MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro shows black screen when starting with RX 580 Pulse

[Silly John Fatty]

Hi peeps,

so I got myself a SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 580 Pulse 8GB for my 2010 Mac Pro, so that I could upgrade to Mojave (running High Sierra right now).

I have the 27" LED Cinema Display, but it only shows a black screen when I start the Mac. The card wasn't used with a Mac before as far as I know, so it's not flashed I believe. I use the 8-pin to double mini 6-pin connector, and a DisplayPort to Mini Displayport adapter.

Does anyone know what I have to do to see a picture on the screen? I'm a noob at this and thought it was just plug & play. This card is listed as compatible with my Mac Pro on Apple's website.

I heard that people would receive black screen occasionally. Should I maybe remove my password first? (maybe I'm in that menu, but don't see it)
I still have the old card, so theoretically I could remove the login window if that's the issue.

Looking forward to all your wisdom,
cheers people

 

[Dayo]

You should see the login screen if it is working correctly. You will not get the progress bar while loading but the login should show up.

Take it out and look carefully for a small switch. This can be very small, so look carefully. When you find it, flip it to the other side and try again. This is because the model comes with two VBIOS and the previous owner may have set it to the one that is not Mac compatible.

If that doesn't work, it could be that the previous owner has been using it for Crypto mining and flashed a certain VBIOS that they use which does not work on Macs.

You will need to download the stock VBIOS from somewhere like TechPowerup and flash it back in.
I believe it is best done on Windows but others that know more may chip in with suggestions.

Try the switch thing first though. You may also want to try another monitor, preferably with some other connection type such as DVI.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

You should see the login screen if it is working correctly.

Take it out and look carefully for a small switch. This can be very small, so look carefully. When you find it, flip it to the other side and try again. This is because the model comes with two VBIOS and the previous owner may have set it to the one that is not Mac compatible.

If that doesn't work, it could be that the previous owner has been using it for Crypto mining and flashed a certain VBIOS that they use which does not work on Macs.

You will need to download the stock VBIOS from somewhere like TechPowerup and flash it back in.
I believe it is best done on Windows but others that know more may chip in with suggestions.

Try the switch thing first though.

Thanks, mine is in fact dual bios, so I'll try that.

I also heard that it doesn't work with FileVault on, so I'm turning it off right now (with the old card).

Some people also say that Drivers are needed. Couldn't find Drivers for Mac anywhere, but I also read they're not necessary, as High Sierra already has them built into it.

Thanks also for the Crypto hint. I'll keep that in the back of my head if nothing works.

I just hope the card works. The seller sold it with a screenshot showing no issues were found. Hopefully it's not broken.

 

[Dayo]

Some people also say that Drivers are needed.

They are wrong on that.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

They are wrong on that.

Okay, that's good to know.

Turning off FileVault takes ages … (one day remaining, it says)
Is it a problem if I turn the Mac off now, put the RX 580 in it to test it with the switch on the other side?

 

[Dayo]

You will probadly be better off letting FileVault do its thing as there is a good chance the issue is down to that.

This is because the FileVault screen most likely needs boot screen support which that GPU does not have.

The GPU works without flashing AFTER Mac OS is loaded but FileVault is before this is loaded.

To use FileVault on that without flashing, you need to boot through RefindPlus or OpenCore. These can activate it BEFORE Mac OS is loaded for the FileVault screen.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

You will probadly be better off letting FileVault do its thing as there is a good chance the issue is down to that.

This is because the FileVault screen most needs boot screen support which that GPU does not have.

The GPU works without flashing AFTER Mac OS is loaded but FileVault is before this is loaded.

To use FileVault on that without flashing, you need to boot through RefindPlus or OpenCore which will activate the GPU BEFORE Mac OS

That's what I've read indeed. But does it mean I won't be able to use FileVault at all anymore, or is that just for this first time booting with the new card?

 

[Dayo]

Let FileVault get disabled to confirm.

If indeed the reason, you need to install RefindPlus and/or OpenCore as explained earlier, get a commercial outfit such as MacVidCards to flash the GPU for Mac bootscreen or get a supported GPU to use FileVault.

 

[Dayo]

One other option is to try to blindly enter the FileVault password.

Might just work and allow Mac OS to load and display.

 

[TECK]

They are wrong on that.

That, and try also:

OpenCore bootpicker not showing on RX580

@lbuisson thanks for identifying the issue. For me the fix was very easy, I had the ROM switch on Performance mode (right side) by default. As soon as I switched to Quiet mode (left side) and set the DirectGopRendering key to false, the bootpicker menu showed. Is interesting my bootpicker is...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[mattspace]

I heard that people would receive black screen occasionally. Should I maybe remove my password first? (maybe I'm in that menu, but don't see it)
I still have the old card, so theoretically I could remove the login window if that's the issue.

Filevault is not supported on the 5,1 with a non-EFI GPU. Apple made specific mention of that when they announced Mojave / non-EFI support for these machines. Which port on the card are you plugged into? Do you have an HDMI screen you can plug in?

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Let FileVault get disabled to confirm.

If indeed the reason, you need to install RefindPlus and/or OpenCore as explained earlier, get a commercial outfit such as MacVidCards to flash the GPU for Mac bootscreen or get a supported GPU to use FileVault.

That will be too complicated, if FileVault is the reason I'll just have it turned off I guess.

One other option is to try to blindly enter the FileVault password.

Might just work and allow Mac OS to load and display.

I could try that. It's still decrypting.

That, and try also:

OpenCore bootpicker not showing on RX580

@lbuisson thanks for identifying the issue. For me the fix was very easy, I had the ROM switch on Performance mode (right side) by default. As soon as I switched to Quiet mode (left side) and set the DirectGopRendering key to false, the bootpicker menu showed. Is interesting my bootpicker is...

forums.macrumors.com

I could try that as well, although FileVault is still decrypting with the old card. So I might get wrong results (maybe it's decrypted enough for the card to work). On the other hand it would be annoying to have to re-encrypt everything, just to then find out I would have to decrypt everything again.
I don't know what the DirectGopRending key is though, or how to set it.

Filevault is not supported on the 5,1 with a non-EFI GPU. Apple made specific mention of that when they announced Mojave / non-EFI support for these machines. Which port on the card are you plugged into? Do you have an HDMI screen you can plug in?

Actually I do. Will try that if I find the right cable. I had tested it with DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort for my Cinema Display. It may very well be that the port is damaged or something.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Okay so I reset the NVRAM and it did the Mac sound, but other than that I couldn't see any picture.

Tried an HDMI cable on my TV, but didn't work, with both ports.

Tried putting the password, but did not work either.

So I think it's going to be the FileVault thing.

What's interesting is that while testing all of this, I was able to shut down the Mac with just a small click on the power button. Usually that would just put it to sleep, but here it would actually shut it down.

I initially wanted to force shut it by pressing the power button for longer.

 

[Matty_TypeR]

If it shut down instantly via the power button, it means it never booted anyway, it didn't load. put your old GFX card in and see if it boots.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

If it shut down instantly via the power button, it means it never booted anyway, it didn't load. put your old GFX card in and see if it boots.

Yes it definitely boots with it, currently writing from it again. I'll finish deactivating FileVault then. I hoping shutting down the computer and restarting it didn't cause damage to my files, but I read it's possible to interrupt FileVault decryption/encryption without problems.

 

[mattspace]

Yes it definitely boots with it, currently writing from it again. I'll finish deactivating FileVault then. I hoping shutting down the computer and restarting it didn't cause damage to my files, but I read it's possible to interrupt FileVault decryption/encryption without problems.

Filevault is IIRC whole disk encryption, not just your user account. So the operating system itself is encrypted on the disk therefore with no ability to access the FV password, due to non-efi GPU, you're effectively powering-on the machine with a blank / non-readable disk. There's nothing for it to boot into.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

FileVault is turned off and it instantly worked, amazing.

And the lack of boot screen is actually even better, because it loads my desktop quicker. What's the point of the boot screen anyway? Does it have a function or is it really just to display the Apple logo? Because if it's the latter, that would be quite a lot of time waste just for showing a logo.

 

[tsialex]

What's the point of the boot screen anyway? Does it have a function or is it really just to display the Apple logo? Because if it's the latter, that would be quite a lot of time waste just for showing a logo.

An explicit definition of "boot screen" and its implications?

No GPU besides original Apple Mac Pro GPUs from 2008 to 2012 (HD 2600XT, 8800GT, Quadro FX 5600, GT120, HD 4870/5770/5870) or 3rd party Mac EFI cards like Sapphire HD 7950 Mac Edition, eVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition, NVIDIA Quadro 4000/K5000 Mac Edition or self-flashed/MVC flashed cards have what is...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Silly John Fatty]

An explicit definition of "boot screen" and its implications?

No GPU besides original Apple Mac Pro GPUs from 2008 to 2012 (HD 2600XT, 8800GT, Quadro FX 5600, GT120, HD 4870/5770/5870) or 3rd party Mac EFI cards like Sapphire HD 7950 Mac Edition, eVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition, NVIDIA Quadro 4000/K5000 Mac Edition or self-flashed/MVC flashed cards have what is...

forums.macrumors.com

Thanks.

Interestingly typing the FileVault password blindly didn't work for me. Is it definitive that it should work? Because if yes, I might have typed in the wrong password. I don't even know if I remember it and just used some of my usual passwords.

If possible, I'd like to use FileVault again, without flashing the card.

 

[tsialex]

Yes, like I wrote with my linked post, it's possible to type blindly.

After you upgrade your BootROM firmware to 144.0.0.0.0, you should look at OpenCore, besides FV2 support and pre-boot support with your RX 580, you have the possibility of running newer unsupported macOS releases with your Mac Pro.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Yes, like I wrote with my linked post, it's possible to type blindly.

After you upgrade your BootROM firmware to 144.0.0.0.0, you should look at OpenCore, besides FV2 support and pre-boot support with your RX 580, you have the possibility of running newer unsupported macOS releases with your Mac Pro.

Awesome tsialex, you're a real pro! Thanks for your in-depth manual, I appreciate the time. 👍

 

[Silly John Fatty]

One more question: Can I run Mac OS 10.8 from another volume with the Radeon RX 580 8192 MB?

I have a game there I'd like to test, and it needs 10.8.

I'm just scared to boot into that and then having a black screen and not be able to get out anymore. Tried with holding ALT but since there's no boot screen it was just black.

Now I could select the volume with the game installed on 10.8 form the system preferences. Does that change something or will it still not work?

 

[tsialex]

One more question: Can I run Mac OS 10.8 from another volume with the Radeon RX 580 8192 MB?

I have a game there I'd like to test, and it needs 10.8.

I'm just scared to boot into that and then having a black screen and not be able to get out anymore. Tried with holding ALT but since there's no boot screen it was just black.

Now I could select the volume with the game installed on 10.8 form the system preferences. Does that change something or will it still not work?

No drivers before 10.12.6 and no display working without the drivers with unflashed cards. Even if you flash or use OpenCore, no acceleration before 10.12.6, so no games will work.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

No drivers before 10.12.6 and no display working without the drivers with unflashed cards. Even if you flash or use OpenCore, no acceleration before 10.12.6, so no games will work.

Okay, too bad, but thanks!

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Hey people, so this is weird. I've turned off my computer for the first time since my last posts in this thread.

Now that I turned it on again, I get a black screen and nothing happens. I've changed literally nothing since the last time. FileVault was still deactivated. And I used my computer normally every day.

Anyone know what could have happened?

Edit: Found the issue I think … I unplugged an external hard drive that was connected to the Mac and then it worked. Most likely the drive was "filevaulted" or something.