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Will Mac Pro boot without working Video Card?

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palmanew2mac

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 29, 2010
10
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Can anyone confirm that a Mac Pro 1,1 will not boot (no chime, no read cd) if the video card (7300 gt) is bad?

I get LED on solid and black screen.

Forgive the simplistic question...I'm new to mac.
 
palmanew2mac said:
Can anyone confirm that a Mac Pro 1,1 will not boot (no chime, no read cd) if the video card (7300 gt) is bad?

I get LED on solid and black screen.

Forgive the simplistic question...I'm new to mac.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have had a mac pro running as a file server with no vid card at a couple points, it will boot fine, though nothing graphical will be possible (screen sharing, vnc, etc)
 
Any other troubleshooting tips for a Mac Pro 1,1 that won't boot? (LED is on solid, no chime, superdrive runs but doesn't respond, black screen).

Thanks from a newbie.
 
I have a confirmed (by Apple) video card failure and my machine will not boot with the card in place, so don't rule that out completely. Maybe taking the card out altogether gets a difference result. I don't know.
 
gregrp9 said:
I have a confirmed (by Apple) video card failure and my machine will not boot with the card in place, so don't rule that out completely. Maybe taking the card out altogether gets a difference result. I don't know.
Click to expand...

Wait, you didnt pull the card? Yes, a dead card still in place will prevent booting.
 
I have tried both with and without the suspect video card in place. Exactly the same result (at least what I can see)...solid front LED and black screen.

I was able to do a "D" one time...it said all hardware was OK, but I have not been able to repeat it.
 
I have my MacPro 1,1 running without a graphics card - and yes, screen sharing DOES work. If you actually did remove your graphics card you'd have no where to plug in a monitor - so obviously you'd have a black screen.

If you start up without a graphics card in place it just boots and runs like it normally would - you can only access your data via a network and can even run applications using Screen Sharing (hopefully you enabled sharing before your card died).

Just last night I was able to run Logic 9, and actually record audio into my MacPro using Screen Sharing on my MacBook.
 
So far, we are about 50/50 as to whether a Mac Pro 1,1 will boot with a bad video card.

Does the Mac Pro 1,1 EFI check for a compatible and/or working video card before boot?

If it doesn't find one...what is it supposed to do?
 
HCMJ said:
I have my MacPro 1,1 running without a graphics card - and yes, screen sharing DOES work. If you actually did remove your graphics card you'd have no where to plug in a monitor - so obviously you'd have a black screen.

If you start up without a graphics card in place it just boots and runs like it normally would - you can only access your data via a network and can even run applications using Screen Sharing (hopefully you enabled sharing before your card died).

Just last night I was able to run Logic 9, and actually record audio into my MacPro using Screen Sharing on my MacBook.
Click to expand...

Odd, last time I tried for kicks while running the machine (MP 3,1) totally headless (no card in), screen sharing refused to work. I'll have to test it again, maybe I didnt enable it like I had thought I did... Graphics isn't usually my first concern, SSH ability is :p.
 
I've confirmed that a Mac Pro 1,1 running OSX 10.7 will boot fine with no video card present in the machine.

Desktop sharing was enabled before card removal, and works fine after booting without the card.
 
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Is it possible that the support for background user GUI interaction under 10.7 (one user using the desktop with local monitors with another user simultaneously logged in using screen sharing from another Mac) is the reason that a Mac Pro with no video card supports screen sharing?

Of course it is entirely possible that any GUI interaction, local or remote, leverages the GPU. My lack of knowledge on the architecture side means I am not entirely sure if a system without any video card whatsoever is capable of drawing a user interface - what is the pipeline?

For the record, screen sharing (with video card) doesn't work for me at all - refuses to connect; can't remember the error offhand.
 
My 8800Gt died on my macpro 2,1 running 10.6.6. Luckily had Vine Server and screensharing setup with iteleport (and SSH). Once I took the card out it booted fine and could control it with my work Mac, wife's laptop or iPhone while I saved for a new Apple 5770 (overpriced but I use rEfit on bootup so need boot screen). It was very quiet without a GPU in it.
 
StructAural said:
My 8800Gt died on my macpro 2,1 running 10.6.6. Luckily had Vine Server and screensharing setup with iteleport (and SSH). Once I took the card out it booted fine and could control it with my work Mac, wife's laptop or iPhone while I saved for a new Apple 5770 (overpriced but I use rEfit on bootup so need boot screen). It was very quiet without a GPU in it.
Click to expand...

That is encouraging. I shall look into Vine Server rather than fiddling around with screen sharing.
 
Cindori said:
machine should halt if no card is detected.
Click to expand...

Nope, it will start normally. Any MP. (If the card will be physically removed OFC). It will halt mostly when card is faulty and is detected but it causes errors (or cannot be properly initialized by firmware for some reason).
 
If This Helps:
MacPro 5,1 (2012) with 12gb ram and ati radeon 5770 gpu.
my gpu went bad was causing frequent abrupt shutdowns, so removed it.
now using my mac with screen share using my macbook pro without any problem.

posted on: 9th April 2018
 
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