⟐ Commented January 03, 2026 at 5:29 MST

Is it possible to repair the PSU I already have? Any ideas?

Thanks everybody for your replies. I do not understand much of PSU, and was wondering if it was a matter of simply replacing specific parts, like the ones that are usually faulty, I thought that kind of knowledge would be good to have documented out there.

But given the fact that it might be extremely dangerous, or excessively complicated, I now understand the reason the information is unavailable, and conform to the fact that I will have to replace it via Apple.

On a tangent matter,the problem seems to me, that this sort of information is really not available even to certain technicians. I took the computer to an Apple Authorized Center and they told to replace the logic board. I still have the same problem and it really seems to be the PSU, but I can't pinpoint the diagnostic.

⟐ Commented April 13, 2025 at 8:35 MST

video card from power Mac g5?

⟐ Commented February 07, 2025 at 16:39 MST

  1 - BT.                 1 - Top

  2 - Top.               2 -

  3 - Bottom         3 - Bottom

BT -                     BT - BT

The numbers are the antenna wires. Top = the connector, on the card, closest to the drive bays. Bottom = The other connector on the card. BT = The connector on the Bluetooth card.

Like this?

In addition to this, I have the original Bluetooth card.

Hope this is better. Note that the card is actually mounted “up-side-down” so I have numbered the connections. 1=top, 2=bottom.

⟐ Commented October 12, 2024 at 0:41 MST

The reset button on the logic board does nothing. The fans run pretty quietly but I can’t tell if they’re at “max” or not. [edit: also changed the RTC battery on the logic board… no change in behavior]

Thanks in advance, would love to keep this ol’ gal running!

⟐ Commented September 23, 2024 at 9:47 MST

I have a 2008 Mac Pro 3,1 with Nvidia Geforce 8400 GS 512 MB running on Mac-OS v10,11 el-capitan. It's a pc graphics card with no boot screen. Previous owners had already changed its native Radeon 2600 XT card because of an upgrade (in their own mind!!)

Now hence i want the boot screen back, i have bought a Radeon 2600 XT (it's a pc version too, and is 512 MB, not the Apple's native 256 MB). I know it needs to be flashed to have the boot screen... But there's another problem, when i change the graphics card to 2600XT, i lose the screen!

I hear the chime sound, and the computer status is normal, but there's no screen.

I also tested with other graphics cards too. I have a Radeon 5870 (1 GB, pc version, not mac native) and a Radeon 5970 (2 GB, black edition by XFX).

With 5870 which is unflashed, the screen gets back and is OK, but the same problem happens with 5970, i mean the screen remains black. I will also need to use my 5970 on future too. They both need to be flashed.

I have red several topics here, and found that some people have the same problem, but their machine was Mac Pro 5,1 not like mine, the 3,1

Well their solutions didn't work for me too. I tried the NVRAM reset, SMC reset; but it didn't help.

Long story short, i think the problem is not with the cards being unflashed .... The problem is I don't have screen with some of my graphics cards (Radeon 2600 XT and Radeon 5970) ... But some others work properly (Radeon 5870 and Nvidia 8400)

So, can you please help me solve this problem? I'm really confused! Please help me.

Thank you 🙏🏼❤️

⟐ Answer accepted June 20, 2024 at 2:35 MST

⟐ Commented June 16, 2024 at 12:34 MST

First suspect is the GPU, It’s an ATI 5770 flashed for mac card (worked like a charm for years). I also happen to have the old ATI 2600xt card that was working.

Upon trying the old card, system boots and I hear the chime sound but then nothing, no video.

Upon further testing, I booted the machine with no GPU connected, to my surprise It booted successfully (no video of course). How do I know this? because I connected the MacPro to my network and im able to see and also to connect to it via TeamViewer, transfer files and everything.

So my question is, Is this for sure GPU problem? Can both GPUs be bad even when the old one was working when I did the upgrade? Or is it possible the logic board has some issue? (I tested the cards on both x16 slots, same results). Even after booting successfully without video, could the logic board have some issue with the GPU slots or something?

Sadly I don’t have another MacPro to test the video card, only windows machines that don’t accept these cards.

Thanks to anyone who can shed some light

⟐ Commented May 24, 2024 at 6:12 MST

⟐ Answered March 29, 2024 at 11:03 MST

I recently found one of these bad boys in my dads garage and decided to restore it. After copious amounts of IPA being applied to surfaces to clean them and tons of dust blowing, I managed to restore it. It's running quite slow and I want to do some stuff with it, mainly try to turn it into a home server or NAS of sorts for my family since I have a bunch of seagate barracuda HDDs lying around at about 2tb/drive.

I plan to upgrade the following in the future:

CPU: I'd prefer to try to stay within the range of compatibility, as getting a new logic board is not the most feasible for me. I don't know what model I want to go with at the time of writing as Im not aware of the capabilities and availability in Canada.

GPU: I've upgraded it to an NVIDIA quadro GPU with 2GB Vram. It's an old model ripped from a dell z10 workstation pc, but it's still an upgrade nonetheless.

RAM: This options still TBD as it contains some extra ram my dad threw in a while ago. I'll check the capacity when I get back from vacation but it's something between 6-8GB. If I were to upgrade I would either get a new ram riser and plug in some old DDR3 1gb ram sticks I have laying around or upgrade the riser and throw in some DDR4 sticks to make 16GB.

Fans: This one I can do as I have a ton of SP120s and LL20s from corsair laying around, albeit I don't know how to get them out at the moment as they have some plastic/rubber screw-like black inserts in them that I am struggling to get out.

CPU heatsinks/coolers: The fins on the one I have are bent to varying degrees, ranging from slightly off to a full 90 degrees off. I'd preferr to go with something modern and better looking honestly.

PSU: This one is TBD for me as well as im not sure if it's needed or not.

Can you guys help me find the best path to take here? If possible, also state some other stuff I could reuse this mac with or without the upgrades for.

Hi @danj,

After some identification, I have found my system to be the Apple Mac Pro "Quad Core" 2.66 (Original).

The specs are as follows:

RAM: Unknown, ill try to have an answer later on in the week once I get back

CPU: Two Intel Xeon 5150s cooled by the stock coolers

GPU: I currently have an NVIDIA Quadro 600 installed, but the stock is an NVIDIA GT 7300 IIRC

HDD: I have the two stock 340GB drives with two 500GB Seagate barracudas that are 1/4 filled each, albeit the former is making the click of death (apparently this has been happening for as long as my dad can remember).

My upgrade plans are as follows:

RAM: 2x 16 GB Patriot Viper DDr3 kits, alongside some new risers/expansion slots for the RAM since my current ones likely won't support it. I may decide to reuse the four 1 GB DDR3 sticks I have.

CPUs: two intel xeon x5492s cooled by Noctua NHU12DX i4s since they're the closing thing I could find to a decent cooler

GPU: still keeping the Quadro, if worst comes to worst I'll get an Rx 580.

HDD: Either keep the two stock HDDS and get two 2TB WD purples or just get 4 2TB WD purples.

Fans: I have some SP120s and LL120s from corsair laying around, so I'd likely use those.

Do let me know if this is feasible or if you have any additional comments.

⟐ Commented February 26, 2024 at 12:38 MST

⟐ Commented January 07, 2024 at 18:54 MST

⟐ Answer accepted December 30, 2023 at 2:11 MST

1. Motherboard

2. CPU

3. Yosemite or El Capitan?

⟐ Answered November 27, 2023 at 1:23 MST

I actually thought all 2012 models were fine ( ? ) but otherwise is it possible to upgrade the wireless/bluetooth chip to a newer one?

My old 2008 Mac (years ago) came without one and I spent an hour or so fitting it for wireless after buying the kit on eBay so I'm thinking maybe I can swap out the chip in this 2012 Mac for a newer model that's compatible with LE support (and thus Airdrop)

Name: Mac Pro

• Address: 8c-2d-aa-2c-1e-b3
• Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: No
• Handoff Supported: No
• Instant Hot Spot Supported: No
• Manufacturer: Broadcom
• Transport: USB
• Chipset: 2046
• Firmware Version: v208 c518
• Bluetooth Power: On
• Discoverable: Off
• Connectable: No

⟐ Commented June 25, 2023 at 7:36 MST

That code indicates a hard disk temperature sensor failure in hard drive bay 1. This Ambient Board is Apple # 922-8524, mfr # 820-2203-A (which I can also see embossed on the part). I purchased a replacement on eBay, but the seller sent me Apple part # 922-7732, mfr # 820-1974-A, which is for the 2006/2007 Mac Pro. The seller tells me it's the same part, but I don't want to put in an incompatible part. Does anyone know if these Ambient Boards (2006/2007 and 2008) are interchangeable?

⟐ Commented May 22, 2023 at 10:42 MST

⟐ Commented April 29, 2023 at 9:40 MST

I have gone through many steps of fixing this, but all in vain.

When I switch on my machine the CPU & GPU fans power on. No Chime/Bong is heard. Screen remains black.

I have tried all methods of doing SMC reset & PRAM reset. I had noticed that my PRAM battery had died. So I replaced it with a new one. But! Still the same problem.

The Diagnostics lights on the mother board show the trickle power as yellow, PWRG on is Green and GPU is green, EFI remains Off.

I tried connecting the keyboard and resetting PRAM as it worked for somebody but in my case it's not working.

Holding the power button for firmware restoration doesn't work as it does not start blinking. it just remains solid white.

Also useful to know. I wanted to upgrade this system to 2,1 so I tried to upgrade the firmware but that did not work although it did follow all the steps (was trying this using USB and pressing power button as stated in netkas procedure) .

Anyhow I upgraded the OS to El Capitan by just changing the Boot EFI. it worked properly for few days until this happened.)

Basically the system is a stock 1,1 with OS-X El Capitan.

I have read through many forums to try to make this work but still not able to solve it..

Please suggest something so I can get this back to life.

Extremely urgent! Thanks

Link to what happens when I start: No Chime , Black screen.

⟐ Answered April 11, 2023 at 0:27 MST

Is this a worth the investment in 2018? What programs can be run? Is there anything about this machine I should know about before buying it? Should I max out the specs or should I keep the specs average?

specs = Hard drive storage, amount of RAM, GFX card

⟐ Answer edited March 28, 2023 at 18:16 MST

⟐ Answered March 22, 2023 at 15:54 MST

Was hoping to replace/update WIFI card of my Mac Pro Early 2008 (3,1). Screws were to tight and managed to strip both screws holding (original) card in place….

Tried the rubber band method, Gorilla Glue (it won’t stick) all with no luck… need to remove screws. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

JT

⟐ Answered March 18, 2023 at 23:18 MST