A1186 Mac Pro (early 2008) power issue

[MCM0313]

My Mac Pro has recently begun shutting off at random times. Most often it is right after I turn it on. Sometimes it won't turn on at all.

I thought my HDD was the problem, so I moved it to an external enclosure and popped in another HDD. Nope - exact same problem. It's actually gotten so severe that I have only been able to log in to my account once today, and even then it shut down almost immediately after I did that. There is a clicking sound and it heaves a sigh as if it were dying...and then that's it.

I've read that the problem is somewhere in the power chain. I know it isn't the outlet or the surge protector as other things plugged into them work fine. That leaves either the cord or the internal power supply.

If it's the cord (and I hope it is but it probably isn't), that's an easy enough fix. But if it's internal...it looks like an involved process to repair it, and I've read that you have to have the system disk afterward to sync the fans or something? I have no such thing; I bought the computer on eBay last fall.

Anyway, has anyone else dealt with similar issues? If so, what helped/what would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

 

[pm-r]

There is a clicking sound and it heaves a sigh as if it were dying...and then that's it.

You didn't mention the age of the drive you "popped in", but the sound of clicking is usually associated with a dying HDD.

I'm not familiar with the Mac Pros, but I don't see why they would act any differently.

I'd suggest trying a known good drive with a compatible OS X installed or even a bootable/install OS X DVD at least to check.




- Patrick
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[chscag]

Anyway, has anyone else dealt with similar issues? If so, what helped/what would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

Yes, we have seen this problem with other Mac Pro machines of that vintage. You very likely need a new Power Supply. You can find them on eBay and should be reasonably priced.

 

[MCM0313]

Yes, we have seen this problem with other Mac Pro machines of that vintage. You very likely need a new Power Supply. You can find them on eBay and should be reasonably priced.

Thank you. Is it true that I'll need to restore fan function with the original system disk after making the change?

 

[pm-r]

Thank you. Is it true that I'll need to restore fan function with the original system disk after making the change?


I've never heard of such an action and can't see why it would even be necessary if just replacing a power supply.
But maybe the Mac Pro gurus will confirm that but I can't see why they would be any different.




- Patrick
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[MCM0313]

Thank you. Is it true that I'll need to restore fan function with the original system disk after making the change?


I've never heard of such an action and can't see why it would even be necessary if just replacing a power supply.
But maybe the Mac Pro gurus will confirm that but I can't see why they would be any different.




- Patrick
======

To be fair, the tutorial I found didn't mention that. There was just a post online that did.

 

[harryb2448]

If you are asking about heat sensor kits and fans running like a jumbo, applies only to +2009 iMacs with hard drive repolaced.