Mac Pro is Failing to Restart (but will boot fresh)

[jc.farley]

I am having a consistent issue with my Mac Pro. If I turn it off (or hibernate it), it will start back up. However, if I restart it, it doesn't restart. When I try to restart, it will initialize, the fans start spinning, then they slow down, then they spin fast again....and it keeps repeating that way indefinitely.

Stats & background:

This Mac has been Pikified. I seem to remember this being an issue prior to Pikify, but I didn't use the machine much before swapping out the hardware and making the Pike update.

I tried SMC reset & PRAM reset. Using PRAM, it treated it like a restart and didn't boot back up.

I also checked the disk for errors (brand new 2TB disk).

- 2006 Mac Pro Tower (flashed to 2,1)
- 8 Core CPU (5365 x2)
- 20 GB RAM
- ATI Radeon HD 4870 512 MB (flashed)
- Running El Capitan

I am a bit lost at this point...any help would be much appreciated!

 

[h9826790]

How about if you put the old HDD in? Still the same?

 

[jc.farley]

@h9826790 - I just tried that and I am still having the same issue with the OSX Lion HDD. So, it must be hardware, yeah?...

I replaced the CPUs, GPU, 2 RAM chips, and HDD.

 

[h9826790]

@h9826790 - I just tried that and I am still having the same issue with the OSX Lion HDD. So, it must be hardware, yeah?...

I replaced the CPUs, GPU, 2 RAM chips, and HDD.

I think so.

Did you try the original GPU? That’s the next thing I will test.

 

[NZXTInerTia]

I’m having a similar issue with my 2006 1,1 Machine right now. I installed the latest update, and it just sits and does the same restarting nonsense you mentioned. I hope this isn’t the end for El Capitan on the 1,1/2,1 machines. I know it’s not hardware related, because if I start it up without my boot disk it bongs once and then just sits. It bongs over and over again with my boot disk installed.

 

[jc.farley]

I think so.

Did you try the original GPU? That’s the next thing I will test.

I hadn't, but I just did and it is still trying multiple times to restart. It also seemed to get stuck once I put the 4870 back in. I had tried to do a PRAM reset and it was just stuck there after the chime.

Ultimately, I had to hold option while booting to get it running. Not sure if this erratic behavior helps to diagnose.

Since I put my GPU back in, I am not seeing my boot screen anymore. My screen isn't even initialized until the last second, when it shows my login screen. (power light on screen stays yellow, then suddenly turns blue).

I really feel this is a boot issue....not sure how to be certain.

 

[NZXTInerTia]

I hadn't, but I just did and it is still trying multiple times to restart. It also seemed to get stuck once I put the 4870 back in. I had tried to do a PRAM reset and it was just stuck there after the chime.

Ultimately, I had to hold option while booting to get it running. Not sure if this erratic behavior helps to diagnose.

Have you done the 2018-001 Update? That update is known for causing boot loops.

 

[jc.farley]

Have you done the 2018-001 Update? That update is known for causing boot loops.

I used the Pike R Alpha hack that I had used on my other MacPro 1,1. I even used the same files I had downloaded last year.

 

[jc.farley]

@h9826790 - What would you try next? ...do you think that this is a boot issue?

 

[h9826790]

@h9826790 - What would you try next? ...do you think that this is a boot issue?

I will try to re-install OSX (prefer install a natively supported OS to confirm it’s not the patch issue).

 

[jc.farley]

So, I was running this machine and just shutting down instead of restarting. A couple of days ago, I had this machine install some updates for itunes...this caused it to restart, which it cannot do. So, I decided to wipe it and start over.

Once I got to the point in Pikify 14 where it restarts....still stuck in a boot loop.

Before I wiped the disk, I put it into another mac pro 2,1 and it did not work in that machine either.

Any ideas on what might be going on?