30" Cinema Display doesn't "wake" when MacPro is booted up.

So I think I may have the problem solved. I've been struggling with waking issues for a few months now, ever since I upgraded to the NVIDIA chip.

Finally I got a tech specialist that was able to help, I guess there's a new update out for this, and still has a few kinks (I had to play with a few VGA adapters before I got one that worked). Seems to be working now after more than a dozen sleep cycles.

Enjoy. and good luck.

http://support.apple.com/downloads/Mini_DisplayPort_to_VGA_FirmwareUpdate

Good news, I seem to have fixed my black screen problem with a new power adapter. All I can say is that when I plugged in the new block it suddenly lit up normally, and hasn't woke up to a black screen since.

Hopefully this information can help someone else.

I have a feeling the problems experienced by people in this thread are not all the same... But my problem was fixed by replacing the video card. The problem I was having was that when I'd start up my Mac Pro, my 23 inch Cinema Display would stay black. The little light would come on, telling me it was getting some kind of input from the computer, but I would get no image. It happened more and more frequently until it was practically unusable. When I sent it to get fixed they just changed the video card (an ATI Radeon HD 2600) and it seems to be working fine now so far.

Unfortunately, OS X 10.5.7 doesn't fix the problem, I upgraded it first thing in the morning and guess what, once my Mac Pro get into sleep mode, it become coma mode, will not wake up. Doesn't affect my Mac Book. Very disappointing.....

still having exactly the same problem, even after upgrading to 10.5.7

I've got a ATI Radeon 4870 and 2x20" cinema displays that only show the bootup screen (when booting both OS X & Windows) then as soon as my user account initializes the screen goes black.

this is unacceptable, they both work perfectly if plugged into my 3 year old Power Mac G5!!!

I came to this thread with the same problem. My 30" display would remain black, especially the very first time I would boot in the morning.

Still don't entirely know the issue, but I have found that if I unplug the monitor's usb and firewire connections from the cpu that the image comes up just fine. Once the system boots and starts up for a bit I can reattach them and everything will work the rest of the day... including having the monitor "wake" from sleep and restarts.

Its definitely odd. Don't know if its a firmware issue...or maybe a power thing... but it works. If I find a permanent solution I'll certainly post.

For the record I'm running a Mac Pro 3Ghz Quad Core, ATI Radeon XT1900, 10.5.7

I am also having the same problem, with a mutli-display configuration. Sometimes it starts up fine, sometimes it's black but 'wakes up' after a subsequent restart.. and for some reason, today, it's indefinitely asleep. Pressing the power button on the display has it's original functionality, the usual restart/shut off/sleep etc. So my MacPro knows it's there .. just no responsiveness today.

How long will this thread go unanswered?

Thanks for anyone's helpful input, past/present/future!

The Mac Pro does not wake the 30" ACD monitor.
Unplugging the monitor's Firewire and USB connections at the back of the computer makes the monitor wake up.

Disconnect the 30" ACD monitor's Firewire and USB cables from the back of the Mac Pro.
If necessary, disconnect your mouse from the back of the 30" ACD monitor and connect it to the front USB port of your Mac Pro.

Open System Preferences.
In System Preferences, open Energy Saver.
Move the slider "Put the display(s) to sleep when the computer is inactive for:"
Don't return the slider to the original position.
In System Preferences, click on "Show all."
Close System Preferences.

Connect the 30" ACD monitor's Firewire and USB cables into the back of the Mac Pro.
If necessary, connect your mouse back into the back of the 30" ACD monitor.

I am also having this problem - started as strange finder freezes, now completely black on boot up.
I have a 17" mac display and a 30"
running on a xeon with the latest OS updates. In fact, this started happening after the last OS update.
I can boot up if I only attach the 17".
I wish someone could answer this definitively! hellllp!

I had odd problems with my G5 and 30 incher but have just changed to a MacPro. Booted up for the first time = black screen. Support called. Tried a replacement = same thing. I did try resetting PRAM as support advised and this did not help. However, I saw the items here about unplugging the USB cable and sure enough it worked. However, yesterday Support trouble shooting had me reset the PMS by shutting down, unplugging everything, leaving the MacPro for at least 15 secs and then plugging back in only the power cable, DVI cable, keyboard and mouse and the screen USB cable. Then I rebooted with the PRAM reset and lo and behold I got my screen back and it is still working fine. I sense from some of the comments here this may not cure everyone's problems but I think there is something about the detail which made it work this time, so I thought I should share.

Likewise I have same issue with 30" ACD on a Mac Pro Dual Core not waking. When your monitor is on, change your System Prefs to the following:

Energy Saver Prefs: - "Allow power button to put computer to sleep" is checked.
- 'Computer sleep' and 'Display sleep' sliders set to Never

Displays Prefs: - Options Tab: Display Power Button: "Turns the display on and off"
(Do not set "Puts computer to sleep or wakes it", you will not get display on).

Put the Mac to sleep hitting the Macs power button, then hit again to wake, as it is waking, I continually tap the display power button every 1/2 sec, toggling on and off until monitor comes on. Again this usually works, but not always. Warning, I accidentally set the "Puts computer to sleep or wakes it" on Displays Prefs, and locked myself out. Luckily I was able to hold Mac power button down to restart, then did a share screen from my MacBook to the Pro and was able to change Displays Prefs back to "Turns the display on and off".
Another thing I tried that usually works is shut down, then turn off power strip (which all were connected to) and wait a full minute, turn back on, then start Mac. Display came on. One thing I noticed on share screen, was if 30" ACD was black, so was the shared screen on MacBook, so that tells me graphics card has the issue, not the display itself.

One side note: When I first got the 30" ACD, it was horrendously bright even at lowest brightness setting+. I fixed by running neat little app called ScreenShade v1.3. Icon appears in menu bar. Keys opt +, opt - to make brighter or dimmer.

Hope this helps!

Wow, found this thread and I'm amazed that this problem is happening to SO many folks.

Add my name to the list of people having this problem. I've had this problem from day 1 with my MacPro (2007). My 30" HD Cinema display will something not come on and the power light will just flash at me 3 times. If I hit the side panel power on/off finger sensor a few times, it will eventually come on.

I did notice a SL update that was supposed to address this problem, I install it, and the problem is actually now worse, NOT better than before.

I've gone thru two video cards x1900 and the 3870 so I'm pretty sure this is NOT a Video card problem but a OSX problem.

Given how many people are having this exact same problem, it would be nice if Apple fixed it. After a $2000 30" HD Cinema display should be top of class, not unreliable. If I want unreliable, I buy hardware from someone OTHER than Apple. Come on Apple, give this problem fixed correctly, no half hearted attempts.

Rob

Hi - I have exactly the same card with exactly the same issues, I plan on getting a new card tomorrow tonight I could hardly get it started felt like I was cranking up and old Model T Ford, it evetually started - just a question has it been 'solid' since your new card??? - Keen to know before I purchase, Thanks Russ

We had the same problem with a Samsung 2443BWX monitor and an early 2008 Mac Pro. At first, it worked fine, but after a while, the monitor wouldn't turn on when the computer was woken from sleeping. I had to log into it via SSH from another machine on our home network to shut it down.

Then it started happening every time we turned on the computer, but it would work if we turned off the surge protector to cut off all power to the computer, waited a few minutes, and then turned it back on.

Several months later, the monitor would never turn on and its LED light would just blink, period.

I found this web page along with a few others, and changed the Radeon graphics card to a GeForce GT 120, and it's been working fine for the past month or so.

My warranty had expired and I needed the card urgently, so I first called an Apple store in the Chicago suburbs but they told me they don't carry parts. I then called the Apple store on Michigan Ave in Chicago, and they said they have it. When I walked in, though, the sales guy told me they don't carry parts, so I told him that I had checked over the phone. He was kinda surprised, and found that they actually did have the part.

BTW, keep in mind that GeForce GT 120 will work fine on an early 2008 Mac Pro as long as you have a Mac OS X version of 10.5.6 (I don't remember for sure if that's the exact number; google it to find out) or higher.

Hope this helps any other frustrated Mac users out there.

So, I'm guessing the latest update ****** up the system ...I have a 30" Cinema Display hooked up to a 27" iMac. Haven't had a single issue until today.

The difference? I powered down the computer this morning. Booted up fifteen minutes ago to a black screen. The 30" display was being read by the iMac, no power to the screen. Pitch black. I unplugged all peripherals as suggested in this thread and the plugged back in the 30" via the dual link DVI. Success. The monitor powered up.

I noted that the USB ports were dead. Nothing. Then realized I had forgotten to plug in the USB jack on the DVI cord. And, as soon as I plugged in the USB ... the 30" went black. The USB jack is killing the display. Unplug the USB and the 30" screens lights up ... plug in the USB and whoops, there it goes again.

Is this even updatable? Is there such a thing as a firmware update for cinema displays?