Mac Pro 1,1 (2006) Boot / GPU Fans on overdrive problems

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rjeb Author

Level 1

4 points

Mac Pro 1,1 (2006) Boot / GPU Fans on overdrive problems

Mac Pro 1,1 (2006)

OSX Lion 10.7.5

GPU ATI Radeon X1900 XT

8Gb RAM

Apple Cinema Display

I have a Mac Pro 1,1 (yes that one) and recently I have been experiencing intermittent problems with booting: The Mac chimes on start up but gives no video signal and the GPU fan runs fast. If I try resetting the SMC and PRAM it sometimes works (if it decides it wants to) and then operates normally (although I think this happens around 10% of the time).

I read that it might be a GPU or PSU issue but I don't want to invest in buying a new one (particularly as GPUs for this model appear very costly) without being more sure its the cause of the problem.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Aug 18, 2016 5:14 AM

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Answer 1

lllaass

Level 10

210,519 points

Aug 18, 2016 6:09 AM in response to rjeb

Run Apple Hardware Test. It will help determine if you have a power supply problem. It is not good at GPU problems

Using Apple Hardware Test - Apple Support

You will need one of the original disk that came with the Mac.

You can also download AHT and make a bootable device. See:

http://rivenbyfive.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/download-and-run-apple-hardware-test.h tml

I suspect a bad graphics card

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Answer 2

rjeb Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 18, 2016 6:23 AM in response to lllaass

Thank you lllaass I will try this tonight - I suspect a bad Graphics Card too (well it wasn't a great one to start with) but am surprised that it is intermittent.

I will let you know how I get on...

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Answer 3

rjeb Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 18, 2016 6:49 AM in response to rjeb

If this a bad Graphics card are there any suggestions for a replacement without breaking the bank? I've heard Lion runs with standard PC Cards.

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Answer 4

lllaass

Level 10

210,519 points

Aug 18, 2016 6:55 AM in response to rjeb

You can try baking the graphics card. It is not a permanent solution though.

http://lifehacker.com/5823227/save-dying-video-cards-with-a-quick-bake-in-the-ov en

If it works OK (at least for a while) after baking that points to a graphics card problem

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Answer 5

rjeb Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 18, 2016 7:31 AM in response to rjeb

Wow! Sounds a bit drastic! I'll check the AHT results first.

Thanks so much for your help.

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Answer 6

rjeb Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 22, 2016 1:41 AM in response to rjeb

Well, before I got on with the Hardware Test I did the obvious thing, and stripped out the RAM and GPU, cleaned them all and put them back in. Imagine my surprise to find the Graphics card wobbling about in the slot (not secured by the PCI bay screws). I replaced everything and from a graphics point of view this all seems to be fine.

I do have another issue now, though - my HDD seems to not want to boot up. Recovery works fine but doesn't allow me to install Lion onto the HDD. I've installed it onto a Firewire drive and can boot the Mac onto that and have ordered an SSD to install and use as my boot drive. Then (hopefully) I will be able to get all my files back off the damaged HDD and either replace or reformat it.

Thanks for all the advice.

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Answer 7

lllaass

Level 10

210,519 points

Aug 22, 2016 6:46 AM in response to rjeb

- So it was due to the graphics card but luckily only a seating problem, not a failure.

- You said "Recovery works fine but doesn't allow me to install Lion onto the HDD. "

What exactly happened when you tried?

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