User profile for user: Jerry Kuch
Jerry Kuch Author
User level: Level 1
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Trying to get ATI Radeon HD 5770 working in 2006 MacPro 1,1

Hi, all.

In the last week or so my GeForce 8800GT appears to have died. After the machine's been up for a while I get flickering, black bands, garbled pixels and colors, and eventually a crash of the UI subsystem (although the machine stays up and can be SSH'ed into after the UI goes away). The machine is also likely to hang during boot with the 8800 in place.

Swapping in an old Apple-supplied, GeForce 7300, the machine boots and runs fine.

Seeing a number of threads in which people have managed to get the Apple-supplied Radeon HD 5770 upgrade kit working in 2006 1,1 models of the Mac Pro, I ordered one.

My system's specifics are:

MacPro 1,1
Boot ROM: MP11.005C.B08
SMC: 17f10

It's running OS X 10.6.4 and the Snow Leopard graphics update is installed.

My problem is this. When I put the 5770 in, and connect its power cable (using either the power cable from the 8800 or the new cable that came with the 5770), and connect my 30-inch Cinema display to the DVI connector on the back of the 5770, the monitor never lights up.

I don't see the gray screen, or the Apple logo. Disk chattering is consistent with a clean boot, and if I whack on the keyboard I can hear the sounds from the login window. I can also remote desktop into the machine. When I do, I find that it has booted successfully and the in System Profiler under "Graphics/Displays" that there is only the message "No information found." There's no mention of the Radeon, or the Cinema display.

The fan on the card does spin, so at least it seems to be getting power.

Any suggestions? It sounds like many folks with configurations about the same as mine have had relatively little trouble getting the 5770 working on their 1,1 machine.

The fact that I never see anything but a black screen makes me wonder if there's more going on here than just software, since I'd guess that the initial gray screen and Apple logo are provided by the boot ROM using lowest common denominator VGA functionality common to all cards, and that no real systems software has loaded or run by that point.

Guesses? Suggestions? Is it likely I got a DOA 5770? Or might my Mac Pro be less up to the task than the other 1,1 machines that have succeeded? Or have I done something wrong, or forgotten to do something?

Any and all pointers are appreciated. If I can't get this 5770 to work my options may be going back to the 7300, or paying Apple $440 for a repair replacement of the 8800, which is a painful sum to fork out for a slow, several year obsolete NVIDIA card that doesn't have a sterling reputation for longevity.

Mac Pro 1,1 (2006), Mac OS X (10.6.4), Snow Leopard 10.6.4 with Graphics Update installed

Posted on Oct 23, 2010 11:17 AM

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15 replies
User profile for user: Yaser Herrera
Yaser Herrera
User level: Level 1
101 points

Oct 23, 2010 9:46 PM in response to Jerry Kuch

Well, I can say I have the exact same specs as your machine. Same boot rom and SMC. The only difference, I had a Radeon 3870 before my current 5770.

The first thing you should try is to remove and reinstall the video card itself. I noticed I had to push harder than I thought I should to properly seat the card in the PCI slot. Reboot when done and try again.

If that doesn't work, if you're really lucky, you have a friend or family member with another monitor with a DVI connection. Just to rule out your monitor as the culprit.

It's possible it's the card, meaning you just have a bad one. You can try replacing it and trying again. Seeing as we have the same setup, the only thing I can think of that is different is the type of card we're coming from. Perhaps by installing the 3870, I also installed some drivers that are missing from your system because you're coming from an NVIDIA card. But that's simply guessing. Let us how how things go.
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User profile for user: Jerry Kuch
Jerry Kuch Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Oct 24, 2010 11:21 AM in response to Yaser Herrera

Hi, Yaser...

I gave it another shot. First I confirmed that I could still boot happily with the old GeForce 7300 in place. All was well in that configuration.

I pulled the 7300 and put the Radeon HD 5770 back in. I made sure to seat it extra carefully and carefully screwed down the retaining bracket and the DVI connector. I also tried using my 23-inch Cinema rather than the 30-inch that I'd previously been trying. As before the Cinema is on the Radeon's DVI connector (I've not messed with the Mini Display Port's as I don't have any monitors in the house that demand them, or any appropriate adaptors).

Results so far are the same. I get the startup chime, and the machine boots to completion, but the monitor stays dark the entire time. System Profiler shows no indication that the Mac is even aware that the Radeon is present (i.e. the "Graphics/Displays" entry still shows "No information found").

So I'm left trying to figure out if I have a defective 5770 or if there's something about my 2006 1,1 Mac Pro, either hardware or software, that's keeping the 5770 from working.

I may be at the limit of what experiments I can perform with the gear I have available to me at home (if someone can think of something else to check out, I'm all ears) so I may try to find another Mac Pro in which to test out the 5770. Unfortunately MPs are relatively rare as Macs go, so that may take some doing around here...

Thanks for your suggestions, and my ears remain open to others!

Jerry
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User profile for user: Yaser Herrera
Yaser Herrera
User level: Level 1
101 points

Oct 24, 2010 10:11 PM in response to Jerry Kuch

Can you open up system profiler, go to the "Software" section and click on extensions? On mine, I have a couple of different entries for ATI, including ATI5000 Controller, ATIFramebuffer, ATIRadeonX3000, and ATISupport. Do you have all these as well?

Beyond that, the obvious stuff is to check the power connections and make sure they are firmly connected at both ends. But you've certainly already done this.

Failing all those, I'd try and get a replacement 5770 card from Apple and try again.
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User profile for user: Jerry Kuch
Jerry Kuch Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Oct 25, 2010 11:31 AM in response to Yaser Herrera

Ah, interesting. Here's what I get when I boot with the old GeForce 7300 plugged in.

System Profiler shows no extensions with "ATI" in the name. I'm not sure if this is to be expected though. Does System Profiler -> Software -> Extensions display the kexts installed on the system, or only those that the kernel decided to load at boot time? If the latter, I guess I wouldn't expect to see them. If the former, then might there be some registration step I need to do to tell the system that the ATI kexts are present and able to be loaded?

As for the presence of the extensions, if I look in /System/Library/Extensions, I find the following files when I do an 'ls -lF | grep ATI'...

ATI1300Controller.kext
ATI1600Controller.kext
ATI1900Controller.kext
ATI2400Controller.kext
ATI2600Controller.kext
ATI3800Controller.kext
ATI4500Controller.kext
ATI4600Controller.kext
ATI4800Controller.kext
ATI5000Controller.kext
ATIFramebuffer.kext
ATIRadeonX1000.kext
ATIRadeonX1000GA.plugin
ATIRadeonX1000GLDriver.bundle
ATIRadeonX1000VADriver.bundle
ATIRadeonX2000.kext
ATIRadeonX2000GA.plugin
ATIRadeonX2000GLDriver.bundle
ATIRadeonX2000VADriver.bundle
ATIRadeonX3000.kext
ATIRadeonX3000GA.plugin
ATIRadeonX3000GLDriver.bundle
ATIRadeonX3000VADriver.bundle
ATISupport.kext

So lots of ATI-related goodies. The dates are all either Aug 2 or Aug 6, so I'm guessing they came with the Snow Leopard Graphics Update, which I think was released just after those dates.

I'm getting ready to return the card and try another, but will hold off another day or two, since it still seems plausible that there might be a software issue lurking...

Thanks again for your help,
Jerry
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User profile for user: qcn
qcn
User level: Level 1
0 points

Oct 26, 2010 5:34 PM in response to Jerry Kuch

This may be a silly question, but I am new to the Mac hardware. I just purchased the same card for my 1,1 (exact same ROM and SMC as yours) but I have no idea where to power this card up from? I have built several PC systems but the Mac case is much different. Where on the mobo do I plug this puppy in? Thanks.
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User profile for user: Jerry Kuch
Jerry Kuch Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Oct 26, 2010 5:58 PM in response to qcn

There's a pair of power connectors on the mainboard, toward the front of the machine. If you have the machine lying on the table top on its left side, with the right panel open, and the machine's front panel facing you, and you start with your hand where the end of the Radeon would be in slot 0 and sweep to the left, you'll find them before you hit the drive bays.
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User profile for user: qcn
qcn
User level: Level 1
0 points

Oct 27, 2010 9:11 PM in response to Jerry Kuch

Ah! No wonder I didn't see it. The power adapter that came with it looks like it connects it's 6pin into the card then it has a standard basic 4 pin (tho it's only really 3 I think) power supply adapter on the other end. Like you would connect to a PC type power supply. like this: http://www.directron.com/ad201.html
looks like I need a 6 pin to 6 pin? Know where I can find one?
Aaaaannndd.....since I didn't buy this from the Apple store, do we know if this will work? I see other posts that it may need different firmware? If so, can I load that up or does this card go back?
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User profile for user: Yaser Herrera
Yaser Herrera
User level: Level 1
101 points

Oct 30, 2010 2:10 PM in response to Jerry Kuch

I think it must be only the ones that the Kernel loaded. On my Macbook pro with the Nvidia chip, I don't see any of the ATI extensions in System Profiler either. But like you, see the ATI extensions in the Extensions folder.

If you haven't already returned the card, I'd try one last thing: an "archive and install" using the Snow Leopard disc, if you have it. Then update as necessary and download all the Graphics updates as required. And then try and reinstall the card.

The forums on Macrumors, Barefeats.com and Other World Computing all say our firmware version should boot the 5770 fine but not the 5870. So if reinstalling Snow Leopard doesn't fix it, I'd definitely try the new card. Good luck again!
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User profile for user: BananaPeel
BananaPeel
User level: Level 1
0 points

Nov 2, 2010 7:00 AM in response to Jerry Kuch

Hello. Adding on to this thread because I have a similar system but very different problem, which I haven't found on any forum or discussion here or elsewhere.

MacPro 1,1
Boot ROM Version: MP11.005C.B08
SMC Version (system): 1.7f10
10.6.4 with Snow Leopard graphics update

I previously had the Radeon 3870, and installed the Apple version of Radeon 5770 this weekend. I now have issues with my mouse jumping all over the screen and not responding to alterations in settings. In my experience, that usually meant a driver issue or conflict, but the 5770 had no disc, driver, or updates that I've found. Here is some more specific info:

I have been using the Mac version of Razer Death Adder with SteerMouse. I uninstalled SteerMouse and tried Razer drivers. I tried with no drivers. I tried another Razer mouse, an old Kensington mouse and a Microsoft mouse. I tried changing mouse pads and surfaces and making sure they were clean. I rolled back my system with Time Machine to last week. I removed and reinstalled the 5770. I checked for software updates several times. None of these helped. However, replacing the old 3870 fixes the mouse problem.

I may be lugging this thing in to a local Apple repair if I can't think of anything else to try. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments?

Much appreciated.
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Trying to get ATI Radeon HD 5770 working in 2006 MacPro 1,1

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