Problems upgrading MacPro3,1 with NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

Question

Problems upgrading MacPro3,1 with NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

The machine currently has an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 MB card installed and I am running OS X 10.8.1 with 8GB of RAM. I have two Dell monitors attached to the graphics card. When I remove that card and install the NVIDIA card, the machine seems to boot (I hear the booting sound and I can reset PRAM/NVRAM) but both monitors remain in power saving mode and stay black. The fan on the card goes full power and does not step down.

When I leave the Radeon card in, attach one monitor to it, that monitor comes on fine, I can unlock my disk and log into my account. At that point, the NVIDIA connected second screen comes on and I can switch the first monitor to that card as well. The fan on the NVIDIA card steps down during the login process.

I have tried and re-tried reseating the card, resetting PRAM/NVRAM, changing slots, changing power connectors, installing the 5.0.24 CUDA driver, swearing, praying, kicking, and screaming, but nothing seems to make a difference.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Mac Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1), MacPro3,1; 2x2.8GHz; 8 GB RAM

Posted on Sep 13, 2012 3:22 PM

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Answer 1

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Sep 13, 2012 3:47 PM in response to Helge Weissig

you bought the wrong version of the 8800. 10.8 supports a range of GTX 460 and up, minus boot screen.

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Answer 2

Sep 13, 2012 3:54 PM in response to The hatter

Forgot to mention: I also have a Snow Leopard partition that the Mac booted from after the PRAM/NVRAM reset. Same behavior: no post screen.

Since not even the post screen is showing, could this really be related to the OS version?

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Answer 3

Sep 13, 2012 6:43 PM in response to Helge Weissig

• A PC-only card will not show a picture under Mac OS X.

• A PC card flashed to Mac EFI firmware will only show a picture at/after the login screen, when Mac OS X is fully operational.

• A genuine Apple card will light up the display at the Power on-Self test, show the Gray Apple and the gear (or the scrolling "Verbose" screen and continue to work well. Alternate booting and diagnosing problems is supported.

From your description, it appears you have installed a flashed PC card.

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Answer 4

Sep 13, 2012 7:10 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

The card was removed from an older model MacPro where it worked fine with OS X 10.7

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Answer 5

Sep 13, 2012 7:37 PM in response to Helge Weissig

The card was removed from an older model MacPro where it worked fine with OS X 10.7

Then it's the wrong card. It has EFI-32 firmware. You need the version with EFI-64 for the earlt 2008 Mac Pro (3.1).

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Answer 6

Sep 18, 2012 11:28 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

After flashing the card with EFI-64 it now works in my MacPro3,1 🙂

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Answer 7

Sep 29, 2012 2:40 PM in response to Helge Weissig

Hi Helge-

I have a similar system and want to upgrade to 10.8. I have the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Gt that came with my system. How is your system working in general and how did you know that the EFI needed flashing and how did you do that?

Any answers/ explanations will be appreciated.

Thanks

David

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Answer 8

Sep 30, 2012 7:19 AM in response to David Licht

David,

I have an early 2008 Mac Pro (3,1) with a stock NVIDIA GF 8800 GT and have completed all upgrades from 10.5.1 through and including 10.8.2. The EFI has always supported 64 bit. Earlier Mac Pros didn't. You should be fine.

Larry

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Answer 9

Sep 30, 2012 9:17 AM in response to Larry from VA

Thanks Larry. It is very confusing to know for sure, since Apple only gives time frames for system that support the upgrade instead of the system number like MacPro 3,1. So I currently have 10.6.8 and am thinking of going straight to the latest 10.8.2 from the Mountain Lion upgrade page. Any thoughts about that?

Well thanks again.

David from Brooklyn

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Answer 10

Sep 30, 2012 9:43 AM in response to David Licht

Your welcome.

I have never "jumped" over a system release so am probably not the best person to respond to your question. Hopefully one of the experts around these forums can chime in here. Another option is to visit your local Apple store. My best guess is that you would be OK. It would be more difficult if you came from 10.5 I beleive.

Larry

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Answer 11

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Sep 30, 2012 10:05 AM in response to David Licht

As long as you take proper precaution you can always test run a new OS.

Clone your system. Buy a new hard drive maybe for new OS.

Do clean install of the OS so you don't carry older drivers and the rest.

Let Setup Assistant merge/migrate some basics.

Lion dropped Rosetta. That was a big change and required changes.

OS X is moving toward 64-bit kernel so pre-2008 got dropped, and a lot to do with 32-bit graphic drivers being an issue.

Oddly 10.8.2 threw a monkey wrench for some users having more than 64GB RAM.

You might want to experiment with 64-bit kernel mode.

check that your hardware and software are ready for ML.

10.8.2 does bring support for new Nvidia cards, just Apple doesn't sell any of course but doable.

So be ready to keep 10.6.8 and dual boot. Later you can wipe out 10.6.8 if you want and use that drive for bootable backup clone.

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Answer 12

Sep 30, 2012 4:17 PM in response to Larry from VA

thanks again Larry

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Answer 13

Sep 30, 2012 4:21 PM in response to The hatter

Thanks 'the hatter.' I appreciate your insights about the installation and what is going on with OS X. I will be sure to keep a clone of my 10.6.8 system handy.

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