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Does my Mac Pro have a virus? Or is it a hardware issue?

I

incunity

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 11, 2007
13
0
Hey guys/gals/Siri,

I've had an issue arise and, of course, it comes when I have two large deadlines looming.

I have a Mac Pro 8-Core Intel Xeon. 2008, I believe.

It started a few days ago. Suddenly the computer becomes unresponsive and these lines pop up on the screen. The mouse can still move around the screen, but nothing can be moved/opened etc. It's all frozen aside from the mouse movement.

Images: http://i.imgur.com/e9vv3.jpg , http://i.imgur.com/IbcEH.jpg, http://i.imgur.com/NHP08.jpg

When I force the shut down and restart it, this happens a few times before it works again. I'd say 6-7 restarts before it works again. It worked for a full day yesterday after days of not working. Then, this evening, it is doing it again. I'm trying to type this before I crash again.

This is the image I get when I restart and it freezes before loading: http://i.imgur.com/gv2EO.jpg, http://i.imgur.com/HNAzG.jpg

Same squiggly lines and an error I've gotten years ago on my G4.

Now... has anyone encountered this before? Do you think it's a virus? Or a video card problem? Is it Skynet?


Any help would be great.


I'm also terrified that my Apple Care either just ran out... or is running out this month. Calling tomorrow to find out.


Thanks again for any help. I'll try and stick around before Siri..err... Skynet goes online.

-Jon
 
You simply buy a compatible GPU and replace the failing one.
It shouldn't take longer than 5 minutes and less than 200 USD to buy a new card, that might suit your needs, unless you need a GPU for work, thus you need a more powerful one.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
You simply buy a compatible GPU and replace the failing one.
It shouldn't take longer than 5 minutes and less than 200 USD to buy a new card, that might suit your needs, unless you need a GPU for work, thus you need a more powerful one.
Click to expand...

Thanks. It would be nice to have a bit more power, as I do a lot of FCP, After Effects/Motion, Animation work etc.

Is there one that is more reliable than others? A brand that is more trustworthy?
 
I've been searching but feel like I'm not sure what I'm doing.

Just found out my AppleCare has expired.

I searched for the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT on a few sites and they are giving me different options. Is this the one I should get? I don't want to make the wrong decision and need this ASAP.

Can anyone give me a shove in the right direction?


And you guys are fairly certain it's the graphics card, right? Any idea why it works for a day or two and then wigs out for a while? Is it just slowly dying?
 
Before I make the order, will this work well? I'm still confused, after some research, the difference between an upgrade kit and not an upgrade kit.

Can anyone else confirm that this should suffice in replacing my current graphics card?

Thanks again for any help! :)
 
I had a similar problem with the NVIDEA 8800 card in my Mac Pro (dotted lines, wouldn't start up, etc.) Allegedly it's a manufacturing fault with those cards due to microscopic cracks in the soldering that get worse over time until ultimately the card fails. Google it and you'll see lot's of people have had this problem.

You can mend it by stripping the card down and baking the circuit board in an oven for 10 minutes (I kid you not, there are YouTube videos showing how). I did just that and it actually worked fine again, for a few months, then it died for good.

I finally replaced it with an ATI Radeon HD 5770 which Apple only recommend for the mid 2010 Mac Pro's, but the card also works on the early 2008 Mac Pro models as well (which is what I have).

Good luck.
 
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