Sonnettech Tempo Pro + Bootcamp woes

[mfletcher]

Hello,

I recently bought a Sonnettech Tempo Pro for my Early 2008 Mac Pro (3,1) because I wanted to be able to get maximum throughput out of the SSD's I have installed in the system. Plus being able to boot to OS X on the card was a nice feature. Unfortunately, Im having issues booting into Bootcamp.

My setup:
Mac Pro (3,1)

Internal Backplane:
Bay1: OS X 10.8.5
Bay2: Windows 7 on Bootcamp

PCI-E slots:
Slot 2: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 680
Slot 4: Sonnettech Tempo Pro with 2 SSD's.

With the Tempo Pro card installed, I can no longer boot to Windows 7. I get a flashing cursor. Other times I get a disk read error and a flashing cursor.
With the Tempo Pro card removed, I can boot to Windows 7 just fine. Running chkdisk, I dont get any errors. I dont see any issues with the drive at all. But as soon as I reinstall the Tempo Pro card, I can no longer boot to Bootcamp.

Ive tried resetting the PRAM on the Mac Pro - Ive also tried moving the Geforce Card from Slot 2 to Slot 1. Both instances, I still cant boot to Windows 7.

I also thought it was the configuration of the SSD's on the Tempo Pro. They were originally in a Software RAID0 setup. But I broke the RAID and formatted them as a FAT just in case Windows was having a problem with the setup, but to no avail.

So, to anyone else out there using the Tempo Pro card, what have your experiences been with getting Bootcamp working correctly?

Mark

 

[Macsonic]

Hello,

I recently bought a Sonnettech Tempo Pro for my Early 2008 Mac Pro (3,1) because I wanted to be able to get maximum throughput out of the SSD's I have installed in the system. Plus being able to boot to OS X on the card was a nice feature. Unfortunately, Im having issues booting into Bootcamp.

My setup:
Mac Pro (3,1)

Internal Backplane:
Bay1: OS X 10.8.5
Bay2: Windows 7 on Bootcamp

PCI-E slots:
Slot 2: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 680
Slot 4: Sonnettech Tempo Pro with 2 SSD's.

With the Tempo Pro card installed, I can no longer boot to Windows 7. I get a flashing cursor. Other times I get a disk read error and a flashing cursor.
With the Tempo Pro card removed, I can boot to Windows 7 just fine. Running chkdisk, I dont get any errors. I dont see any issues with the drive at all. But as soon as I reinstall the Tempo Pro card, I can no longer boot to Bootcamp.

Ive tried resetting the PRAM on the Mac Pro - Ive also tried moving the Geforce Card from Slot 2 to Slot 1. Both instances, I still cant boot to Windows 7.

I also thought it was the configuration of the SSD's on the Tempo Pro. They were originally in a Software RAID0 setup. But I broke the RAID and formatted them as a FAT just in case Windows was having a problem with the setup, but to no avail.

So, to anyone else out there using the Tempo Pro card, what have your experiences been with getting Bootcamp working correctly?

Mark

There is a user comment in Amazon's Customer reviews on the Sonnet Tempo that it does not boot into Bootcamp. Not sure if the model you have is the same one in that Amazon ad. http://www.amazon.com/Sonnet-Techno...ATA6-SSD-E2/dp/B0096P62G6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_3

The user recommended Apricom Velocity as it will boot into Bootcamp though it also has its own glitches.

 

[mfletcher]

There is a user comment in Amazon's Customer reviews on the Sonnet Tempo that it does not boot into Bootcamp. Not sure if the model you have is the same one in that Amazon ad. http://www.amazon.com/Sonnet-Techno...ATA6-SSD-E2/dp/B0096P62G6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_3

The user recommended Apricom Velocity as it will boot into Bootcamp though it also has its own glitches.

Thanks for the link - but reading the review, its not clear if the user was using the bootcamp drive on the card, or was using it in one of the internal bays.

In my case, Im using the bootcamp drive in the Mac Pro's internal bay, and not in the card itself.

 

[mfletcher]

One final test that I did.

1) Removed Sonnet Tempo Pro from Mac Pro altogether. Result: Bootcamp boots up just fine

2) Installed Sonnet Tempo Pro with no SSD's attached to it at all. Result Bootcamp does not boot.

So even if the card is unpopulated, the Mac Pro will still refuse to boot to bootcamp.

 

[pastrychef]

I had a similar setup. Bootcamp drive on one of the built-in SATA 2 ports and SSD on an Apricorn Velocity SATA 3 card.

My experiences were extremely similar to yours on my old Mac Pro 3,1. I can't remember what I did, but I did manage to boot in to bootcamp, however, afterwards, I was unable to boot back to Mac OS X without removing the bootcamp drive. I was never able to resolve the issue.

After transitioning to my Mac Pro 5,1, everything has worked perfectly. I believe it is an issue isolated to Mac Pro 3,1s.

 

[snarfquest]

I had a similar setup. Bootcamp drive on one of the built-in SATA 2 ports and SSD on an Apricorn Velocity SATA 3 card.

My experiences were extremely similar to yours on my old Mac Pro 3,1. I can't remember what I did, but I did manage to boot in to bootcamp, however, afterwards, I was unable to boot back to Mac OS X without removing the bootcamp drive. I was never able to resolve the issue.

After transitioning to my Mac Pro 5,1, everything has worked perfectly. I believe it is an issue isolated to Mac Pro 3,1s.

I have the same problem in my MP 5,1. I had to remove the card and just live with my SSD in a SATA2 port.

 

[wildatheart]

One final test that I did.

1) Removed Sonnet Tempo Pro from Mac Pro altogether. Result: Bootcamp boots up just fine

2) Installed Sonnet Tempo Pro with no SSD's attached to it at all. Result Bootcamp does not boot.

So even if the card is unpopulated, the Mac Pro will still refuse to boot to bootcamp.

I don't suppose you ever found a solution to this?

 

[boodaddyz]

I purchased the Velocity Solo X2 for my 3,1 and it would not boot into Windows with or without bootcamp installed. Booted osx from the card just fine...I tried everything. After 5 days I gave up...

One thing I noticed was the SuperDrives seem to conflict. I unhooked them at first, and instead of the blinking cursor I got "Boot Drive Not Found" After that I changed the jumpers to slave on one, and I think "4 on the other"

Trying to reach Apricorn customer support was useless. They would not answer my emails, or answer the phone, or even call back after I left voice mails.

I called Caldigit, "Great Customer Support" at least they answer the phone, and they said there "Fasta-6GU3pro" card would boot windows on a Mac Pro 3,1, so that's the next card I am going to try.

http://www.caldigit.com/Fasta-6GU3pro/

 

[hfg]

I don't suppose you ever found a solution to this?

Try doing a PRAM reset with the unpopulated Tempo Pro installed in a slot. Let the PRAM reset cycle through 2 or 3 chimes before you release it. Then try your boot again.

 

[flowrider]

Trying to reach Apricorn customer support was useless. They would not answer my emails, or answer the phone, or even call back after I left voice mails.

My Apricorn Customer Support experience is quite different than yours. I have an apparent incompatibility between my Solo x2 and Duo x2 in my 5,1 Mac Pro. I have been working with their Tech People for two days now, while they try to analyze the problem. We have been exchanging phone calls and eMails.

Lou

 

[boodaddyz]

My Apricorn Customer Support experience is quite different than yours. I have an apparent incompatibility between my Solo x2 and Duo x2 in my 5,1 Mac Pro. I have been working with their Tech People for two days now, while they try to analyze the problem. We have been exchanging phone calls and eMails.

Lou

That's because you have a 5,1 and it is easier to troubleshoot, and they have those systems on bench setups. The 3,1 is a lot harder even though it has the x64efi, and I don't see them having these on bench setups. I'm sure if I had a 5,1 I would get answers back to lol...

 

[lexR]

This maybe if interest to you

http://ilquest.com/2014/10/31/upgrading-an-macpro-2008-31-with-the-sonnet-tempo-pro-plus-sata-6g-pci-card/

They had issues and needed to update the firmware? I have the sonnet tempo and had issues until I installed the new firmware.