EDIT : I just noticed on my last boot up that only 4 of my 8 RAM slots are shown in System Profile/Memory
last Friday afternoon my 4,1>5,1 2009 8 Core cMP shut down and would not start up.
No chime and also CPU B's RED LED was turned ON. No fans were working at all.
1.
I removed the PSU and thoroughly cleaned & de-dusted it it
2.
I cleaned the Northbridge heatsink and re-applied Arctic Thermal Ceramique 2 & while I was at it I replaced the Northbridge rivets and also added a non-conductive washer under the rivets on the underside to give it a tighter grip ( similar to the nut & bolt technique.
3.
I removed both CPU A & B - thoroughly cleaned and re-applied thermal.
4.
I noticed that 4 of the pins on CPU A socket were bent. I used two magnifying glasses and non-conductive, clean, shaved to a fine point . . bamboo toothpicks ( I live in Japan ) to re-align the socket pins.
5. Installed only CPU A and after a few tries . . got it to boot up. with no RED LED's on the daughter board.
( currently everything non-essential have been removed. Just a HD 5770 + keyboard & mouse )
============================================================
After a few sleepless days and lot's of PM help from h9826790 I finally have it booting again with neither CPU A nor CPU B showing RED LEDs + all fans are working normally . . . . but .. . . . . I have a total of 17Gb of RAM - the cMP came with 6 x 2 GB DIMMS all from the same batch/maker but only slots 1 & 2 on CPU A are recognizing any of the DIMMS.
( NOTE : I have only installed DIMMS from the original supplied 12 gb matched 2Gb DIMMS )
Why aren't any of the DIMMs installed in CPU A nor CPU B ram slots 3 ~ 8 ( correct order/slot placement ) being recognized.
NOTE : In installing CPU B I tightened the heatsink to "barely fingertight ".. and then one more full turn for each of the four bolts. How tight should the HEX bolts be ?
I recall seeing threads regarding similar problems as I am experiencing but yet cannot find a definitive solution.
Help, advice, solutions tremendously appreciated !
PS : Of course I have done both PRAM & SMC resets and I als oreplaced the motheboard CR2032 battery.
============================
UPDATE :
Since my first post ..
The Xeon 5570 in CPU B is not starting. The CPU B socket has NO bent pins. The PSU is OK.
All fans spin up correctly including on CPU A & B. The Nortbridge heatsink is now "nut & bolt" attached to the tray with non-conductive washers top & bottom
The Xeon 5570 itself appears to have no discolouration or visible damage.
1. I'm gradually coming to the conclusion that the Xeon 5570 that is currently in CPU B and was in CPU A at the time of the original shutdown failed for whatever reason - we had thunderstorms here at the time of the
failure.
2. I have tried EVERY possible configuration - even removed most of the Blue Loctite from the CPU B bolt threads to give me a finer touch when tightening the Hex bolts. in the correct Apple designated order.
3. Thoroughly cleaned and re-applied Thermal paste to the CPU B Xeon 5570.
====================================================
The 4,1 starts up now with just CPU A.
The fans do NOT ramp up their speeds.
My Dual Quad Core 4,1 has reeverted to a "Single Quad Core".
.
I can install and see 10Gb of my original 17Gb RAM only if installed on CPU A side slots 1~3.
Sys Info/Hardware shows only ONE processor which is in CPU A.
last Friday afternoon my 4,1>5,1 2009 8 Core cMP shut down and would not start up.
No chime and also CPU B's RED LED was turned ON. No fans were working at all.
1.
I removed the PSU and thoroughly cleaned & de-dusted it it
2.
I cleaned the Northbridge heatsink and re-applied Arctic Thermal Ceramique 2 & while I was at it I replaced the Northbridge rivets and also added a non-conductive washer under the rivets on the underside to give it a tighter grip ( similar to the nut & bolt technique.
3.
I removed both CPU A & B - thoroughly cleaned and re-applied thermal.
4.
I noticed that 4 of the pins on CPU A socket were bent. I used two magnifying glasses and non-conductive, clean, shaved to a fine point . . bamboo toothpicks ( I live in Japan ) to re-align the socket pins.
5. Installed only CPU A and after a few tries . . got it to boot up. with no RED LED's on the daughter board.
( currently everything non-essential have been removed. Just a HD 5770 + keyboard & mouse )
============================================================
After a few sleepless days and lot's of PM help from h9826790 I finally have it booting again with neither CPU A nor CPU B showing RED LEDs + all fans are working normally . . . . but .. . . . . I have a total of 17Gb of RAM - the cMP came with 6 x 2 GB DIMMS all from the same batch/maker but only slots 1 & 2 on CPU A are recognizing any of the DIMMS.
( NOTE : I have only installed DIMMS from the original supplied 12 gb matched 2Gb DIMMS )
My question :
Why aren't any of the DIMMs installed in CPU A nor CPU B ram slots 3 ~ 8 ( correct order/slot placement ) being recognized.
Only DIMMS placed in CPU A 's slots 1 & 2 are recognized.
NOTE : In installing CPU B I tightened the heatsink to "barely fingertight ".. and then one more full turn for each of the four bolts. How tight should the HEX bolts be ?
I recall seeing threads regarding similar problems as I am experiencing but yet cannot find a definitive solution.
Help, advice, solutions tremendously appreciated !
PS : Of course I have done both PRAM & SMC resets and I als oreplaced the motheboard CR2032 battery.
============================
UPDATE :
Since my first post ..
The Xeon 5570 in CPU B is not starting. The CPU B socket has NO bent pins. The PSU is OK.
All fans spin up correctly including on CPU A & B. The Nortbridge heatsink is now "nut & bolt" attached to the tray with non-conductive washers top & bottom
The Xeon 5570 itself appears to have no discolouration or visible damage.
1. I'm gradually coming to the conclusion that the Xeon 5570 that is currently in CPU B and was in CPU A at the time of the original shutdown failed for whatever reason - we had thunderstorms here at the time of the
failure.
2. I have tried EVERY possible configuration - even removed most of the Blue Loctite from the CPU B bolt threads to give me a finer touch when tightening the Hex bolts. in the correct Apple designated order.
3. Thoroughly cleaned and re-applied Thermal paste to the CPU B Xeon 5570.
====================================================
The 4,1 starts up now with just CPU A.
The fans do NOT ramp up their speeds.
My Dual Quad Core 4,1 has reeverted to a "Single Quad Core".
.I can install and see 10Gb of my original 17Gb RAM only if installed on CPU A side slots 1~3.
Sys Info/Hardware shows only ONE processor which is in CPU A.
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