Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MP 1,1-5,1 MacPro5,1: BootROM thread | 144.0.0.0.0
- Thread starter tsialex
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
The BIOS version for 138.0.0.0.0, like on Geekbench, is MP51.88Z.F000.B00.1807300628.
im happy to report that with testing by @Gamer9430
the new BootROM enables PCIe 2.0 for his stock GTX 1070 in windows (BIOS install IIRC)
ill let him post the pictures
I can also confirm that GTX1080 is at full PCIe 2.0 speed under bootcamp. feels like in heaven
i have
Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
2 x 3.33 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Boot ROM Version: 138.0.0.0.0
[doublepost=1534588920][/doublepost]
This is a driver bug and it exist since WebDriver-387.10.10.10.25.160 (if I recall correctly)
it is easy to reproduce as you guys see in the screenshot below
Attachments
Last edited:
Running 10.13.6 with EFI firmware 0138 also allows the RX480 to run at 5.0 GT/s and the hdmi audio patch to work.
I running pretty good on 10.13.6 with the new firmware. I’m seeing less boot-delay on all drives since Alex untangled my BootRom.
It’s beginning to look like the 2012 models were hit particularly hard with the bad 0087 BootRom flash. It may be a bit early to know definitively, but its going in that direction so far.
We have two confirmed mid-2012, but still booting. For 2009 models, we have at least five reports of totally bricked, one confirmed with a fully corrupted hardware dump from the SPI-flash.
And just to be clear, in case anyone wants to know. Simply flashing with a different firmware using the Apple flash tool included in the full installer package, Will Not fix the corrupted firmware.
There is a fairly straightforward way to fix this as long as the machine is still booting, but it's not finished cooking yet.
There is a fairly straightforward way to fix this as long as the machine is still booting, but it's not finished cooking yet.
Could I confirm a few things from this thread and ask a few questions?
To confirm:
Questions:
To confirm:
- Firmware flashes no longer require an EFI-enabled video card (at least with this latest beta release)
- The new firmware is back-compatible with High Sierra
- The new firmware enables ATI cards to use the HDMIaudio kext again
Questions:
- Since it's currently tied to the Mojave beta, can I use startosinstall to bypass the video card check and install the firmware? (aka can I do this with just a Geforce pascal card installed)
- Does a bad flash always result in obvious symptoms - e.g. bricking or weird boot behavior?
- Has anyone reported a bad flash without having modded their firmware to add e.g. NVMe?
- With this firmware, is every RX 480/580 and Vega 56/64 card capable of DP/HDMI audio in High Sierra/Mojave (when loading HDMIaudio.kext), or is it still a "search the forums to confirm" situation?
Three yes.
You don't need to install Mojave, just open the 18A365a installer and it will ask for the firmware upgrade. When the the Mojave installer reopens after the flash, you can quit it.
Yes, but that can be subtle.
Yes, one mid-2012 and one 4,1>5,1 that I personally confirmed. But I can say that the 2009 was modded
and both had trouble with MP51.0087.B00.
That I can't answer for sure, I don't have any of those GPUs.
Last edited:
Hmm, I'll have to flash my 5,1 to see if it lets the flashed R9 280X run at 5.0 GT/sec.. as long as I can inject the DXE driver.
I get the feeling, though, that Apple is going to at least go through a few more revisions so that when Mojave GM gets pushed out the door it'll wind up flashing MPs to 138.1.17.0 or something.
I get the feeling, though, that Apple is going to at least go through a few more revisions so that when Mojave GM gets pushed out the door it'll wind up flashing MPs to 138.1.17.0 or something.
You can, but do the injection process from High Sierra, don't try in Mojave...
Once injected/flashed, Mojave you brains out...
Maybe before flashing it you could binwalk your ROM dump and check for the most obvious signal of a corrupted BootROM.
In Mojave beta and high sierra 10.13.6 with HDMIaudio kext installed, the RX480 has HDMI audio enabled in safari with firmware 0138.
Sorry for the n00b question, but I'm new to the MacPro "quest" and just started with an old 4,1. I flashed it to 5,1 and added a x5690... Now I'd like to add a new graphics card. I started with a Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 560 Pulse OC, which worked quite well on Mojave DP6, but had some glitches on playing GoPro SloMo Videos (200fps) in Fotos.app (these run perfect on my MBP2016). I then tried a Gigabyte R9 280x which simply did not work (fans twitched but nothing more happened).
Right now my focus is on a GTX680. I found some flashed cards for <200€ on ebay which promise "boot screen support". My question is: Do I need these web drivers for flashed GTX680s, too? Or can I simply plug them in and be happy?
Thanks!
Michael
Right now my focus is on a GTX680. I found some flashed cards for <200€ on ebay which promise "boot screen support". My question is: Do I need these web drivers for flashed GTX680s, too? Or can I simply plug them in and be happy?
Thanks!
Michael
If it's flashed correctly, it's pretty much just plug-n-play.
Don't pay those eBay prices on flashed ones. I've searched for months to find a original eVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition on the cheap, bought it, then two weeks later I found another eVGA GTX 680, this time FTW+ 4GB with backplate for ~$145. You can find for even less.
To flash yourself a PC eVGA GTX 680, it's a 5' job with Windows:
Step-by-Step Instructions for Flashing GTX680
Confirmed and Possible Flashable GTX680 Models
PS: Forget Galaxy/Zotac ones.
Last edited:
@tsialex Thanks for the answer. I found very few GTX680 on ebay (Germany). The price difference is around 20€. But most of the "flashed" ones include the power cables... Would you prefer the 4GB model?
Edit: I could get a non-flashed ASUS for 110€ without and a flashed Gainward for 130€ including power cables..
Edit: I could get a non-flashed ASUS for 110€ without and a flashed Gainward for 130€ including power cables..
I've always wanted to have a real eVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition but the eVGA GeForce GTX 680 FTW+ 4GB w/Backplate is better made, no doubt. Don't know if the 4GB made real diff for me, but it's nice to have.
If in Germany the price diff is so small, go for the flashed one with cables.
P.S.:
Mac Edition = 6+6 pin
FTW+ = 6+8 pin
[doublepost=1534632622][/doublepost]This Asus https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/GTX6802GD5/ is almost a clone of the eVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition.
For anyone wondering, tsialex was right on the money. No problems installing the firmware on a Mac Pro 4,1->5,1, running 10.13.6, with a Geforce 1060:
@tsialex recommends not doing that based on Apple documents. Best to listen to him on this.
I was thinking fewer flashes would be less likely to go wrong somewhere, but it seems there is a prerequisite due to APFS support.
Last edited:
Would booting El Cap from 138 be a valid test, or could there be a change in the flash tool along the way also...
No, that's not the problem.
You can boot SnowLeopard with 138.0.0.0.0, @LightBulbFun tested this at #297.
The question is, Apple firmware flasher can upgrade an old BootROM like MP51.007F.03B to 138.0.0.0.0?
One thing is completely wipe the SPI-Flash and fully write it with a new BootROM and another is update all the volumes that need upgrade from an ancient one while preserving immutable data.
Until tested, I'm gonna be on the safe side and not gonna recommend anyone to do this. We now that Apple firmware flasher for Mac Pro isn't the best in the world and the new one has ZERO documentation yet.
Last edited:
How do we determine if the 087 update corrupted the firmware?
[doublepost=1534656555][/doublepost]
Apple SSUBX. It behaves the same as it does in slots 3 and 4 now. It negotiated at PCIe 1.1 (2.5 GT/s) in slots 1 and 2 before the firmware update.
[doublepost=1534656555][/doublepost]
Apple SSUBX. It behaves the same as it does in slots 3 and 4 now. It negotiated at PCIe 1.1 (2.5 GT/s) in slots 1 and 2 before the firmware update.