2009 Mac Pro just died. Need advice.

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HCMarkus
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Re: 2009 Mac Pro just died. Need advice.

Post by HCMarkus »

Is your startup SSD a Samsung 840 EVO? Stale data issue could mean read errors and resultant intermittent operation.

Regardless, I'm with Mike. Tray another drive.

You can experiment with a spare spinner as startup if you don't mind really looooong boot times. You could even try cloning (CCC or SuperDuper) your problem startup drive to another drive, and you might get lucky. Or not.

Good luck sorting this out... may the issues be quickly resolved.
NealF
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Re: 2009 Mac Pro just died. Need advice.

Post by NealF »

Thanks.

I'll try it out. I'm hoping that just reselecting the startup disk in system prefs might jar something.
If not, it looks like another ssd is in my future.
MacPro5,1 6-Core Intel Xeon, Processor Speed: 3.46 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 6
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 12 MB
Memory: 32 GB. Mojave. DP 9 and Apogee Duet.
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KenNickels
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Re: 2009 Mac Pro just died. Need advice.

Post by KenNickels »

???? Have you tried starting the Mac in Safe mode? If this works, then I would suspect the video card, given the age of the MAC and heat problems due to crusty old heat sink compound on that card.
My Box(s): Two Mac Pros 5,1/3Ghz, 12 core, 96GB Ram, OS 10.14.6, One Windows 10 computer, Vienna Ensemble Pro, MOTU Audio Express, DP 10.01, Falcon 3, Eastwest, NOVO Strings, 8Dio Brass, Spitfire,, Symphobia
NealF
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Re: 2009 Mac Pro just died. Need advice.

Post by NealF »

Just started in safe mode.
Started fine, although it made my 2nd monitor the main one.

Hadn't thought the video card could be a problem. I replaced the original card a few years ago with an AMD Radeon HD 7950.

You think that could cause the computer to not recognize the startup drive sometimes?
MacPro5,1 6-Core Intel Xeon, Processor Speed: 3.46 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 6
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 12 MB
Memory: 32 GB. Mojave. DP 9 and Apogee Duet.
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KenNickels
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Re: 2009 Mac Pro just died. Need advice.

Post by KenNickels »

NealF wrote:Just started in safe mode.
Started fine, although it made my 2nd monitor the main one.

Hadn't thought the video card could be a problem. I replaced the original card a few years ago with an AMD Radeon HD 7950.

You think that could cause the computer to not recognize the startup drive sometimes?
If it recognized the boot disk in safe mode but not 'regular' mode then yes. You may be able to use Mac support 800-275-2273 if they haven't disqualified your 2009 computer. I have found their recent support to be almost stellar! It's quite good. BRW, it's common for the OS to switch monitors when you're troubleshooting. You can switch it back in system prefs. Good luck!
My Box(s): Two Mac Pros 5,1/3Ghz, 12 core, 96GB Ram, OS 10.14.6, One Windows 10 computer, Vienna Ensemble Pro, MOTU Audio Express, DP 10.01, Falcon 3, Eastwest, NOVO Strings, 8Dio Brass, Spitfire,, Symphobia
NealF
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Re: 2009 Mac Pro just died. Need advice.

Post by NealF »

Great. Thanks.
MacPro5,1 6-Core Intel Xeon, Processor Speed: 3.46 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 6
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 12 MB
Memory: 32 GB. Mojave. DP 9 and Apogee Duet.
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