MP 1,1-5,1 No Bootable Device. Mac Pro 5.1

[HrSteve]

Hey guys. I need some help although there is plenty of posts similar to my problem it doesnt quite my kindq problem so i decided to post a thread.

Ive got a mac pro mid 2012 5.1 64 gb of rams and elcapitan with a radeoj 5770 as agpu and it was working fine. Been a while since im trying to switch to windows because of compatibility issues with my favorite software and etc...
I tried to install win 10 using bootcamp so i wont be surprised if theres any incompatibility or bug with my mp. I made a bootable windows flash drive of window 10 using bootcamp on the same ssd i have installed el cap and it restarted mp so i can install windows on bootcamp partition somehow the the installing process stopped and system restarted .

The problem : mp now shows white screen and you can hear chimes and then goes black dos alike screen and says no bootable device please insert a bootable device and press anykey.no apple logo. No key combination would work. I have tried these steps :

1- holding down the option key changes nothing
2- holding down the cmd and r also not working
3- holding down cmd option p and r to clear nvram content wont work.
Removing nvram battery to reset it also didnt work and im stuck with the black screen that shows the messge for no boot device.

At first i thaought maybe the keyboard is not powered up but the usb has power in it as i have a midi keyboard with lights so when i attach the midi kb it turns on so i know the usb is fine . And my keyboard is wiredly attached to the mp.
4- i tried removing any hdds or unnecessary devices and left only the keyboard and the ssd that contains the boot for el capitan and the damn bootcamp partition but im still stuck.

The keyboard combos seem to be ignored by th mp and although i have removed the battery but it still want to boot from the bootcamp partition with nothing in it i guess.

No sign of hardware malfunction is seen tho. Likebram indicators and stuff.

Sorry for any possible mistype or improper language sincerly. English us not my native tongue.
And thanks for your time. I appreciate the helps asap.
Thanks

 

[Macschrauber]

Try an Apple Keyboard connected directly to the USB Ports.

no Hub, no USB 3 Card etc.

unplug everything whats not needed to perform an nvram reset.

 

[HrSteve]

I have tried several usb ports and everything is unplugged except ssd that contains bootable data and the keyboard. No luck.

 

[tsialex]

Do you have the original DVD installer? Remove all disks, yes all, and try to boot from it.

If you can still boot from the DVD, then you can install a fully erased (diskutil zerodisk diskXX) or a brand new disk and install macOS to it.

 

[HrSteve]

I dont have an original dvd installer but i have plenty of bootable versions of sierra and high sierra. I removed the ssd that contains bootable data no storage device .and left only keyboard and a sierra bootable disk on dvd rom. No change 😑

 

[tsialex]

I dont have an original dvd installer but i have plenty of bootable versions of sierra and high sierra. I removed the ssd that contains bootable data no storage device .and left only keyboard and a sierra bootable disk on dvd rom. No change 😑

Did you removed all the disks installed? Your EFI boot sector could be on another drive.

Did you tried to continuously reset the NVRAM 4-times? Install a wired keyboard that you are sure that works for NVRAM resets (not all keyboards work for it) then press CMD+Option/ALT+P+R continuously (don't let go of the keys) until the fifth chime.

Can you install macOS to a new disk using another Mac and try to boot from it?

 

[HrSteve]

I removed all the disks and nothing seems to he working and the results are the same. I see the massage everytime.

- i dont have any other keyboards but this one is working and wired. Mp seems its ignoring any input from keyboard. I couldn't reset the nvram using cmd p and r so i removed the battery for bios and left it unplugged over night so it forgets its configs but no luck there too.

- it doesnt even boot from a bootable installer dvd even when only the dvd is attached. I dint have another mac and i guess if i wanna test this i should take it to a technician or someone.

Many many thanks for your advice tho

 

[tsialex]

I removed all the disks and nothing seems to he working and the results are the same. I see the massage everytime.

- i dont have any other keyboards but this one is working and wired. Mp seems its ignoring any input from keyboard. I couldn't reset the nvram using cmd p and r so i removed the battery for bios and left it unplugged over night so it forgets its configs but no luck there too.

- it doesnt even boot from a bootable installer dvd even when only the dvd is attached. I dint have another mac and i guess if i wanna test this i should take it to a technician or someone.

Many many thanks for your advice tho

You probably have a corrupt BootROM. If you can desolder it and re-program it, you will probably save this backplane on the cheap. If you are not handy with a solder iron, you can always buy a replacement backplane on eBay or a replacement SPI flash like a MATT card. Below are your options:

- What to do if during the upgrade process your Mac Pro bricked:

If during the upgrade process you bricked the BootROM, you have three options:

1. Buy a replacement backplane on eBay and replace the backplane yourself, cheapest option if you can't solder SMD. Remember that you need a 2009 backplane if you have an early-2009 Mac Pro. If you have a mid-2010 or mid-2012 you can use either 2010 or 2012 backplanes. Don't mix early-2009 backplanes with mid-2010/mid-2012 CPU trays, or vice-versa - either scenario is a SMC firmware version mismatch and all your fans will run at maximum RPM, full time and without any software control.
2. Buy a Mac Pro MATT card and use it as a replacement SPI flash, this is not recommended since all MATT cards are clones and won't work for iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime. A replacement backplane is usually cheaper.
3. Desolder, reprogram and solder back the SPI flash, chip U8700 on the backplane. It's not possible to read or write to the SPI flash memory while it's soldered on the MP5,1 backplane. A cheap SPI flash programmer like ch341a will work for read/write the BootROM after the SPI flash memory is desoldered from the backplane. Start reading here, read all my posts on the subject from there. I strongly recommend that you replace your original SPI flash memory with a brand new one, don't solder it back to the backplane, it will fail soon since SPI flash memories have limited lifetime (manufacture rated for just 100.000 erase/write cycles) when used as NVRAM for a Mac Pro. Again, most hard bricks are caused by the failure of the SPI flash, it's a US$ 2 component easily available, MXIC MX25L3206E, just replace it! Btw, yes, you can use a MXIC MX25L3206E as a modern replacement for the two older models SST25VF032B and MXIC MX25L3205D used on early-2009 and mid-2010 respectively, Apple did it for mid-2012 Mac Pros.
   
   Mojave has the generic MP51.fd firmware image inside the full installer, it's enough for boot your Mac Pro again but not for iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime login.
   
   

   Install\ macOS\ Mojave/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/Firmware/MP51.fd

 

[HrSteve]

Thansk for your help. Im jot the man of unsoldering anything haha. In my country this mp is so expensive and almost a dream for anybody to have it and i dont think anyone here could reolace the chip. Ebay is out of eccess for delivery here too. But i guess i can manage to buy a new chip if thats the case. Ill look forward to your tutorials and recommendations and will update the results . Thanks again

 

[tsialex]

Thansk for your help. Im jot the man of unsoldering anything haha. In my country this mp is so expensive and almost a dream for anybody to have it and i dont think anyone here could reolace the chip. Ebay is out of eccess for delivery here too. But i guess i can manage to buy a new chip if thats the case. Ill look forward to your tutorials and recommendations and will update the results . Thanks again

Borrow a Mac from someone and install macOS (10.7.5 to 10.13.6) to a fully erased/new disk and try to boot from it. It's your last resort before buying a replacement backplane or a MATT card.

Desoldering the SPI flash memory is not difficult for someone handy with a solder iron, you just need to know how to. Maybe a friend?

 

[HrSteve]

I will do that and update here thanks.

 

[tsialex]

I will do that and update here thanks.

Btw, did you checked the voltage of the BR2032 RTC battery?

While the battery only feeds energy for the clock and some time related variables stored on the RTC chip, like time elapsed since boot, if the battery is below some voltage the clock stops advancing and this makes the Mac Pro crazy. Check it.

 

[HrSteve]

I dont have a measuring device to check the voltage. Dies it work if i use a brand new battery to test ?

 

[tsialex]

I dont have a measuring device to check the voltage. Dies it work if i use a brand new battery to test ?

Your symptoms show that you have more than one problem. Maybe you have a dead battery and a corrupted BootROM or NVRAM.

Start installing a new CR2032 battery if you can't find a BR2032 battery. CR2032 have a different chemistry that is less tolerant of the Mac Pro temperature near the GPU and will die in less than a year, but will work fine for testing.

CR2032 is cheap enough that you can replace it every year, in my country I can buy 15 or more CR2032 with the price of just one BR2032.

 

[HrSteve]

Yes sir all try that.

 

[HrSteve]

Your symptoms show that you have more than one problem. Maybe you have a dead battery and a corrupted BootROM or NVRAM.

Start installing a new CR2032 battery if you can't find a BR2032 battery. CR2032 have a different chemistry that is less tolerant of the Mac Pro temperature near the GPU and will die in less than a year, but will work fine for testing.

CR2032 is cheap enough that you can replace it every year, in my country I can buy 15 or more CR2032 with the price of just one BR2032.

Ow and one more thing i tried to boot with no battery at all and it resulted the same. I guess im gonna replace the battery soon and update

 

[tsialex]

Ow and one more thing i tried to boot with no battery at all and it resulted the same. I guess im gonna replace the battery soon and update

Please note that it's not just the battery - a fully working Mac Pro can boot without the battery. You clearly have more than one problem, but an almost dead battery that keeps the RTC stuck makes the Mac Pro crazy and perhaps explains why you don't have a working keyboard.

 

[HrSteve]

I never knew that dead battery has somethimg to do with the keyboard or any peripherals. Ill test that with another battery asap. Thanks for your informations

 

[HrSteve]

Hey guys thanks for your advices it helped me so much . Turned out it had nothing to do with the cmos battery or anything in the case. It ran a diagnosis and everything was fine it was my keyboard although it works up and running but somehiw mp didnt recognize it in the boot process which is weird cuz my keyboard is an apple original and its usb 2 wired so that shouldn't be a problem cuz its lagacy. But however my problem is solved using anotger keyboard and i can now hold the option key and boot from whatever device i need.

Thank you so much for your time and pqying attention to peoples problems. Luv ya all people. Peace ✌

 

[dragonfly_bry]

Wow. Massive thanks for posting. I just bought a 2009 4,1 and this happened to me today. I was trying to get boot camp working and this happened out of the blue. Idk what caused it but the non-apple keyboard solved it perfectly. Thanks again, i'm sure i'll be back here soon lol

 

[dragonfly_bry]

nah, now its happening again. It turn on, grey screen with all the fans going and just freezes there no matter what keyboard I have connected. The apple mouse shows the red light but the apple keyboard has no lights (caps lock etc). No apple screen, no message at all. I've restarted like 10x so far.

Any help? Is it bricked?

 

[tsialex]

nah, now its happening again. It turn on, grey screen with all the fans going and just freezes there no matter what keyboard I have connected. The apple mouse shows the red light but the apple keyboard has no lights (caps lock etc). No apple screen, no message at all. I've restarted like 10x so far.

Any help? Is it bricked?

Check the RTC battery, then follow the diagnostic steps from the Apple Technician Guide.

Btw, there are enough info here and similar threads to get you going easily, so use the search and read about the common problems/solutions.

 

[dragonfly_bry]

Check the RTC battery, then follow the diagnostic steps from the Apple Technician Guide.

Btw, there are enough info here and similar threads to get you going easily, so use the search and read about the common problems/solutions.

Thanks. Is the apple tech guide on here also?

 

[tsialex]

Nope. An Aussie site has it internet accessible and it's easy to find it via google, use early-2009 Apple Technician Guide on the search box.

 

[dragonfly_bry]

http://tesselator.gpmod.com/_Text/MacPro_Service_Manual.pdf

In case anyone needs it. I'm still trying stuff.

I only had this mac pro for 3 days, I got it from PC Liquidations and they said it passed their bench test before shipping. I'm puzzled for sure but still tinkering...