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Chuk81

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 20, 2015
7
0
Hello folks,

My Mac Pro 3,1 2008 (2x 3.2 quad core) died, there is no sign of life, no lights, no sound... dead! Everything was fine a day before before I switched off and went to bed. Next day when I pushed the power button nothing happened. I tried few more times with no success. Next I've checked the AC cord and it did work on my Mac Pro 1,1, so the AC cord was Ok. To summarise:
1. SMC reset didn't work
2. Removed everything (HDD, Graphics, ram, memory riser....) and again, no success.
3. I checked the diagnostic LEDs, and none of them light up when I press the diagnose button, with power and without power.

I am trying to figure out if the PSU or the motherboard died. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar issue and how it was sorted.
Any ideas or tips are most welcome.

Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:

NOTNlCE

macrumors 65816
Oct 11, 2013
1,087
478
Baltimore, MD
In my experience, it's much more likely that the PSU died than the motherboard. Try a different power cord (back of computer to outlet) - if you're lucky, that might be it.
 

Chuk81

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 20, 2015
7
0
Bring it to the nearer Apple Store

Thanks for your reply xanrov, but my Mac is considered vintage so they won't take in for repair or diagnose.

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In my experience, it's much more likely that the PSU died than the motherboard. Try a different power cord (back of computer to outlet) - if you're lucky, that might be it.

Thanks Notnice for your reply. I did try two different AC cords with no success, however the same cords work on my other mac.
 

NOTNlCE

macrumors 65816
Oct 11, 2013
1,087
478
Baltimore, MD
Thanks Notnice for your reply. I did try two different AC cords with no success, however the same cords work on my other mac.

Sounds to me like your power supply. Do you have a voltmeter? You could check the pins that way, if I remember correctly. (Though I might be thinking of a G5, I think you can do it with a Mac Pro PSU as well.)
 

Chuk81

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 20, 2015
7
0
Sounds to me like your power supply. Do you have a voltmeter? You could check the pins that way, if I remember correctly. (Though I might be thinking of a G5, I think you can do it with a Mac Pro PSU as well.)

I think I've read something about doing a jump test with a G5 PSU, but the Mac Pro PSU has all the cables in black making it difficult to know which one is which.
 

NOTNlCE

macrumors 65816
Oct 11, 2013
1,087
478
Baltimore, MD
I think I've read something about doing a jump test with a G5 PSU, but the Mac Pro PSU has all the cables in black making it difficult to know which one is which.

I would imagine there is probably some way to test the PSU, probably similar to the procedure with the G5 that we're familiar with. Fortunately, I've never had to deal with a dead PSU in any of my Mac Pros, and I wish you the best of luck diagnosing yours.

Perhaps someone with a bit more firsthand experience on this could give you a better suggestion. I would still remove the PSU - whether that's the issue or not, it's probably good to test it (if we can figure out how) and if it is dead, it's gonna need to come out anyway.
 

Chuk81

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 20, 2015
7
0
I would imagine there is probably some way to test the PSU, probably similar to the procedure with the G5 that we're familiar with. Fortunately, I've never had to deal with a dead PSU in any of my Mac Pros, and I wish you the best of luck diagnosing yours.

Perhaps someone with a bit more firsthand experience on this could give you a better suggestion. I would still remove the PSU - whether that's the issue or not, it's probably good to test it (if we can figure out how) and if it is dead, it's gonna need to come out anyway.

Thanks NOTNICE for your help. I hope someone here would have a possible solution. I know I can get a new PSU and test, but before spending the money I want to be sure the problem is the PSU and not the motherboard or both. If it would turn out both PSU and MB are dead I would spend any money on the machine and just break and sell the working parts.
 

RoastingPig

macrumors 68000
Jul 23, 2012
1,606
70
SoCal
non apple store but authorized apple repair places get those psu's for $165 from apple and charge you for labor. i had this done on a 2008 it was $165 + $75 labor for a brand new psu
 

jsterrett78

macrumors newbie
May 20, 2015
3
0
We just parted out a bunch of 3,1's at my work, if you're interested I can give you a link to the ebay listing. We got in 16 quad-core 3,1's, and decided got to part out 1/2 of them to make the other half 8-core machines. All of 'em passed ASD, and were pretty clean machines from a state college....

Let me know if you're interested...

----------

Actually, I just double-checked and we sold all of them. I did get in two more machines (from the same place) last week though, and will be building one up and parting the other out.

PS- We were selling them at $100/ea
 

Chuk81

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 20, 2015
7
0
We just parted out a bunch of 3,1's at my work, if you're interested I can give you a link to the ebay listing. We got in 16 quad-core 3,1's, and decided got to part out 1/2 of them to make the other half 8-core machines. All of 'em passed ASD, and were pretty clean machines from a state college....

Let me know if you're interested...

----------

Actually, I just double-checked and we sold all of them. I did get in two more machines (from the same place) last week though, and will be building one up and parting the other out.

PS- We were selling them at $100/ea

Thanks Jsterrett78, I would much like to get one of those for that price, but I live in London, and adding the postage costs plus the import charges makes it not worth it.
I can get a refurbished one around here for £150 but before buying one I wish I could rule out the possibility of the motherboard being fried/dead. Replacing both would be something not worth it given the age of the machine, I would be better off buying a 4,1 or 5,1.
What I found strange is that I don't get any diagnostic leds to light on the motherboard, does this mean the MB died or it happens because of PSU not giving any juice to the MB?

Anyway, thanks for your help and if you have thoughts/tips for the issue pls let me know.

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Thanks for the link OS6-OSX, it will be useful once I get the new PSU.

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non apple store but authorized apple repair places get those psu's for $165 from apple and charge you for labor. i had this done on a 2008 it was $165 + $75 labor for a brand new psu

Thanks you RoastingPig for you reply. I went to one authorized shop here and they asked me £100 to check/diagnose the machine and around £200 for a new PSU. Too much! I wish there was a way to check the PSU before buying a new one.
 

jsterrett78

macrumors newbie
May 20, 2015
3
0
Thanks Jsterrett78, I would much like to get one of those for that price, but I live in London, and adding the postage costs plus the import charges makes it not worth it.
I can get a refurbished one around here for £150 but before buying one I wish I could rule out the possibility of the motherboard being fried/dead. Replacing both would be something not worth it given the age of the machine, I would be better off buying a 4,1 or 5,1.
What I found strange is that I don't get any diagnostic leds to light on the motherboard, does this mean the MB died or it happens because of PSU not giving any juice to the MB?

Anyway, thanks for your help and if you have thoughts/tips for the issue pls let me know.

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A USPS Priority Mail Large Flat Rate box would cost roughly $76.50. $176.50 would be 112.67 pounds (according to Google), but I don't what the customs/import fees might be...

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When I get a chance I will plug in one of the ones I have sitting here and check it out. I'm curious whether they have the 4 diagnostic LEDs like iMacs... that would tell you pretty quickly if the logic board is getting power.

For what it's worth, I have yet to see a dead MacPro logic board come through here. I've seen sensors go bad and other issues, but none that were completely unresponsive.
 

Chuk81

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 20, 2015
7
0
----------

A USPS Priority Mail Large Flat Rate box would cost roughly $76.50. $176.50 would be 112.67 pounds (according to Google), but I don't what the customs/import fees might be...

----------

When I get a chance I will plug in one of the ones I have sitting here and check it out. I'm curious whether they have the 4 diagnostic LEDs like iMacs... that would tell you pretty quickly if the logic board is getting power.

For what it's worth, I have yet to see a dead MacPro logic board come through here. I've seen sensors go bad and other issues, but none that were completely unresponsive.

I'm checking for a PSU replacement in UK or Europe to see how much I'll have to spend.
About the Leds, they are located very close to upper ram riser (between both upper and lower). I am still dubious if any of the leds should light if the PSU is dead or if MB is dead. As I mentioned before in my mac none of the leds lights up.
Thanks for you reply anyway jsterrett78. I'll see how it cost here and I'll let you know if I'll be ordering one from you.
thanks
 

xanrov

macrumors newbie
Feb 9, 2008
17
0
Asnieres, FRANCE
My Mac Pro is dead

I don't know if my experience may be of help
I have an "early 2008" Mac Pro, aka Mac Pro 3,1 which 2 years ago began to show similar misbehaviour as you describe. When pressing the start button nothing happened. For some time asulution was to disconnect the Mac from the mains , wait 1 or 2 minutes then reconnect , wait again for a weak double click, then press the button and the mac came to life. This was not perfect . I had some times to repeat the sequence 5 to ten times for the Mac to awake.

I did not bring the beast to an Apple Store. I live in a suburb of Paris and the tower is far to heavy (more than 27 kgs) for and old man like me.

I first suspected the power unit, then I thought of the incredible amount of dust which accumulate with the years inside the tower. I opened it, removed the first HD, to gain access to the front . I should also have removed the optic drives but desisted out of laziness.
Then I blew thoroughly with a can of compressed gas directing the tube wher I thought the start button and its relay should be.
That did it : my old Mac Pro starts as it used to do.

PS I ordered the new Mac Pro (6.1) when I thought the old onr was nearly dead so I don't use the old one as often as before , but still it boots up as soon as I press its start button.
 

jsterrett78

macrumors newbie
May 20, 2015
3
0
I'm checking for a PSU replacement in UK or Europe to see how much I'll have to spend.
About the Leds, they are located very close to upper ram riser (between both upper and lower). I am still dubious if any of the leds should light if the PSU is dead or if MB is dead. As I mentioned before in my mac none of the leds lights up.
Thanks for you reply anyway jsterrett78. I'll see how it cost here and I'll let you know if I'll be ordering one from you.
thanks

Yeah, I knew about those already. For what it's worth, with it powered down but plugged in, I get a standby (STBY) light when the button is pressed, and no lights at all when i unplug the main power cord. I think the diagnostic lights are designed in such a way as to still give an light even if the logic board is having major issues....

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From the Apple Mac Pro 3,1 Repair Manual:

Use the following table to interpret the LEDs.
Location Name Color Nominal Press DIAG_
LED button
to display
Indicates
Led 1 Sleep Red Off; on when
computer is
in sleep mode
Yes Sleep mode
Led 2 Standby
(Trickle Pwr)
Yellow On Yes Power supply
is providing
trickle power
Led 3 CPU B Error Red Off No CPU B halts
on an IERR
(instruction
error)
Led 4 CPU A Error Red Off No CPU A halts
on an IERR
(instruction
error)
Led 5 CPU B OT Red Off No CPU B is over
temperature
Led 6 CPU A OT Red Off No CPU A is over
temperature
Led 7 GPU Present Green On Yes EFI has
configured
the graphics
card
Led 8 Power Good Green On Yes All power
rails are
functioning
Led 9 EFI Done Green On Yes EFI is done
loading
LED 1 Sleep
LED 2 Standby or Trickle Power
Normally on when DIAG_LED button is pressed.
If LED 2 is not on, the symptom would be that the computer won’t power on.
Troubleshooting:
• Check AC cord is connected to a working AC wall outlet.
• Reseat AC Plug.
• Check connections of power supply cables to the logic board.
• Check power supply cable connections at power supply.
• Replace power supply
 

Chuk81

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 20, 2015
7
0
I guess my PSU must be completed dead as I don't have any led lights or whatsoever on my motherboard.
I am gonna try to get a replacement this weekend and test it. I let you guys know the output/result.

thanks again for your help.
 

diddykiddy

macrumors newbie
Jan 4, 2008
28
2
I guess my PSU must be completed dead as I don't have any led lights or whatsoever on my motherboard.
I am gonna try to get a replacement this weekend and test it. I let you guys know the output/result.

thanks again for your help.

Hi there - sorry to see you having issues - a bit late in the day but I found a pretty good repair manual;
http://tesselator.gpmod.com/_Text/MacPro_Service_Manual.pdf

just in case it might help you. My MP 3,1 is misbehaving - trying to diagnose myself first

best of luck

D
 

chromedome45

macrumors newbie
Oct 3, 2012
29
0
Well if this were a PC then a bad logic board could cause the power to not come on. It is known as the power good signal. Seeing as the Pro is loosely based on a PC logic board it could also not be sending a power good signal. Causing the Pro to not power up. Suggestion try to possibly borrow a pro 3,1 Power supply or buy one that has a money back return policy. Cause if the new power supply still does not turn on the Pro then the problem is most likely the logic board or a peripheral that is causing it to not allowing it to power up.

Things to try: pull video card, and any Hard drives that are plugged in. Try to power up. If it powers up then you at least have a idea what might be causing it. Ok now plug the Hard drive back in. If powers up then you have a bad video board. Or plug in hard drive and does not power on then a bad hard drive and so on.

And don't forget the optical drive or drives as well. They could also knock out the system. if they are bad.

Hope this helps. Let us know.
 

bernuli

macrumors 6502a
Oct 10, 2011
713
404
My Mac Pro is dead

Bring it to the nearer Apple Store

That a waste of time I think. I recently brought a 3,1 in to an Apple Store for repair. After lugging it all the way in, the Apple tech said they do not support the 3,1s anymore. Which is too bad because it still a great machine.
 

RumoredTone

macrumors member
Nov 12, 2004
55
6
Hi there,

I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble. I had a 3,1 Mac Pro (2x2.8) before my current workstation. They're still great machines!

I think the steps you've taken, along with the others that people have mentioned, cover the most likely possibilities and tips. But here are two more ideas, in case they help. They're long shots, but free or cheap to try:

1. Unplug your Mac, and wait a minute or so. Then, without plugging it back in, press and hold the power button for a ~5 seconds and release... and maybe do it one more time for good measure (basically, what you're doing is trying to drain any small remaining electrical charge from the components). Then let the machine sit in this state for as long as is practical for you. Ideally, let it sit overnight at least. Then plug everything back in the next day and see if there's an improvement. This is all just electronics voodoo, but sometimes I've seen computers or other devices bounce back in this fashion, so you never know.

2. Given the age of the machine, there's a chance that the PRAM battery is dead. I don't think that dead PRAM batteries typically prevent modern Macs from booting, but I'm not sure (it used to be possible with ancient Macs back in the day). A new PRAM battery is only $2 USD from OWC, so if you don't mind the small expense, it may be worth a shot. If the international price isn't as favorable, you can probably just find one local (or swap from another machine if you have that option).

Again, these ideas are both long shots, but I just thought I'd mention them in case it helps. Good luck!
 
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