Mac Mini 2018 + Blackmagic eGPU + LG 5k = boot problem

[defean]

Hi,

so far I was running a Mac Mini 2018 (i7, 32GB, Mojave 10.14.6) with an LG 5k monitor without any issues. Since the UI performance was a bit choppy, I added a Blackmagic eGPU (580x) today. The Mini is connected via Thunderbolt to the eGPU and the eGPU is connected via Thunderbolt to the LG 5k (which is the only monitor of the setup). As expected the UI performance is fine now, but I'm running into boot issues.

When the Mac Mini is switched on and boots, I see the Apple logo. Afterwards the progress bar shows up briefly and then the monitor goes dark and can't be woken up again. The fan of the Blackmagic is spinning. I can unpluck the TB cable from the eGPU and plug it into the Mini, which will switch on the monitor and show me the login screen. After the login I can reattach the eGPU which will then work and show up in the status bar.

When I reboot from this state, I'll see the login screen again and can login. When I shutdown the system and switch the Mini on manually, I'm back at square one, i.e. I have to "enable" the eGPU again by switch the TB cable directly to the Mini for login and then back to have the eGPU initialized.

I searched for this issue and only found references to a similar problem, which exists when you have Filevault enabled. But in my case Filevault is off.

Does anybody run a setup like mine and does/doesn't have this issue? From my understanding, I should be able to boot this setup without issues. Any input / help much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[defean]

Update: I executed a NVRAM/PRAM reset. Now the scenario changed. Don't know if it is connected to this reset, but now the scenario changed. Cold restarts (shutdown & sratup by pressing the power button) seem to consistently work now. But restarting via the apple menu is leading to the screen going dark after the Apple logo & progress bar appear and not waking up againm unless I detach and reattach the Thunderbolt cable from the eGPU....

Puzzled! Somewhat better, but still not the hazzle free operation I was hoping for...

 

[defean]

OK, that was short-lived hope.... cold restarts are not working reliably... basically restarting or rebooting can cause the LG 5k to go dark (after the progess bar) and only wake up, when the Thunderbolt cable is unplugged and plugged back in...

Is that the expected behavior? Or are there users with the same setup, where rebooting and restarting is is working flawlessly?

 

[oppastopa]

Hi,

so far I was running a Mac Mini 2018 (i7, 32GB, Mojave 10.14.6) with an LG 5k monitor without any issues. Since the UI performance was a bit choppy, I added a Blackmagic eGPU (580x) today. The Mini is connected via Thunderbolt to the eGPU and the eGPU is connected via Thunderbolt to the LG 5k (which is the only monitor of the setup). As expected the UI performance is fine now, but I'm running into boot issues.

When the Mac Mini is switched on and boots, I see the Apple logo. Afterwards the progress bar shows up briefly and then the monitor goes dark and can't be woken up again. The fan of the Blackmagic is spinning. I can unpluck the TB cable from the eGPU and plug it into the Mini, which will switch on the monitor and show me the login screen. After the login I can reattach the eGPU which will then work and show up in the status bar.

When I reboot from this state, I'll see the login screen again and can login. When I shutdown the system and switch the Mini on manually, I'm back at square one, i.e. I have to "enable" the eGPU again by switch the TB cable directly to the Mini for login and then back to have the eGPU initialized.

I searched for this issue and only found references to a similar problem, which exists when you have Filevault enabled. But in my case Filevault is off.

Does anybody run a setup like mine and does/doesn't have this issue? From my understanding, I should be able to boot this setup without issues. Any input / help much appreciated! Thanks!

What kinda of UI sluggish were you experiencing ?

 

[defean]

What kinda of UI sluggish were you experiencing ?

It's well described in this thread.
It happens, when the Mini is attached to an LG 5k and the resolution is not native but scaled (via the Display menu). Then things like entering and leaving Launchpad, desktop switching and browser scrolling are not as smooth as they should be. It's just, that under the described conditions, the integrated GPU is on the edge even for common UI tasks. So adding an eGPU gets it back to normal, with added benefits of accelerating other tasks.

 

[Almogos]

Hey

Have you tried turning off FireVault?

 

[defean]

Have you tried turning off FireVault?

My FileVault is *not* enabled.

 

[gimbalboy]

Are the TB3 cables used the ones that are included with the LG 5K monitor and the eGPU?

 

[defean]

Are the TB3 cables used the ones that are included with the LG 5K monitor and the eGPU?

Yes, the LG cable connects the LG with the eGPU and the Blackmagic cable connects the eGPU with the Mini.

 

[Florida Gator]

Any update?

 

[defean]

Any update?

No, unfortunately not... So far I...

• replaced both TB3 cables with new Belkin (40GB/100W) cables
• installed a fresh Mojave copy (with and without time machine backup)
• installed the Catalina public beta 5/9 (with and without time machine backup)
• reset the PRAM/NVRAM
• reset the SMC

all without any success... Sometimes the Mini reaches the login screnn, sometimes the screen remains black, until I unpluck the TB3 cable and pluck it back in, which will then display the login screen.

I opened a case with the Apple support and was forwarded to a technical specialist. This specialist promised me to get back to me after he researched the problem. That was two weeks ago. All I received back, was an email where he ensured me, that he‘s still investigating and will get back to me.

If that leads nowhere, I‘ll pack everything up and take it to the next Apple Store. Curious what an Apple Genius Bar appointment will get me...

 

[Pugilares]

There is wider problem with Mac mini not sending signal to the monitor after start. In my case this is Eizo monitor, but other people report similar scenarios with various monitors and setups

2018 Mac Mini - monitor problems - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

 

[defean]

Short update:
Turns out, the Blackmagic eGPU was faulty and is now being replaced.

Long update (with an unpleasant experience at the Genius bar)
After not hearing back from the Apple Care support for three(!!!) weeks regarding my open case, I made an appointment at my local Apple Store, packed everything up and went to the Genius bar. The first guy listened to my story and went to the back to talk to his manager. He came back to tell me, that he can‘t do anything for me, cause they can‘t verify/test/analyze any products which were not produced by Apple. I argued with him, that I‘m more than disappointed, that I buy products which are only sold by Apple (LG 5k & Blackmagic eGPU) and then they tell me to go away, if there‘s a problem with utilizing them. After a while he offered me to talk to the store manager. The manager basically repeated their point of view and so did I. In the end, I had to suggest, that at least, we could hook my Mac Mini and eGPU up to their (store) LG 5k, to rule out, that the monitor is faulty. Unfortunately the store didn’t even have a eGPU on display which I could have used for a test in the same way. The manager wasn‘t happy, but in the end agreed. After doing that, I could at least rule out the monitor. The manager suggested that I now contact the Blackmagic support which I did. After a couple of mails, the Blackmagic support asked me to send the eGPU in for testing. They confirmed the issue and are now replacing it.

My personal conclusion:
I‘m shocked about the statement at the Apple store. They basically refused any kind of assistance with the situation, cause non Apple product where involved. Never mind the fact, that you can‘t buy these produces *anywhere* else than at Apple. So even if you only buy from Apple, you might end up in a spot, where you have to deal with product related issues yourself, figure out, which of the product might cause the issue and hope for the manufacturers support. That really will make me reconsider my future purchases.

 

[Krevnik]

Short update:
Turns out, the Blackmagic eGPU was faulty and is now being replaced.

Good to hear you are getting it dealt with.

It is not uncommon for companies to avoid trying to troubleshoot third party stuff. It’s a mess, TBH. I’ve had Dell support ask if I’ve updated my video drivers on my Mac in case my monitor issues were caused by that, for example. That said, I am disappointed that it took such effort to get them to let you do a little troubleshooting in the store. That seems fair to me.

But as a little addition that might help others finding this thread on Google or whatever.

I had some similar issues with a Sonnet eGPU box, where the screen was losing signal occasionally during use, and problems on wake-up. Assumed it was the DisplayPort cables. Turned out that the passive Thunderbolt cable it came with was likely junk. Things have been much better after switching to a 2m active cable. I only got the cable so I could hide the eGPU box under my desk. Turned out to also solve my problems.

TB cables can be touchy things, it turns out. Worth checking them too, IMO.

 

[- rob -]

I also have a Blackmagic eGPU. It is a very good product, but it isn't perfect. I have the same issue as everyone else with filevault and having to type in the machine password without being able to see the interface.

I'm not entirely surprised Apple wouldn't try to fix this issue. They worked with Blackmagic on the product, but it is not an Apple product. And it isn't necessarily that Blackmagic has bad support, it is that expectations from Apple support--particularly with the local availability of Apple Stores you can bring products into--is industry leading by wide measure.

I think these products (the blackmagic egpu and the lg monitor) would not exist or would exist as crappier versions if it were not for Apple chipping in design work to bring them to market. They are obviously hindered by lack of full-fledged support from Apple though. This showed in the signal shielding issues in the LGs when they first launched. (Apple's own QA probably would have caught that) and your experience hoping for support from Apple.

 

[defean]

And another update...
So the new eGPU arrived. I connected it and it shows *exactly* the same behavior (50% black screens during booting/rebooting) as the old unit.

I let the Blackmagic support know, but so far didn't receive an answer. I'm very close to giving up on this. I talked to an authorized Apple dealer. They said, they could take a look, but they were also quite clear, that they would be expecting to not find the issue and that it might just be the state of the current eGPU development.

So from here on in, it's either living with it or getting rid of all the components and settle for something different.

TB cables can be touchy things, it turns out. Worth checking them too, IMO.

I agree... There are reports of different cables improving thing, that's why (next to the original cables) I also tried TB3 cables from Apple and Belkin. In my case unfortunately that didn't change a thing...

 

[Squuiid]

I have to use a very short (0.8m) Apple branded Thunderbolt 3 cable to get my LG 5K to behave as it should.

 

[LeoP15]

Hey @defean

I have the same exact setup as you, Mac mini i7 32GB using it with LG 5k and BM eGpu RX580 and guess what: I experience the exact same start up issue!!

I am so frustrated. Me too I bought 2 new TB3 cables from Belkin for €80 each and nothing changed.
The screen goes black right after I see the loading bar, then it's just matter of luck. Sometimes login screen comes on, sometimes screen stays black and I need to unplug-replug.

Just curious if you had any further information from BlackMagic support?

Thank you so much

 

[oppastopa]

I'd like to get an Egpu but all these reports of sleep/wake issues are scaring me away. Don't really want to drop 400-800 for something that basically cripples my Mac mini + UltraFine setup. It was already annoying enough to deal with the monitor not waking in early Mojave versions. Don't really want to go back to that again.

 

[defean]

Just curious if you had any further information from BlackMagic support?

Nope, the Blackmagic support declared defeat in my case. In the end, they stated, that they only are responsible for the hardware and not the software. But in the meantime, I found this thread (especially page 8 & 9), which states, that these issues where introduced by Catalina, more specifically the Boot ROM "updates" which are integrated in Catalina (various changes throughout all betas and final versions). So far, RX580 eGPUs were affected. In the last comments, people report, that even Vega based eGPUs (which were working so far) are showing these issues since the upgrade to 10.15.2.
I found it quite frustrating, that neither Apple nor Blackmagic at least acknowledged these issues, when I opened my support cases with both companies.

So in the end, Apple messed this up and (fingers crossed) will hopefully fix this soon. Strange enough, in this thread, there are also users with identical setups, who are not experiencing this issue.

The only workaround at the moment seems to be a second display, which is connected to the integrated GPU (directly to the Mini). In this case the login will be displayed via the integrated GPU on the one monitor, while the other monitor is connected to the eGPU. A user in the linked thread reported, that with this two monitor setup he managed to get around the issue.

 

[mpagliaro]

I've had this same issue for a while and think I may have solved it through dumb luck and some combination maybe of updates on Apple or Blackmagic's end since this issue originally started for me. but I thought I would try and fix it again this morning and, Voila! it worked. So here is my setup and connection setup that worked for me (at least for now)

Mac Mini 2018
LG 5K Monitor
Blackmagic EGPU Radeon Pro 580

Mac Mini connected to EGPU directly with Belkin TB3 cable connected on Mac mini to port closest to HDMI and then connected to bottom port on EGPU also closest to HDMI port.

Then I run a TB3 Cable from the top port on the EGPU using the cable that came with my LG monitor directly to the monitor in the designated TB3 port.

I had this somewhat reversed on the EGPU connections before, but guess I never tried it this way and to my surprise it worked both on restarts and shutdowns directly from Mac OS without failure. The login screen came up on multiple attempts with sucess.

I've not been able to monitor this long-term yet, but will update on my findings over the next month.

Hope this may help some still experience this issue with this type of setup.

Cheers,

 

[Vladie]

Since this thread is the top search result in Google for many terms around black screens on boot when using the LG 5k display with an eGPU (including the Blackmagic egpu), I figured I'd provide what I (sincerely hope) will definitively answer this issue:

It's the version of the LG 5k you're using.

There are two versions of the LG 5k display: (1) the original and (2) the newer version.

You can refer to the LG 5k thread for the exact details as to the differences between them, but the two most significant differences are that #2 can be driven (in 4k, I believe) by a USB C - not Thunderbolt 3 - connection, such as from an iPad Pro and also that #2 has automatic brightness adjustment capability based on the amount of ambient light (i.e. the checkmark for automatic brightness adjustment shows up in the Display control panel when #2 is connected to the Mac).

The original version has the model numbers 27MD5KA-B and 27MD5KB-B. The difference is that the latter is the "business" version of the display. There is no hardware difference - the "business" version came with 3 years of warranty vs 1 year.

The newer version has the model numbers 27MD5KL-B and 27MD5KLB-B. Again, the latter is the "business" version with no difference in hardware, just the longer warranty.

Please note: the versioning has nothing to do with the shielding fix LG implemented - that fix was implemented during the production of the first version. In other words, merely having an LG 5k with the extra shielding does not mean it is the newer version. The only way to be certain is to find the model number - it is on the underside of the bottom of the frame, on the right-hand side as you are looking at the display.

So...

I have a 2018 mac mini and the original Blackmagic eGPU, just like the OP. I also happen to have access to three of the original versions of the LG 5k and two of the newer versions of the LG 5k, all purchased at different times. (Good gracious, yes, they are all connected to different computers - I'm not some crazy person who needs to drive 75M pixels at one time!)

Having borrowed the monitors I can confirm that with every one of the original versions of the LG 5k, the screen remains black on boot (after the Apple logo and the start of the progress bar) exactly as OP observed. This was true even for a clean install of Monterey (the mac mini wiped of everything and then just the OS installed with no other software). And, like the OP, unplugging and replugging the monitor causes it to reactivate and display the login screen.

I can also confirm that with every one of the newer versions of the LG 5k, the monitor appeared to be "re-found" after completion of the boot and would present the login screen without any need for unplugging or replugging. In other words, the newer version exhibited the same behavior as the original version, except at the end of the boot process, where it would suddenly and on its own "come back on" and display the login screen. Again, no unplugging or replugging required.

I hope this helps future sufferers who come to this thread in search of answers.