Fans go crazy when using a dual tray from a 2010 mac pro on a 2012 mac pro

[gongiskhan]

Hi all,

This is my first post so please excuse if I don't follow all the rules. I have read them and did a few searches in the forum to check if my question was answered before, but it was not to the same specificity.

I'm trying to use a 2010 mac pro's dual tray on a 2012 mac pro. It works, but the fans go crazy (go to maximum speed, making the noise unbearable for an office).

These are steps I took until now:

1. I've checked the CPU temperature and all other hardware items that have a sensor, but they're all normal (I checked what normal would be, but please don't ask me to say what the values were as I can't remember, I'm sure it's not high temperature though).
2. Use tools to upgrade from a 4,1 SMC to a 5,1 SMC (I purchased the 2010 mac as a 5,1 but decided to give it a go, it doesn't run, so I guess it's really a 5,1).
3. Switching the power supply (use the 2010 one on the 2012) but that was just dumb, as the power supply powers the motherboard...
4. Taking a few ram cards out and switching to a lower spec graphics card.
5. Perform the steps for an SMC reset in a few different ways

I think the problem might really be down to the SMC firmware but I'm not experienced enough to know what to do in this case. So I turn to you oh Mighty Jedis of the Macintosh to help me...

PS: If you're going to make a joke about the "fans going crazy" at least find something better than just asking if they're Justin Bieber's fans.


EDIT: Got an answer from the people who sold the 2010 model saying it's in fact an upgraded 2009, so 4,1. Nothing I can do to sort this issue out it seems, and even if I did sort out the fans issue probably would find other issues so I'm leaving it alone and live with it. Thanks for the help.

 

[IWT]

A warm welcome to Mac-Forums, gongiskhan.

I like your sense of humour, in your chosen name & your comments

I'm no expert on the Mac Pro, but quoting Apple Support "Reset SMC - if your computer's fans run at high speed, even though it isn't under heavy usage and is properly ventilated."

I think the problem is that the version of SMC you have may not be compatible with your setup, as you describe it. In other words the 2012 Mac Pro doesn't like the 2010 dual tray and its SMC can't interact with the 2010 tray.

It may be possible to download & use one of the several apps which will manually control the fan speed.

Ian

 

[gongiskhan]

A warm welcome to Mac-Forums, gongiskhan.

I like your sense of humour, in your chosen name & your comments

I'm no expert on the Mac Pro, but quoting Apple Support "Reset SMC - if your computer's fans run at high speed, even though it isn't under heavy usage and is properly ventilated."

I think the problem is that the version of SMC you have may not be compatible with your setup, as you describe it. In other words the 2012 Mac Pro doesn't like the 2010 dual tray and its SMC can't interact with the 2010 tray.

It may be possible to download & use one of the several apps which will manually control the fan speed.

Ian

Many Thanks for the reply Ian and your comments.
Unfortunately I did try one of those apps but it didn't seem to work (switching to lower speeds does nothing)...
I'll try a couple more when I'm back in the office tomorrow and post the results here.

 

[jasongoldworthy]

my 2 pence if its worth that


if its a true 5,1 Mac Pro then the tray should be fine in the 2012 Mac Pro

check the firmware versions and make sure its shown in system profiler

 

[gongiskhan]

Thanks for the help guys. Just added this edit to the post:

EDIT: Got an answer from the people who sold the 2010 model saying it's in fact an upgraded 2009, so 4,1. Nothing I can do to sort this issue out it seems, and even if I did sort out the fans issue probably would find other issues so I'm leaving it alone and live with it. Thanks for the help.

 

[IWT]

And thank you for the feedback.

Ian

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks very much for the update gongiskan...and sorry to hear that originally your Mac Pro was a 4,1 model...instead of a 5,1 as you expected.

Quite a bit of this Mac Pro upgrading has been going on for some time. If eBay is checked out...it can be seen that many many Mac Pro's being sold are actually upgraded models...and I'm sure in some of these eBay auctions...the seller is not always 100% clear that it's an upgraded Mac Pro.

I've been thinking about purchasing a top of the line 2012 Mac Pro...and believe me...I will 100% make sure it's a 2012 model (via the serial number on the case).

Thanks again for the update,

- Nick