MP All Models How to identify the mac pro is still in working condition?

[lovecd]

Hello Every one,

Got two mac pro workstations from local sale, one is from year 2006, and the other is year 2008, both has ram and hard drive installed, the 2006 one has GPU card equipped (NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT), and the one from year 2008 doesn't have GPU. Did the followings:

1. By connecting the 2006 with monitor, it powers on, has Apple chime sound, can boot up with images showing on display,
2. Removed the GPU card from 2006 model and installed it on 2008, turn it on, no Apple chime sound, no display images, but no any other warning sounds either.
3. Realized that Geforce 7300GT card is not compatible with 2008 model, so, put it back to 2006 model.
4. Tried to power on the 2006 again, but noticed no Apple chime sound, no display images any more, but no any other warning sounds either. Try to remove the GPU card and install it again and make sure it is installed firmly, but no lucks. (I don't think I damaged the GPU card as I did this many times on other PC desktop in the past).

Questions:

1. What could be wrong for that 2006 model?
2. For 2008 model, is there a way to diagnose if it is in good working condition before investing money on purchaing a compatible GPU card for it?

Many thanks!

 

[Macschrauber]

You can force a full nvram reset on the 3.1 (2008).

hold cmd-alt-p-r together and dont stop holding until it chimes 3 times.

if that does not happen the machine has problems. Same with the 2006.

you can try also on the 2008 some live Linux system with any PCI GPU, it must not habe an Apple EFI in his firmware to run Linux.

 

[m1maverick]

The chime means the system passed the power on self-tests. I second the advice Macschrauber provided regarding the NVRAM reset. If that doesn't work I would recommend also removing the graphics card and trying to start each machine. If you hear a chime then suspect a problem with the graphics card.

Question: Why isn't the 7300GT compatible with the 2008 model?

 

[Macschrauber]

The chime means the system passed the power on self-tests. I second the advice Macschrauber provided regarding the NVRAM reset. If that doesn't work I would recommend also removing the graphics card and trying to start each machine. If you hear a chime then suspect a problem with the graphics card.

Question: Why isn't the 7300GT compatible with the 2008 model?

the 7300 GT has a EFI32 firmware where the 2008 needs an EFi64 firmware for the GPU.

I never tried if a 7300 worked in a 3,1 after the driver loaded. Remember since 10.8 there are no drivers for the 7300. So the newest OS a 7300 can theoretically can give a picture to should be 10.7 in a 3,1 (if that works after the OS is loading the driver).

 

[lovecd]

Thanks for your comments, I did NVRAM reset, and here is the update:

Both can have Apple chime sounds now, the 2006 model can boot normally with image shows up on screen, but the 2008 one won't have display on screen with that 7300 GPU card. Should I buy the right GPU card for 2008 now? Thanks again.

 

[rpmurray]

Should I buy the right GPU card for 2008 now?

The "right" GPU would depend on which OS you plan on installing and how much money you're willing to invest in a 14 year old computer. I have a NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB in the 2008 that I'm running High Sierra on. Not the fastest thing but sufficient for what I use that Mac for.

 

[lovecd]

The "right" GPU would depend on which OS you plan on installing and how much money you're willing to invest in a 14 year old computer. I have a NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB in the 2008 that I'm running High Sierra on. Not the fastest thing but sufficient for what I use that Mac for.

Yes, I plan to install High Sierra on it. By the way, I do have Geforce 8800 GTS 512MB GPU card removed from one of my old PC desktops, is that compatible with 2008 Mac pro, or need to be 8800 GT only?

 

[rpmurray]

Yes, I plan to install High Sierra on it. By the way, I do have Geforce 8800 GTS 512MB GPU card removed from one of my old PC desktops, is that compatible with 2008 Mac pro, or need to be 8800 GT only?

I wouldn't know. Mine is the Apple model that came with the Mac. If yours is a standard PC card then you won't see the boot screen while the Mac starts up until it loads the graphics driver. Can't hurt to try it.