Mac Pro 3,1 freezing ONLY when ethernet cable connected to new modem.

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Hi everyone, i have something very odd happening with my 3,1 and i'm not sure why.

I just installed a new (to me = used) Power Supply Unit that came in the mail (finally) today. I hooked it up and powered up my 3,1 and everything seemed ok, except i could move my mouse around and see the cursor moving, but that's it.

None of the hard drives on my desktop, folders, pull down menus or anything was clickable. I couldn't even get my dock to come up when i put my cursor down. Nothing seemed to be happening beyond it powering up and both monitors working, showing what it should.

I held down the power button to force it to shut down and rebooted it. I performed disk utility and repaired the permissions, but it started to give me the every ongoing beach ball of death. I had to force power down again.

I reset the PRAM and let it boot back up. Seemed to work, as things were then clickable. I then wanted to shut it down and it wouldn't. I had to force shut it down again. When it was off, i reset the SMC with hopes that it would work.

It's on again now, and i was able to get firefox working, but then nothing seemed clickable again.

I unplugged all my peripherals and it booted up and was functional as per usual. All usb, firewire 400, 800 and e-sata all worked no problem. It only acted up when i plugged in the Ethernet cable.

Every peripheral is plugged back in and it works.

It's my internet ports.

My internet company sent me a new modem, due to constant connection drop outs and slow speed. This new modem now has 5g capabilities as well as a slower 2.4g speed. When the Ethernet cable is connected, then it's acting all wonky and programs freeze and I when my dock comes up I can't click certain apps (FCP, Firefox, etc).

Does this make sense? Could my new modem or internet speed be giving me these issues?

I tried both Ethernet ports, and the same results.

I'm running Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

Any help would be appreciated!!

PS - i'm posting this with my MBP. Also, my Mac Pro 3,1 never had these issues before. It just kept powering down (apparently) due to my PSU being faulty. So far, my new PSU is working and hasn't shut down yet.
 
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You are running Snow Leopard and using a new modem with the latest updated protocols for internet connecting..... I imagine that could be your issue. Some of the apps are going to attempt to check for updates using older protocols over a new modem with new protocols - this would cause the wonky behavior issues.

The 3.1 can run up to El Capitan 10.11.6. I am aware that may cause issues with some apps you are using though.

Assuming your mac does not have the optional wifi card, I suggest trying a wireless adapter although I am not sure that would fix the issue.

Lisa
 
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with new protocols - this would cause the wonky behavior issues.


Especially if that 5G is butting in and trying to get involved. (Slight sarcasm there...) :Smirk:


- Patrick
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