Mojave 2021-003 security update seems to have affected Graphics card compatibility

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Mojave 2021-003 security update seems to have affected Graphics card compatibility

Has anyone using a Radeon RX580 in a Mac Pro 5,1 found boot problems since the last security update? I have found that my machine will only boot if you hold alt cmd P R on start up. After spending some time eliminating other possible issues I removed the RX580 and refitted the original ATI card and it then booted normally.

If I am right then hopefully Apple will restore the compatible drivers for the RX580 in another update.

I have another Mac Pro 5,1 of exactly the same spec which has not had the security update and it continues to boot normally.

Posted on Apr 28, 2021 9:45 AM

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Answer 1

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Steve258 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 29, 2021 11:55 AM in response to a brody

Thanks for the suggestion. I had another drive with older copy of Mojave on it so put that in with the ATI graphics card and installed the security update again. Successfully back to the original state now with RX580 reinstalled and rebooting normally on the original drive!

I guess the key thing is to change the logic board battery in good time before something goes wrong!

Thanks again!

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Answer 2

a brody

Level 10

85,314 points

Apr 28, 2021 10:58 AM in response to Steve258

PRAM Graphics card update issues are a long time bug going back to the original CRT iMacs.

Make sure your PRAM battery is less than 4 years old. Otherwise it won't hold the system settings correctly, and result in general issues with software updates since it won't necessarily recognize all the right graphics drivers.

Strange as it may seem, but Apple had to release a firmware update for the original iMac G3s to be able to upgrade to Mac OS X 10.2 or later. If they didn't the internal display would fail to function. On the iMac Rev A and B models which did not have an external display port fancy tricks like linking to a special docking solution to the logic board or getting a daughtercard resolved the issue. And when the battery was old on these, the firmware update would not apply correctly when applied, and it could still cause a problem for the internal display.

So it would appear you may have struck a variation on a 20 year old issue.

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Answer 3

a brody

Level 10

85,314 points

Apr 28, 2021 11:21 AM in response to Steve258

You could install another hard drive and install Mojave and the security and the security update on that to see if it still has the same issue.

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Answer 4

May 11, 2021 1:44 PM in response to serge1162

what version of firmware are you running?

 menu > About this Mac > (System report) > Hardware overview pane ...

Boot ROM version :

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Answer 5

May 11, 2021 10:19 AM in response to Steve258

Unfortunately this update combined with the IOS update leads to the same result. Boot time takes forever. I have a brand new (double checked) lithium battery. Did not solve anything. Had to fallback to my pre-security (10.14.6 (18G103)) version which works lie a charm. Hope Apple will finally fix these issue or someone will fond a workaround. Thanks for your attention.

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Answer 6

Steve258 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 28, 2021 11:09 AM in response to Steve258

Good point and interesting to hear that this is a long standing issue. I did change the battery, but in fairness this was a reaction to the aftermath of the update, so if an old battery may have affected the update then this could be the cause.

presumably I will have to put up with the inconvenience until the next update comes out.

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