MBP 1,1-10,2 MacBook Pro Early 2008 with Tiger problem

[h1d3Mac]

Has anyone had success getting Tiger to run on a replaced logic board?

Core 2 Dut T9500
GeForce 8600M GT 512MB G84-603-A2

It succeeds in booting on extremely rare occasions, but freezes immediately.

I have a feeling that NVDAResman is the cause, although I have little evidence.

Installer used
Test 1 :MBP3,1 Recovery image

Test 2 :10.4.10-8R4088-ACDT.dmg (Modified iMac7,1 install disk, no SMBIOS lock)
Includes kext for the :8600M GT.

Tried steps:.
I installed Tiger from Leopard installed externally as it froze and could not boot from the Tiger installer.
Install 10.4.11 Combo update and reboot.
Freezes.
Or in very rare cases, it will freeze and stop accepting operations as soon as it starts.

2:
Temporarily disable the graphics driver by renaming it to NVDAResman.kext.bak and boot.
It will then boot successfully, but without acceleration.
Next, install MacBookProSoftwareUpdate1.2.pkg and reboot.
It freezes.

If there is a way to stabilize it, please let me know.

 

[eyoungren]

Has anyone had success getting Tiger to run on a replaced logic board?

Core 2 Dut T9500
GeForce 8600M GT 512MB G84-603-A2

It succeeds in booting on extremely rare occasions, but freezes immediately.

I have a feeling that NVDAResman is the cause, although I have little evidence.

Installer used
Test 1 :MBP3,1 Recovery image

Test 2 :10.4.10-8R4088-ACDT.dmg (Modified iMac7,1 install disk, no SMBIOS lock)
Includes kext for the :8600M GT.

Tried steps:.
I installed Tiger from Leopard installed externally as it froze and could not boot from the Tiger installer.
Install 10.4.11 Combo update and reboot.
Freezes.
Or in very rare cases, it will freeze and stop accepting operations as soon as it starts.

2:
Temporarily disable the graphics driver by renaming it to NVDAResman.kext.bak and boot.
It will then boot successfully, but without acceleration.
Next, install MacBookProSoftwareUpdate1.2.pkg and reboot.
It freezes.

If there is a way to stabilize it, please let me know.

Did you have Tiger on this Mac before?

Mactracker is telling me that the original OS for the early 2008 models was Leopard 10.5.2. The original OS for the mid/late 2007s was 10.4.9 Tiger.

So, if your MBP is really an early 2008 then you can't install Tiger. Leopard 10.5.2 is the farthest back you can go.

 

[h1d3Mac]

Did you have Tiger on this Mac before?

Mactracker is telling me that the original OS for the early 2008 models was Leopard 10.5.2. The original OS for the mid/late 2007s was 10.4.9 Tiger.

So, if your MBP is really an early 2008 then you can't install Tiger. Leopard 10.5.2 is the farthest back you can go.

The MacBook Pro Early 2008 is similar to the MacBook Pro 2007 except for the trackpad, so I was able to run Tiger.

It seems to be running Tiger here as well.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/early-intel-trash-or-treasure-macbook-pro-2008.2122634/

The problem is that the replaced logic board may have lost compatibility with Tiger.

I don't know if this is a problem with the logic board itself or with the G84-603-A2.

The vbios may have been modified in the G84-603-A2 to solve the thermal problem.
I wish I could extract the roms and compare them, but I have no means to do so.

I was then able to boot in safe mode as well.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

The problem is that the replaced logic board may have lost compatibility with Tiger.

I don't know much about Macs from this era, but on the face of it, that would be very strange if the CPU/GPU is the same.

Have you tried booting in verbose mode? What error do you see when it crashes?

A shame this is a laptop and you can't try swapping the GPU. I wonder if there's a way to force integrated graphics?

 

[bobesch]

Hey @h1d3Mac , welcome at MacRumors-Forum!

I don't know how You managed to fit the logic-board from a late2008-MBP4,1 into the housing of a 2007-MBP3,1.
Certainly a good job, if it runs OSX from Leopard to dosdude1/Mojave w/o problems now.
As @eyoungren already mentioned, the MBP4,1 requires Leopard or above and can't run Tiger.
That's the bad side. The good side is, that you can install Mojave (latest macOS to run 32bit-Apps) with the help of dosdude1-patcher.

Also check, whether you#re lucky to have a replacement-logic-board with a replacement-GPU, since the original-one is prone to fail (faulty: NVIDIA#603; replacement: NVIDIA#604).
You can only lookup the number, while the heat-sink is off and You have free sight to the GPU.
If You have a good-one, that's a gem. Then better go for a cheap defect* original 2008-MBP4,1 and swap in that logic-board, since You'll get a machine that will last.

*) GPU-defect has these signs and symptoms: on boot-up optical drives makes noise, white standby-light is on, screen stays black.
(You may apply 140°C for 10 min to a suchwise affected GPU/logicboard, but that's only a temporary fix.
Well, if the logic-board of Yours MBP3,1SantaRosa had the same problem, you might try to fix the GPU the same way an rebuild it to run Tiger again.
NB: only max 140°! and only 10 mins in an oven with a reliable temperature-control. Al plastic parts removed from the logic-board! And the board place onto some not conductive "stands" like wooden spoons, cork etc.)
The 140° will affect/reflow flux within the GPU without burning anything and has nothing to do with resoldering/"reballing" the same-old faulty chip on higher temperatures, with actually might cause damage to the board.)

Best luck!

Edit: You can separate both models look by a quick look at the keyboard
- on the 2007MBP3,1(SantaRosa) the Cursor-keys are marked with arrows AND up/down/left/right
- on the later early2008-MBP4,1 the cursor-keys are marked only with arrows
AFAIR the keyboard of the MBP3,1 doesn't fit onto the MBP4,1 because the cable-connection differs.

 

[rampancy]

Since they've got a G84-603-A2 chip, it looks like they've got one of those early replacement boards that still had the defective GPU.

 

[bobesch]

Since they've got a G84-603-A2 chip, it looks like they've got one of those early replacement boards that still had the defective GPU.

Yep, right You are. Overlooked that information.
So I'd try to fix the old 3,1-board with the 140°/10mins workaround.
(And keep the 4,1-board as a spare for a defective MBP4,1.)

"Baking" the board and making it work again is kind of satisfactory, when the MBP powers up again.
But having to do this again and again is really cumbersome due to the lot of screws and the repasting procedure ...
The MBP must be strictly kept off overheating furhermore (aluminum-stand)
and the health of the GPU can be checked (PCIe-lane-width = x16)

 

[h1d3Mac]

The problem seems to be temporarily resolved.
It was not resolved.
It just happened to work luckily.

edit:
I installed MacBookProSoftwareUpdate1.1.pkg and edited the info.plist of GeForceGA.plugin.
10de0100 to 10de0407.

Then I held down C to boot and it worked fine twice.

I am not sure if this procedure is causal or not.
However, it is working.

Higher temperatures seem to increase the probability of freezing at the boot screen.

I have installed OS version 10.4 to 15 using OCLP and Patcher, but these problems are only in 10.4.

I wish I could specify a range of temperature control by editing kext, etc., but this needs to be researched.

edit 2:
edited the info.plist of ACPIPlatformPlugin.kext.

MacBookPro3,1 to MacBookPro4,1.

not sure which was the correct procedure, but it is working fine now.

1.First boot was set up in safe mode.

2.Edited the info.plist of GeForceGA.plugin.
10de0100 to 10de0407.

3.Edited the info.plist of ACPIPlatformPlugin.kext.

MacBookPro3,1 to MacBookPro4,1.

4.Install MacBookProSoftwareUpdate1.1.pkg

Before the board was replaced, these steps were not necessary.

 

[rampancy]

There's really only two fixes to your problem: send the board to DosDude1 to get it fixed, or look for a replacement board with a 604 GPU. Otherwise fidding around with the Mac is a waste of time (IMHO), as the very most you'll get is maybe a few minutes of normal operation. Trying to hack Tiger to work would just go so much smoother and easier with an actual functioning motherboard.

(And I say this as someone who tried to fiddle around with a MacBook Pro with a failing 8600M GT.)

Baking may increase the amount of time you get with the Mac, but IIRC the problem is with the chip itself, not the BGA solder used to affix it to the motherboard.

 

[bobesch]

Baking may increase the amount of time you get with the Mac, but IIRC the problem is with the chip itself, not the BGA solder used to affix it to the motherboard.

@h1d3Mac Before swapping the GPU of the 3,1 board, I'd go the 140°C/10min heating way to check, whether the logicboard is otherwise ok.

Yes, as @rampancy mentions, the problem is within the chip - maybe "flux" is harmed anyhow by overheating. Heating up to 140° won't affect the solder but fixes the problem. You may check, whether PCIeLaneWidth is back to x16 after the procedure. (Your screenshot of the 4,1 board shows, that the GPU hast still full function).

If You are lucky, that fix might even last for some time, as long as You avoid overheating meticulously, e.g. by placing the MBP onto a heat conducting aluminum stand and avoid everything insulating below the bottom next to the CPU/GPU. I prefer to use an iLapStand.

Tiger shouldn't be too much distress for the unit, but if You proceed to ElCapitan (AFAIR dd1-patches don't work on the MBP3,1) the workload and temperatur do increase significantly and You ought to monitor temperature carefully.)

And yes, fully agree, replacing the GPU is the best solution, especially if You stick to the MBP3,1 and Tiger.
To have the full Tiger&Classic experience, I'd rather go for a late 15"PowerBookG4 or maybe an early PowerBook G4 "Titanium", which can even boot into os9.