Nvidia EVGA GEForce GTX 970 graphics card not recognised after PRAM reset

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Nvidia EVGA GEForce GTX 970 graphics card not recognised after PRAM reset

As the title says, my Graphics card is not being recognised on boot up, all I get is the black screen. I had installed a USB3 card into my 2010 Mac Pro and it wasn't working, so the manufacturer suggested I try a PRAM reset. That's when the problems started. I haven't been able to get the 970 working again since.

At the moment I have my NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB installed.

I have tried a few things already.

• I tried downloading this driver again: 10.10.5 has 346.02.03f01 (14F27) which I found here: http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/frequently-asked-questions-about-nvidia-pc-n on-efi-graphics-cards.1440150/(I checked, it is the right one for my installed version of Yosemite).

• I also tried to use TimeMachine, but the problem is that my TimeMachine is a RAID configuration in a separate box connected by a SATA cable and so there didn't seem to be that option available when I tried to find it in the Utilities menu drop down, when installing a copy of Yosemite from a USB.

I thought maybe there was a file somewhere that just needs to be reset back again so it will all work as before, but I don't know what I would need to change. I have a TimeMachine backup I could use for that so if you know how I could make the most of it that would be great!

Any ideas why this has happened and if it is fixable?

Thanks

Ross

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), Mid 2010, 2.8Ghz Quad Core, 24GBRAM

Posted on Nov 27, 2015 2:22 AM

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Answer 1

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theposco Author

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Nov 29, 2015 9:50 AM in response to theposco

Fixed it.

I think one of two things happened. Either when I tried disk repair, it fixed a permission or it could be that when I looked inside, the graphics card power plug looked very very slightly at an angle (at the logic board end). It might not have been seated properly perhaps.

I did notice last time that the graphics card fans were not spinning, and this time they were, so maybe it was a power issue. Not sure which, just glad it works again!

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Answer 2

Dec 22, 2015 1:15 AM in response to theposco

Hi Ross

Ive been reading your thread and its come at a great time. I am looking at upgrading my GPU in my 2010 MacPro to the EVGA GEForce GTX 970. I was hoping you could tell me how it went for you.

Did you end up buying 2 cards and did they both work in your MacPro without an extra power supply?

If not could you keep the OC card and have both working?

Did you Flash it yourself? I have been looking at MacVidCards.com but sending them a card from AUS and back is too expensive. Im probably capable of doing it myself if I can find the right instructions.

What OS are you using? And did you download the Nvidia drivers and install before inserting the new card? Ive been reading that this seems a good idea, otherwise it can cause boot problems.

And how is it? Its a good card from all reports and Im looking at using it for 3D animation.

Thanks for any help.

Cameron.

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Answer 3

theposco Author

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Dec 22, 2015 4:54 AM in response to camrb2015

Hi Cameron

Happy to help if I can.

I only got one EVGA GEForce GTX 970. I also have the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB card, but I don't have that in at the same time. "OC card"?

I didn't flash the card as it still works, you just don't get the grey bootup screen. Instead my screen stays black until the login screen appears. I guess if you don't have a login, then you will go straight to your desktop.

The thing I do have to look out for though is that the Nvidia graphics card driver is up to date. If you update your OS, say because some security updates have come out or something, Nvidia may not have yet in turn released their update. I had this recently when I accidentally pressed yes to an OS update and then the graphics card wasn't recognised because the card driver wasn't compatible with the new OS update! I keep the old NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB card for if that happens though, as I can pop that in until the update for the other card is ready and then when the card update has been released I can install it so I can use the 970 again. Best practice though is to make sure the Nvidia card update is ready and installed before you update your OS.

I am on 10.10.5, but I never relised that there were sub versions within that. When you click on "about this Mac" to show your version number, if you click on the version number it shows some other numbers in brackets. I am on 10.10.5 (14F1505).

Have a look at this page and look at number 3. http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/frequently-asked-questions-about-nvidia-pc-n on-efi-graphics-cards.1440150/

There is also a link below that section about a driver updater tool that I use, it's very handy: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/308517-nvidia-web-driver-updater-update-1 2082015/

I had to buy two identical cables from eBay to make the 970 graphics card work (six pin both ends, but the plugs on one end are smaller than the other - they are very cheap to buy) . You don't need an external power supply as you can plug it straight into the Logic board. It's dead easy, just make sure the plugs are seated properly. Don't know if you can install two 970s or not. Don't know if there are any more connections than that, or if there are whether two cards would draw too much power without an additional power supply.

Personally for my photo editing use and some basic video editing, I can't say I actually noticed an improvement in speed sadly.

I have used a newer iMac though and didn't find that processed images any faster either so maybe it is a Photoshop thing rather than a graphics card thing.

That's not to say that you won't see an improvement for your uses though, I couldnt' say if it would help or not though.

Hope that helps.

How compatible is the EVGA Nvidia GTX 970 graphics card?

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Answer 4

Dec 23, 2015 5:23 PM in response to theposco

Thanks Ross, I appreciate your reply and that info was very helpful. Im going to get a card and see how it goes!!

Cheers

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Answer 5

Dec 24, 2015 7:36 AM in response to theposco

Hi theposco.

I have a 2009 Mac Pro and I bought the EVGA GTX 970 card. I'm coming from an ATI Radeon card, but I installed the right CUDA driver for El Capitan. When I install the new gpu the machine doesn't turn on I just get a black screen and it doesn't boot up. Any help? Am I doing something wrong?

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Answer 6

theposco Author

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Dec 24, 2015 7:56 AM in response to JosefLorenzo

Have you got the NVIDIA driver manager installed? It appears in your system preferences window. If that is up to date you should be ok I think.

I am however using Yosemite, I haven't dared go to El Capitan yet. I prefer to wait until it is a necessity before I upgrade my OS.

Have you got the right power cables for the 970 card and are they properly seated? Do the fans turn on the graphics card or are they motionless? Are you getting the right sound on startup?

Another thing you could try is repairing permissions on the boot drive in case something is wrong there and the new driver isn't kicking in.

Other than that I don't know I'm afraid.

Try a step by step process of elimination in case it isn't tha card, but is something else. Or does your old card work fine?

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Answer 7

mcghee33

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Jan 22, 2016 6:23 PM in response to theposco

Thanks for the posts theposco! I have been following and like Josef I have been interested in a 970 for my 2010 mac pro. The one thing I am wondering is IF I keep my current graphics card installed and then install a 970 and power it with an external power supply. Will I be able to see the boot screen? I ask because I run windows 10 in bootcamp and want to still be able to access Windows for some gaming.

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Answer 8

theposco Author

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Jan 23, 2016 3:02 AM in response to mcghee33

I also use Bootcamp and have no problems loading Windows with the 970. Can't remember, but I may have booted into Windows with my original card, then downloaded the driver for the 970 for Windows, then swapped to the 970 and booted again and I was in. I think that was the process I went through. I only have the 970 installed, never two cards.

When I load Bootcamp, I don't hold down the option key on startup, I select the boot disc in system preferences in OSX instead and it boots straight into Windows. When you are done in Windows though you'll need to select the boot disc again from there so you can get back into OSX, at least that is how I do it. It's in system or control panel or something like that.

There is also the option of Parallels which some people think is very good. I have never used it though as I rarely load Bootcamp, so don't really need Parallels.

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Answer 9

Feb 2, 2016 1:58 AM in response to theposco

Hi Ross, sorry to trouble you again. Im still having trouble getting my 970 working. I was wondering if you could send me your setup so I can compare and see if Ive got something different. Ive tried everything I can think of and nothing seems to work. All I get is a spinning fan on boot up and nothing on the screen. When I use the old card and new card combo, only the old card works. The new card on its own won't work. This is my setup.

MAC 10.10.5 (14F1605)

NVIDIA DRIVER 346.02.03f05 - (this is up to date)

I tried one card at a time, and both. I can get power to both cards (I used this method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvaaIhA3ObE ). They both appear in the system report. See below.

Does your System report show the same info or is it different to mine?

No matter what I do I can't seem to get the card working. I have two LG monitors, one to the Radeon and one to the 970. Don't worry, I tried just one card and one monitor.

My last theory is it might be the LG monitors themselves. Maybe they don't like the card for some reason? What brand monitors are you using? Also how have you connected the monitor to the 970? Ive tried DVI, HDMI and VGA to DVI and none seem to work. There are Display ports but I don't have a cable for that yet to try.

If you have any thought I would really appreciate it.

Thanks again.

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Answer 10

Feb 2, 2016 12:48 PM in response to camrb2015

The 6-to-8 cheater cable is not a very good idea. 6-pin is good for up to 75W, but 8-pin is for up to 150W. Just adding another little wire may not be enough wires that are large enough to provide the required power.

I don't know any drive that requires that kind of wattage either, so I am not too keen on trying to get 75W out of a SATA connector.

The other thing that bothers me is that your card did not fully identify itself in system profiler.

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Answer 11

theposco Author

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1 points

Feb 5, 2016 2:46 AM in response to camrb2015

Not really sure I can offer much more help. I am using an Eizo CX271 via a DVI in the lower port of the 970. The 970 is in the bottom PCIe slot.

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