Dead 2009 Dual-Tray Pro - Power Supply??

[matthewtoney]

Ok, this is the thread that hurts to post more than any other I've ever put here - my dual-tray X5690 Mac Pro 2009 (upgraded to 5,1 firmware) today has decided its all done powering up like normal. I've done lots and lots over the years since I bought this one new so I'm quite familiar with all the usual tech details and gotchas on these, but it IS the only Mac Pro I've ever owned so I'm hoping some of you out there that go thru bunches of these might have some ideas on what I try next.

So normally my Pro specs/details look like this:

- (2) X5690's on a dual tray. I bought the dual tray predone from a fellow on ebay 3 or 4 months ago who does lots and lots of these - I didn't trust doing the X5690 upgrade myself on a 2009, and I was using the original single-tray with a W3690 I had upgraded it too years ago before this. The dual-tray temps and CPUs have been working great so far up to this current problem today
- (4) 3.5" drives in the drive sleds, 1 optical drive, and 3 SSD's internally
- Sonnet Tempo Pro Plus in slot 4 using 2 840 EVOs
- Caldigit FAST eSATA/USB3 Pro card in slot 3 running 3 of the SSDs
- Slot 2 empty
- Slot 1 - GTX Titan (original) powered by a X5 booster in the second optical bay

So today I decided at long last that I was gonna pull the Titan and use it in a different system, and replace it in the Mac Pro with a GTX 970 (unflashed) and finally get rid of the auxilary power supply and go back to just standard power. I shut it down and make the swap but when all the cables were hooked back up it now gives no chime at all or seems to even attempt to boot.

Things I've tried so far:

- SMC resets (can't do any PRAM resets right now since I get no chime nor does it get to the point of even initializing USB and any keyboard connected)
- Pulled ALL hard drives, cards, etc. Took it back to just the optical drive and a single EFI standard Mac Pro video card - still the same results
- Put the Titan and aux PS back in to see if that still worked - it didn't of course - same no chime
- Pulled and reseated the ram and the dual-tray itself - no change

- There are no red lights at all on the tray and I certainly haven't been messing with the heatsinks on it - doesn't seem like any issue there
- When I try to power it up, the white power LED on the front does come on, and even stranger all the fans start up just as you would expect - I can check all of them and the PS, PCI, intake/exhaust and both booster fans are all running at nice slow standard RPMs - just no video, no chime and no boot

Anyone with more experience that me have any ideas on what I can try here? Does this sound like my power supply itself or something else? Ive not ever tried anything I *know* to be dangerous like running a card like the Titan without external power so I can't see what I would have done that fried anything (and there's no smell or other indication of that) - it just doesn't boot any longer.

 

[MacVidCards]

Do you still have single CPU tray?

I would try a different CPU tray, you can thus quickly rule out one entire part of system. The "boing" sound indicates a completed RAM test, so if you don't have an additional CPU tray, try switching out various sticks of RAM.

 

[matthewtoney]

Do you still have single CPU tray?

I would try a different CPU tray, you can thus quickly rule out one entire part of system. The "boing" sound indicates a completed RAM test, so if you don't have an additional CPU tray, try switching out various sticks of RAM.

Yeah if I still had it I'd do that right away, but I sold it to help fund this dual one I guess I can pull back to the bare minimum RAM in there just to try and be sure its not a DIMM thing.

 

[matthewtoney]

Yeah if I still had it I'd do that right away, but I sold it to help fund this dual one I guess I can pull back to the bare minimum RAM in there just to try and be sure its not a DIMM thing.

Swapped all the RAM for a set of 2GB DIMMs I had here of the right type - no change in its behaviour though but at least I guess I can count out my 8 16GB DIMMs that are normally in there as the problem. Has anyone had similar on theirs either from bad CPU upgrade, bad logic board or anything like that? At this point I can't come up with what to do or try other than buy a whole other working 2009 Pro for "parts" to figure out where the problem is and *man* does that option suck...

 

[jonathartur]

Yes, the backplane was the problem. I picked one up for $360 (canadian) on ebay. I want to start by replacing the caps on the broken one so I have a spare. The local mac pro guy seemed to think it's a fairly common problem for the 2009s.

 

[MacVidCards]

Swapped all the RAM for a set of 2GB DIMMs I had here of the right type - no change in its behaviour though but at least I guess I can count out my 8 16GB DIMMs that are normally in there as the problem. Has anyone had similar on theirs either from bad CPU upgrade, bad logic board or anything like that? At this point I can't come up with what to do or try other than buy a whole other working 2009 Pro for "parts" to figure out where the problem is and *man* does that option suck...

FWIW, I posted a link the other day for 4,1s for $475...SHIPPED.

You could use it to test, find your problem, sell the rest of the parts, or keep.

Just an idea.

 

[matthewtoney]

FWIW, I posted a link the other day for 4,1s for $475...SHIPPED.

You could use it to test, find your problem, sell the rest of the parts, or keep.

Just an idea.

Yeah I saw that and although they're listed at 499 now, it does look like there are still some available - guess that's what I'll end up doing.

I see logic boards on eBay for much cheaper than that, but if I did that luck will have the problem ending up being something else - a whole functioning machine sounds like a much better deal.

Hey, so if I get one of these but can't bear to use it with the condition of the case compared to mine, how hard is it to swap a logic board in one of these?

 

[Macsonic]

Yeah I saw that and although they're listed at 499 now, it does look like there are still some available - guess that's what I'll end up doing.

I see logic boards on eBay for much cheaper than that, but if I did that luck will have the problem ending up being something else - a whole functioning machine sounds like a much better deal.

Hey, so if I get one of these but can't bear to use it with the condition of the case compared to mine, how hard is it to swap a logic board in one of these?

Hi Matthewtoney. This may not be the ideal solution, but it may be a case of loosely seated connectors or cables. I understand that your Mac Pro was working fine before you dissassembled the aux power supply. Hopefully you would not need to spend on a logic board.

For the back pane board, there are some on sale for around $270+ used item.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-P...920?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item339815aad8
http://www.ebay.com/itm/820-2337-A-...d&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=221594888920&rt=nc

Some of them are already upgraded to 5.1 firmware by the seller.

 

[MacVidCards]

Hi Matthewtoney. This may not be the ideal solution, but it may be a case of loosely seated connectors or cables. I understand that your Mac Pro was working fine before you dissassembled the aux power supply. Hopefully you would not need to spend on a logic board.

For the back pane board, there are some on sale for around $270+ used item.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-P...920?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item339815aad8
http://www.ebay.com/itm/820-2337-A-...d&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=221594888920&rt=nc

Some of them are already upgraded to 5.1 firmware by the seller.

The problem is, he doesn't know for sure what is wrong. And the quick and easy way to know for sure is a 2nd 4,1 to swap components with. Pay the $270, wait a week, only to discover that the LB wasn't it, and now you own a spare, isn't good. Not to mention he'd be out the $$$ and still have a DOA 4,1.

Ideally he would have a friend or neighbor with a 4,1.

 

[Macsonic]

The problem is, he doesn't know for sure what is wrong. And the quick and easy way to know for sure is a 2nd 4,1 to swap components with. Pay the $270, wait a week, only to discover that the LB wasn't it, and now you own a spare, isn't good. Not to mention he'd be out the $$$ and still have a DOA 4,1.

Ideally he would have a friend or neighbor with a 4,1.

Yeah. I myself keep extra units of 4.1s and 5,1s and extra power supplies as backups for isolating and troubleshooting. Probably the better option for the thread starter is just get a second 4,1 Mac Pro since their prices have gone down.

 

[matthewtoney]

Yeah. I myself keep extra units of 4.1s and 5,1s and extra power supplies as backups for isolating and troubleshooting. Probably the better option for the thread starter is just get a second 4,1 Mac Pro since their prices have gone down.

That looks like what I'll do at this point - just trying to decide on which option/seller on ebay. My choice is a base dual 2.26 quad 2009 if I can find one that's reasonable - at least that way I'd have a working duplicate of all of it including the cpu tray.

What can you do - if you stay on an older (but much more capable) platform like these, I guess it only makes sense to start keeping spares

----------

The problem is, he doesn't know for sure what is wrong. And the quick and easy way to know for sure is a 2nd 4,1 to swap components with. Pay the $270, wait a week, only to discover that the LB wasn't it, and now you own a spare, isn't good. Not to mention he'd be out the $$$ and still have a DOA 4,1.

Ideally he would have a friend or neighbor with a 4,1.

Exactly, and I'm "having that kind of week" If I bought a logic board I'm confident the purchasing of it would ensure that its not the problem...

 

[Macsonic]

That looks like what I'll do at this point - just trying to decide on which option/seller on ebay. My choice is a base dual 2.26 quad 2009 if I can find one that's reasonable - at least that way I'd have a working duplicate of all of it including the cpu tray.

What can you do - if you stay on an older (but much more capable) platform like these, I guess it only makes sense to start keeping spares

If you can source out an 8 core, 2.93ghz or 2.66ghz 2009 Mac Pro that would be great. There was a listing months ago for an dual processor 2.93ghz 2009 Mac Pro selling for $1300 at eBay. Though it's also fine if you decide to go for a 2.26ghz dual processor. The 4,1s perform just as good as the 5,1s. It's always the best way that we do the troubleshooting ourselves. It's a hassle like having to take a 2+ hours drive to the nearest service center. And sometimes you have to wait for days as the service center has a backlog of repairs.

 

[matthewtoney]

The problem is, he doesn't know for sure what is wrong. And the quick and easy way to know for sure is a 2nd 4,1 to swap components with. Pay the $270, wait a week, only to discover that the LB wasn't it, and now you own a spare, isn't good. Not to mention he'd be out the $$$ and still have a DOA 4,1.

Ideally he would have a friend or neighbor with a 4,1.

Hah! Thing is, I *do* have one but that "neighbor" is 90 miles from here. I'm actually gonna be out his way on Tuesday so I'm planning on lugging the Pro with me - at least I could put my dual tray in his Pro and verify there's nothing wrong with it - would eliminate any issue with RAM, tray or CPUs. I'm still watching ebay closely for a good 2009 "spare" - that guy who had the lot of ones so cheap seems to have no more and there's no currently any I've found on there for less than around 650. (and man, some people on there are *nuts* with what they think you need to pay to ship one - who in the world thinks it costs over $100 to ship a Mac Pro from one state in the US to another?)

 

[RoastingPig]

Hah! Thing is, I *do* have one but that "neighbor" is 90 miles from here. I'm actually gonna be out his way on Tuesday so I'm planning on lugging the Pro with me - at least I could put my dual tray in his Pro and verify there's nothing wrong with it - would eliminate any issue with RAM, tray or CPUs. I'm still watching ebay closely for a good 2009 "spare" - that guy who had the lot of ones so cheap seems to have no more and there's no currently any I've found on there for less than around 650. (and man, some people on there are *nuts* with what they think you need to pay to ship one - who in the world thinks it costs over $100 to ship a Mac Pro from one state in the US to another?)

Ummm you should check the latest fedex and ups prices. Shipping ups from l.a to oakland costed me $78 bucks. And one from l.a to Connecticut costed me about $125

 

[matthewtoney]

Ummm you should check the latest fedex and ups prices. Shipping ups from l.a to oakland costed me $78 bucks. And one from l.a to Connecticut costed me about $125

Well, I only know I buy used servers all the time for a number of data centers I manage and they come from all over the US - always via Fedex Freight and at a cost waaaay lower than that. You're right that I'm not the one sending stuff myself so my experience is purely on the receiving end.

 

[MacVidCards]

$475 shipping included was a good deal.

Wrapping a shoot last year I ended up with a cool old stained lamp I wanted to send my dad.

I didn't have any boxes big enough so I took it over to a UPS store. They told me $150 MINIMUM to go ground from LA to NY. I looked at them like SOMEONE was crazy and took the lamp home.

I built my own box with glue sticks and cut down larger boxes. When I had it done I took the completed box to same store. Even though it wasn't very heavy they informed me that due to their new volumetric pricing it would be $225 to ship the box. The issue was that one measurement was 4" past some important point.

I took the box home again and busted out the box knife and glue gun.

Got it within their guidelines and it was "ONLY" $125.

Meanwhile I had spent 2 full evenings chopping up boxes, gluing things, etc. made a mess and burned my leg. Lesson learned, I would have been better off paying the $150 for all-in-one service. (My partner has photos of my with bits of cardboard all around me on dining room floor, a cause of laughter)

$475 SHIPPED was a bargain. They must have gotten those 4,1s for peanuts to eat the shipping.

However in my experience, this will be harbinger of future deals. Seemed like an educational institution or office of some sort. I'll let you know if I see any other deals pop up.

Good luck with the machine.

 

[ClassObject]

"2 full evenings"???? Too freaking funny. You saved nothing and wasted your own time.

 

[matthewtoney]

$475 shipping included was a good deal.

Wrapping a shoot last year I ended up with a cool old stained lamp I wanted to send my dad.

I didn't have any boxes big enough so I took it over to a UPS store. They told me $150 MINIMUM to go ground from LA to NY. I looked at them like SOMEONE was crazy and took the lamp home.

I sure hope your dad liked the lamp!

You're darn right that $475 was a heckuva deal - wish this had happened (if it was going to) just a bit earlier and I would have jumped on one.

I think you're right about the 2009's continuing to come down - I doubt I'm going to find one right *now* quite that good a deal, but I expect it really is the price point that they're headed towards.

 

[matthewtoney]

First Test

Finally got out to my friend with a 2009 and was able to test my dual tray/CPU/memory. (bad weather!) My tray in his 2009 worked perfectly - guess that means its either logic board or power supply.

I was able to snag a base model 2009 off ebay for $580 shipped - was the best I could do after watching/trying for days. Sure sorry I didn't grab one from that other killer deal while they were available.

 

[digitalgum]

Hi there,

Silly question but, how much dust was inside the machine before you swapped cards around? Are you sure there is no dust inside the graphics slot?

Happened to me before and had similar boot issue with no video.

 

[matthewtoney]

Hi there,

Silly question but, how much dust was inside the machine before you swapped cards around? Are you sure there is no dust inside the graphics slot?

Happened to me before and had similar boot issue with no video.

Zero. I'm a little weird on that sort of thing and I open up my PCs that I can and clean them out once every year. (and I had just done the Mac Pro like a month prior)

So far my testing *seems* to point to the logic board being the problem but I certainly can't say what on it is the issue if that's the case. Thing is, I've tried different video cards in different slots and I never even get to the chime indicating the end of the RAM test.

 

[TonyK]

Sorry, I know dead thread but I am curious as my wife's Early 2009 MP (4,1) is having some "power" issues.

What was your final resolution?