MP 1,1-5,1 Windows 10 doesn't like my RX 580?

[Darmok N Jalad]

So I'm trying to run Windows 10 on my 4,1 --> 5,1. This Mac Pro is flashed to the latest everything so it can boot into Mojave. Strangest thing is happening though. I cannot get Windows 10 to boot with my MSI RX 580. If I drop in the GT120 (removing the 580), it works just fine. Put in the 580, I get the chime, but it does not boot. I'm doing all the usual things--no other drives installed, no USB drives attached, etc. It just doesn't like my 580. I even tried different ports on the 580 to see if maybe some don't work in Windows. I know it has been a few years since I tried to do this on a cMP, but I don't recall having any issues installing Windows with non-EFI-flashed cards.

Ideas?

 

[bookemdano]

Curious what happens if you boot Windows 10 with both GPUs installed. Plug your monitor into the GT120 to boot, then check Device Manager and make sure drivers are loaded for the 580. If so, then try to move your monitor over to it and see if it displays. If it does then try to reboot leaving it connected to the 580. If it boots properly then shut down and remove the GT120.

Also, is your Win10 installed in UEFI mode or CSM BIOS mode?

 

[crjackson2134]

MR Dathon (OP)

I don’t have a solution (other than... try reinstalling windows from scratch) but adding a data point to your thread.

I have the Sapphire Pulse RX580 and BootROM 144.0.0.0.0. on my cMP 5,1. Windows 10 CSM on an SATA SSD boots and runs flawlessly. So, with that said, we know you will find a solution and hopefully before you pull out your last hair.

 

[startergo]

For troubleshooting boot with gt -120 (try both cards in only GT-120 connected to a display) and replace the driver with Microsoft basic display adapter driver.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Just tried it with both cards, with only the GT120 connected to the monitor. It boots, but about 5 minutes into Windows it crashes and reboots, then falls into a boot loop. I'm pretty sure this card works in Windows, at least I think I've used it under Windows before. May have to try putting a test system together to confirm.

 

[startergo]

Just tried it with both cards, with only the GT120 connected to the monitor. It boots, but about 5 minutes into Windows it crashes and reboots, then falls into a boot loop. I'm pretty sure this card works in Windows, at least I think I've used it under Windows before. May have to try putting a test system together to confirm.

After the 3rd reboot it will boot in safe mode. Here is where you reset the driver on the 580 to Microsoft basic driver

 

[h9826790]

Did you remove all Nvidia driver before install RX580?

N.B. You may setup GT120 as “Microsoft Basic Display Adaptor” (or something like that, I am not 100% sure the exact wording) to avoid Windows 10 automatically install Nvidia driver for GT120.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

The GT120 had booted with the generic driver. It was after first install attempt, so no drivers had been downloaded yet. Whatever is going on the 580, Windows doesn’t even boot to a splash screen. It’s almost like the Mac is holding it up somewhere.

 

[bookemdano]

Well as already suggested by crjackson2134 you should try a reinstall of Win10 in CSM BIOS mode. h9826790 wrote up a great tutorial you can find in the Windows forum here.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

The problem is, it won't even load the Windows 10 installer. Even when I initiate setup with the GT120, then swap cards at the first reboot, it just hangs with the RX 580 in there. Some research on the matter suggests that many RX480s shipped with a legacy support option via a toggle on the card. My MSI card doesn't have such a thing. It really appears to be the card since I can otherwise load Windows just fine.

 

[h9826790]

The problem is, it won't even load the Windows 10 installer. Even when I initiate setup with the GT120, then swap cards at the first reboot, it just hangs with the RX 580 in there. Some research on the matter suggests that many RX480s shipped with a legacy support option via a toggle on the card. My MSI card doesn't have such a thing. It really appears to be the card since I can otherwise load Windows just fine.

All RX580 can install Windows in legacy mode on cMP. The UEFI is ignored by the cMP (in fact, we really hope that the cMP can see that UEFI GOP part and utilise it, so that we will have boot screen, but it doesn't so far). No BIOS switch or similar function required. My PULSE RX580 8GB is also the single ROM version.

A cMP should able to install Windows 10 with just RX580 installed (no need GT120) if straightly follow that guide.

 

[bookemdano]

The problem is, it won't even load the Windows 10 installer. Even when I initiate setup with the GT120, then swap cards at the first reboot, it just hangs with the RX 580 in there. Some research on the matter suggests that many RX480s shipped with a legacy support option via a toggle on the card. My MSI card doesn't have such a thing. It really appears to be the card since I can otherwise load Windows just fine.

What kind of installer are you using? If you're following h9826790's tutorial you should be burning a DVD and installing from that. A USB drive is going to try to install in UEFI mode, which may be contributing to your problems.

Edit: Also, as a general troubleshooting thing, make sure you remove all other PCIe cards while you're testing this, as different combinations of cards can cause weird issues. Ideally you just want the RX580 installed and nothing else (you can try adding cards back in later once you've got Windows working).

Your Windows drive is a SATA SSD/HDD located in one of the 4 bays, correct?

 

[MIKX]

Darmok

Have you tried installing Win 10 to it's own drive ?

 

[Mac Hammer Fan]

Personnally I boot Windows 10 via Parallels desktop 14 and I have no issues with the Radeon RX 580.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

All RX580 can install Windows in legacy mode on cMP. The UEFI is ignored by the cMP (in fact, we really hope that the cMP can see that UEFI GOP part and utilise it, so that we will have boot screen, but it doesn't so far). No BIOS switch or similar function required. My PULSE RX580 8GB is also the single ROM version.

A cMP should able to install Windows 10 with just RX580 installed (no need GT120) if straightly follow that guide.

Unfortunately, I searched and cannot find the guide. I also just did a basic search for Windows 10 CSM mode and all the results I find are people trying to disable it.

What kind of installer are you using? If you're following h9826790's tutorial you should be burning a DVD and installing from that. A USB drive is going to try to install in UEFI mode, which may be contributing to your problems.

Edit: Also, as a general troubleshooting thing, make sure you remove all other PCIe cards while you're testing this, as different combinations of cards can cause weird issues. Ideally you just want the RX580 installed and nothing else (you can try adding cards back in later once you've got Windows working).

Your Windows drive is a SATA SSD/HDD located in one of the 4 bays, correct?

I only have the 580 installed and one SATA SSD in one of the bays. I’m installing to the entire drive, so no partitions. I’m using a DVD installer, as I read that a USB drive can mess things up. If the 580 is installed, the installer DVD won’t even boot to setup (pressing C at boot). If I swap to the GT120, it works just fine following the same procedure. I’m having to use an older version of Win10, as 1903 is too big to burn into a 4.7GB DVD. It’s 1803, I believe.

Again, this all strange to me as I had a cMP before and had no issues getting Windows going using the above approach.

 

[h9826790]

Unfortunately, I searched and cannot find the guide.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ut-a-boot-screen.2114788/page-9#post-26689280

 

[bookemdano]

Unfortunately, I searched and cannot find the guide. I also just did a basic search for Windows 10 CSM mode and all the results I find are people trying to disable it.


I only have the 580 installed and one SATA SSD in one of the bays. I’m installing to the entire drive, so no partitions. I’m using a DVD installer, as I read that a USB drive can mess things up. If the 580 is installed, the installer DVD won’t even boot to setup (pressing C at boot). If I swap to the GT120, it works just fine following the same procedure. I’m having to use an older version of Win10, as 1903 is too big to burn into a 4.7GB DVD. It’s 1803, I believe.

Again, this all strange to me as I had a cMP before and had no issues getting Windows going using the above approach.

Bummer. Was your previous cMP using this exact same 580 or a different one?

Running out of things to try here... have you tried a different monitor (preferably something 1080p or below)?

Maybe your card is defective somehow, or maybe that particular variant of the MSI is incompatible.

Not sure what else you can do at this point. The Sapphire Pulse 580 works fine for me and a bunch of others, so I guess you could sell your current card and buy that one.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Bummer. Was your previous cMP using this exact same 580 or a different one?

Running out of things to try here... have you tried a different monitor (preferably something 1080p or below)?

Maybe your card is defective somehow, or maybe that particular variant of the MSI is incompatible.

Not sure what else you can do at this point. The Sapphire Pulse 580 works fine for me and a bunch of others, so I guess you could sell your current card and buy that one.

I do have a 4K monitor, but even the Gt120 will drive it in a letterboxed resolution. I may try to setup a test PC on a different motherboard to see if I can get it working. If it doesn’t, no big deal, I don’t need to run Windows—it was mainly to test some games on it. I wonder if there is a BIOS update for my card? MSIs website doesn’t show one, but I think Afterburner handles that.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

UPDATE:
Well, I was messing around troubleshooting some more, and I came to the realization that sometime recently, my RX580's fans stopped working entirely. This MSI card has the ability to idle the fans under low load, so I'm not sure how long ago this occurred, as they used to work just fine. Just to be sure it wasn't a Mac issue, I loaded the 580 into my Windows test mule and monitored the card's temps and fan speeds. Not once did the fans engage. I loaded Luxmark and watched Afterburner's results, and the card quickly climbed into the mid-70s and the fans did nothing, even though Afterburner said they were getting up to 90% power! At that point, I did the quick shut down, but I could smell a hint of burning from the card, and the HSF was quite hot. Very strange. No BIOS updates are available for the card, so I think it has simply malfunctioned at the hardware level.

I'm going to attempt to RMA the card. I got it from B&H not that long ago, so I'm hoping they will come through for me.

I am now slumming it with High Sierra, a GT120, and a 4K monitor stuck in 1080p until I get this sorted out.

 

[MIKX]

Darmok N Jalad

I have the MSI Armor RX 580 8gb.

No matter the outside or ambient temps my MSI stays at around 54°C ~ 55°C .

Both fans work as required.

In X-Plane 11 under stress it has gone up to 70°C, after checking around the PC world this is normal.


PS : You should make a signature in your Macrumors profile, tell us about your cMP setup. Saves a lot of scrolling back through old posts.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Darmok N Jalad

I have the MSI Armor RX 580 8gb.

No matter the outside or ambient temps my MSI stays at around 54°C ~ 55°C .

Both fans work as required.

In X-Plane 11 under stress it has gone up to 70°C, after checking around the PC world this is normal.


PS : You should make a signature in your Macrumors profile, tell us about your cMP setup. Saves a lot of scrolling back through old posts.

I could, but I usually don’t post much here for troubleshooting needs. I’m chalking this up to a bad card—the fans aren’t spinning, despite the card reporting they are getting power, and I ran that test on a separate system running Windows. I just didn’t want to leave my old thread hanging as unresolved.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Update 2:
Good news. B&H accepted my RMA, even though I was just outside the return window. If you’ve never bought from there, well, they have awesome customer service.

Now I’m looking for a replacement. I found that MSI card as an open box deal, so I can’t do a replacement, just a refund. Any advice on a reasonable replacement? I mainly need a card that can drive a 4K monitor and accelerate photo editing. The GT120 ain’t cutting it for either.