Apple mac pro early 2009 User Manual

Mac Pro (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Minimum Configuration Testing 31 2010-09-27
a verify step, as you’ve added modules since previous step.
Expected behavior: 
5V STBY LED illuminates, confirming power to the backplane board. If the LED does not 
illumuniate, suspect power supply or backplane board failure. 
6. Momentarily jump the SYS_PWR solder pads to turn ON the Mac Pro. 
Expected behavior: 
• Front and rear processor cage fans (and PCIe fan, if installed) should spin slowly
• One...

Mac Pro (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Minimum Configuration Testing 32 2010-09-27
9. Reconnect internal speaker. Reinstall a processor and heatsink in processor A connector, and 
one known good and compatible Apple memory DIMM in slot 1. 
Notes: 
• The Mac Pro won’t start if you use processor B only with an 8x processor board. Use 
processor A connector only.
• Verify no damaged pins on DIMM or processor connectors or mating connector of 
processor board and backplane board.
• Verify no damaged...

Mac Pro (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Processor Diagnostic LEDs 33 2010-09-27
Notes:
• Verify no damaged PCIe  pins on the video card and mating PCIe connector on backplane 
board.
• Verify no grime or foreign debris is causing contact issues on the video card and mating 
connector on backplane board.
15. Connect AC power cord. Power Mac Pro ON either by PWR_ON solder pads or front panel 
board.
Expected behavior: 
• Listen for sound of hard drive boot.
• Verify good uncorrupted video on...

Mac Pro (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Processor Diagnostic LEDs 34 2010-09-27
8 Core Riser Board
Troubleshooting CPU Diagnostic LEDs
Determine if the error LED follows the processor heatsink; verify the heatsink is physically 
undamaged and properly connected to the processor board, check that adequate thermal 
grease is applied, and verify the fan is operating. For 8 core riser boards only: determine if the 
error LED follows the processor by swapping processor A and processor B locations.  

Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts
 35 2010-09-27
Symptom Charts Overview
Use the following as a general troubleshooting road map for Mac Pro (Early 2009).
CheckResultAction
1.  Plug known good power source and 
power ON computer. 
Does computer power ON?
YesComputer powers on. Go to step 2.
NoGo to No Power Quick Check.
2.  √ Computer powers on
√ Startup sound chime (increase 
sound volume and retest, if unsure)
Connect external DVI or Mini Display 
Port monitor and restart unit. Is video 
observed on...

Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts 36 2010-09-27
6. √ Computer powers on
√ Startup sound chime 
√ Video present
√ Boots from Install DVD and hard 
drive 
√ Reaches the desktop without kernel 
panic/freezes 
√ Computer sleeps/wakes and does 
not shutdown 
Plug USB and FireWire devices. Do 
they appear in System Profiler and 
are they functional?
YesNo USB/FireWire problems. Go to 
step 7.
NoUSB/FW connection fail.  
Go to Input Output Devices 
symptom charts.
7. √ Computer powers on
√ Startup sound chime...

Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts
 37 2010-09-27
9.  √ Computer powers on
√ Startup sound chime 
√ Video present
√ Boots from Install DVD and hard 
drive 
√ Reaches the desktop without kernel 
panic/freezes 
√ Computer sleeps/wakes and does 
not shutdown
√ USB and FireWire functional
√ Ethernet /AP works
√ Bluetooth works.
Check for correct sound input 
output setup in System Preferences 
Sound, then connect audio source 
and headphones and check for 
alternate audio in and out ports 
detected. Record...

Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — No Power/Dead Unit 38 2010-09-27
Startup and Power Issues
Follow the steps in the order indicated below. If an action resolves the issue, retest the 
computer to verify. If the issue persists after retesting, return to step 1.
No Power/Dead Unit
Unlikely cause:  Optical drive(s), hard drive(s), fans, memory, processors, PCIe cards, speaker, 
AirPort card, Bluetooth card
Quick Check
SymptomsQuick Check
No Power/Dead Unit
No power
No front panel power/sleep LED
No...

Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — No Power/Dead Unit 39 2010-09-27
Deep Dive
CheckResultActionCode
1. Verify that connection 
between power supply 
and backplane board is 
undamaged and secure. Verify 
that power button and front 
panel board cable connections 
to the front panel board are 
undamaged and secure. See 
Functional Overview.
YesGo to step 2
NoReseat all connectors and 
retest.
2.  Connect AC power cord to the 
computer. Verify the 5V STBY 
LED illuminates when you 
press the DIAG button...

Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — No Power/Dead Unit 40 2010-09-27
6. Reconnect the processor 
board without processors. 
Press power button and verify 
computer turns ON.  Note that 
you can identify the computer 
has started up by fans and 
LEDs; however, there won’t be 
any other activity since there 
are no processors.
YesAdd processor A and retest. 
If computer power remains 
stable, the power issue is 
resolved.
NoGo to step 1.