Please Help! Continuing troubles with 2008 Mac Pro

[morphball]

Hello, I haven't posted on this site for a while, but I regularly check the news updates and forum to keep up to date with all things Apple.

I've had a Mac Pro since early 2008 and to be honest, as much as I love the machine, it has had it's fair share of problems over the last five and a half years, which I've found disappointing considering the price I paid for it!

About a year in, the video card (Nvidia 8800GT) died and I had to pay about $600 for a replacement. And for the last couple of years I have had multiple instances where the computer will just freeze or shut down randomly, whether booted in Mac OS X or under Windows 7 in bootcamp. My frustration comes from not being able to determine exactly what the problem is!

About two months ago, things got particularly bad and I couldn't even boot up the Mac OS X drive, it would just hang on the grey screen. I took the computer into my local Apple Store and they ran a series of diagnostic tests on it (after telling me that it was the first Mac Pro they'd ever had brought in) only to find that there was nothing wrong anywhere.

The problem persisted and I ended up having to install a fresh version of the OS on a separate hard drive and then back up all of the data on the other hard drive, before starting again. Everything was fine for a month or so but in the last few days it's started shutting down randomly again.

I'm reasonably tech savvy and have searched multiple forums, the Apple Support website and more trying to find a possible solution to the problem but so far whatever I end up doing only temporarily fixes the problem, then it comes back. I've run several diagnostics myself through TechTool Pro and I've reset the PRAM/VRAM more times than I care to count! So I was hoping someone here may be able to help or at least point me in the right direction. I've copied and pasted the latest error report below, I have no idea how to interpret it so if anyone can make any sense of it, please let me know.

I'm a filmmaker so I use the machine extensively for video editing in FCP 7, FCP X, Premiere etc and I'm very busy with Pre-Production on a large feature project at the moment so I'm keen to get the problem fixed before embarking on production. (We're shooting 4K Raw on the Black Magic Production Camera in January so I'll be interested to see what the new Mac Pro is worth when it comes out and if the problems persist with the current machine I'll be very tempted to upgrade!!)

Anyway, the exact specs of my Mac are:
Mac Pro3,1 (Early 2008)
2 x 2.8GHz Quad Core Intel Xeon
8 GB 800MHz DDR2 RAM
ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Video Memory
Running Mac OS X 10.8.4
Currently have 3 HDD's
2 x 500 GB (1 dedicated to Bootcamp)
1 x 1TB with the operating system installed.
(I did have another 2TB drive installed but last time I opened Disk Utility it said there was a problem with the drive, the SMART status couldn't be verified and it recommended replacing it. This drive just had a Time Machine backup on it but it was also previously the drive that I had the OS on that was freezing on the grey screen. I've now taken this drive out completely but the problems are still happening.)

If anyone has any insight or ideas, please let me know!! This machine cost over $4000 AUD and I'm really frustrated that I've had so many problems! Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you in advance

Cheers, Ash

Error Report is as follows:

Interval Since Last Panic Report: 735804 sec
Panics Since Last Report: 2
Anonymous UUID: A2407DC2-A71B-AE4C-22B6-C26672A92C30

Wed Aug 21 16:16:54 2013
Machine-check capabilities 0x0000000000000806:
family: 6 model: 23 stepping: 6 microcode: 1547
Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5462 @ 2.80GHz
6 error-reporting banks
threshold-based error status present
Processor 0: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x1000000020000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000011 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0xb200001084200e0f valid
MCA error code: 0x0e0f
Model specific error code: 0x8420
Other information: 0x00000010
Threshold-based status: Undefined
Status bits:
Processor context corrupt
Error enabled
Uncorrected error
Processor 1: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x1000000020000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000011 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0xb200001080200e0f valid
MCA error code: 0x0e0f
Model specific error code: 0x8020
Other information: 0x00000010
Threshold-based status: Undefined
Status bits:
Processor context corrupt
Error enabled
Uncorrected error
Processor 2: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x1000000020000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000011 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0xb200000084200e0f valid
MCA error code: 0x0e0f
Model specific error code: 0x8420
Other information: 0x00000000
Threshold-based status: Undefined
Status bits:
Processor context corrupt
Error enabled
Uncorrected error
Processor 3: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x1000000020000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000011 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0xb200000080200e0f valid
MCA error code: 0x0e0f
Model specific error code: 0x8020
Other information: 0x00000000
Threshold-based status: Undefined
Status bits:
Processor context corrupt
Error enabled
Uncorrected error
Processor 4: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x1000000020000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000011 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0xb200001084200e0f valid
MCA error code: 0x0e0f
Model specific error code: 0x8420
Other information: 0x00000010
Threshold-based status: Undefined
Status bits:
Processor context corrupt
Error enabled
Uncorrected error
Processor 5: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x1000000020000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000011 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0xb200001080200e0f valid
MCA error code: 0x0e0f
Model specific error code: 0x8020
Other information: 0x00000010
Threshold-based status: Undefined
Status bits:
Processor context corrupt
Error enabled
Uncorrected error
Processor 6: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x1000000020000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000011 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0xb200000084200e0f valid
MCA error code: 0x0e0f
Model specific error code: 0x8420
Other information: 0x00000000
Threshold-based status: Undefined
Status bits:
Processor context corrupt
Error enabled
Uncorrected error
Processor 7: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x1000000020000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000011 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0xb200000080200e0f valid
MCA error code: 0x0e0f
Model specific error code: 0x8020
Other information: 0x00000000
Threshold-based status: Undefined
Status bits:
Processor context corrupt
Error enabled
Uncorrected error
panic(cpu 2 caller 0xffffff801f8b8ec9): "Machine Check at 0xffffff7fa1554cf7, registers:\n" "CR0: 0x000000008001003b, CR2: 0x000000010afdf868, CR3: 0x0000000021f1f000, CR4: 0x0000000000000660\n" "RAX: 0x0000000000000000, RBX: 0xffffff8032654000, RCX: 0x0000000000000001, RDX: 0x0000000000000000\n" "RSP: 0xffffff8110a33ca0, RBP: 0xffffff8110a33cd0, RSI: 0x0000000000000001, RDI: 0xffffff810831f148\n" "R8: 0x00000000e0000000, R9: 0x7ffffffffffffffe, R10: 0xffffff801fee1dc0, R11: 0xffffff801fe7def8\n" "R12: 0x0000000000000001, R13: 0xffffff80323d22c0, R14: 0x0000000000000000, R15: 0x0000000000000148\n" "RFL: 0x0000000000000046, RIP: 0xffffff7fa1554cf7, CS: 0x0000000000000008, SS: 0x0000000000000010\n" "Error code: 0x0000000000000000\n"@/SourceCache/xnu/xnu-2050.24.15/osfmk/i386/trap_native.c:280
Backtrace (CPU 2), Frame : Return Address
0xffffff81082b5ec0 : 0xffffff801f81d626
0xffffff81082b5f30 : 0xffffff801f8b8ec9
0xffffff81082b60a0 : 0xffffff801f8cea4f
0xffffff8110a33cd0 : 0xffffff7fa154e12e
0xffffff8110a33db0 : 0xffffff7fa154d515
0xffffff8110a33e60 : 0xffffff801f8b9c0f
0xffffff8110a33e80 : 0xffffff801f82f34d
0xffffff8110a33ec0 : 0xffffff801f82de01
0xffffff8110a33f20 : 0xffffff801f82db73
0xffffff8110a33f60 : 0xffffff801f83e599
0xffffff8110a33fb0 : 0xffffff801f8b3137
Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement(196.0)[BBF44990-49F7-3780-AF55-C26B48EDE4C4]@0xffffff7fa154b000->0xffffff7fa1573fff

BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task

Mac OS version:
12E55

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 12.4.0: Wed May 1 17:57:12 PDT 2013; root:xnu-2050.24.15~1/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 896CB1E3-AB79-3DF1-B595-549DFFDF3D36
Kernel slide: 0x000000001f600000
Kernel text base: 0xffffff801f800000
System model name: MacPro3,1 (Mac-F42C88C8)

System uptime in nanoseconds: 457592368638
last loaded kext at 85863744195: com.apple.filesystems.smbfs 1.8.4 (addr 0xffffff7f9fded000, size 229376)
last unloaded kext at 100104550585: com.apple.driver.AppleFileSystemDriver 3.0.1 (addr 0xffffff7fa1765000, size 8192)
loaded kexts:
com.apple.filesystems.smbfs 1.8.4
com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch 75.19
com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC 1.60
com.apple.filesystems.ntfs 3.10
com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor 1.9.5d0
com.apple.driver.AppleHDA 2.3.7fc4
com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient 3.5.10
com.apple.filesystems.autofs 3.0
com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl 1.1.11
com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet 1.0.0d1
com.apple.kext.AMDFramebuffer 8.1.2
com.apple.iokit.CSRBluetoothHCIControllerUSBTransport 4.1.4f2
com.apple.ATIRadeonX2000 8.1.2
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager 4.1.4f2
com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X 7.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleLPC 1.6.0
com.apple.driver.AppleMCEDriver 1.1.9
com.apple.driver.ApplePolicyControl 3.4.5
com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin 1.0.0
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient 3.5.5
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter 404
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage 2.3.1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless 1.0.0d1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib 1.0.0d1
com.apple.BootCache 34
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub 5.5.5
com.apple.driver.AppleIntel8254XEthernet 3.1.1b1
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort 2.5.2
com.apple.driver.AirPortBrcm43224 600.36.17
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelPIIXATA 2.5.1
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI 4.9.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI 5.5.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBUHCI 5.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM 1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons 1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC 1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET 1.8
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS 1.9
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC 1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC 1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient 196.0.0
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall 4.0.39
com.apple.security.quarantine 2.1
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement 196.0.0
com.apple.driver.IOBluetoothHIDDriver 4.1.4f2
com.apple.driver.AppleMultitouchDriver 235.29
com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib 2.3.7fc4
com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily 1.8.9fc11
com.apple.kext.OSv
Model: MacPro3,1, BootROM MP31.006C.B05, 8 processors, Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 2.8 GHz, 8 GB, SMC 1.25f4
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4870, ATI Radeon HD 4870, PCIe, 1024 MB
Memory Module: DIMM Riser B/DIMM 1, 1 GB, DDR2 FB-DIMM, 800 MHz, 0x80AD, 0x48594D5035313241373243503844332D5335
Memory Module: DIMM Riser B/DIMM 2, 1 GB, DDR2 FB-DIMM, 800 MHz, 0x80AD, 0x48594D5035313241373243503844332D5335
Memory Module: DIMM Riser A/DIMM 1, 2 GB, DDR2 FB-DIMM, 800 MHz, 0x8551, 0x47523244463247425838514D38303049434C
Memory Module: DIMM Riser A/DIMM 2, 2 GB, DDR2 FB-DIMM, 800 MHz, 0x8551, 0x47523244463247425838514D38303049434C
Memory Module: DIMM Riser A/DIMM 3, 1 GB, DDR2 FB-DIMM, 800 MHz, 0x802C, 0x475232444631474258384D54383030510000
Memory Module: DIMM Riser A/DIMM 4, 1 GB, DDR2 FB-DIMM, 800 MHz, 0x802C, 0x475232444631474258384D54383030510000
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0x88), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.131.36.16)
Bluetooth: Version 4.1.4f2 12041, 2 service, 18 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Wi-Fi, AirPort, en2
PCI Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870, sppci_displaycontroller, Slot-1
PCI Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870, ATY,MotmotParent, Slot-1
Serial ATA Device: ST3500630AS P, 500.11 GB
Serial ATA Device: ST3500320AS, 500.11 GB
Serial ATA Device: WDC WD1001FALS-00J7B0, 1 TB
Parallel ATA Device: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-112D
USB Device: Keyboard Hub, apple_vendor_id, 0x1006, 0xfd100000 / 3
USB Device: Apple Keyboard, apple_vendor_id, 0x0220, 0xfd120000 / 4
USB Device: Desktop, 0x0bc2 (Seagate LLC), 0x3300, 0xfd300000 / 2
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, apple_vendor_id, 0x8206, 0x5d200000 / 3
USB Device: Controller, 0x045e (Microsoft Corporation), 0x028e, 0x5d100000 / 2
FireWire Device: built-in_hub, 800mbit_speed

 

[Elbert C]

Sorry, I don't know how to decipher kernel panic logs. Until someone who knows how to comes along, you should take a look at these.

Understanding and Debugging Kernel Panics

Resolving Kernel Panics

 

[jjhoekstra]

Hi Morphball,

Based on endless tinkering with a couple of Pros, to me it looks like it could very well be a bad contact in one of the many connections in your machine, fi in the hdd connections or, more likely, the memory sticks. These kind of bad connections are notoriously difficult to diagnose as they are intermittent.
What you could try is to reseat the memory sticks and hdd connecting cables. Buy a spray-can of contact cleaner, take out the memory sticks, clean the contacts with the cleaner and put the sticks back. The same for the hdd cables. You can also try to reseat the PCI boards. While you are playing with the hardware, putting in a new battery on the motherboard might also be a good idea and a thorough dusting of the inside of the cabinet usually is also a must.
There is no guarantee that it helps, but there is a reasonable chance and the only cost is the contact cleaner.
Good luck!
PS: the endless tinkering I do is a small side-business I have. I buy broken Pros cheaply from the internet and use the parts to build functioning machines which I sell again.

 

[ScottishCaptain]

That machine check exception points to either your RAM or CPU(s). One or the other is likely defective or improperly seated as jjhoekstra points out. I'm not sure how you're going to figure out which it is without replacing the RAM at the minimum, and seeing if the trouble persists.

Sorry I can't be of more assistance- the only thing I can tell for sure from your logs is that it is memory related. Either a processor is defective (bad memory controller, bad cache RAM) or some of your RAM is on the fritz (which stick I don't know). Whatever is happening is happening deviously enough that the machine doesn't know it is happening- typically RAM errors can be detected via ECC and corrected, but that isn't happening here. So whatever it is, is low level enough that all you're getting is the hardware panic via an MCE.

-SC

 

[morphball]

Thanks for your thoughts guys! I will have a play around with the memory and HDD connectors over the next couple of days and see if it helps at all. Will let you know how I go! Thanks again for your help, appreciate it

 

[666sheep]

It's the RAM. Your KP log points on this undoubtedly. As SC said, ECC errors can be corrected but only single bit ones. Double bit errors are uncorrectable and machine crashes when they happen. And when they happen, it usually means that memory is electronically damaged. Unfortunately MCE won't tell you precisely which sticks are suspect, but you could test them using memtest. Burn .iso on a CD and boot your MP off of it.

 

[morphball]

It's the RAM. Your KP log points on this undoubtedly. As SC said, ECC errors can be corrected but only single bit ones. Double bit errors are uncorrectable and machine crashes when they happen. And when they happen, it usually means that memory is electronically damaged. Unfortunately MCE won't tell you precisely which sticks are suspect, but you could test them using memtest. Burn .iso on a CD and boot your MP off of it.

Thank you, I'm burning an .iso now to test. I've also noticed in the last couple of days that the computer will automatically restart sometimes if I'm plugging or unplugging an audio jack, optical cable or monitor cable. Could this be related to the RAM issue as well?

 

[666sheep]

This is another issue, not the RAM related. Reset SMC and see whether it will help.

 

[morphball]

So I tested all of the RAM sticks individually with Memtest today as well as altogether and none of the tests came back with any errors. Have reset the PRAM/VRAM and the SMC again as well so will see if the problem persists. Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[phpmaven]

So I tested all of the RAM sticks individually with Memtest today as well as altogether and none of the tests came back with any errors. Have reset the PRAM/VRAM and the SMC again as well so will see if the problem persists. Anyone else have any ideas?

I would still strongly suspect the RAM. If I were you I would order new sticks and see if that solves the problem. You can always return them if it doesn't.

Also, have you followed the advice of one of the above posters about really cleaning all of the dust out and reseating all of your drives and boards and connections? I've brought a few computers back to life that way over the years.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^I concur with the above recommendation. Is your RAM matched? That is, is it all from the same manufacturer and is it all the same speed?

Lou

 

[kreispendl]

for me it was the ram.
i have the same machine as you do and experienced the same problems.
after reinstalling everything i knew it had to be a hardware issue.

only the apple hardware test (on the 2008 mac pro install disk) could find the faulty ram stick. replaced it and everything worked again..

all the best. g.

 

[DPUser]

The best contact cleaner I have ever used (by far) is the Caig line of products. DeOxit Gold is highly recommended for computer contacts. They also have a great lube for potentiometers, although DeOxit works well to clean scratchy pots, too. Caig keeps my studio running clean and quiet.

I have received no compensation from Ciag nor do I have any relationship with the company, except for the products I have purchased and absolutely love!

Simply re-seating RAM and exercising connections will often alleviate issues, too.

OP: Put your OS and Apps on an SSD once you get things fixed, and enjoy your "new" computer.

 

[TonyK]

An an owner of a 2008 MP (3,1) I am interested.

any updates on how the system is doing?

 

[jaxhunter]

Check this out over on the Apple forums:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3269350?start=0&tstart=0

A few of the posters found the issue to be RAM and used AHT to find it. Also, if you can get the machine to an Apple Store they should be able to run Apple Service Diagnostic on it.

Hopefully it's not the other issue they cited there, which is a problem with the procesors or logic board.

Best of luck! As a former Apple Genius I will tell you that stuff like this was a pain to track down and we usually ended up swapping out every single part of the machine one-by-one until we stopped getting panics. It was a time-consuming process and those machine require a blood sacrifice to put back together properly.

 

[jazzba]

huuu number 0

recently i did press some command button, and now my number 0 does not work. everytime when i press number zero on my right side, I can hear voice repeating my last typed command. But when i go and use other user name on same comp, no problem whatsoever. Can I get some help to fix this problem, this voice is very boring that repeat the last thing I typed on the keyboard, thank you

 

[DanielCoffey]

You will be better off making your own thread for this issue.

People will need to know which version of OSX you are using but I would start looking in System Preferences - Accessibility or possibly Dictation & Speech and see if you have toggled something on.