Mac Pro 1,1 Yosemite Install - Nvidia Update Failed

[technogeek1995]

Back in May, I got my Mac Pro 1,1 to run 10.3 through using a Yosemite compatible Mac to install it onto the hard drive, then over writing the boot.efi file. It worked great and functioned fine. The hard drive was a 1.5TB so I partitioned space for Mac 10.6, Mac 10.10, and Free Space, splitting them up in 500 quantities. I didn't plan to use 10.6, but figured it could be useful to still keep around if things went to hell and didn't work as I don't have an install disk anymore. Since the graphics card that was shipped with the machine had to be removed due to compatibility issues, I replaced it with a EVGA GT 640. I installed Nvidia's most up-to-date web drivers when I installed the card. I had no issues with this configuration.

I consulted this thread for information on performing this "software upgrade."
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2006-2007-mac-pro-1-1-2-1-and-os-x-yosemite.1740775/

I installed OS X 10.10 Server and used it as a server for web, cacheing, vpn, file sharing, etc. In June 10.4 was released with a new version of Server. I installed 10.4 without issue, and the new version of server. Several of the buttons within server lost functionality, but I consider that an issue with OS X Server rather than the hardware. Most of it related to the web server not being able to use PHP. I'm booted into 10.10 all the time to use it as a server with the machine running 24/7/365.
Yesterday, I installed the latest web drivers when I was prompted from a Nvidia Update screen. I went ahead and said yes and proceed with the install. When the Mac reboot, it came up in 10.6, rather than 10.10. I figured something got confused after the update. Therefore, I reinstalled the factory card from Apple in order to get a boot screen while I held down ALT to select 10.10, instead of 10.6. Following my selection of 10.10, OS X proceeds to boot to 10.6. No error message, no information - it just will not boot into 10.10. I had no issues before this update of the Nvidia web drivers. If I select 10.6, it boots in 10.6 like one would figure.

Things I've tried:

• Repairing disk Permissions
• Repairing disk
• sudo cp boot.efi modified one of the one OS X uses in 10.10
• Restarting the machine
• Attempting to start 10.10 in safe mode and single user mode (didn't work; only started 10.6 in both modes)

Anybody have any idea what the web drivers graphics card update did to my Yosemite Install on a Mac Pro 1,1?

 

[the bug]

Have you tried zapping the PRAM (or resetting the NVRAM as the kids say nowadays).
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

I'm not running an NVIDIA card now, but if I remember correctly the NVIDIA web driver made some changes in NVRAM when you run the installer.

Hopefully this helps.

- Jay

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

The only thing I can think of when a 1,1/2,1 Mac Pro doesn't boot properly into its 'hacked' OS is re-patching the system by way of a SFOTT key. You don't have any error message, which is weird, but you may want to give re-patching a try anyway. The Nvidia update shouldn't have done anything--usually Apple's own updates may reverse the custom EFI... but who knows? Maybe that Nvidia update DID cause something to go out of whack.

I used SFOTT (great program) to get Mountain Lion on my Mac Pro, and everything works just fine. The 10.8.2 update, though, removed the custom EFI, so I followed SFOTT's re-patching instructions. You can perform a re-patch with the key you used to install OS X on the Mac in the first place.

 

[technogeek1995]

I tried resetting PRAM. Didn't seem to do anything. I'll have to look into SFOTT. I remember seeing stuff about it and using it for something when cracking the OS, but I'm not sure what I did.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I tried resetting PRAM. Didn't seem to do anything. I'll have to look into SFOTT. I remember seeing stuff about it and using it for something when cracking the OS, but I'm not sure what I did.

SFOTT is a good tool. I would try going about installing Yosemite with it, as it really just takes the headache out of doing certain things yourself. Also, you then have a nice USB key to use.

 

[technogeek1995]

I finally got it running again. I think the issue might have been with a lock on the boot.efi file in /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi.

Though I just pulled out the hard drive; reinstalled using a Mac that has Yosemite running on it. Then copied the boot.efi files over to the appropriate locations. That seemed to do the trick. But before I put the drive back in, I booted it into the OS and updated the web drivers just to be safe. Everything seems to be running like it was before. Wish I knew what caused the issue (other than the update) to prevent it from happening in the future.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I finally got it running again. I think the issue might have been with a lock on the boot.efi file in /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi.

Though I just pulled out the hard drive; reinstalled using a Mac that has Yosemite running on it. Then copied the boot.efi files over to the appropriate locations. That seemed to do the trick. But before I put the drive back in, I booted it into the OS and updated the web drivers just to be safe. Everything seems to be running like it was before. Wish I knew what caused the issue (other than the update) to prevent it from happening in the future.

Nice job getting it all up and running again! By the way, have you considered trying El Capitan? I had used SFOTT to put Mountain Lion on my 1,1, but may make a partition to try El Capitan (probably once the full version is released). I've heard from some that El Capitan runs much better than Yosemite does. However, I'm wondering how Yosemite runs in the first place. I just never tried Yosemite, nor did I even stick with Mavericks; my original HDD was blisteringly slow and old, and my current one, while it's healthy and peppy, is old and is slow, in the scheme of things. I'm really just waiting for an SSD before everything... and maybe some more RAM. 4GB is okay under moderate operation, but if I have enough applications open (especially Illustrator w/ multiple tabs), I am confronted with as low as only 10MB of RAM free. xD

 

[technogeek1995]

Nice job getting it all up and running again! By the way, have you considered trying El Capitan? I had used SFOTT to put Mountain Lion on my 1,1, but may make a partition to try El Capitan (probably once the full version is released). I've heard from some that El Capitan runs much better than Yosemite does. However, I'm wondering how Yosemite runs in the first place. I just never tried Yosemite, nor did I even stick with Mavericks; my original HDD was blisteringly slow and old, and my current one, while it's healthy and peppy, is old and is slow, in the scheme of things. I'm really just waiting for an SSD before everything... and maybe some more RAM. 4GB is okay under moderate operation, but if I have enough applications open (especially Illustrator w/ multiple tabs), I am confronted with as low as only 10MB of RAM free. xD

Eh to each is his own. I don't really know how it responds, although I run Yosemite with a base config 1,1 except 4GB of RAM and a 7200 RPM HDD. I'd say a majority of how Yosemite runs is in the graphics card for these old Mac Pros. Although I never really use it for that purpose. Now it just sits beside my desk with nothing, but an ethernet cable/power cable attached. It makes a great file/web server. I get about 250> hits a day on a website I host with it. I'm use OS X Yosemite Server, and it shows I only ever get up to a max of 3GB of RAM in use. For everything everyday, it's all about the Macbook Pro. It's much much much faster than the old Mac Pro, especially with PCI flash storage. The best part about the cheese grater Mac Pros is the 4 bay HDD slots, 2 ethernet lines for link aggregation, and an actual CD/DVD drive (since Apple thinks that they are no longer useful).