Repairing Bent Mac Pro case?

[carpsafari]

I'm surprised you guys don't see why this happened!

The handles stick out from the case, Apple will put foam blocks between the handles.
However tough a box you get, many fail to understand, that the Mac destroys itself by the impact.
I was told by a package delivery guy that they drop the boxes from a conveyor belt.
The MP weighs 18kg/ 40lbs...so thatswhy it happens!

Always ask for transport in an original Apple box and when the seller doesn't understand, you should know you take a huge risk.

 

[fendersrule]

Kudos to you for still loving it!

If my Mac Pro looked like that, I'd gut it and start over.

Above post: Never, ever, ever, buy a Mac Pro that isn't shipped in the original box. It's amazing how much bent-handle Macs show up on eBay for this very reason.

 

[Niccador]

Always ask for transport in an original Apple box

Not terrible advice, but I wouldn't think that it guarantees the foam blocks will be there or used appropriately.

The seller made a very good effort to protect the unit, I think, but you're right in that they didn't go about it in quite the right way. All it would have needed was a few pieces of the very same foam sheets they were using around the unit shoved between all the handles. (They'd fit snugly, I checked!) Probably would've made it here safely.

 

[carpsafari]

Even when I told the seller how to pack it and why, they still did it they way they can, they lack the vision.
Its a 100% sure thing.
PayPal didn't even bother to change anything, apparently they make enough to settle these disputes.

The Apple box has pre-shaped foam blocks, it's not hard to see.
So thatswhy there are so many crippled Macs.

 

[ReanimationLP]

https://www.dvwarehouse.com/922-800...o-First-Generation-V.2-2006-2007-p-35381.html

Here you can get the enclosure pre-owned for 40 bucks.

I'd personally get this, move everything into the new case, recycle the old one

 

[fendersrule]

Good idea. That case would cost $38 in shipping to my place in the NW. Eek.

Honestly for a Mac Pro 1,1 I wouldn't be throwing money into it. Hopefully you've got a good use case that requires the use of one.

 

[fhturner]

The top, you will need two clamps!
One to hold the side plates together, while you try the other clamp to pull the handle up.
At some point it will look half decent, be patient.
The side where the rivet popped will always stick out, unless you drill a hole and screw it together.

I straightened out a collapsed top-rear handle on one of mine. It wasn't as badly deformed as the OP's, but I'll bet he can get it back pretty close, w/ the exception of where the rivet has been sheared. One thing that helped me was setting it out in the sun to warm the aluminum, then also evenly heating the handle w/ a heat gun prior to prying. I protected the top of the case by using 1x4 boards and some shims from a paint-stirring stick. Gradually pried up w/ the 1x4 at alternating angles across one side, then the other (never centering the board up, as I didn't want to make a depression in the top of the case). Now it is so close that I almost can't tell it was damaged.

Good luck!

 

[Niccador]

Thanks again for all the advice.

Managed to pry it up to a much more usable position. Did it quick and dirty with some clamps and a board, and ultimately, a few gentle seconds with a crowbar. Far from perfect, but it was never going to be. I can open and close the case now, and that's really all that matters.

Same with the bottom, still not quite level though. But now it only needs 1 paint stick shim, and not 2 or 3. Plus, I went ahead and picked up a couple mover's dollies to set it on, so leveling has been taken care of.

(Sorry for the crappy pic, I was in a rush.)

 

[OS6-OSX]

The side where the rivet popped will always stick out, unless you drill a hole and screw it together.

This happened to a G5 I received years ago (top rear pictured in upside down photo). I drilled a couple of holes and used these to mask the screw heads. It made the handle strong enough to lift the unit. I ended up getting the G5 for free!

 

[Gonzbull]

My advice, get rid of it and start again. No way I would invest any time or money on a machine in that state.

 

[Niccador]

My advice, get rid of it and start again. No way I would invest any time or money on a machine in that state.

*shrugs* Already had a plan going in. Apart from the shipping damage, have not yet uncovered any quirks or anything indicative of hidden damage yet. Got lucky, really.
Plus, A) was refunded the cost, so only paid shipping, and B) this was never intended to be a very long term investment, but a lowest-possible cost experiment to get familiar with the platform. Later on, I can look at newer, better hardware. But for it's purpose, it's perfect for now.

So far, I've:
1) gotten a PC 5770 successfully flashed and working in the system, cost about $17
2) upgraded the firmware to 2,1 ahead of a CPU upgrade,
3) installed Windows 10 x64 to a 2nd physical drive I had laying around,
4) installed OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 on a new partition of the original Lion drive (which surprisingly seems to run noticeably better than Lion, though I've barely tinkered with it yet)...

All I've left to do (tonight, hopefully) is install a pair of X5355 processors (which I picked up from some seller in China for $9 shipped...if they work at all I'll be impressed, but at that price I can afford to be disappointed), and then I can get back to learning the software. There's a bit more learning curve to it than I expected, coming from Windows.

All in all, I'll have spent about $80 altogether on this machine. And lord knows I've spent more on less.

Oh, I *did* find one odd behavior: it doesn't like to Restart. Normal boot and shutdown work fine, sleep and wake work fine, but Restart hangs.
This is not a unique behavior, though, I've found mention of the exact same problem here and on other forums. Most cases I saw seemed to be solved by replacing the CMOS battery, so that's what I'll try first while I'm digging everything out for the processors.

 

[Gonzbull]

Ah that’s sweet then. All that Mac for $80 is a deal in my book. Damn shipping people though.
I’m sure with a bit of elbow grease and the right tool you’ll be able to fix up the case a bit.
Enjoy your new machine.

 

[Niccador]

Bwa-hahaha! Frankenstein's Monster Lives!
I have successfully transplanted my stupid cheap X5355's, and looks like everything works properly. (so far)
Feeling proud of myself, for some reason, despite having performed surgery on countless PC's throughout the years. *shrug* maybe it's just that this is a very nicely put together machine. (And whisper quiet...loving it.)

Do these temps look pretty normal/expected to anyone?
I'd forgotten to check how much thermal paste I had on hand before I started, and may have been slightly more stingy with it than I should have been. Gelid GC-Extreme. Good stuff, but was worried I didn't apply enough.

Also, Geekbench. Because, why not. (My Core2 comparison made me laugh a little.)
https://browser.geekbench.com/user/138915

 

[mikas]

I have almost exactly the same monster here. Only the HD 5770 was just recently moved to another mac.
This Mac Pro is still in heavy use in a local render farm, and performs quite well regarding it's age.

I put my temps for you to investigate. My temperatures come from Macs Fan Control. Not every sensor is detected, but there is enough info to compare with others. I assume you used Bresinks Hardware monitor software, at least it looks like it. It is quite good software, but end of lifed, unfortunately.

 

[Niccador]

I have almost exactly the same monster here. Only the HD 5770 was just recently moved to another mac.
This Mac Pro is still in heavy use in a local render farm, and performs quite well regarding it's age.

I put my temps for you to investigate. My temperatures come from Macs Fan Control. Not every sensor is detected, but there is enough info to compare with others. I assume you used Bresinks Hardware monitor software, at least it looks like it. It is quite good software, but end of lifed, unfortunately.

Thanks for the info. I went ahead and installed MFC, and ran Geekbench again (since I don't really have anything else at the moment).

Fans are running at min RPM (500), so there's room to adjust there, and idling roughly around 50C right now, got up to 60's, low 70's during Geekbench.

EDIT:
What has my attention at this exact moment, is the fact that MFC is reporting a 10 degree difference between them that HM wasn't. Which kind of makes me think that I didn't apply my thermal paste quite right, but I'm also uncertain as to whether or not the sensors are identified correctly. (The system is also lying on it's side at the moment, until I decide I don't need to tear it apart again, if that greatly affects these numbers.) Apart from that difference, I'm not noticing any creep....holding steady.

Comparison with MFC and HM attached.

I guess, unless someone suggests otherwise, I'm going to call this "acceptable" for now, though the 70C stated operating range has me a little concerned. Letting MFC auto adjust fan speeds helped keep it from getting there (didn't affect the difference, definitely not whisper quiet at full bore, lol)

EDIT 2:
Thought I'd try iStatMenus, and see if that gave similar readings and/or identified sensors better.
Readings look about the same, with the 40s/50s reading at the Die, but Heatsinks showing mid-30s.
Which of these numbers should I actually be concerned with, if any?