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Mac Pro 4.1-5.1 shutting off

Kadir Martin

Kadir Martin

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 29, 2019
6
1
Jamaica
hello all would be grateful if i could have so help in solving these problem i'm having with my mac
1. after a shutdown the machine take multiple restart to get back up. it would startup then power off after a few seconds. sometime it would run but no load screen just a low fan speed, afterwords i would have to do a force power off then start the process all over again until it chimes.

The machine is a daily user for motion graphics and 3d illustration
2 also i would like to upgrade it so i could get at least a next 2-3 years out of it before i get a next one
what would be the best plug and ply graphics card for this, i have been going through the threads and it seems the best one is the RX580 at the base, is there a next one that you can recommend that does not require flashing as it would be risky as i am based in the caribbean.
thanks in advance
 
Could be a combo of things with the shut down issue. First off, some specs on the Mac would be good, I'm guessing it's a 4.1 that's been flashed to a 5.1? What drives, RAM and GPU are you currently running? CPU speeds and chipset? Maybe add all the gory details to your signature so this group can better diagnose issues.

Could be the power supply, maybe the logic board battery needs changing? Was there any software/hardware changes made that suddenly caused this to start happening?

If you must run Mojave then there are a few GPU options available.... The official list is here, but the RX580 Pulse seems to be the top choice of many on here.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208898
 
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In addition to the information provided by Alex I would recommend removing all unnecessary components and bringing the system to the bare minimum necessary to operate. This means having only the boot drive (if multiple drives are installed), disconnecting all external peripherals (except keyboard and mouse), any PCIe cards, etc. Furthermore if you have "non standard" components, such as an SSD or non-Apple keyboard / mouse, I would recommend testing with "traditional" components (such as a spinner HD, Apple keyboard / mouse). This might seem trivial but has been known to assist in troubleshooting.

A PRAM reset might also be worth a try but I wouldn't expect it to resolve the situation.

As Alex said having additional information about the configuration and what occurred immediately before the problem began would be very helpful in troubleshooting.
 
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Are you saying you purchased that exact computer from Edit Builder? I'll wait for you to post your exact specs. If you're booting with no memory in, typical response is three beeps from my recollection. I don't believe it would even pass the POST(Power On Self Test).
 
Alex Sanders74 said:
Are you saying you purchased that exact computer from Edit Builder? I'll wait for you to post your exact specs. If you're booting with no memory in, typical response is three beeps from my recollection. I don't believe it would even pass the POST(Power On Self Test).
Click to expand...
yes thats the machine i purchase
also the machine did beep 3 times before i restarted and put back the memory in
 
The beeping with no ram is normal. Did that computer come with a gtx285 or Radeon 5770? There were two options listed. So did the computer boot after you stripped it down and had minimal ram in it? Try one stick at a time to see if you have a bad stick. Add one, reboot and so on.

I had a similar situation with an older gen MacPro 3.1. Fans ran for 5 seconds at boot and it shut off. No screen or Apple logo on screen. Tried minimal setup and it was a dead power supply.

Not saying your issues are the same. Did you try a PRAM reset? Try a battery swap as they're very inexpensive. BR2032 is what you need but a CR2032 will work as well. It would rule that out for around $5.

Here's a link to the service manual for that tower. Have read through the PDF and see if it mentions anything related to your power problem.
http://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/macpro/macpro_mid2010.pdf
 
Alex Sanders74 said:
The beeping with no ram is normal. Did that computer come with a gtx285 or Radeon 5770? There were two options listed. So did the computer boot after you stripped it down and had minimal ram in it? Try one stick at a time to see if you have a bad stick. Add one, reboot and so on.

I had a similar situation with an older gen MacPro 3.1. Fans ran for 5 seconds at boot and it shut off. No screen or Apple logo on screen. Tried minimal setup and it was a dead power supply.

Not saying your issues are the same. Did you try a PRAM reset? Try a battery swap as they're very inexpensive. BR2032 is what you need but a CR2032 will work as well. It would rule that out for around $5.

Here's a link to the service manual for that tower. Have read through the PDF and see if it mentions anything related to your power problem.
http://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/macpro/macpro_mid2010.pdf
Click to expand...
thanks for the help will give it a try
 
An update I removed 2 pieces of ram then the computer stays on but black screen just idling
 
Sounds like a PSU issue to me.

Like others have suggested, try removing everything but the bare minimum and start up the Mac.

Once you’re inside macOS, try putting it under stress by making all cores go 100% and see what happens.
If it shuts down, I think it’s 99% the PSU fault.
 
donluca said:
Sounds like a PSU issue to me.

Like others have suggested, try removing everything but the bare minimum and start up the Mac.

Once you’re inside macOS, try putting it under stress by making all cores go 100% and see what happens.
If it shuts down, I think it’s 99% the PSU fault.
Click to expand...


I pretty much removed all the rams left sitting 2gb. It turns on but nothing happens. Stays idling in black screen. Checked my keyboard no response nor mouse. Hmmm.
 
Kadir Martin said:
hello all would be grateful if i could have so help in solving these problem i'm having with my mac
1. after a shutdown the machine take multiple restart to get back up. it would startup then power off after a few seconds. sometime it would run but no load screen just a low fan speed, afterwords i would have to do a force power off then start the process all over again until it chimes.
Click to expand...
I got the same behavior on 2 PSU’s which I replaced. everything works as designed ever since.
 
Have you tried swapping in another GPU? A friend's cMP 2010 had similar symptoms. It turned out his 5770 was dying/dead. I loaned him a GT120 until his RX580 arrived. Not trying to send you on a wild goose chase, but swapping in another GPU is easy to try if you have access to one.
 
kohlson said:
Have you tried swapping in another GPU? A friend's cMP 2010 had similar symptoms. It turned out his 5770 was dying/dead. I loaned him a GT120 until his RX580 arrived. Not trying to send you on a wild goose chase, but swapping in another GPU is easy to try if you have access to one.
Click to expand...

I do have spare GPu but their not Radeon. Their GTX not sure if that works with Mac..
 
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