MP 1,1-5,1 MacPro 2009 (4,1) not posting/booting

[FlorisVN]

Hi all,

I recently bought a very good looking 4,1 MacPro Early 2009 single CPU model, second hand.
The unit does power on but never chime's, also the graphics card keeps running on full fan speed (AMD 4870 or GT120).
Seems to me like it wont post, and therefore will not display any video, nor will it give me the startup chime.

I would like to find the problem of this new 4,1 MacPro I got, and if possible fix it.

I have a second 4,1 early 2009 single cpu, for about a year, which is running just fine.

So far I have swapped the CPU board from my other 4,1 to this 4,1, and the machine works fine with it.
I have switched back to the stock 2.66Ghz Quadcore Nehalen quadcore, since I had a 3,46Ghz Six-core Westmere Xeon installed in my second 4,1-5,1 flashed MacPro.

Anyway, when I run it with my other cpu-tray and stock xeon, I could boot into MacOS, the machine starts fine, chimes and gives video.
I also ran an Apple ASD EFI test for this machine, which also passed all the tests fine.

So far I think The CPU tray is perhaps dead on this unit.. ?

Anyway, I have changed the CPU on this dead CPU tray, to another stock 2.66Ghz Nehalem Quadcore Xeon CPU, which I know works fine 100% but still it wont post/boot with this tray.
Also tested again with my other 4,1 MacPro btw.
Also changed different memory sticks, which I know are working 100% and compatible with this MacPro, but that did not helped so far.

I am wondering, is perhaps the Northbridge dead on this CPU tray.. ?
I thought this was perhaps a common overheating issue, due to the plastic clips holding the heatsink on to the Northbridge ?

Anyway, when removing the heatsink of this dead CPU tray, I found so far no strange or bad things.
The Northbridge was still on it's place, and the black plastic screws which springs where also still holding the heatsink on it's place.
Also the CPU socket looked good, and no bad pins.
It btw also seemed that the CPU cooler was never removed before, and was still stock..

Is there perhaps a way to know if the CPU tray is broken/defect.. ?
Using the LED diagnostic lights perhaps in someway.. ?
I dont know what the best way for me now is to troubleshoot this cpu tray..

I hope somebody can help me out here, thanks in advance,

 

[tsialex]

Hi all,

I recently bought a very good looking 4,1 MacPro Early 2009 single CPU model, second hand.
The unit does power on but never chime's, also the graphics card keeps running on full fan speed (AMD 4870 or GT120).
Seems to me like it wont post, and therefore will not display any video, nor will it give me the startup chime.

I would like to find the problem of this new 4,1 MacPro I got, and if possible fix it.

I have a second 4,1 early 2009 single cpu, for about a year, which is running just fine.

So far I have swapped the CPU board from my other 4,1 to this 4,1, and the machine works fine with it.
I have switched back to the stock 2.66Ghz Quadcore Nehalen quadcore, since I had a 3,46Ghz Six-core Westmere Xeon installed in my second 4,1-5,1 flashed MacPro.

Anyway, when I run it with my other cpu-tray and stock xeon, I could boot into MacOS, the machine starts fine, chimes and gives video.
I also ran an Apple ASD EFI test for this machine, which also passed all the tests fine.

So far I think The CPU tray is perhaps dead on this unit.. ?

Anyway, I have changed the CPU on this dead CPU tray, to another stock 2.66Ghz Nehalem Quadcore Xeon CPU, which I know works fine 100% but still it wont post/boot with this tray.
Also tested again with my other 4,1 MacPro btw.
Also changed different memory sticks, which I know are working 100% and compatible with this MacPro, but that did not helped so far.

I am wondering, is perhaps the Northbridge dead on this CPU tray.. ?
I thought this was perhaps a common overheating issue, due to the plastic clips holding the heatsink on to the Northbridge ?

Anyway, when removing the heatsink of this dead CPU tray, I found so far no strange or bad things.
The Northbridge was still on it's place, and the black plastic screws which springs where also still holding the heatsink on it's place.
Also the CPU socket looked good, and no bad pins.
It btw also seemed that the CPU cooler was never removed before, and was still stock..

Is there perhaps a way to know if the CPU tray is broken/defect.. ?
Using the LED diagnostic lights perhaps in someway.. ?
I dont know what the best way for me now is to troubleshoot this cpu tray..

I hope somebody can help me out here, thanks in advance,

Dead trays are very difficult to revive without the circuit diagram, some have dead northbridges, dead power regulators, missing components, oxidation, damaged sockets, etc.

One thing that you can try is to clean the tray with compressed air and then apply de oxidant spray on the sockets and connectors.

You already did all the usual diagnostic steps, for a single tray that sometimes can be bought for $50 + shipping, it’s not cost effective to try to repair like it is for dual CPU trays.

If you can’t find anything obvious and easy to repair like a missing capacitor, I once accidentally dropped a HDD over the tray and knocked 3 caps from it, just buy a replacement tray and cut your losses.

 

[FlorisVN]

Dead trays are very difficult to revive without the circuit diagram, some have dead northbridges, dead power regulators, missing components, oxidation, damaged sockets, etc.

One thing that you can try is to clean the tray with compressed air and then apply de oxidant spray on the sockets and connectors.

You already did all the usual diagnostic steps, for a single tray that sometimes can be bought for $50 + shipping, it’s not cost effective to try to repair like it is for dual CPU trays.

If you can’t find anything obvious and easy to repair like a missing capacitor, I once accidentally dropped a HDD over the tray and knocked 3 caps from it, just buy a replacement tray and cut your losses.

ok thx for your info !
I will try and dust out the sockets and connectors, but so far it looks very clean to me..
but who knows..

I found a new cpu tray for 150 Euro's, but that is a bit expensive I think than.. ?
It was on eBay btw..

Still looking and hunting for local or EU deal's, for only a cpu tray but have not found one so far.

 

[tsialex]

ok thx for your info !
I will try and dust out the sockets and connectors, but so far it looks very clean to me..
but who knows..

I found a new cpu tray for 150 Euro's, but that is a bit expensive I think than.. ?
It was on eBay btw..

Still looking and hunting for local or EU deal's, for only a cpu tray but have not found one so far.

Don't buy in a rush, search for some days, you will find a lot cheaper. I bought two recently for around $50 + US shipping each.

 

[Snow Tiger]

The Northbridge Controller of a Single Processor Mac Pro 4,1 is not as likely to fail as the Dual Processor versions , but is still something to worry about .

You might be well advised to blast the entire Tray with a compressor nozzle at 60 PSI and six inches away . Use a real air compressor and not canned air , hair drier , vacuum , etc .

What diagnostic lights are you getting on the Mac's logic board when you have your dead Tray installed ? You'll need to have a long wooden dowel or a black stick handy to press the button when you need to .

 

[FlorisVN]

ok so I have recently gave the connections/sockets on the CPU tray and the backplane a good clean with my ESD Safe Industrial Canless Air System.

(https://www.canlessair.com/product/esd-safe-industrial-canless-air-system-copy/)

I dont have an Air compressor, but this Hurricane does always a good job for me, so I think it will also be good for this MacPro..

Anyway, still no boot, and same result..
perhaps this cpu tray is broken afterall.. ?

changing the thermal paste of the Northbridge heatsink chip, will help fixing this problem.. ?
Or not worth trying, I dont know.. ?

 

[tsialex]

changing the thermal paste of the Northbridge heatsink chip, will help fixing this problem.. ?
Or not worth trying, I dont know.. ?

No, thermal paste will do nothing for a dead tray. With a working tray, even with both heatsink pins broken you still can boot.

 

[FlorisVN]

No, thermal paste will do nothing for a dead tray. With a working tray, even with both heatsink pins broken you still can boot.

OK thanks I see.
So is there perhaps another way to revive this cpu tray, or is it dead for sure then.. ?

 

[tsialex]

OK thanks I see.
So is there perhaps another way to revive this cpu tray, or is it dead for sure then.. ?

Besides spraying deoxit, only testing subsystems to try to identify what failed. Not worth for a single CPU tray.

 

[FlorisVN]

Besides spraying deoxit, only testing subsystems to try to identify what failed. Not worth for a single CPU tray.

thx,just forgot this suggestion you have me,

so a good clean and then spray the whole cpu tray with CAIG DeoxIT Contact Cleaner.. ?
I found one here on a local shop :

CAIG DeoxIT Contact Cleaner - Mediawinkel

CAIG DeoxIT Contact Cleaner kopen doe je bij Mediawinkel. ✅ Razendsnelle bezorging ✅ Lage prijzen ✅ Niet goed geld terug garantie!

www.mediawinkel.eu

I think this is the stuff you recommend.. ?

 

[tsialex]

thx,just forgot this suggestion you have me,

so a good clean and then spray the whole cpu tray with CAIG DeoxIT Contact Cleaner.. ?
I found one here on a local shop :

CAIG DeoxIT Contact Cleaner - Mediawinkel

CAIG DeoxIT Contact Cleaner kopen doe je bij Mediawinkel. ✅ Razendsnelle bezorging ✅ Lage prijzen ✅ Niet goed geld terug garantie!

www.mediawinkel.eu

I think this is the stuff you recommend.. ?

You probably can find something else much cheaper, I usually buy boxes with 12 cans of contact cleaner spray for less than $3/can. DeoxIT is good, but it's stupidly expensive, you will use half a can for a through clean of a tray.

Don't buy a contact cleaner that has oil.

 

[Snow Tiger]

No, thermal paste will do nothing for a dead tray. With a working tray, even with both heatsink pins broken you still can boot.

I've encountered more than one incidence of a Tray not booting , that will boot once the Tray is cleaned and the Northbridge chip re-thermal pasted and the Northbridge heat sink push pins replaced , if damaged . In fact , it was standard operating procedure at my shop , Alex , to completely tear down the Tray and rebuild it to factory spec . There is no System indication for a Northbridge failure ( well , a dead Mac , I guess ) . In ASD , we'll see thermal sensor tests for , say , an over temp situation for the Northbridge ( which means to fix it now ) . I think it was a PCH error . But of course the System has to be up and running to run the ASD ...

With the cMPs , the greatest enemy to their durability is failing cooling subsystems and particulate contamination .

I still work on these systems if they are grandfathered in . There's a cMP at one of my benches that came in with a failing DIMM slot . The client runs his gear in an extremely dusty environment . Solid red LED even when the slot was not populated with a module . Blasted the whole Tray with a compressor at 60 PSI at six inches , let it dry and fired her up . The DIMM slot went back online again . Red light went away . There was probably a tiny piece of metal shorting out something . That Tray also has a broken Northbridge Heatsink , which I will fix soon .

 

[tsialex]

I've encountered more than one incidence of a Tray not booting , that will boot once the Tray is cleaned and the Northbridge chip re-thermal pasted and the Northbridge heat sink push pins replaced , if damaged . In fact , it was standard operating procedure at my shop , Alex , to completely tear down the Tray and rebuild it to factory spec . There is no System indication for a Northbridge failure ( well , a dead Mac , I guess ) . In ASD , we'll see thermal sensor tests for , say , an over temp situation for the Northbridge ( which means to fix it now ) . I think it was a PCH error . But of course the System has to be up and running to run the ASD ...

With the cMPs , the greatest enemy to their durability is failing cooling subsystems and particulate contamination .

I still work on these systems if they are grandfathered in . There's a cMP at one of my benches that came in with a failing DIMM slot . The client runs his gear in an extremely dusty environment . Solid red LED even when the slot was not populated with a module . Blasted the whole Tray with a compressor at 60 PSI at six inches , let it dry and fired her up . The DIMM slot went back online again . Red light went away . There was probably a tiny piece of metal shorting out something . That Tray also has a broken Northbridge Heatsink , which I will fix soon .

I get what you are saying but I already told to the OP to clean the tray and apply deoxidant, if the tray don't at least do the initial boot after the cleaning - since even a tray with broken heatsink pins that was powered off and with components at ambient temperature, will work enough to fully boot macOS - changing the thermal paste will do nothing and it's time to trace component failures, but for a single CPU tray, it's not worth the time/cost of doing that.