MP 1,1-5,1 Loud Fans - 2012, 5.1

[Simon4#]

I run a small computer store and recently bought a dozen 2012 Mac pros (Xeon 2.4)

Half the units have this issue:
Upon startup, the fans run at 100%. I've isolated the problem to the processor tray.

Swapping the processor tray will move the problem over to the other computers.

I also tried swapping heatsinks and processors. No luck.

Has anyone else run into this problem? If so, what's the solution?

Hardware report (3 different variations, some run perfectly)
Boot ROM: MP51.007F.B03
SMC: 1.39f11


Thanks

 

[Slash-2CPU]

Check that SMC matches on both tray and system.

About This Mac -> System Report -> Hardware

If they don't match, fans will run in failsafe 100% mode.

1.39F5 is a 2009(4,1) system/tray.
1.39F11 is 2010/2012(5,1) system/tray.

It's possible that you have 1.39F5 SMC that shows as a 5,1. Those systems are flashed from 4,1 to 5,1 and are functionally and physically identical to a 5,1 except that they still require the 4,1's 1.39F5 SMC.

 

[krakman]

I run a small computer store and recently bought a dozen 2012 Mac pros (Xeon 2.4)

Half the units have this issue:
Upon startup, the fans run at 100%. I've isolated the problem to the processor tray.

Swapping the processor tray will move the problem over to the other computers.

I also tried swapping heatsinks and processors. No luck.

Has anyone else run into this problem? If so, what's the solution?

Thanks

this occurs when you put a 2009 processor tray into a 2010/2012 model. it is a SMC incompatibility. there is nothing you can do other than find put which computers are 2009 and refit the trays accordingly.

 

[Simon4#]

Check that SMC matches on both tray and system.

About This Mac -> System Report -> Hardware

If they don't match, fans will run in failsafe 100% mode.

1.39F5 is a 2009(4,1) system/tray.
1.39F11 is 2010/2012(5,1) system/tray.

It's possible that you have 1.39F5 SMC that shows as a 5,1. Those systems are flashed from 4,1 to 5,1 and are functionally and physically identical to a 5,1 except that they still require the 4,1's 1.39F5 SMC.

All of them are 1.39F11. some of them don't have the issue of the loud fan.
[doublepost=1566515024][/doublepost]

this occurs when you put a 2009 processor tray into a 2010/2012 model. it is a SMC incompatibility. there is nothing you can do other than find put which computers are 2009 and refit the trays accordingly.

Does this tell you anything?:
Comp 1 is good
Comp 2 is bad

Switch processor trays

Comp 1 is bad
Comp 2 is good.

 

[krakman]

All of them are 1.39F11. some of them don't have the issue of the loud fan.

The smc firmware on both the tray and back plane should be the same.

If the smc firmware matches then there is some other problem.

I would suggest updating the boot rom on all machines to the latest version 144.0.0 and start troubleshooting from then.

 

[Simon4#]

The smc firmware on both the tray and back plane should be the same.

If the smc firmware matches then there is some other problem.

I would suggest updating the boot rom on all machines to the latest version 144.0.0 and start troubleshooting from then.

What is the back plane you're referring to?

Thanks

 

[lowendlinux]

The board the processor board connects to.

 

[crjackson2134]

The backplane board is the main Logicboard (aka: motherboard). It has the PCIe slots, BootROM, SATA Connectors, etc...

 

[Simon4#]

The smc firmware on both the tray and back plane should be the same.

If the smc firmware matches then there is some other problem.

I would suggest updating the boot rom on all machines to the latest version 144.0.0 and start troubleshooting from then.

Ok. Thanks the SMC on both are the same. I'll try updating the boot rom once I figure out how to.

I'll update this thread soon.

Thank you all

 

[jbarley]

Ok. Thanks the SMC on both are the same. I'll try updating the boot rom once I figure out how to.

I'll update this thread soon.

Thank you all

This thread would be a good place to start...
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-bootrom-upgrade-instructions-thread.2142418/

 

[Simon4#]

How do I find out if my processor tray is 4,1 or 5,1?

 

[tsialex]

How do I find out if my processor tray is 4,1 or 5,1?

>AboutThisMac>SystemReport>Hardware>SMC Version (processor tray)

4.1 -> 1.39f5
5.1 -> 1.39f11

 

[Simon4#]

The smc firmware on both the tray and back plane should be the same.

If the smc firmware matches then there is some other problem.

I would suggest updating the boot rom on all machines to the latest version 144.0.0 and start troubleshooting from then.

It seems like I can't upgrade to 144.0.0 unless I have metal support on my gpu. Which I don't. (5770 HD)

Any ideas on what I should do next if replacing the graphics card isn't an option?

 

[MIKX]

Get an AMD hd 7950 or 7970 or R9 280x and then head over to the Netkas site and learn how to EFI flash them. It's not as hard as some people make it out to be. PM me if you need help.

Note : Sometimes the Netkas site is down but usually comes back to life eventually.

EFI flashing either an HD 7950. or HD 7970
http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,5619.0.html

EFI flashing the R9 280 X
http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,5619.0.html

Important : Don't buy an XFX card, some work, some don't as they are often non-reference design cards.

 

[skizzo]

All of them are 1.39F11. some of them don't have the issue of the loud fan.
[doublepost=1566515024][/doublepost]

I'm really just reiterating what others suggested but hope this is specific enough to direct you to give some more details to help you with the issue(s). Screen shots are always helpful!

Take a look at the below screen shot (taken from google). Note that both the system and processor SMC version match. If you are telling us that your mac pros all have matching SMC's between system and processor then SMC mismatch is not the cause of the 100% full blast fan issue.

Just take note the below screen shot has the 2009 SMC version 1.39f5 (this mac pro was a 4,1 that got flashed to 5,1)
If you have true 2010/2012 model hardware then both SMC versions would be 1.39f11