Tricky locked Mac pro conundrum...help needed!!

[Bunking]

Hi all,

This is my first time in these forums and I really hope someone will be able to shed some light on this situation for me.

Ive been refurbishing and old mac pro 2008 which I saved from being thrown in a skip - which was essentially a carcass that I bought a new graphics card and RAM for. Ive finally got it breathing life however am stuck on a login screen from the previous user which I obviously can't get through.

The issue now is that with the graphics card I purchased, there is no boot screen and therefore I cannot wipe the hard drive with the conventional cmd+r startup procedure (it just goes straight to login screen). is there any known method of wiping/resetting a hard drive so that I can use the computer without doing it through the boot screen option, or a way in which I can get the boot screen to show?

I hope this is clear, thanks all!

B

Edit: graphics card is ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB Graphics Card XFX flashed with Mac firmware

 

[Nermal]

Do you have another Mac? You can put the drive in the second machine, install the OS, then move the drive back again.

 

[Bunking]

thanks Nermal,

I only have a macbook so Im not sure if thats possible?

 

[jjhoekstra]

Do you have another Mac? You can put the drive in the second machine, install the OS, then move the drive back again.

Or, if you have access to a mac where you cannot access the hdds, get a cheap USB enclosure for your hdd. Use this to install the OS. And later maybe use the USB enclosure filled with another hdd as part of your backup-setup.

 

[666sheep]

Use DVI->VGA adaptor (if your display has D-Sub input) and you'll get the bootscreen on a 5770. Or install OS via target disk mode using your MacBook.

 

[Bunking]

hey guys thanks so much for the replies,

with regards to target disk mode - i don't suppose you could elaborate slightly on how you go about doing this?

i will also try DVI-VGA method!

 

[Keter]

hey guys thanks so much for the replies,

with regards to target disk mode - i don't suppose you could elaborate slightly on how you go about doing this?

i will also try DVI-VGA method!

Have both computers you intend to use turned off. The machine you cannot login to, boot that computer and hold down the T key. This will cause the computer to boot in Target Disk mode

Connect a FireWire cable from that computer to the computer that you wish to boot from.

Turn on the computer that you can normally see a boot screen from, but hold down the OPTION key. This will present you screen showing you the bootable drives connected to the system.

Choose the recovery partition, if available. Once you are booted to recovery choose Utilities from menu bar, then choose Disk Utility. Locate the FireWire connected computer and erase the volume you with the OS, then go through the regular installation process

 

[Bunking]

amazing thanks so much for the explanation - going to give that a try now!

 

[Keter]

amazing thanks so much for the explanation - going to give that a try now!

did it work out?

 

[westrock2000]

Use DVI->VGA adaptor (if your display has D-Sub input) and you'll get the bootscreen on a 5770. Or install OS via target disk mode using your MacBook.

I do not believe this is correct. It's not the port that is the problem it is the BIOS/EFI on the card itself that is not compatible while booting. Unless it was specifically flashed with the Apple BIOS. But if its only working in graphical mode then it's probably just an off the shelf card like most people use.

 

[666sheep]

^You don't have to believe. Just read the OP, especially edited part

 

[Bunking]

solved

Hi all thanks for all the advice and sorry that this reply is coming so late- I managed to get around this using the firewire/target disk mode approach in the end!