2006 Mac Pro Cold Boot Failure

Hi all,
I have problems with 2006 Mac Pro. It fails cold boot at 100%, first thing in the morning only. So I'm seeking expert advice.
The spec is,
Xeon 5355 2.66GHz x2 (Octo cores)
ATI Radeon 5770(Apple Genuine)
8GB Memory(4x1GB kingston, 4x1GB OWC)
500GBx2 1TBx2 HDDs
I disassembled and cleaned PSU and Fans, reapplying thermal pastes on CPUs and North Bridge a month ago.
Then I booted, system froze at desktop, so I shut it down, reset PRAM & SMC. it booted normally but the upper riser card wasn't detected at all. I cleaned the slot contact and reseated DIMM modules. It was detected after that.
Everything worked fine for a few days but then I got random kernel panics, reseated RAM, reinstalled Snow Leopard but still got random kernel panics. Then ran AHT for a couple of hours and got an error code 4MEM/6....
I contacted OWC and they sent me a new set of memory modules. While waiting for the replacement, no kernel panics at all but DVD drive died as well as IDE cable, so I replaced both.
I got the replacement RAM but past a week, MP fails cold boot every morning. Below is what's happening...
(1) With Kingston Memory, CPU B error LED is lit, I press SYS_RST, one of DIMM LED is then lit (always DIMM A1). Or sometimes, Power-LED is blinking.
(2) With OWC memory, boots normally, then kernel panic within a few minutes.
(3) With OWC memory, CPU B error LED is lit, I press SYS_RST, one of DIMM LED is then lit (always DIMM B1)
*(1) with new and old riser cards
*(3) after replaced 2 riser cards
Replacing riser cards didn't help. After these happen, I shut down by pressing power button for seconds and it boots normally without a hitch. Never get kernel panics nor system freeze. It means when it warms up, MP just works just like it should.
Replaced so far,
-- IDE cable (Apple Genuine)
-- DVD drive (Optiarc AD-7200A)
-- 4GB (1GBx4) OWC memory
-- RTC battery CR2032
-- 2 riser cards
Is the logic board dead or PSU or memory modules are still bad?
Any ideas?
Thanks

I have a Mac Pro dual 2.8 ghz quad core, circa 2008. Recently, I have been required to depress the power button to end a failed cold boot, then press again to boot, usually with success.
Every hard restart freeze, and can guarantee you end up with
corrupt caches, corrupt file system, corrupt directory.
Safe Boot is not effective in such cases, fsck from single user mode has a better chance.
Booting from another hard drive, install your bought copy of Alsoft Disk Warrior to rebuild the directory (it has deep scavenge files also).
The longer you continue to do just Safe Boot and continue using it, the more trouble and less likelihood of being able to repair the drive.
SMART is not smart enough, it tells you about the past, not what could likely happen, or if you have had bad sectors and I/O errors.
Have bootable backup clones and a drive that is a clean Apple OS and drivers that isn't used except for repairs and maintenance. Don't rely on just Apple Disk Repair.

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Mac Pro cold boot failure rate at 50%

I have a Mac Pro dual 2.8 ghz quad core, circa 2008. Recently, I have been required to depress the power button to end a failed cold boot, then press again to boot, usually with success.
I do hear a chime, but in the failed situation, it never progresses to the login screen.
I've reset the pram a few times, this doesn't seem to fix anything, as the system always boots if you try enough times (knock on wood).
I've verified the s.m.a.r.t. status and the disk, it all reports back as fine.
I am writing this post from a "safe boot" hope to see if that works on the next cold boot.
Other posts on this forum suggest it may be a weak pram battery so I will try that, the computer is getting on in years. However a similar post on this forum was marked as answered because the problem reported stated it did not chime from the external speakers. I don't care about that! So here's a new thread about documenting and hopefully solving the actual problem.

I have a Mac Pro dual 2.8 ghz quad core, circa 2008. Recently, I have been required to depress the power button to end a failed cold boot, then press again to boot, usually with success.
Every hard restart freeze, and can guarantee you end up with
corrupt caches, corrupt file system, corrupt directory.
Safe Boot is not effective in such cases, fsck from single user mode has a better chance.
Booting from another hard drive, install your bought copy of Alsoft Disk Warrior to rebuild the directory (it has deep scavenge files also).
The longer you continue to do just Safe Boot and continue using it, the more trouble and less likelihood of being able to repair the drive.
SMART is not smart enough, it tells you about the past, not what could likely happen, or if you have had bad sectors and I/O errors.
Have bootable backup clones and a drive that is a clean Apple OS and drivers that isn't used except for repairs and maintenance. Don't rely on just Apple Disk Repair.

MAC PRO COLD BOOTS 5 SECONDS AFTER SHUTDOWN

HELP!
I've become very frustrated trying to fix this problem:
1.) I shut the computer down like normal (from the apple icon in the toolbar, select shutdown, click "okay" on the shutdown dialogue box), and it appears to shut down (i.e. I hear the "click" as the power shuts off).
2.) 5 seconds later (if I have not disconnected the power, or turned off the surge protector) it cold boots as if I pressed the power button.
3.) Putting the computer to sleep produces the same results.
I'm fine with killing the power after it shuts off with the power conditioner, but is that hurting the machine?
-gwb

djgardnsound wrote:
HELP!
I've become very frustrated trying to fix this problem:
3.) Putting the computer to sleep produces the same results.
Try a SMC reset which governs such things.
I'm fine with killing the power after it shuts off with the power conditioner, but is that hurting the machine?
Unplugging your Mac from it's power source causes the PRAM battery to discharge as it tries to maintain PRAM settings and the Macs clock. If you have done this before, or often cut power off to your Mac via a power strip or wall switch, your battery will deplete very quickly. You'll be replacing it often.
If you never cut off power to your Mac, they can last 3 to 5 years (mine lasted 7).
Dale

Is there a way to install boot camp on a 2006 Mac Pro running Lion?

Lion comes with Boot Camp 4, which supports Windows 7+. The 2006 Mac Pro however only supports Windows Vista, which requires Boot Camp 3.
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It is on your original dvd that came with your computer. See the Boot Camp System Requirements located here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5634
Look for your computer to determine what support software version is supported and where it is located.
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Windows 7, 64-bit
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4
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DVD
DVD
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DVD
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DVD

Boot camp on 2006 mac pro

I am trying to set up my 2006 Mac Pro 1,1 to run Win XP with boot camp. I used the original Tiger install disks to put OS 10 (10.4.11 after software updates) on the machine.
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I knew that before I did this there may be incompatibility problems with this card and Lion on the older Mac Pros,
Although some users have complained of problems, their wounds may be self-inflicted. Use of a non-Apple ATI 5770 or failure to upgrade to at least 10.6.5 are high on the list. The main "issue", if you can even call it that, is the card runs more slowly than its published benchmarks due to PCIe 1 slots in the Mac Pro 1,2 and 2,1.
I also get a loading bar for about 20 seconds. This gets to about 20% then disappears.
That progress bar is indicative of unresolved Hard Drive problems. You need to boot to an alternate source of software (Hold Command-R at startup for Recovery_HD if you are running later than 10.6.8) and check the SMART Status and then select Macintosh_HD or whatever you renamed it and ( Repair Disk ). Repeat until all problems are resolved or it gets stuck. If you need help, copy the EXACT error message back here.

What video cards are compatible with my early 2006 Mac Pro?

The video card currently in my early 2006 Mac Pro (2.6 GHz, dual-core) isn't fast enough for many of the recent games and I'd like to upgrade. I play games both on OSX Snow Leopard and Windows XP via Boot Camp. Is there a list of currently compatible cards available somewhere?
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Neil Marsh
Artistic Director * The Post-Meridian Radio Players *
<Email and Link Edited by Host>

No, not really.... but a couple of tips...
1) when you're pulling the old card out, remember there is a black plastic retainer clip at the inner (front of computer) end. I didn't notice that, and now it's broken.
2) Get the 5770 from Apple, not a big box store.... those don't come with the power cable you need and may not work.
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There are demos on youtube, but they all seem to miss out the fiddly bits.....!

I salvaged a late 2006 Mac Pro.It works great but I need to change the administrater password so I can make changes

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If the machine shipped with OS X 10.6, you need the gray installation discs that came with it. If you don't have the discs, order replacements from Apple. A retail disc, or the gray discs from another model, will not work.
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If the machine shipped with OS X 10.7 or later, it should boot into Internet Recovery mode when you hold down the key combination option-command-R at the startup chime.
Once booted from the disc or in Internet Recovery, launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the internal drive — not any of the volume icons nested beneath it. In the Partition tab, select the default options: a GUID partition table with one data volume in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. This operation will permanently remove all existing data on the drive, which is what you should do.
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X1900XT not working in late 2006 Mac Pro.

Hi, I'm new here, just created my Apple ID to post this problem on the forum for some info and advice
I have a late 2006 Mac Pro which I ordered from Apple.com with the ATI X1900XT. I had the standard 20", LCD Apple Cinema Display which doesn't work anymore.
Someone lent me a Phillips 190S LCD monitor to work meanwhile with my Mac Pro. So when I used that monitor I also upgraded from Tiger to Snow Leopard (can't remember how, if first Leopard and then Snow). It worked so so... some weird pixels flashing and sometimes the monitor image would freeze up, I'd shut down the Mac from the Power Button and start it again and keep on working like that. Until one day, image froze up, did the routine start-up but no image would show up on the monitor.
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I have the same mac pro 1.1 as you do. I bought it with the ATI X1900XT video card and it lasted only like 2 years , then the screen became garbled, pixel flashing,,,
I replaced it with ATIRadeon HD 3870, it has been working fine since then but that card is a little noisier than the X1900.
I think you can also use some cards like this one from macsales. You should just check that page and see what you find.
Apple MC742ZM/A ATI Radeon HD 5770 Graphics Upgrade... in stock at OWC

Are there internal hard drives available fo a 2006 Mac Pro?

Looks like my original equipment 500 GB internal HD for my 2006 Mac Pro is dying. Are there any repacement HDs out there?

Over-due for upgrade it sounds like. Anything you want. SATA is SATA.
SSD $100
10K WD VelociRaptor $100 250GB (180MB/sec) or 1TB $200
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007V5A1BK/
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http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-120GB-internal-MZ-7TD120BW/dp/B009NHAF06/
ATI Radeon 5770
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http://www.amazon.com/Apple-ATI-Radeon-5770-MC742ZM/dp/B003Z6QH6M
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2006 Mac Pro corrupting the disk - possible logic board problem?

Hi there.
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One thing I did notice that I thought was odd was on the grey boot screen a small empty progress bar appears for a second or two and then vanishes. Sure this is the same progress bar that appears on an efi update etc.... not sure it's connected

Blue Snowflake Mic won't recognize on 2006 Mac Pro.

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I can tell you my wife and I have had this happen on both of our BLUE snowflake mics. After some phone calls to BLUE, they replaced them both under warranty.
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Hi cmotta12,
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2006 Mac Pro Cold Boot Failure

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