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Serious problems with Mac Pro amplified by upgrade to Catalina.

Hello all,

I am desperate and don't know what to do. Since my upgrade to Catalina my Mac has been freezing and crashing constantly numerous times per day. It sometimes freezes and nothing works requiring me to press the on/off button to shut it down and then press it again to re-start it. Some other times I walk away, its display goes into sleep mode according to the time I have set (1 or 2 minutes) and it then crashes and re-starts on its own - when I return to work on it again the screen displays a message it crashed and re-started.

I am running the latest version of Mac OS X including the latest upgrade that became available today. I have removed all software not compatible with Catalina and updated those who had Catalina-ready versions. This included:

The removal of Adobe CS6 leaving only the latest version of Adobe's Creative Suite CC 2019,
The removal of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 followed by the purchase and installation of Microsoft Office for Mac 2019.

Is anyone else experiencing similar problems with Mac OS Catalina? Can anyone provide any advice as to what may be causing these issues? Is there a way to obtain reports that would show what is the cause of these problems?

Thank you in advance.

Posted on Oct 30, 2019 12:46 AM

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31 replies

Nov 7, 2019 1:13 AM in response to DonH49

Smokerz,

I have already done all that you suggested. I recently re-installed Mac OS (not Catalina but Mojave) and used the re-installation as an opportunity to remove all software that wasn't absolutely necessary leaving me with basically Adobe's CC, Microsoft Office (I have upgrade to the latest version, which is 2019 for Mac), and a few other apps.

Let me share that this computer has behaved this way since the day I purchased it. I owned a Mac G5 (large aluminum) and it performed flawlessly for many years. I then moved to a Macbook Pro 17 that I used in clamshell mode attached to an Apple 30" Cinema Display and an external keyboard. This notebook also performed flawlessly. They were both used with one or more of the external drives I mentioned above and I never experienced a problem with either one. I also own a Mac Mini and a Macbook Pro 13, both being stable and reliable. The Mac Pro is the only computer that crashes and freezes having caused me to loose important data.

Also in answer to your question I have not swapped the Apple-branded internal SSD inside the Mac Pro or altered it in any way. The computer is today as it was when I purchased it. Curiously I have upgraded both the internal battery and the SSD inside my Macbook Pro (the original SSD had a 500 GB capacity and I upgraded to a Sandisk 2 TB SSD) but it remains stable and reliable.

I don't believe the problem is related to the external drives. Research I have done on the Internet has revealed an abundance of articles that show the problem is related to a bad graphics card inside a large number of Mac Pro computers.

Thank you in advance.

Nov 7, 2019 7:38 AM in response to apple_customer

If you suspect Hardware problems, try running the Apple diagnostics. If not stored on your computer, they will be downloaded through Internet Recovery.

Remember that "no fault found" should taken literally, and is not the same as "All is Well".

Nov 7, 2019 9:55 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant Bennet-Alder,

Thank you again for your help.

How do I run diagnostics from my Mac Pro? Do I run it with the Recovery OS with the startup key combinations Command-R or with the Apple Hardware Test startup key D (as in capital D letter)?

What do you think about running Etrecheck? I have been recommended Etrecheck as a third party diagnostics app that will issue a report with anything it finds wrong. Having said this the Panic Report appears to have been modified to the point that it is no longer reliable as a diagnostic tool. How will Etrecheck produce a proper report if the Mac Pro is no longer producing a good and accurate report?

Thank you in advance.

Nov 10, 2019 9:42 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks everyone for their guidance on this thread. I ran many of the recommendations and for now I haven't had a crash for about 4 days so fingers crossed I might be in a better place now. fwiw I too had huge problems with this computer for the first 3 years I owned it and then things went well for a couple of years until this latest OS upgrade. Still, things looking up now and I think removing connections to too many external drives might have done the trick.

Nov 14, 2019 11:58 AM in response to Guy Jenkins

Guy Jenkins,

I am happy to read you have been able to reduce the issues you were experiencing and that your computer has improved. I am sad to say my computer hasn't improved. I am still experiencing freezes and crashes with unbelievable frequency and to the point that my Mac Pro has become literally useless. I can't use it for any type of work and particularly for any work that is critical. Again I repeat that I understand the point made earlier about the need to disconnect it from external devices including different external hard drives but the fact remains that of all Macintosh computers I own - and I own quite a few - the only one presenting these issues is the Mac Pro.

Nov 21, 2019 10:32 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant Bennet-Alder,

I wish to thank you for your help and for all the information you shared with me. It has helped me better understand the problem with my computer. In addition to the information you have shared I have also found abundant information on the Internet that makes it clear that a certain percentage of Mac Pro computers presented a manufacturing defect related to their graphics card that simply can't be repaired. I won't waste any more time trying to fix or repair this issue but thank you and all others who posted on this thread for your help.