Sound problems on Mac Pro 5.1 OS 10.12.6

Question

Level 1

4 points

Sound problems on Mac Pro 5.1 OS 10.12.6

First of all, there are no problems at all in case of fresh install or bootcamp Win10.

But after restoration of my TM backup I got random (but not frequent) popping and crackling sounds, no matter what output is chosen (analog out, internal speaker, HDMI audio, miniDP audio), followed by strange menu bar behavior. Every time I hear these noises, there is an empty spot appears (shown on the video). It also appear every time I push the Volume button (as shown on the video as well). Also I've found that switching active windows with a sound source (itunes, safari page with youtube video, VLC, e.t.c.) is also causes these noises and flashing in menu bar.

Video link: Untitled - YouTube

I can't drop my TM backup so I want to figure out what causes such thing.

P.S. I don't have soundflower or any kind of such software, messing with the sound input/outout.

Mac Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Oct 23, 2017 6:16 AM

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Answer 1

Pipiskin Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 24, 2017 7:07 AM in response to Eric Root

Eric,

The issue is still there in the Safe mode and under any other freshly created accounts.

I managed to record a video during the problem in action and for a 1/10 second some Unknown device appears when I switch the output. My theory is that the problem caused by (keeping in mind it is the same for analog and digital) very fast switching of output devices by the system to mysterious unknown device -> not finding Unknown device -> switching back.

Here is the report:

EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)

Report generated 2017-10-24 16:55:03

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 1:57

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: No problem - just checking

Hardware Information: ⓘ

Mac Pro (Mid 2010)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

Mac Pro - model: MacPro5,1

1 3.46 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon (Xeon(R)) CPU: 6-core

24 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

DIMM 1

8 GB DDR3 ECC 1333 MHz ok

DIMM 2

8 GB DDR3 ECC 1333 MHz ok

DIMM 3

8 GB DDR3 ECC 1333 MHz ok

DIMM 4

Empty

Handoff/Airdrop2: not supported

Wireless: en2: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ⓘ

ATI Radeon HD 5770 - VRAM: 1024 MB

PHL 246E7 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE HDD HTS541075A9E682 disk3: (750.16 GB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk3s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

Time Machine (disk3s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/Time Machine : 749.81 GB (625.55 GB free)

Boot OS X (disk3s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted> : 134 MB

TOSHIBA HDWD105 disk1: (500.11 GB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk1s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

Untitled (disk1s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/Untitled : 499.76 GB (431.01 GB free)

WDC WD7500AADS-00M2B0 disk2: (750.16 GB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

750WD (disk2s1 - ExFAT) /Volumes/750WD : 750.16 GB (67.85 GB free)

SSD Smartbuy 120GB disk0: (120.03 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

SSD (disk0s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/SSD : 119.69 GB (51.68 GB free)

PLEXTOR PX-256M5S disk4: (256.06 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk4s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

Macintosh SSD (disk4s2 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 255.20 GB (82.26 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk4s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

USB Information: ⓘ

USBBus

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

USBBus

USB20Bus

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Logitech USB Receiver

Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard

System Software: ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12.6 (16G29) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Configuration files: ⓘ

/etc/hosts - Count: 2 - Corrupt!

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Applications/Parallels Desktop.app

[not loaded] com.parallels.kext.hypervisor (10.4.0 29337 - SDK 10.7) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.parallels.kext.netbridge (10.4.0 29337 - SDK 10.7) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.parallels.kext.usbconnect (10.4.0 29337 - SDK 10.7) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.parallels.kext.vnic (10.4.0 29337 - SDK 10.7) [Lookup]

/Applications/Toast Titanium.app

[not loaded] com.roxio.BluRaySupport (1.1.6) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.roxio.TDIXController (2.0) [Lookup]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 189 Apple tasks

[running] 89 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 42 Apple tasks

[loaded] 184 Apple tasks

[running] 93 Apple tasks

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.apple.installer.cleanupinstaller.plist (? ? ? - installed 2017-07-07)

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2017-08-11) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.skype.skype.shareagent.plist (Skype Communications S.a.r.l - installed 2017-10-03) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist (? fec0a6ec 9e604392 - installed 2017-10-24) [Lookup]

User Login Items: ⓘ

iTunesHelper Application (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-09-13)

(/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Dropbox Application

(/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (installed 2013-08-04)

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-07-20)

JavaAppletPlugin: 15.0.1 (installed 2013-08-07) Check version

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.0.0 (installed 2010-08-25) [Lookup]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

[enabled] AdBlock - BetaFish, Inc. - https://getadblock.com (installed 2017-08-05)

[enabled] 1Password - AgileBits - https://agilebits.com/onepassword (installed 2017-09-18)

[not loaded] Open in Internet Explorer - Parallels - http://www.parallels.com (installed 2016-04-21)

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

None

Time Machine: ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh SSD: Disk size: 255.20 GB Disk used: 172.94 GB

Destinations:

MEDIA [Local]

Total size: 639.79 GB

Total number of backups: 1

Oldest backup: 7/7/17, 5:08 PM

Last backup: 7/7/17, 5:08 PM

Size of backup disk: Adequate

Backup size 639.79 GB > (Disk used 172.94 GB X 3)

Time Machine [Local]

Total size: 749.81 GB

Total number of backups: 24

Oldest backup: 10/14/17, 10:40 PM

Last backup: 10/24/17, 3:22 PM

Size of backup disk: Adequate

Backup size 749.81 GB > (Disk used 172.94 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

2% WindowServer

1% 2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword4-helper

1% kernel_task

0% fontd

0% Dropbox

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

1.21 GB kernel_task

523 MB Safari

195 MB Dropbox

177 MB com.apple.Safari.History

146 MB assistant_service

Top Processes by Network Use: ⓘ

Input Output Process name

156 KB 75 KB mDNSResponder

67 KB 68 KB Dropbox

9 KB 7 KB apsd

7 KB 8 KB assistantd

5 KB 898 B 2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword4-helper

Top Processes by Energy Use: ⓘ

4.62 WindowServer

0.76 launchd

0.18 Dropbox

0.10 assistantd

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

20.22 GB Available RAM

17.75 GB Free RAM

3.78 GB Used RAM

2.47 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used

Software installs (last 30 days): ⓘ

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-10-11)

Telegram: 3.5 (installed 2017-10-14)

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-10-20)

Telegram: 3.5.2 (installed 2017-10-20)

Install information may not be complete.

Diagnostics Events (last 3 days for minor events): ⓘ

2017-10-24 00:33:02 Company of Heroes 2.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-10-22 21:02:06 TorBrowser.app Crash [Open]

Files deleted by EtreCheck: ⓘ

2017-10-23 20:03:45 - /Library/LaunchAgents/com.panamfs.secureprint.agent.plist - Unknown

Reply

Answer 2

Pipiskin Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 26, 2017 10:42 AM in response to Eric Root

So I did another clean install and the problem keeps happening. Now I suppose it is a hardware problem? But what could possibly cause it? Once I was fast enough to click on the empty spot, which appears during the issue. Could it be a faulty GPU hdmi/miniDP output?

Reply

Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

684,591 points

Oct 23, 2017 7:12 AM in response to Pipiskin

Do a backup, using either Time Machine or a cloning program, to ensure files/data can be recovered. Two backups are better than one.

Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.

Isolating an issue by using another user account

If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode using your normal account. Disconnect all peripherals except those needed for the test. Shut down the computer and then power it back up after waiting 10 seconds. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. When you reboot normally, the initial reboot may be slower than normal. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application un-installer or by using the developer’s uninstall instructions. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.

Safe Mode - About El Capitan
also Sierra

Safe Mode Startup – El Capitan. also Sierra

If it works in the Safe Mode, try running this program when booted normally and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. On the screen with Options, please open Options and check the bottom 2 boxes before running. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown.

Etrecheck – System Information

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Answer 4

Eric Root

Level 10

684,591 points

Oct 24, 2017 8:48 AM in response to Pipiskin

Since it is happening in the Safe mode and other accounts, it seems to be a system wide problem I don't see anything in the report which could be causing the problem. Try reinstalling the OS.

Do a backup, preferable 2 separate ones on 2 drives. Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart) and select Recovery Volume. Run Disk Utility and select First Aid. Then re-install the OS.

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