is this possible? This is the last Mac Pro model before the trash can. I have an old one that I was going to mess around with but only have hdmi - do I need the dvi/hdmi adapter to do this and get into the settings to make the hdmi the main output? Is there any way to force this on reboot? I’m getting a black screen, not a blank screen. Thanks in advance for what might be a dumb question.
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Old Mac Pro (pre-trashcan) and booting up HDMI only?
- Thread starter oleus
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What graphics card are you using, and what monitor is it connected to? Which OS are you running?
I have my 2009 cMP with a Radeon RX 480 GPU hooked up to a 32" TV via HDMI and it boots just fine. Maybe unplug the HDMI cable at the graphics card and plug it back in to see if its working? Sometimes I have to do this.
To be honest I have no idea. It’s an old work computer that was no longer in use. I think it’s about two OS versions behind, it was in use until last year. It definitely had a card hdmi compatible as its old user was using the hdmi ports for secondary monitors.
I’m plugging it into a Sony 4ktv for now. It’s been able to take standard hdmi from my Mac mini just fine. I’m wondering if it’s thinking it’s the secondary monitor and the old preferences are still there. I doubt there’s a way to boot up forcing the primary output to be hdmi. I will try a dvi/hdmi adapater. I used to have so many laying around, and now zero lol.
You could try resetting the PRAM/NVRAM by holding down Command-Option-P-R at startup until you hear a second startup chime.
Failing that, can you open the machine and have a look at the graphics card to see what model it is? Possibly post some photos of the card here if you're not sure?