Occasional monitor blackouts and crashes: Mac Pro 4,1 / OS 10.11.6 / ATI Radeon HD 4870 / two monitors

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Angus McC Author

Level 1

49 points

Occasional monitor blackouts and crashes: Mac Pro 4,1 / OS 10.11.6 / ATI Radeon HD 4870 / two monitors

System summary:

Mac Pro 4,1, built 2009, 2x2.26 GHz Intel Zeon

48GB RAM

Running OS X 10.11.6 (latest release that runs on this computer)

Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 4870 - 512MB, PCIe. Two displays:

On the DVI: DELL ST2210, built ~2010

On the mini display port: LG 24ML44B, built 2020; HDMI at the monitor end of the connexn

HD: Hitachi HDE721064SLA360 rotational, 600GB

Software RAID: 2 x Western Digi WD4003FRYZ-01F0DB0 4TB rotational, configured as RAID 1 mirror

Keyboard (Logitech) and trackpad (Apple) both bluetooth

The setup / configuration as above has been working fine and stable since including the LG monitor a year ago, replacing a Samsung.

A week ago (1st June, fwiw), a few minutes after morning boot up, both monitors blacked out; after 10-15 seconds, the Dell monitor (on the DVI interface) lit up again but the LG (on the mini display port) remained black. Mac OS had moved open windows from the non-working monitor to the one that remained operational.

I powered down the Mac, waited 15 secs, then re-started. All seemed well, but the pattern described above repeated every 15 minutes or so – except that after a couple more re-boots, the blackout time shortened, pre-empting my re-boots. So then, the blackouts recurred about ten times: each time, the LG monitor only, or both monitors, would black out for 10-15 seconds, then come back up. There were no other system effects that I noticed.

Thereafter, everything returned to normal – until yesterday, 7th June, afternoon: so seven days and maybe 7–8 hours later. Then the LG blacked out persistently – meaning for several minutes until I re-started, which fixed the problem. I do remember hearing ‘disc noise’ from my boot disk *before* the blackout, disk noise of the kind that I usually associate with Time Machine backup activity or similarly intense HD work by the OS.

This morning (following day), I put the computer to sleep and maybe half an hour later, it would not wake: both screens black and unresponsive to keyboard or trackpad, for several minutes: I powered down and re-started, and now three hours later, everything has been fine and stable since.

So what’s been going on? I know where I would start looking if I were an IT guy, but I’m no IT guy.

Any ideas, people? I’m asking because IF the problem is in the video card, and if the thing is trying to tell me that it’s failing, then I should set about getting a replacement before it fails completely – and full marks to the manufacturer if this kind of ‘early warning’ is intentional. But equally, it could be a few other things and it would be a shame to toss a video card (one that has done perfect service for many years) if it’s perfectly good.

Thanks All,

Mac Pro, OS X 10.11

Posted on Jun 8, 2022 12:34 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Johnb-one

Level 6

9,156 points

Aug 28, 2022 7:06 PM in response to Angus McC

Yup…’tis… glad you got past it… would recommend you replace the cmos/pram battery. It’s behind the video/graphics card on the backplane… little button cell/battery… goes in ( +) plus side up… it’s a BR-2032 which might be verra hard to find, so a CR-2032 will do… the battery lasts for about 5 years then should be replaced as it’s probably history.. easy job.. can be done fast..

good luck

john b

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Answer 2

Johnb-one

Level 6

9,156 points

Jun 8, 2022 2:48 PM in response to Angus McC

Hello, Angus McC… my vote’s on the video card…a Radeon 4870 is getting pretty long in the tooth… you

could run Apple Diagnostics by holding down the “D” key on your keyboard on startup… and you’re running “El Capitan”… very good… you could get a Radeon 7950 which has at least 3 gigs of video RAM, works in El Capitan ( and Mojave) and does work in 2008 mac Pro’s…you could either try to find a Mac-native card or a Mac flashed one… both will work in your Mac just fine.. i had to get a replacement 7950 and i bought a nice Mac flashed one from Australia on eBay, which has 6 gigs of video RAM, shows the boot screen, and works wonderfully well( at least i think so)… i paid about $ 300 Canadian plus about $ 35 extra for shipping and customs fees, and GST.. Apple has a list of video/graphics cards that’ll work with Mojave… and most of them should work in El Capitan… anyways, here’s the list (see link) :: Graphics card compatibility for Final Cut Pro, Motion 5, and Compressor 4 - Apple Support… if you stick with any of those you should be OK.. oh, and you should replace the wee battery behind the video/graphics card on the backplane… it goes flat after about 5 years… it’s a BR-2032 but a CR-2032 will do ya fine…it goes in plus ( + ) side up… that’s about it, i suppose you’ve tried the usual: reset smc/pmu and zap pram 3-4 times on startup… give those two a go and see how you crack on….. here’s how to do ‘em: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reset-macs-smc-pram/

that’s it, i think i’m done here ( who’s up for a curry? )

john b

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Answer 3

Angus McC Author

Level 1

49 points

Aug 28, 2022 9:51 PM in response to Johnb-one

Hey John B

Yup. That's funny, though: I **think** I gave the bad boy a new CR-2032 in the latter part of 2020. I **think** it was the other one on this card...

...thank you, eBay...

...and if the package stamp is to be believed...:

... it was fresh then and it should be good for good few years longer.

But sometimes you have to wonder. Counterfeit battery, hecho en Indonesia? Probably not. Probably it's fine and good. But it was cheap. Maybe next time I'm at Target, I'll pick up one of theirs, maybe better screening by Target, and see if it makes a difference. It would be funny as **** if that were the problem.....

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Answer 4

Jun 8, 2022 4:32 PM in response to Angus McC

THE 4870 IS REALLY LOUD

... compared to almost any card you replace it with.

If you NEVER expect to go to Mojave or later, the Apple-firmware 5770 may be a very affordable alternative. Standard "not flashed for Mac" PC Cards will not show a picture until the login screen, which some users can live with, but others find impossible.

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Answer 5

Angus McC Author

Level 1

49 points

Jun 10, 2022 6:52 PM in response to Johnb-one

John B,

Thank you for your knowledge and for sharing it! I'm filing away what you've said and if my 4870 card does fail, I now surely know how to go about finding an optimal replacement – thanks!

I'm still intrigued, though, to determine what the problem was or is – fingers crossed, it hasn't recurred in the two days since posting my question.

Very interested to hear you say it's worth zapping the PRAM ***3–4 times***. I zapped (and did an SMC reset shift-opt-ctrl), but by habit only once. Next time I'll do as you say and repeat – thanks!

You did inspire me to have curry tonight – 'in': weeks ago I made m'self a base for Goan prawn/shrimp curry (by 'base', I mean everything except the prawn/shrimp). It keeps forever in the fridge. Saw some shrimp on sale in the supermarket today, so hey....

Best wishes to CDA from the ectopic Pom in the country over the border down south.

Angus

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Answer 6

Angus McC Author

Level 1

49 points

Jun 10, 2022 7:04 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant, thanks –

The 4870 sure is loud, but for me, only for a few secs on startup. I'm not a gamer, I do only modest video, and in operation the 4870 is barely audible much of the time. I like the idea of the 5770, though, as a budget replacement – I see it even has one more output port than the 4870. I love having two monitors and at the moment that's enough, but you never know...

I won't get to Mojave on the Mac Pro 4,1 – it's 'stopped out' at El Capitan 10.11.6: will not install any later OS.

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Answer 7

Angus McC Author

Level 1

49 points

Jul 14, 2022 9:08 AM in response to Angus McC

John B, Grant,

Thanks again for your input.

Just to close the loop (hopefully) after a month, the problem never happened again. I guess that suggests it was something in an OS update that was rectified by Apple on routine, though it sure looked more like hardware when it happened. Fingers crossed, the system will remain stable. Overall, have to say, it's been robust and reliable.

Thanks again,

Angus

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Answer 8

Angus McC Author

Level 1

49 points

Aug 28, 2022 5:12 PM in response to Angus McC

Interesting: it just happened again. 28th Aug today, so 88 days since the first occurrence on June 1st and 81 days from the last occurrence on June 7th. All fine in the interval: this is the first recurrence since.

I had been working on the computer for hours and just done some moderately heavy processing, not video rendering or anything, but batch-processing PDFs, graphics-based. The LG monitor blacked out as i was watching it. Hmmm. I powered down the Mac Pro, discharged the main capacitor or whatever it is by unplugging the thing, then holding to power button down for 15 secs. Then I re-booted, zapping the PRAM, opt–⌘–P–R.

All good again. Everything working fine.

Interesting....

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Answer 9

Angus McC Author

Level 1

49 points

Sep 15, 2022 10:33 AM in response to Angus McC

Update: I haven't got around to the new CR2032 battery yet – shame on me 😞.

The same thing happened, twice within an hour so, the day before yesterday so 13 Sept. I should start plotting these incidences on a calendar and see if there's a pattern:

June 1st – June 7th; [88 day interval] ;Aug 28th; [18-day interval]; Sept 13; but completely clear since. One difference this time: when it happened the first time, I just let it be – only one of the two monitors 'black'. After a while, I stepped away and the computer 'slept' on it timer. When I returned and woke the Mac up again, the problem was gone: both monitors working again.

Fascinating. Now I'm forced to wonder whether the sleep mechanism is somehow related. ....

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Answer 10

Angus McC Author

Level 1

49 points

Sep 19, 2022 5:40 PM in response to Angus McC

Now again, 19 Sept, so the interval is shortening... yikes! Is something trying to tell me something? I really doubt it's a hardware problem with the Radeon video card, if only because when i re-start, everything's always fine. This time, I confirmed what i thought I heard last time: a loud click from inside the case of the Mac Pro.

I strongly suspect some glitch with the 'Energy Saver' software in the OS. I've turned it off. Wicked energy-guzzling me. Let's see if it makes any difference.

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Answer 11

Sep 19, 2022 5:45 PM in response to Angus McC

You solicited input, and two experts here suggested:

your graphics card is getting flaky.

Despite your denial, that is STILL extremely likely to be the issue, and you need to obtain a replacement graphic card soon, or your Mac Pro will go dark.

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Answer 12

Angus McC Author

Level 1

49 points

Sep 19, 2022 5:48 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

THANK YOU for striving to overcome my stupid, stubborn denial. I will stop being a tool and go hunting for a new video card immediately.

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Occasional monitor blackouts and crashes: Mac Pro 4,1 / OS 10.11.6 / ATI Radeon HD 4870 / two monitors

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