Mac Pro won't power optical drive or internal hard drives?!?!?!?!

I'm in a strange predicament. I've acquired a used 2006 Mac Pro that I've gotten to power up just fine. I get the start up chime and the screen goes grey. The problem is that it will stay on that grey screen for 5 minutes or so until a flashing folder appears. It never loads the OS. So I've loaded the OS on an old Firewire external HDD and the computer will boot fine off of that. When using the external, I've noticed that System Profiler is not detecting my internal HDD or optical drive. I do not think they are receiving any power. They both show no signs of activity, functionally or audibly. I've tried reseting the SMC, zapping PRAM- even swapping power supplies. Nothing. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Hi Grant Bennet-Alder. The HDD and optical drive are both installed and all the cables are connected to both the logic board and the devices themselves. The reason I think they aren't receiving power is usually you can hear some activity from them. These seem completely dead but work fine in a different computer.

Similar Messages

  • I have an early 2008 Mac Pro and want to install a 3TB internal hard drive. Is this compatible? The manual indicates 1 TB per bay, but I have already installed two 2 TB hard drives in two other bays, and have had no problems. Any suggestions?

    I have an early 2008 Mac Pro and want to install a 3TB internal hard drive. Is this compatible? The manual indicates 1 TB per bay, but I have already installed two 2 TB hard drives in two other bays, and have had no problems. Any suggestions?

    RE: SATA Bus speed:
    Typical Rotating drives available today, whatever their SATA spec, can source data off the spinning platters no faster than about 125MBytes/sec.
    SATA 3 is rated at 6G bits/sec, which theoretically is about 750 Mega Bytes/sec
    SATA 2 is rated at 3G bits/sec, which is theoretically about 375 Mega Bytes/sec
    SATA 1 is rated at 1.5G bits/sec, which is theoretically about 187.5 Meg Bytes/sec
    None of the SATA Busses is a bottleneck for consumer Rotating drives you can buy today. Trying to speed up the SATA Bus will not provide any real-world performance increases for Rotating Drives.
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/22690384

  • Mac Pro no longer recognizes Optical drives

    I was working on my mac Pro and it suddenly restarted itself. After that happened neither Superdrive would be recocnized by the OS. Oddly it took a very long time to boot, approximately 2 minutes. I have a Apple OEM DVR-111PB and a Pioneer DVR-112D. I disconnected the drives and it booted normally fairly quick. So I tested the two on another mac and the DVR-111PB will not recognize anything put in it. The other one works fine.
    So I just installed the DVR-112 only, in the Mac Pro and it took a while to boot up and it still would not recocgnize it.
    I have zapped the pram, reset the SMC and attempted to reinstall the upgrade to 10.4.11 to no avail.
    Any thoughts on why the OS is not communicating with the drives? I do get the -70012 "A valid DVD drive could not be found." error message when I tried to run the Apple DVD player.
    I have an external firewire DVD and I'm thinking I may have to reinstall the OS from it.
    Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

    After getting into this a little further it is looking like it may be a power supply issue. I ran the extended diagnostic utility on an external firewire drive and everything passed. I measured voltage at the power connector for the optical drives and on the 12V side it is only getting 9.7VDC and the 5V side it is at 4.9VDC. As I mentioned in the OP the drives spin up and such attached to another computer. I'm wondering if the powersupply is going bad and the 9.7V isn't enough to run the drive. I hooked the DVD drives up to an external power supply while the data cable was connected to the mac and viola, the drive is recognized, actually both DVDs are recognized when hooked up in this manner. So essentially the DVD drives are OK as well as the ATA bus.
    Now to the power issue. The power supply on the 12V side of the connector seem to vary all over the place, anywhere from 6 to 11.55 volts on the 12V side of the connector. The 5V side is a constant 4.9VDC.
    I'll see what I can find for power supply diagnostics. I'm wondering if the 12V comes straight from the power supply or does it go through some voltage regulator on the main board to reduce the voltage to 12VDC. There are 4 connectors on the power supply marked PS1 through PS4. I need to find out what is what. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

  • Mac Pro won't power up

    I'm running a Mac Pro, 2.66 with 2g memory. The only "custom" modification I've made is to add a second hard drive and partition it for Windows using Boot Camp. I did this shortly after I got the machine (a couple months ago) and it has worked fine since.
    We had a power outage locally, and my Mac would have been in sleep mode at the time (I was at work). I have the Mac plugged into a UPS (though I'm not 100% certain of the rating, I bought a fairly large one). The power outage was due to a storm, though the UPS has surge protection also.
    When I came home, the Mac was in sleep mode, with the front power LED indicator ON. I could not wake it, and the only way to power it off was to hold the power button.
    However, once shut down, the computer will no longer power up. It often clicks when I push the power button, and there's a faint sound / electrical hum like it's going to turn on, but no fan / hard drive noise.
    I have attempted to reset the SMC per the directions on the support site. When the mac is unplugged, nothing happens when I hit the SMC_RST button. When it's plugged in, two led indicators flash red.
    I've attempted to start it up plugged into the UPS as well as bypassing the UPS and plugging directly into the wall.
    I think repair / shot power supply might be my final answer here, but I want to check to see if anyone has any advice before I drive a couple hours to my closest apple store.
    Thanks for any assistance, even if it's just, "hey, you're SOL."

    I have tried both methods of resetting the SMC (all cables out, plug in, power up, and the second method of opening the thing up and hitting the SMC_RST button, which I've done both plugged in and not) and that doesn't appear to be working.
    When I hit the power button, it's obviously getting some juice (lights flicker), there's a click and a faint electric whine, but neither the fans nor the drives start up.
    The only other oddity is that two of the LEDs flash red when I hit the SMC_RST button, but they're not on or flashing at any other time.
    What confuses me about the issue is that the front power LED was on when I first got home, so it wouldn't seem like it could be a total absence of power (and indeed the flickering of LEDs upon pressing SMC_RST seems to indicate that there's electricity somewhere, at least). However, I can't get fans or drives or even the front LED to light.
    I've moved the computer off the UPS and to a different circuit, repeated all SMC_RST steps there, and no luck.
    Is there anything that prevents even the fans and drives from starting? (Like, if I don't plug in the keyboard or display, should it at least power up and beep? I've tried with these things plugged in and not plugged in and it doesn't seem to make a difference...)
    Thanks

  • Old Mac Pro won't power up

    We have an old Mac Pro-no clue what year and it will not power up.  The power light comes on when you press it, but then nothing.  We did change out the battery once already and the computer worked for over a week, but now its back to not working.  I can't afford to continue replacing the battery at $20 a pop, is there anything else we can do?

    US$25 will buy you 100 of those batteries:
    Maxell CR2032 3V Micro Lithium Button Coin Cell Battery 1 Box of 100 Batteries

  • Mac Pro won't power up. Power indicator light blinks rapidly

    2008 Mac pro, Mountain Lion

    Blame it on FBDIMMs that are dual channel DDR2.
    Adjacent slots make a pair, not one from Riser A and one from Riser B.
    There are the Apple tech notes, they use to publish and allow access to the Mac Pro Developer Note but those got taken down which were better and technical - can't have users actually knowing those things! :-)
    2008 - best memory performance with all 8 DIMM slots populated.
    How To Install and Remove Memory Mac Pro
    https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4433
    2008 Mac Pro Memory Arrangement
    http://eshop.macsales.com/Customized_Pages/Framework.cfm?page=install_videos/mac pro/macpro_quicksheet.html
    Ideal RAM config is 8 DIMMs - offers 17% improvement memory bandwidth  performance
    667MHz FBDIMMs are cheap, excellent and 4% 'hit' you would never know about.
    http://www.barefeats.com/harper5.html
    For best performance on Mac Pro, install memory in risers symmetrically
    The Mac Pro comes with two memory riser cards, each with four DIMM slots. With a total of eight slots, you can add up to 16 GB of memory.
    Note: DIMMs must be installed in pairs of equal size from the same vendor. For instance, you must not have one or three DIMMs on either riser at any time. Additionally, two DIMMs from different vendors should not be combined and used as a pair.
    Other configurations of DIMM pairs are still compatible with Final Cut Studio, but may not achieve the same performance levels as when DIMM pairs are installed on both risers evenly.
    Riser A contains:
    Riser B contains:
    2 x 512MB
    2 x 512MB
    2 x 1GB
    2 x 1GB
    2 x 2GB
    2 x 2GB
    4 x 512MB
    4 x 512MB
    4 x 1GB
    4 x 1GB
    4 x 2GB
    4 x 2GB
    https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1957

  • My mac pro won't boot. It clicks and then clicks off

    My Mac Pro won't start. I press the "on" button, it clicks and about 2-3 seconds later it clicks again. Tried every trick I knew, but nothing will work.
    Help!

    The traditional way to debug this is to remove EVERY item that could be pulling too much power, and try to get the CHIME. Then add an item at a time to get it working fully, or discover what is causing the problem.
    Remove AC power and Remove:
    All external devices
    All PCIe cards including the graphics card.
    All Hard drives
    All Optical drives
    All RAM DIMMs (note where they go)
    With NO RAM DIMMs, you should get a Mac Pro that powers up, runs the fans, and flashes the power light (" Help I have not enough working RAM to continue").
    Power off, then restore some RAM, and next Startup you should get the CHIME. The chime is generated in Software when the Power-On Self Test has completed without Error. If a source of software can be found, Booting is likely.
    Then build up one item at a time.

  • How do I get Windows 8 Pro to recognize my optical drive?

    How do I get Windows 8 Pro to recognize my optical drive? I put in an installation disk and the OS does not recognize it is there?

    I looked for drivers for my superdrive but they don't appear to be available from the manufacturer (Sony). Fortunately I was able to load the contents of the installation disk onto the mac side of my computer and transfer it onto the windows side where I could install it. So I am fine for now but it would be nice to have a functioning optical drive on my windows side if possible.
    The superdrive is internal. I downloaded the bootcamp support files from bootcamp assistant right before installing windows so I assume if a driver exists it would have been installed.
    Do you know where I could get a Windows 8 driver for an internal OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5690H?
    Thank you for your help.

  • Why wont my Mac pro start if a usb drive is connected?

    ....even if an empty little mac os journelled 250mb flash drive is inserted on startup, osx kinda waits until i pull it out to move off the white screen and give me the desktop...
    its not a big problem because as soon as i disconnect any usb device it gets going but i was just wondering if anyone knew why it does it and if it could possibly highlight any bigger issues?
    thanks,
    steve

    I am having the same problem. I got a 1.5TB Seagate FreeAgent USB hard drive. It was brand new but formatted Fat Dos. I used disk utility to partition the drive (only way it would format it) to the choice for GUID or something that said it would work with intel mac. I got the drive working fine showing up in finder etc. I rebooted the computer and it hung on a gray screen and eventually a folder with a question mark came up flashing. If I hit the power button on the Mac pro and disconnect the usb drive it boots fine. If I restart the computer without the drive attached it boots fine. If the drive is connected it will not reboot. Does the Mac think that the USB drive is the boot drive? How would this happen and how would I correct it? I need to use this drive as a backup drive for Time Machine as my time capsule is full. Please help

  • Mac Book won't recognize new drive

    I have a Mac Pro 2.66 with 5 gig of RAM. I just purchased a 500 gig SATA 3 Seagate Barracuda from Newegg. When I install it my Mac Pro won't start at all. I get the "no" sign. I followed the directions and I checked the specifications and I thought this would work. I have plugged it in to ports 2. 3. and 4 with the same results. What am I doing wrong.
    thanks
    joedokes

    So your regular boot drive is in bay 1, and you have tried the new one in 2 3 and 4?
    Does it still boot up OK if you take the new drive out altogether or has something gone sick on your boot drive?
    One of the standard things for hardware changes is resetting the PRAM, (restart holding apple, alt, P and R keys, hold keys down till after the third chime) but I have never had to do that when putting a new hard drive in. I would try this but wonder if the new drive is faulty.

  • Start Up hangs - My Mac Pro won't turn on

    After upgrading, my Mac Pro won't start up.  Does any one else have this problem...   I can't get my Mac to start up...  HELP!

    More information on what the 'upgrade' was and which MacPro would be helpful.  With that said -
    If it worked before the upgrade and does not work now, the first thing I would do is think about what changes were made.  If hardware, is/are the component(s) installed the proper ones, designed for Macs and for you Mac?  If satisfied with the components being the right ones, I would look at the installation process.  Is everything seated properly and in the correct location?  Are any power cables connected?  Were ESD protocols followed?  Next I would run the Hardware Test included on the Installation Disk.  Reporting those results here may help.  (Note: this may not find a video card problem). 

  • My mac pro won't shut down or restart

    my mac pro won't shut down or restart . the only way i can do it is buy holding down the power button

    Reset SMC.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    Choose the method for:
    "Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".

  • MacBook pro won't power up! Acting asleep, black screen, fans don't fire up. Light nr catch pulsing, have taken batt out and reset but still blank screen, help!!

    MacBook pro won't power up! Acting asleep, black screen, fans don't fire up. Light nr catch pulsing, have taken batt out and reset but still blank screen, help!!

    You may want to try this.
    Solution A
    Start up your MBP while pressing Option (alt)|, Command, P, R until your hear 3 chimes rather than 2 as indicated by apple. This worked for me the first time.
    Solution B
    Start your MBP while pressing Option (alt), Command, S
    Hold until you see the computer automatic routine. When it finally stops type the following followed by "return":
    fsck -fy
    It will probably indicate some problem related to "pcscd.pub" (should be 16 instead of 17). I haven't figured out what this means but somewhere in the Internet i read it is related to scan cards...
    More importantly this routine will fix any problems with your HDD similarily to disk repair. When it ends, it will tell you if it has fixed/modified anything. If it has, run the routine again by typing again "fsck -fy"
    Lastly, reboot by typing "reboot" (followed by "return")
    Solution C
    Start up your MBP while pressing option (alt), command, S
    hold keys until you see computer commands scrolling
    when the routine stops type the following, each line followed by the "return" key:
    mount -uw /
    chmod 775 /
    chmod 1775 /
    reboot
    After which your computer should reboot on it's own.
    Each of the above has worked for me at one time or another. Once your computer has rebooted from the DVD you can reinstall OS X. If your problems started after installing 10.5.6, then I don't suggest updating until 10.5.5.
    I'm very very disappointed with my 2007 MBP, it started to give me problems after 1 year. had to change the HDD and lately when I isntalled 10.5.6 it suddenly refused to start up., My previous Mac laptop (2003 866Mhz) worked for 4 years without a hitch. Ironically I've had to use it to access the internet and find solutions for my current MBP.
    best of luck

  • Mac mini won't power up, any suggestions

    My Mac mini won't power up for more than a couple of seconds, I've tried disconnecting the power supply for 24 hours and it still won't power up. Any suggestions?

    I just fixed mine today after 3 previous failed attempts to fix. While this probably will not be your solution, it is worth a shot.  I too had a board that would not power, NOTHING.  With a volt meter I could confirm that the Power Supply was good, and was also delivering voltage to the Mother Board at the connector.
    The root cause in my situation:
    The SMC reset button on the Mother Board was stuck in the depressed position (i.e. a short).
    The Fix:
    Pry SMC Reset button off the board with a very tiny screw driver or other such tool.  It cleanly popped off the board.
    The pads will remain, allowing you to still reset SMC in future if needed by just shorting them the old fashion way.

  • I'm having multiple crashes on my new 5s. I can't connect to my Mac Pro!! Power cord broken. How can I fix this without connecting to my MacBook? Very frustrating and disappointing. Please help!!!

    I'm having multiple crashes on my new 5s. I can't connect to my Mac Pro!! Power cord broken. How can I fix this without connecting to my MacBook? Very frustrating and disappointing. Please help!!!

    Hi there Rlong50,
    You may want to try force closing all open apps and resetting the device as an initial troubleshooting step. Take a look at the articles below for more information.
    iOS: Force an app to close
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5137
    iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Turning off and on (restarting) and resetting
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1430
    -Griff W.

Maybe you are looking for

  • How do I disable/prevent tabbed browsing in ver 9 the way I do now in 3.6?

    I am one of those folks who dislikes tabbed browsing and prefers to use multiple windows. This is a snap in version 3.6 which I am still using. The newer versions seem to place a premium on using tabs and some other things I also would rather not hav

  • Fans gone crazy

    Hi there! I have recently a problem with fans in my Power Mac G5. It happened only three times since November but I'm worried. In those cases, when my computer went to sleep, the fans started to work very very loud and I couldn't wake up the system.

  • Not working Manage bean

    Dear experts, Im using JDeveloper 11.1.2.2.0 I created manage bean for cetain command button in my jsf page. This is the code of MB: package common.model.view; import javax.faces.event.ActionEvent; public class abc { public abc() { public void getSel

  • How do I make the Digital Camera Raw update go away?

    I have no idea what 'RAW' is, so this update is useless to me. But it won't go away, not even after I try to hide it. It won't hide! How can I fix this?

  • Machine Cost

    Dear all, I have a scenario in product costing like this: For 1 litre Finished Goods, the cost is Rs. 100=(Machine/Labour Cost Rs.20+Raw Material Cost Rs.80) and for 10 litres FG, the cost is Rs.820=(Machine/Labour Cost Rs.20+Raw Material Cost Rs.800