Mac Pro, starts in safe mode only

[Al Downie]

Hi all,

I'd appreciate opinions about this technical issue. It's a Mac Pro that was presented as failing to start - it would get 60% through its startup cycle and then restart, over and over.

- The computer starts in Safe Mode every time, with stable graphics
- The disk passed Disk Repair.
- The disk has been reformatted, and High Sierra re-installed
- The computer has now been updated to 10.14.1
- The computer passed the D-startup hardware test

But it will still only start in Safe Mode. Restarting to normal fails just the same as when the machine was handed to me.

 

[tommy chen]

also without keyboard?

 

[Al Downie]

Not sure what you mean? I'm using it with an old, wired keyboard, different to the one that's on the user's desk. But I've now tried restarting without a keyboard/mouse attached, and it's displaying the same behaviour. Meh.

 

[tommy chen]

ok, I thought it was a USB problem

 

[tommy chen]

try to enter that in the terminal:

sudo nvram boot-args=

 

[orph]

is this a new problem ? how long have you had the problem ? did you have the problem on older versions of osx?
is the osx10.14 install a clean install or not? do you have any spare hardware to test on? what macpro is it?
are there any extra hardware installed PCI cards etc?

 

[Al Downie]

try to enter that in the terminal: sudo nvram boot-args=

Applied all likely permutations of the above (and a few more for good measure!), but no change to behaviour. Thanks for the tip though!
[doublepost=1542101064][/doublepost]

is this a new problem ? how long have you had the problem ? did you have the problem on older versions of osx?
is the osx10.14 install a clean install or not? do you have any spare hardware to test on? what macpro is it?
are there any extra hardware installed PCI cards etc?

Problem has started occurring in the last week. When the problem started, the OS was High Sierra. Since then the disk has been erased and re-formatted, and High Sierra reinstalled from the recovery partition, but that didn't fix the problem. Switched into Safe Mode and upgraded to Mojave, but that didn't fix the problem either.

It's a late 2013 Mac Pro (Cylinder), 6-core 3.5 GHz Xeon E5, with 64GB RAM and AMD FirePro D500 3072MB. No 3rd party mods or additions.

On my bench now, it's attached to a new display, keyboard and mouse, and ethernet.

 

[Alex Sanders74]

Sounds like a hardware problem. Maybe GPU related? I know these machines had GPU issues previously and digging around the inter webs, similar issues with Safe Mode boots on Macs seem to trace back to bad GPUs. Speculation, but it would be my first guess...

Can you check the system log files to see what's causing the constant reboots? Maybe one of the wizards here can offer some feedback from that...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-pro-late-2013-gpu-driver-issues.1860297/

There's a thread here related to GPU issues from the forum that may help diagnose. Lots of reading, but maybe worth checking.

 

[Al Downie]

Sounds like a hardware problem. Maybe GPU related? I know these machines had GPU issues previously and digging around the inter webs, similar issues with Safe Mode boots on Macs seem to trace back to bad GPUs. Speculation, but it would be my first guess...

Thanks Alex. I confess I don't know much about this, but if it's a GPU problem, I'd have expected graphics in Safe Mode to be affected too, but it seems fine...

 

[Razzerman]

Hello there; I'd start off by taking most of the ram out; leave as little in as you can. Next, try a fresh install on a new or external hard drive. After that, I'd agree with Alex- possible gpu problem.

 

[orph]

@Razzerman good advice ^^

ram test
pull all usb apart from keyboard and mouse
pull all but two sticks of ram (two sticks tends to be the min number?)
test
if still problem swap the two sticks
test
if still problem try one last time (id gess you have 4 sticks of 16GB?)

SSD test
grab a usb memory stick (or the like) install osx on to it and see if you still have problem when booting from USB

last thing i can think of is to try to turn on the computer with no keyboard or mouse plugged in and see if there is still a problem, had a bad keyboard give problems before (constant "c" from it, not shore how but the intrmitant beep i got from it when plugged in to my computer was hellish)


if you have apple care back up software and take to a apple shop, they tend to check computers for free in the uk (ie if they can see the problem you can take it home and fix it DIY if it's not to hard)

 

[Alex Sanders74]

Thanks Alex. I confess I don't know much about this, but if it's a GPU problem, I'd have expected graphics in Safe Mode to be affected too, but it seems fine...

I would definitely try what orph is suggesting. Process of elimination here but the log files may tell more...

 

[orph]

^^ Razzerman beat me to it 😀 it was his good advice

good luck and make shore your data is backed up

 

[Razzerman]

Razzerman beat me to it 😀 it was his good advice

hehe...only just - plus you're right about swapping the ram sticks around; I wasn't clear on that.

 

[Al Downie]

Thanks all. I tried taking one pair of RAM chips out - didn't work; swapped those for the other pair - didn't work. Have started successfully from a USB drive (into the startup tools window), ran disk first aid again on the primary disk for good measure, and that didn't fix the problem either. I'm getting close to giving up on this beast now...

 

[Alex Sanders74]

I would try booting from a fresh OS install on an external USB HD and see if it boot loops like you were initially experiencing. Did disk first aid report any errors or permission issues?

Have you tried opening the Console app and checking what's in the logs?

 

[DeltaMac]

If it boots fine into Safe Boot mode - make a new user account, then try booting into that new account.
If you are successful, then it's something in the startup software for that other (normal) account.

 

[Alex Sanders74]

If it boots fine into Safe Boot mode - make a new user account, then try booting into that new account.
If you are successful, then it's something in the startup software for that other (normal) account.

He stated he had reformatted the drive so it's a fresh install, but this is also excellent advice had that not been done.

 

[Al Downie]

Hi Alex,

Disk first aid reported no errors at all with the primary drive, annoyingly.

The last section of the System Log for a single boot cycle reads as follows. I don't know how to interpret it, and would be grateful for enlightenment!

=================================================

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: Early boot complete. Continuing system boot.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.cmio.AVCAssistant): ThrottleInterval set to zero. You're not that important. Ignoring.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.diskmanagementd): ThrottleInterval set to zero. You're not that important. Ignoring.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.diskmanagementd): The TimeOut key is no longer respected. It never did anything anyway.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.xpc.launchd.domain.system): com.apple.CoreRAID (lint): The HideUntilCheckIn property is an architectural performance issue. Please transition away from it.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.syslogd): The HopefullyExitsLast key is no longer respected. Please remove it.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.syslogd): Please switch away from OnDemand to KeepAlive.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.opendirectoryd): Unknown key for Boolean: BeginTransactionAtShutdown

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.xpc.launchd.domain.system): com.apple.opendirectoryd (lint): The HideUntilCheckIn property is an architectural performance issue. Please transition away from it.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.opendirectoryd): This service is defined to be constantly running and is inherently inefficient.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.mobile.keybagd): This key does not do anything: OnDemand

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.cups.cupsd): Service has increased maximum shutdown time to 65 seconds. This will create a poor experience for the user.

Nov 13 15:54:12 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.xpc.launchd.domain.system): Could not import service from caller: path = /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.applefileutil.plist, caller = launchd.1, error = 152: Service cannot load in current boot environment

Nov 13 15:54:13 localhost syslogd[57]: ASL Sender Statistics

Nov 13 15:54:13 localhost com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.xpc.launchd.domain.system): Service "com.apple.ManagedClient.startup" tried to register for endpoint "com.apple.ManagedClient.agent" already registered by owner: com.apple.ManagedClient

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro xpcproxy[158]: libcoreservices: _dirhelper_userdir: 529: bootstrap_look_up returned (ipc/send) invalid destination port

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.xpc.launchd.domain.user.202): com.apple.pluginkit.pkd (lint): Service sets EnableTransactions=false and EnablePressuredExit=true, which makes no sense. Enabling Transactions.

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro xpcproxy[161]: libcoreservices: _dirhelper_userdir: 529: bootstrap_look_up returned (ipc/send) invalid destination port

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro xpcproxy[96]: libcoreservices: _dirhelper_userdir: 529: bootstrap_look_up returned (ipc/send) invalid destination port

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro xpcproxy[111]: libcoreservices: _dirhelper_userdir: 529: bootstrap_look_up returned (ipc/send) invalid destination port

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro xpcproxy[117]: libcoreservices: _dirhelper_userdir: 529: bootstrap_look_up returned (ipc/send) invalid destination port

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro logd[74]: _logd_remote_start_service: listener activated for com.apple.logd.remote-daemon

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro launchd[1]: BUG in libdispatch client: mach_recv, monitored resource vanished before the source cancel handler was invoked { 0x7f9007f10f90[source], ident: 171523 / 0x29e03, handler: 0x104758444 }

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.CoreRAID[64]): Endpoint has been activated through legacy launch(3) APIs. Please switch to XPC or bootstrap_check_in(): com.apple.CoreRAID

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro xpcproxy[187]: libcoreservices: _dirhelper_userdir: 529: bootstrap_look_up returned (ipc/send) invalid destination port

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro syspolicyd[188]: objc[188]: Class SPExecutionHistoryItem is implemented in both /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SystemPolicy.framework/Versions/A/SystemPolicy (0x7fffa12b7b80) and /usr/libexec/syspolicyd (0x10de089f8). One of the two will be used. Which one is undefined.

Nov 13 15:54:13 Als-Mac-Pro Installer Progress[84]: Progress UI App Starting

Nov 13 15:54:14 Als-Mac-Pro xpcproxy[82]: libcoreservices: _dirhelper_userdir: 529: bootstrap_look_up returned (ipc/send) invalid destination port

Nov 13 15:54:15 Als-Mac-Pro xpcproxy[195]: libcoreservices: _dirhelper_userdir: 529: bootstrap_look_up returned (ipc/send) invalid destination port

Nov 13 15:54:19 Als-Mac-Pro mds[81]: objc[81]: Class MDSObjectToken is implemented in both /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SpotlightServerKit.framework/Versions/A/SpotlightServerKit (0x7fffa0f6d5f0) and /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/mds (0x1060af190). One of the two will be used. Which one is undefined.

Nov 13 15:54:19 Als-Mac-Pro mds[81]: objc[81]: Class MDSToken is implemented in both /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SpotlightServerKit.framework/Versions/A/SpotlightServerKit (0x7fffa0f6d5a0) and /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/mds (0x1060af6e0). One of the two will be used. Which one is undefined.

Nov 13 15:54:19 Als-Mac-Pro mds[81]: objc[81]: Class MDSReadCopyUpdate is implemented in both /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SpotlightServerKit.framework/Versions/A/SpotlightServerKit (0x7fffa0f6d640) and /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/mds (0x1060b0270). One of the two will be used. Which one is undefined.

Nov 13 15:54:19 Als-Mac-Pro mds[81]: objc[81]: Class MDSInternalToken is implemented in both /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SpotlightServerKit.framework/Versions/A/SpotlightServerKit (0x7fffa0f6d550) and /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/mds (0x1060b1350). One of the two will be used. Which one is undefined.

Nov 13 15:54:20 Als-Mac-Pro airportd[198]: DEPRECATED USE in libdispatch client: dispatch source activated with no event handler set; set a breakpoint on _dispatch_bug_deprecated to debug

Nov 13 15:54:22 Als-Mac-Pro WindowServer[190]: DEPRECATED USE in libdispatch client: dispatch source activated with no event handler set; set a breakpoint on _dispatch_bug_deprecated to debug

Nov 13 15:54:22 Als-Mac-Pro com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.xpc.launchd.domain.user.205): com.apple.pluginkit.pkd (lint): Service sets EnableTransactions=false and EnablePressuredExit=true, which makes no sense. Enabling Transactions.

Nov 13 15:54:23 g183-8 xpcproxy[206]: libcoreservices: _dirhelper_userdir: 529: bootstrap_look_up returned (ipc/send) invalid destination port

Nov 13 15:54:23 g183-8 nsurlsessiond[166]: DEPRECATED USE in libdispatch client: Setting timer interval to 0 requests a 1ns timer, did you mean FOREVER (a one-shot timer)?; set a breakpoint on _dispatch_bug_deprecated to debug

 

[Alex Sanders74]

I'm not a console expert by any means, but there are some brilliant minds on this forum that I'm sure can offer feedback on how to interpret the crash logs and what the root cause may be. I did see this earlier...


To find the crash files, you can run Console app which will display all the system messages. If any specific application crashed, look in User Reports. If it's system crash, check in System Reports. Once you have found the crash file, you can Reveal in Finder (usually located in ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports).

If the crash resulted in reboot, in All Messages look line stating its Shutdown Cause and check the following list of Shutdown Causes for further information.

Alternatively you can also check the log files in /var/log (such as system.log), or in real-time by log stream.

You can also check where dumps are generated by monitoring system.log file, e.g.


Saw it on this page. https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/26480/where-can-i-find-my-crash-logs

Anyone here good with reading crash logs?

 

[startergo]

Did you try this:
Leaving Mac Safe Mode

1. Restart the computer without holding any key. Or, from a terminal, type sudo nvram boot –arg=””, and press ENTER.
2. Enter your password, and the computer will reboot in normal mode.
3. https://www.cleverfiles.com/howto/mac-safe-mode.html

 

[orph]

so you installed OSX on to a usb drive/stick and when booed from that device you still had the problem?

when you do a clean install are you re installing any applications at all or using time machine to restore from a backup?

have you made any hardware changes to your mp6.1 ? (apart from ram)

you still had the problem with no USB keybored or mouse?

some more steps you can do (even if it's just for luck but dont take long if you can do it)

take it in to a new room and plug it in (may be bad plug socket, low electric quality etc) see if any change (in say America that can relay do it 😱 120V HAHA the story's of voltage sag iv seen, good old UK and are 240v)

try a different display/TV (iv never relay seen a problem like this from that but hay a 6.1 is light and easy to shift)

i cant read logs 🙁 some one will have to chime in there

im tempted to say it's worth thinking about phoning your local apple shop and asking about the GPU recall on the mp6.1, at least thats the last thing to do. depends on how fast you need it back up and ruining.

ps tad tired so hope the jokes are ok 😛

 

[Al Downie]

Thanks again all.. I feel we've reached the bottom of the barrel now. I'll hand it back to the user with apologies, and recommend he shows his wallet to the Genius Bar. Don't like admitting defeat!!

 

[orph]

if it's a GPU problem apple had a recall on them if he pushes he may get a free repair, if it's the gpu problem

it's happened in the past even if it's officially ended,