2008 Mac Pro - black screen on boot up

Can you hear the fans?

http://guides.macrumors.com/Mac_doesn't_boot

Jackers008 said:

Yeah the computer is purring away as it normally does just no display

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Seems to be the GPU then. ATI 2600XT is known to have some failures I think

Jackers008 said:

Yeah so it seems. Its rather frustrating though as it was working fine last night then all of a sudden this

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Well, the good thing it that you have a Mac Pro. If it was a different Mac, you would need to spend hundreds, even a thousand to repair it as other Macs need a new logic board. Now you can just get a new GPU, that won't cost you more than 200$ or so, even less if you get used.

It seems like the GPU's in the 2008 MP's are dropping like flies. I had mine replaced twice in a month (then got a replacement) along with the Logic board.


As it turns out my monitor was faulty, so either Apple found some problems I didn't know about, or that I've gotten an '10 for free!

But that sounds exactly the same as the problem I had. Does it do it when you try to wake it from sleep too?

sochet said:

It seems like the GPU's in the 2008 MP's are dropping like flies. I had mine replaced twice in a month (then got a replacement) along with the Logic board.


As it turns out my monitor was faulty, so either Apple found some problems I didn't know about, or that I've gotten an '10 for free!

But that sounds exactly the same as the problem I had. Does it do it when you try to wake it from sleep too?

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No problem with mine or any of the ones at work.

It should be within normal "failure" parameters.

Electronics die over time, that is just how it is.

you could try to remove the card from the computer, clean it (maybe boot once without the card) and plug it back in, why not into another PCIe slot.
Have you also disconnected the main power cable and let it unplugged for half an hour? if all this does not work, I would look for a 5X70...

Good luck

Pressure said:

No problem with mine or any of the ones at work.

It should be within normal "failure" parameters.

Electronics die over time, that is just how it is.

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Just to clarify, mine had an 8800GT in it, and yes they are experiencing higher than normal failure rates, this was confirmed by a senior Applecare tech. Also just look at the number of threads about dying GPU's on here over the past 6 weeks or so.

It's the card. You're not the first and not the last one 2600XTs just dying this way (including mine). If you hear chime, computer normally starts up and no video only - it's clear. If it would be logic board, you'd not even hear a chime in 99% of cases.
To be 101% sure, remove card, boot up (it will boot without card installed) and try to access your Mac remotely via VNC or ssh.

Ditto

Had exactly the same with one at work: Just in case, I replaced the mobo battery, as I know earlier Macs require a kick from this battery to get their video circuitry going - but still no go, so I got IT to get me a new graphics card. They got a 4870, and I wasn't about to say unnecessary, and all's well now.

Jackers008 said:

What gpu would be recommended as a replacement to this? I dont use my mac for gaming so I dont need the latest and greatest

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If you want brand new, get 5770 from Apple - if its display outputs are comfortable to you (2x MDP and 1x DVI).

If you want used one, look for reference design ATI 4870 512MB and flash it with OEM ROM. It's immune to driver updates.
This is what you looking for

^ I doubt that it could produce such major issue like blank screen, but never say never
To rule this out, try to boot from your Install DVD shipped with machine, or simply from SL Install disc.

black screen on bootup

I too have experienced the black screen on boot up.

If you swap your screen for another screen the system boots right up. If the Ati graphics card is bad, logically, it should affect all screens. I have a large 22" screen which seems to be the only one that gets a black screen. I would like to see a few more posters switch to a smaller screen and test it. At first, I got the black screen after I downloaded a Masque slot game, which when started up, would change the resolution by blackening out and recovering with the new resolution. This time it didn't recover but stayed black. I have other Masque games that do the same thing but I don't lose the screen. If I leave my large 22" screen off for a couple of days I can get it to boot up again with the large screen. BUT you must wait for a half hr or more for it to go to the apple screen and boot up. I found that it performs some processing as if it is cleaning something up and then boots up. As of now I can boot up (restart) once or twice for different reasons, but by the thirds time I get the black screen again. YOu would think with all the screens going down Apple would know some kind of fix for it. BTW my mac pro is an early 2007 model.

Holy Exhumation Batman !!!

You do realize that you are posting in a nearly 2 year old thread?

The 2600XT got real led and many people got news ones from Apple.