Problems with the Power on button on my Mac Pro

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Problems with the Power on button on my Mac Pro

b I have the new Mac Pro 6 Core Intel Xeon E5 for about 16 months and it suddenly started giving problems with the Power on button at the back. When i press it the light at the back comes on , stays on for about 8 seconds , and then turns off. The Mac never starts up. Sometimes I have to try starting it up for about 2 hrs. before it might sometimes start up. Sometimes for two days it does not start up and then suddenly it does. It's like playing the Lotto. It just starts when it feels like doing so. It's not a software problem. I tried pulling out the plug for 15 seconds, plugging it back in again and waiting 5 seconds before restarting but that does not work. Any suggestions ? Thank you

Mac Pro, El Capitan Beta 10.1.1.

Posted on Oct 13, 2015 11:13 AM

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Answer 1

elistu

Level 1

6 points

Oct 13, 2015 11:32 AM in response to jujuwarrior

Sounds like my Mac Pro; 2009 ; 4.1. Genius Bar recommended a new mac. Good 3rd party repair found a bad Power Supply. It now works as new. As power faded so the start-up took longer and longer. Similar to weak flash light battery.

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Answer 2

Oct 14, 2015 6:08 AM in response to jujuwarrior

You clearly have a Hardware problem. The software installed on the drives is not involved until much later in the Startup process.

If you have access to an Apple Store, your appointment for an evaluation is free, in warranty or out. If you choose to have them make repairs, they are all done at flat rate, no surprises.

In regions other than the US, Apple Authorized Service Providers would be used, and they may have different terms.

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Answer 3

elistu

Level 1

6 points

Oct 14, 2015 6:32 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanx Grant. If you noticed my comments I stated Apple Genius as saying the solution was a new mac.; which I had heard

about 10 times before. GS

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Answer 4

Oct 13, 2015 12:13 PM in response to elistu

My reply was aimed at jujuwarrior, the original poster with a Mac Pro late 2013 model.

If your Mac Pro 2009 model was not under warranty, were they refusing to offer a repair, or did they tell you it was more cost effective to just replace it?

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Answer 5

elistu

Level 1

6 points

Oct 13, 2015 12:27 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Apple did not give a feasible reason except just get a new machine. After a persistent discourse Apple support

agreed to find a repair shop where they found a bad power supply in less than 2 minutes. The mac pro is working

now and I'm glad the support spvr. realized it was a hw problem not sw.

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Answer 6

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Oct 13, 2015 12:28 PM in response to elistu

2009 (4.1) Mac Pros were not sold with a 6 core processor. 2010 (5.1) were. You could also update the firmware for 4.1 to that of a 5.1 and it wthe 4.1 will accept a 6 core processor. The About this Mac will then identify the 4.1 as a 5.1.

elistu wrote:

Sounds like my Mac Pro; 2009 ; 4.1. Genius Bar recommended a new mac. Good 3rd party repair found a bad Power Supply. It now works as new. As power faded so the start-up took longer and longer. Similar to weak flash light battery.

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Answer 7

jujuwarrior Author

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Oct 14, 2015 6:28 AM in response to jujuwarrior

Thanks guys for your response. I always suspected that it was a hardware problem(i've been using the Mac for about 25 years ). I phoned Apple yesterday and after a good helpful discussion they advised me to go to Florida ( I'm living in Grenada in the Caribbean ) to an Apple Store and try to get it fixed. They gave me a Case ID. It will cost me a lot of money to go to Florida but that's the only alternative since we have no Apple Store here. This morning , after I tried starting it about 6 to seven times, it finally started. I think there is a short in the Power button. By the way, my wife's Windows machine and her her iPad are working well so it is not a Power supply problem. Thanks again guys and have a good day.

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Answer 8

jujuwarrior Author

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Oct 15, 2015 9:41 AM in response to lllaass

Hi lllaass ,

Your mention of a power supply problem gave me an idea which i performed this morning and BINGO it worked. I'll explain what i did :

Here in Grenada we have 220 current but the Mac from the USA (although it can adapt to both 110 and 220 automatically ) came with the power cord attached permanently and with a 110 plug. I therefore had to plug it into a 220 to 110 transformer. The mistake I made however is that I first plugged it into a HP Monster 110 Surge Protector which I then plugged into the 220/110 transformer. It worked for over a year perfectly. What i did is to unplug the Mac from the Surge Protecter and plug it directly into the Transformer and BINGO it worked.

Thanks very much all of you for your advises and if someone has the same problem then you can solve the problem. Wish everyone all the best. Take care and remain healthy.

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Answer 9

Oct 15, 2015 9:49 AM in response to jujuwarrior

Pictures of that Mac Pro late 2013 show that the chassis has an IEC power inlet.

To reduce complexity, you could eliminate the transformer entirely by obtaining an IEC cord with your local 220 Volt plug-end on it. The Mac will then use 220 Volts directly, as it auto-switches 110<->220 internally.

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Answer 10

jujuwarrior Author

Level 1

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Oct 15, 2015 2:10 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks very much Grant. I will try to get the IEC Chord as soon as possible. If we don't have it in Grenada then I will have to order it from Amazon. Thanks again and all the best.

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