Problem upgrading firmware 2009 -> 2010

[ridethevent]

So, i just purchased a 2009 2 x 2.26 ghz mac pro and i'm trying to do the firmware upgrade. I tried numerous times using the various guides that I found.

1. I opened the DMG on the desktop
2. Ran the hack
3. Ram disk was created, got the confirmation
4. Turned computer off
5. Rebooted holding power button until long tone heard
6. Firmware update starts for like a second then crashes and reboots normally into 4,1

One thing I did notice was that I have an ATI Radeon 4870 graphics card. I was reading that people were having problems with non EFI graphics cards, but I'm not sure what that is and whether or not this one is supported. I did some google surfing and it looks like an ATI graphics card was an option on this machine in 2009. So i guess if it is supported i'm running out of ideas as to why the firmware upgrade isn't working. Should I order a nvidia gt120 card and try that?

 

[CapnDavey]

Is that an apple or flashed card if so it should work but people tell me to do it with the gt120 so more input is needed.

 

[ridethevent]

It looks like this one with the outputs pictured.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/608916-REG/Apple_MB999ZM_A_ATI_Radeon_HD_4870.html

 

[h9826790]

That GPU is fine, that's the stock Apple 4870. Anyway, no matter which GPU is, as long as you can see the Apple boot logo, that's fine.

Which OS you are using? For El Capitan or later, you have to disable SIP before applying this firmware upgrade.

 

[markwilliams4321]

You may need to update the firmware first on the Mac Pro before doing the 5.1 update. From memory (this may be wrong) it should say '...B07' in the hardware section of about my mac. I think you can download the file from Apple it is either 1.4 or 1.5. If I was in the office I could be of more help but I'm on my phone. I'm sure someone here will clear this jumbled message of mine up though!

Once you have put the correct revision of 4.1 firmware on there you will be able to upload the 5.1 firmware.

 

[h9826790]

You may need to update the firmware first on the Mac Pro before doing the 5.1 update. From memory (this may be wrong) it should say '...B07' in the hardware section of about my mac. I think you can download the file from Apple it is either 1.4 or 1.5. If I was in the office I could be of more help but I'm on my phone. I'm sure someone here will clear this jumbled message of mine up though!

Once you have put the correct revision of 4.1 firmware on there you will be able to upload the 5.1 firmware.

Yes, AFAIK, only B07 and B08 (some refurb Mac Pro has this custom firmware version) can perform this firmware upgrade.

 

[ridethevent]

I think my mac pro is refurbished or from a reseller. It has B08 rather than B07, when I took out the stock 1tb apple drive, on it was scribbled "re sale" in green marker.

So that B08 is not a limiting factor? Or do i need to downgrade to the B07? Is that even possible?

Do you think it could be graphics card? Does someone have a stock NVIDIA gt120 i could borrow to try this out?

Oh and I did disable the csrutil in terminal before trying to update the firmware. I have OSX Capitan.

 

[h9826790]

No, B08 is not limiting. The only downside of B08 is that you can't go back once the firmware is upgraded.

GT120 is not require. I did the upgrade with my stock Apple 4870.

Anyway, did you download the 5,1 firmware by yourself and put it on the desktop?

 

[ridethevent]

i downloaded the dmg from apple. I double clicked on it so it opened up in a finder window and I could see the contents of the package. Then I ran the hack and it created the ramdisk, placing it on the desktop. Then i got the message to reboot with the instructions. When I hold it down until the tone i see the firmware screen and the bar for a half second and then it automatically shuts down and reboots.

 

[h9826790]

So, your boot Rom version still B08, and SIP still disabled? And what's the ROM version of your graphic card?

 

[ridethevent]

I'll post this tonight. Still at work. Thanks for taking the time to go through it with me.

 

[markwilliams4321]

I have turned probably a few 100 4.1's into 5.1's over the years and there has only ever been one issue with the update failing at the point your is. Please download Apples Mac Pro firmware 1.4. Install this. Once the installation has finished it will ask you to shutdown and turn on by holding the power button until the light flashes. The firmware update will then start and it will reboot a few mins later. Then re attempt the 5.1 flash but have the Mac Pro 1.5 folder open while you do this. Your Mac should then have no issues upgrading to 5.1

 

[ridethevent]

I have turned probably a few 100 4.1's into 5.1's over the years and there has only ever been one issue with the update failing at the point your is. Please download Apples Mac Pro firmware 1.4. Install this. Once the installation has finished it will ask you to shutdown and turn on by holding the power button until the light flashes. The firmware update will then start and it will reboot a few mins later. Then re attempt the 5.1 flash but have the Mac Pro 1.5 folder open while you do this. Your Mac should then have no issues upgrading to 5.1

When i try reinstalling 1.4 it says this computer doesn't need it.

Here are the screenshots with the info you were looking for.

 

[buster84]

When i try reinstalling 1.4 it says this computer doesn't need it.

Here are the screenshots with the info you were looking for.


View attachment 645370 View attachment 645367 View attachment 645369

Try the firmware upgrade on a older OSX. I did it successfully last year on mavericks. Maybe el captain is the problem.

 

[h9826790]

When i try reinstalling 1.4 it says this computer doesn't need it.

Here are the screenshots with the info you were looking for.


View attachment 645370 View attachment 645367 View attachment 645369

GPU is good, that's an Mac EFI ROM.

Firmware version is also good. I personally never upgrade from B08, but other members report success.

SIP is disabled.

And you have the 5,1 firmware version downloaded.

So, the next step I will try is install Mavericks, which is a known bug free OSX to run this firmware upgrade. El Capitan is 50/50 at the moment, someone OK, but some other don't.

 

[ridethevent]

So, the next step I will try is install Mavericks, which is a known bug free OSX to run this firmware upgrade. El Capitan is 50/50 at the moment, someone OK, but some other don't.

Installed a clean version of mavericks on a new hard drive. Pulled the capitan hard drive. Even restarted and started a few times before I tried the update. Still no success. Same thing happens. When I try the restart I see the status bar for a split second, then a restart.

I'm beginning to think that I have to buy a real 2010-2012 or just keep this thing the way it is. I was able to buy a 24 inch display, keyboard, mouse, and the 2009 Mac Pro with the dual processor tray (2 x 2.26 quads) for $350 bucks.

I'm planning to use this thing as a PLEX server and a NAS, with the primary function to serve as a centralized back up location for all of our data. This will allow me to connect the computer directly to a service like back blaze and have unlimited cloud storage while also running our data in a RAID configuration on this mac pro. We stream a lot of stuff, we primarily use VUDU, but we use PLEX for the stuff that isn't available online. I don't need the CPU to transcode necessarily, but occasionally I will rip movies and convert them to MP4 so I can put them on my kid's iPads. This allows them to watch them when internet isn't available. So, a fast CPU would help with compressing with handbrake.

What's the fastest I could make this thing if i couldn't upgrade to 5,1? Does it make sense to find a 2010, take out the single processor tray and replace it with mine and re-sell the other one?

 

[buster84]

Installed a clean version of mavericks on a new hard drive. Pulled the capitan hard drive. Even restarted and started a few times before I tried the update. Still no success. Same thing happens. When I try the restart I see the status bar for a split second, then a restart.

I'm beginning to think that I have to buy a real 2010-2012 or just keep this thing the way it is. I was able to buy a 24 inch display, keyboard, mouse, and the 2009 Mac Pro with the dual processor tray (2 x 2.26 quads) for $350 bucks.

I'm planning to use this thing as a PLEX server and a NAS, with the primary function to serve as a centralized back up location for all of our data. This will allow me to connect the computer directly to a service like back blaze and have unlimited cloud storage while also running our data in a RAID configuration on this mac pro. We stream a lot of stuff, we primarily use VUDU, but we use PLEX for the stuff that isn't available online. I don't need the CPU to transcode necessarily, but occasionally I will rip movies and convert them to MP4 so I can put them on my kid's iPads. This allows them to watch them when internet isn't available. So, a fast CPU would help with compressing with handbrake.

What's the fastest I could make this thing if i couldn't upgrade to 5,1? Does it make sense to find a 2010, take out the single processor tray and replace it with mine and re-sell the other one?

Have you tried a Pram reset?

This upgrade should still work, there has to be something else going on. Maybe create a video of what you doing exactly that way we can see it

As for using it as a plex server, you might want to reconsider especially if you live in a state with higher electricity costs then you're far better off buying a 2011-3 E5 xeon processor and motherboard combo. Id suggest this processor, and a simple 2011-3 board. If you dont mind an Intel sample chip you can save money on the chip itself and on the yearly power cost and go with this.

You can also do a e5-2650l V1 chip, if you want a lower wattage oem chip for less. Make sure you get a 2011 matching motherboard instead of the 2011-3 one. These older boards are alot harder to find and ebay will be the best place to find one.

This will not only work great for plex, but you can get nice case with lots of hard drive spaces and use the freenas program and turn it into a NAS server with plex functionality. No need for windows/osx to be installed.

If you'd rather use your mac and dont care about your electricity costs, thats also an option. Especially if you dont plan to leave it on 24/7 or dont plan to use it continuously for a few years.

 

[ridethevent]

I'll throw the mavericks drive back in and zap it with a pram reset a few times and see if that helps with the upgrade.

For a while I was toying with the notion of a freenas. But the more I thought about it, I realized that I wanted a powerful desktop computer as well, not just a storage array. And i thought I could combine all of that stuff (nas, plex server, desktop capability) all into one machine that was connected to my home network. My only other computer is a Macbook pro from 2010. It doesn't have much "kick," I think it just has a core 2 duo and every time I compress a movie with handbrake it sounds like an airliner preparing for take off. My electricity costs 0.42 kWh, i'm not sure how that ranks in comparison with the rest of the country/world, but I'm not sure electricity would be a motivating factor not have it be "on," 24/7. I'm sure when it's sleeping it's not drawing much power? And when I'm accessing or moving files shouldn't it spin up and then go back to sleep?

Does it make more sense to build a powerful hackintosh? I like the stability of a factory computer and OS. But, are the components in this 2009 machine still relevant now? I know you can supercharge the CPU and RAM and that was my biggest reason for buying it, especially for $300. But what about the fact the USB drives are 2.0 and the SATA drives are just SATA II? I'm obviously going to be putting my operating system and applications on an SSD but will the standard HDD (7200rpm) affect how fast i'm moving data and accessing a large photo storage through mac photos?

EDIT: Pulled all the drives except the one with mavericks. Did a pram reset x3. Same result.

 

[h9826790]

Installed a clean version of mavericks on a new hard drive. Pulled the capitan hard drive. Even restarted and started a few times before I tried the update. Still no success. Same thing happens. When I try the restart I see the status bar for a split second, then a restart.

I'm beginning to think that I have to buy a real 2010-2012 or just keep this thing the way it is. I was able to buy a 24 inch display, keyboard, mouse, and the 2009 Mac Pro with the dual processor tray (2 x 2.26 quads) for $350 bucks.

I'm planning to use this thing as a PLEX server and a NAS, with the primary function to serve as a centralized back up location for all of our data. This will allow me to connect the computer directly to a service like back blaze and have unlimited cloud storage while also running our data in a RAID configuration on this mac pro. We stream a lot of stuff, we primarily use VUDU, but we use PLEX for the stuff that isn't available online. I don't need the CPU to transcode necessarily, but occasionally I will rip movies and convert them to MP4 so I can put them on my kid's iPads. This allows them to watch them when internet isn't available. So, a fast CPU would help with compressing with handbrake.

What's the fastest I could make this thing if i couldn't upgrade to 5,1? Does it make sense to find a 2010, take out the single processor tray and replace it with mine and re-sell the other one?

$350 DP 4,1 with display, that's a good deal. I really wish there is some similar deal in my town, so that I can buy one and have some fun to upgrade to dual X5690. And yes, dual X5690 with 6 sticks of 1333MHz RAM is the fastest config you can get with this cMP.

However, you cannot use a 4,1 tray in a real 5,1. AFAIK, the machine will boot, the CPUs and RAM will work. But the mismatched SMC will cause the CPU fan run at full speed. So, it's not really something considered OK in general.

The firmware upgrade process should be relatively straight forward. May be as the other's suggest. You can firm a video about the whole process, which make the others easier to figure out what went wrong.

 

[pigsyn]

Hello,

Try the following:
1. Unmount and remove All downloaded firmware .dmg
2. open Terminal and run

sudo rm -rf "/System/Library/CoreServices/Firmware Updates/MacProEFIUpdate15"

2. Download updated firmware utility from http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,852.msg31640.html#msg31640
(You will need registration to see the zip file and download it)

The MP41.88Z.0081.B08 firmware string is in the tool, so this should work.

If this is not working please provide output of the following Terminal commands:

system_profiler SPHardwareDataType|egrep "Model|Boot";nvram boot-args;csrutil status;system_profiler SPPCIDataType SPStorageDataType

 

[ridethevent]

no dice. Here are the results of the terminal command.

system_profiler SPHardwareDataType|egrep "Model|Boot";nvram boot-args;csrutil status;system_profiler SPPCIDataType SPStorageDataType

Model Name: Mac Pro

Model Identifier: MacPro4,1

Boot ROM Version: MP41.0081.B08

nvram: Error getting variable - 'boot-args': (iokit/common) data was not found

-bash: csrutil: command not found

PCI Cards:



ATI Radeon HD 4870:



Name: ATY,MotMot

Type: Display Controller

Driver Installed: Yes

MSI: Yes

Bus: PCI

Slot: Slot-1

Vendor ID: 0x1002

Device ID: 0x9440

Subsystem Vendor ID: 0x106b

Subsystem ID: 0x00b2

Revision ID: 0x0000

Link Width: x16

Link Speed: 5.0 GT/s



Storage:



Mac 1TB:



Available: 986.49 GB (986,494,775,296 bytes)

Capacity: 999.35 GB (999,345,127,424 bytes)

Mount Point: /

File System: Journaled HFS+

Writable: Yes

Ignore Ownership: No

BSD Name: disk0s2

Volume UUID: 281E2E4A-0C42-3F73-87D4-207C3B4E7855

Physical Drive:

Media Name: WDC WD1001FALS-41Y6A1 Media

Medium Type: Rotational

Protocol: SATA

Internal: Yes

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified