My Mac Pro Desktop won't start

I had been using Mac Pro Desktop since 2006, and it had been problemm free until today. Now, everytime I turn on the computer, and it would run for 20 seconds, and then it just stops. I need to hold the start buttom for a few second to turn it off.
I didn't install any new updates for months and also didn't connection new external device. Could you solve the problem for me?
Thanks
Edward

Thanks.... I brought my Mac Pro to Apple Store Genius Bar earlier today, and the tech told me that the graphic card isn't working. He suggests me either to buy a new card by myself (cheaper option) or to have them to fix it for me. Since my Mac Pro is older (bought in 2006 and I believe it is the first generation), I wondered which graphic card I should buy. I am using DVI connection for my Apple Cinema HD Display monitor
Thanks!
Edward

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Mac pro (2008) won't start - led flashes

it's been a while since i've had a mac issue.
today my mac pro decided not to boot up. the led light by the power button simply flashes and i have no image on my monitor and it doesn't chime at attempted start up. i've scoured the forums and it appears it may be an issue with the RAM and/or video card.
in this thread - https://discussions.apple.com/message/12852794#12852794 - a poster said:
"If the status light still flashes, determine the number of flashes to identify the problem:
• One short flash followed by a longer off period: No valid memory.
• Three short flashes followed by a longer off period: Failed memory."
does anyone know what continuous led flashing might mean?

The conventional way to proceed when you have no chime is to remove all items that may be dragging down the power supply if they were malfunctioning.
Remove:
Hard drives
optical drives
PCI slot cards including the graphics card
all the memory except the minimum -- be sure to remove and re-insert each module that remains, to clear corrosion. If your Mac has separate riser cards, remove and re-insert them as well.
Try to start up again, looking for the chime.
A) If you get the chime, add the graphics card so you can see what is happening. The minimum needed to do something is to start up while holding down the Option key, to run the [all-in-ROM] Startup Manager. It will show a blue screen and an image for each bootable drive (there won't be any yet).
Then add in the optical drive and attempt to boot from an Installer/Utilities DVD appropriate for your Mac, or try the Apple Hardware Test DVD (and hold down the D key as you start up, as it says on the face of the DVD).
B) If you don't get the chime, it's off to the repair shop.

Mac Pro 2008 Won't Start Up without Option Key

Hi.
I cannot start up my Mac Pro 2008 without holding down the Option key.
My Snow Leopard internal hard drive failed, so I replaced my failed internal drive with a brand new one and put the cloned backup onto it. I also have other internal drives and partitions with systems 10.5.6, 10.7.5, and 10.8.4. I briefly added a Mavericks partition, but removed it.
I THINK the problems started after the HD failure, but I'm not sure. I added no peripherals recently, although I did add 4 gigs of RAM which were faulty and I had to replace them. But they test fine with a memory test.
If I Restart, the Mac comes up with a grey screen and won't boot into any system.
If I Shut down, then Start up, I get the gray screen.
In System Preferences, I can see every single possible Startup Drive, but no matter which one I select, the same gray screen happens on boot up.
However, if I hold down the Option key (from startup or restart), then I can choose any startup volume and it starts just fine.
I've run Disk Utility many times for Repair Disk and Repair Disk Permissions on every volume. I've run Disk Warrior. I've zapped the SMC/PRAM, etc. I've tried starting up from external firewire drives and USB drives. No matter which drive I select in StartUp Disk Preferences, it's the same grey screen.
I've tried starting up with ZERO peripherals attached except for USB keyboard and mouse.
I've taken out all startup and login items.
I'm don't know what else to try. I don't mind using the Option key every time, but I'm worried it's a sign of impending problems.
Thanks!

Barry, thanks for your reply. Yes, that's what I mean when I wrote:
"In System Preferences, I can see every single possible Startup Drive, but no matter which one I select, the same gray screen happens on boot up."
I selected a default startup volume in sys preferences, closed it, and restarted. I tried every volume possible in turn.
But thanks for doublechecking

Mac Pro 2008 won't start

I was doing some mixing earlier on today and my Mac Pro and it was working fine.
I then come home and go to turn it on and there are these green lines in groups of 3 across my screen. No idea whats going on. My computer then crashes and won't go any further and says hold down power button to turn off the computer. I have tried to run in safe mode, it won't let it happen. I have resetting PRAM.
Has anyone had this problem before? Is my graphics card dead? Any info would be much appreciated.
It is a 2008 Mac Pro 8core, if that helps at all.

Hi-
Welcome to Discussions!
Will it boot to the original software disc with the Apple hardware Test on it?
If so, run the test.
there are these green lines in groups of 3 across my screen.
Could be the graphics card.

Mac Pro (2009) won't start, no chime, black screen

Hi,
I am having a problem with my 2009 Mac Pro. It fails to boot. There is no chime and the screen wont turn on;stays black. It wont boot off of the system dvd and I even tried installing an HD that has a good version of the the OS on it. I also tried booting from the DVD with no installed drives to rule out one of the internal drives doing someothing funky. Nothing happens at all, the HD or DVD will spin for a moment and then all is dead.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

or this one:
Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on
If no joy, remove anything and everything that may be dragging down the power, in hopes of getting a chime. This includes graphics card, any other PCI cards, all drives, and some say all but a minimal amount of memory. Look for the chime.
If you get the chime, you can build slowly up from there. Add back graphics card and keep going. Add back memory and keep going. Add back DVD reader and boot from Installer/Utilities DVD or run the Apple Hardware Test. And so on.

Mac Pro 2GZ won't start up... Has it died? Help! Please!

Hi,
I was backing up my Mac Pro 2GHZ onto two external HDs at once. About 30 mins in, there was an audible click and my Mac died. I've tried a different power cable and resetting the SMC but literally nothing is happening when I press the power key. The plug fuse hasn't blown. Has the power supply died? How can I check? Is it easy to fit a new one myself?
Please help!
Many thanks in advance,
Max

Hi,
Yup - It's the eBay one from March. It's been absolutely great - been dragging it around London for work and no problems. It's actually the first time in the 15 odd years as a Mac user anything has failed! It was fine after I installed the airport card - that all worked fine too.
The two drives I was using were a WD Mybook and a brand new Samsung G2. They were both backing up data at the same time.
Sorry - what is UPS?
Thanks, Max.

HT201250 When using the installation disc to start a Mac Pro that won't start; will the 'restore from backup' option erase all the data previously stored?

When starting a Macbook Pro that has quit by using the disc that came with it, will the "restore from backup" option erase all previous data stored on the machine?

rsbann wrote:
When starting a Macbook Pro that has quit by using the disc that came with it, will the "restore from backup" option erase all previous data stored on the machine?
As long as the backup on your external drive is fine, it will restore your Mac to exactly how it was on the date of that particular backup, all data included. I have used it before and have retained all data from the date of the backup.
Cheers
Pete

My Macbook pro often won't start up since I installed Lion, and I have to shut it down using power button. My desktop icons don't appear and the dock won't open. I only have the little circle of color spinning endlessly. What's wrong now!

My Macbook pro often won't start up since I installed Lion, and I have to shut it down using power button. My desktop icons don't appear and the dock won't open. I only have the little circle of color spinning endlessly. What's wrong now!

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of this exercise is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
Note: If FileVault is enabled under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, you can’t boot in safe mode.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

HT1291 my start up disc is almost full, can i migrate from disc 1 to disc 4 in the same mac pro desktop machine

I have a mac pro quad 8, my start up disc is 500 gig, my time mach disc is 500 gig, i have these in position 1 and 2 in my comp, i have 2terra byt disc in possy 3 and possy 4 in the mac pro, can i migrate in the same mach. from start up disc to disc 4 and once completed can i then change disc 4 to strt up disc bay one position. as such then have a start up disc wich is two terra bytes? and if so how do i go about that. your help is much apreciated , thanks.

Yes, you can. Use Disk Utility to clone one disk to the other:
Clone Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Check the box labeled Erase destination.
     5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the Disk 4. Source means the current startup drive - Disk 1.
Note that a Time Machine backup drive needs to be a minimum of twice the capacity of the drive it backs up. If you have a 1 TB startup drive, then you need a 2 TB backup drive if you use Time Machine.

My Mac Pro Desktop Shows no Sign of Life, Is it dead?

I have a 2009 Mac Pro Desktop 12 core 96 gig ram. It's a refurbished Mac. Anyways one night while on a website doing my homework the Mac froze up and I couldn't do anything, so I shut it down by holding the power button.
Next morning when I tried to turn it on it won't start up. Here are is what it is doing or not doing.
when I turn it on:
fan starts up and I can hear it but nothing happens
no chimes
any usb devices that are plugged into it won't get any electrical signal, mouse, keyboard, even iphone.
I've tried unplugging the power cord and plugging it back in after 1 minute and booting up again but same problem happens.
I am thinking it could be a failed logic board at this point, can anyone confirm?
I am a newbie at this and is my first time posting, so sorry if I left out any important information, I'd be happy to share any additional information if needed.

fan starts up and I can hear it but nothing happens
Is the power-On light flashing in a deliberate pattern?
If so, your Mac is working, but not enough RAM is working properly to start up.

My desktop won't start

I have a treo 680 unlocked and installed missing synch software on my new macbook pro leopard. I started using the sync function and was getting used to the weird looking (compared to desktop on windows) desktop presentation when I noticed that I wass getting all kinds of duplication and even triplication on my syncs. I ttied to solve that problem with help from missing sync but to no avail. I decide to try and start over.
So I uninstalled missing sync andI went back to my PC and cleaned up my handheld with my PC desktop. I couldn't uninstall desktop for mac so I reinstalled missing sync and did a hot sync. I then noticed I would have the same problem as i got a notice from missing sync that I had more than 5% sync to do. I wondered how that could be because this was supposed to be a new sync with no info on my desk top. I stopped the hot sync function and tried to see what was going on by opening my desktop. I tried it several times. I tried downloading mac desktop again and re-installing it. That didn't work, I kept getting the message that I had the most recent version on my mac and that I couldn't re-install.
So that brings me to my original subject statement.
My desktop won't start so that I can clean everything ou and do a start over sync. Please someone help!!!
Jonesp
Post relates to: Treo 680 (Unlocked GSM)
This question was solved.
View Solution.

OK, good luck,
Alan G
Post relates to: Treo 755p (Sprint)

HT1727 i bought some ringtones on my iPhone, later on i sync my iphone to my old computer now i have a new mac pro desktop and i only have 2 ringtones on my phone but not the rest of them how can i get them back without having to pay for them again?

i bought some ringtones on my iPhone, later on i sync my iphone to my old computer now i have a new mac pro desktop and i only have 2 ringtones on my phone but not the rest of them how can i get them back without having to pay for them again?

If you bought them on your iPad then you will need to connect your iPad to your computer's iTunes and do File > Devices > Transfer Purchases to copy them over to the Tones part of your computer's iTunes library and you can then sync them to your iPhone - ringtones are a one-time only download, so you won't be able to redownload them directly on your phone.

How to access hard drive on mac pro desktop from laptop?

I sold my Mac monitor and wireless keyboard. Now I want to sell my Mac Pro Desktop, but I need to wipe the hard drive first. How can I turn it on and access the drive from my Mac laptop?

It will show up as a drive, you can just access the drives on the desktop provided you turned on disk sharing. You can't access the "desktop".. If you had previously turned on screen sharing then you could use that via network connection.
If you can find the file that has preferences and then edit it then you can change to startup in Target disk mode. I do not know the file or how to edit it.
GSC818 wrote:
If I can start it from the button, then can't I connect to my laptop via firewire or Ethernet and would it show up as an external drive? Then I could change the startup disk in the preferences panel on my laptop. Would that work?

How to restore factoy settings on my mac pro desktop

Does anyone know how to restore factory settings on a mac pro desktop?

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
To restore the Mac Pro to factory settings:
1. Insert the Mac OS X DVD that came with your Mac, and press the C key while your Mac is starting.
2. Go to Utilities menu > Disk Utility, select Macintosh HD on the sidebar, go to Erase tab and erase the disk.
3. Close Disk Utility and reinstall Mac OS X, so it will be installed using default settings
This will erase everything, so make a backup of your data before

How do i connect a Mac Pro desktop to apple tv

How do i connect a Mac Pro desktop to apple tv

Plug the ATV into the TV. Switch to the appropriate input on the TV to view content from the ATV.

My Mac Pro Desktop won't start

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