I got this warning:

View attachment 898578
These are the options when I click on the dropdown. The one with the tick is the default one.
View attachment 898577
Sounds like a previous owner (they sell heaps of these on eBay) may have installed a new Rom chip?

@tsialex or anyone else know what I should do, which option I should go with? Should I dump them all? And does this mean I won't be able to login in iCloud and have continuity, hands-off, Apple Watch unlock etc?

First, I doubt that any seller ever replace the SPI flash memory of a backplane. It's not cost effective for a seller to do any preventive repairs, or any repairs, unless they really have to.

You only lose access to iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime if the seller flashed the generic firmware image, it's easy to check, no Serial Number with About This Mac.

ROMTool asks you to confirm what is the model of SPI flash memory installed on your backplane, it's the 8-pin SOIC chip next to the PCIe AUX-B power connector, label U8700 - see the pictures below.

The model of the SPI flash memory is usually related to the model year:

• with early-2009 almost every backplane has SST25VF032B, but at the end of the production run (B08, the refurbished models and new replacement backplanes) MXIC MX25L3205D was used too.
• with mid-2010 usually is MXIC MX25L3205D, sometimes can be MXIC MX25L3206E, but very rarely is SST25VF032B,
• with mid-2012 usually is MXIC MX25L3206E, sometimes can be MXIC MX25L3205D. By the time mid-2012 backplanes were being produced SST25VF032B was already an EOL part, so it's very improbable to find a mid-2012 with one.
• If ROMTool don’t ask you the SPI model at all, Apple used a SST25VF032B.

Always check the SPI flash used on your backplane, it's not critical for dumping, but you need to know the exact model for writing to it.

 

[JedNZ]

First, I doubt that any seller ever replace the SPI flash memory of a backplane. It's not cost effective for a seller to do any preventive repairs, or any repairs, unless they really have to.

You only lose access to iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime if the seller flashed the generic firmware image, it's easy to check, no Serial Number with About This Mac.

ROMTool asks you to confirm what is the model of SPI flash memory installed on your backplane, it's the 8-pin SOIC chip next to the PCIe AUX-B power connector, label U8700 - see the pictures below.

The model of the SPI flash memory is usually related to the model year:

​

• with early-2009 almost every backplane has SST25VF032B, but at the end of the production run (B08, the refurbished models and new replacement backplanes) MXIC MX25L3205D was used too.
• with mid-2010 usually is MXIC MX25L3205D, sometimes can be MXIC MX25L3206E, but very rarely is SST25VF032B,
• with mid-2012 usually is MXIC MX25L3206E, sometimes can be MXIC MX25L3205D. By the time mid-2012 backplanes were being produced SST25VF032B was already an EOL part, so it's very improbable to find a mid-2012 with one.
• If ROMTool don’t ask you the SPI model at all, Apple used a SST25VF032B.

Always check the SPI flash used on your backplane, it's not critical for dumping, but you need to know the exact model for writing to it.

That's great news! Really appreciate your time explaining this. I'll sort it tomorrow (have to take the GPU out again to see the ROM chip and get the number off it).

The serial number for the machine starts H00520xxxx. Never seen a Mac Pro starting with an H so thought something wasn't quite right. So for all intents and purposes, if I've got it right, replacing a backplane doesn't cause any issues as far any link between the backplane and the CPU tray serial number go with any link for either/both to iCloud? That is, as long as the backplane is either a 4,1 for an original 4,1 (even if firmware upgraded to 5,1), or an original 5,1 for an original 5,1, it just gets on and works - no problems with replacing the backplane or CPU as long as they match the original.

 

[tsialex]

That's great news! Really appreciate your time explaining this. I'll sort it tomorrow (have to take the GPU out again to see the ROM chip and get the number off it).

The serial number for the machine starts H00520xxxx. Never seen a Mac Pro starting with an H so thought something wasn't quite right. So for all intents and purposes, if I've got it right, replacing a backplane doesn't cause any issues as far any link between the backplane and the CPU tray serial number go with any link for either/both to iCloud? That is, as long as the backplane is either a 4,1 for an original 4,1 (even if firmware upgraded to 5,1), or an original 5,1 for an original 5,1, it just gets on and works - no problems with replacing the backplane or CPU as long as they match the original.

For serial numbers with 11 digits, the first two are the manufacturing location, for 12-digits serials (2012 and newer) are the first three digits. H0 is one of the Mac Pro manufacturing location for 11-digit serials.

Looking at my spreadsheet where I store BootROM dump data, from the several manufacturing locations the most common for Mac Pros are C0, CK, CMV, D2H, DGK, G8, H0, YM and YM0. Some of these are known:

• C0, China (Quanta Computer, Tech-Com)
• CK, Ireland (Cork Apple factory)
• CMV, Unknown
• D2H, Unknown
• DGK, Unknown
• G8, USA
• H0, Unknown
• YM, China
• YM0, China (Hon Hai/Foxconn)

 

[tsialex]

Btw, Server Mac Pros have a slightly different firmware from factory. The Fsys store have different and more hardwareIDs than normal Mac Pros, I wrote about that before.

My tests show that the different hardwareIDs are used for setting power management settings more adequate to the Server version automatically. Probably other macOS configuration parameters too.

 

[tommy chen]

all of my three 2012 with DKG.... are manufactured in cork, ireland