Apple mac pro early 2009 User Manual

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Hard Drive Read/Write Issue 71 2010-09-27
Mass Storage
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.
Hard Drive Read/Write Issue
Unlikely cause: speaker, fans, processor board, AirPort card, Bluetooth card, power supply
Quick Check
SymptomQuick Check
Hard Drive Read/Write Issue 
Bad Sector/Defective 
Drive Formatting Issue
• Cannot save documents
• Read/Write error message
• Hang when accessing or 
saving data
• Intermittent, unexpected 
Beachball
1. Remove all peripherals from the computer 
including third-party PCIe cards.
2.  Reseat any affected drives into other bays.
3. Reseat memory, or test with known good 
compatible memory.
4.  Boot from Install DVD. Verify S.M.A.R.T. status of 
the affected hard drive using Disk Utility.
5. Repair the affected hard drive using Disk Utility.
6.  Erase disk and reinstall Mac OS using Installer. 
Note: Formatting erases all data. Ensure 
customer data is backed up prior to beginning 
this step.
Deep Dive
CheckResultActionCode
1. Disconnect and reseat the 
affected hard drive. Start up 
from Restore DVD and launch 
Disk Utility. Is the affected hard 
drive available for Disk Utility 
to repair?
Yes Go to step 2.
NoGo to step 3.  
						

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Hard Drive Read/Write Issue 72 2010-09-27
2. Verify that Disk Utility is able to 
mount, and the affected hard 
drive is successfully repaired.
YesRestart the computer. Go to 
step 6.
NoIf the computer has not 
been verified with a known 
good hard drive, go to step 3; 
otherwise take affected hard 
drive to step 6.
3. Install a known good 
compatible Mac OS X bootable 
hard drive. Verify the computer 
boots to desktop.
YesRe-install the affected hard 
drive. Go to step 2.
NoIssue not hard-drive related. 
Continue to use the known 
good bootable hard drive 
to determine computer root 
cause. Go to step 4.
4.  Install a known good 
compatible Mac OS X bootable 
hard drive into a different hard 
drive bay. Verify the computer 
boots to desktop.
YesRemove the known good 
hard drive. Re-install the 
original affected hard drive 
into the same bay. Go to step 
2.
H03
NoReplace backplane board. Go 
to step 5.
M19
5. Verify the computer boots 
to desktop and is able to 
successfully read/write data.
YesIssue resolved. 
NoAffected hard drive repairs 
also necessary. Go to step 6.
6.  Format affected hard drive 
using GUID scheme, and clean 
install compatible Mac OS X 
on the drive. Verify the install 
completes without error and is 
able to start up the computer  
successfully. Note: Formatting 
erases all data. Ensure 
customer data is backed up 
prior to beginning this step.
YesIssue resolved.
NoAffected hard drive appears 
to be defective. Replace hard 
drive.
H03  
						

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Hard Drive Not Recognized/Not Mounting 73 2010-09-27
Hard Drive Not Recognized/Not Mounting
Unlikely cause: speaker, fans, backplane board, processor board, processors, power supply, 
enclosure
Quick Check
SymptomQuick Check
Hard Drive Not Recognized/Not 
Mounting 
Drive No Boot
• Flashing question mark
• Boots to grey screen
• Boots to blue screen
1. Reseat all DIMMs. Refer to Memory Diagnostic 
LEDs. 
2.  Remove all peripherals from the computer 
including third-party PCIe cards. Install a known 
good video card.
3. Start up computer holding the Option key. If the 
drive is available, attempt to boot it.
4.  Reseat any affected drives into other bays.
5. Reset RTC.
6.  Boot from Install DVD. Verify S.M.A.R.T. status of 
the affected hard drive using Disk Utility.
7. Repair the affected hard drive using Disk Utility.
8.  Erase disk and reinstall Mac OS using Installer. 
Note: Formatting erases all data. Ensure 
customer data is backed up prior to beginning 
this step.
Deep Dive
CheckResultActionCode
1. Disconnect and reseat the 
affected hard drive. Start up 
from Restore DVD and launch 
Disk Utility. Is the affected hard 
drive available for Disk Utility 
to repair?
Yes Go to step 2.
NoGo to step 3.
2.  Verify that Disk Utility is able to 
mount, and the affected hard 
drive is successfully repaired.
YesRestart the computer. Go to 
step 6.
NoIf the computer has not 
been verified with a known 
good hard drive, go to step 3; 
otherwise take affected hard 
drive to step 6.  
						

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Hard Drive Not Recognized/Not Mounting 74 2010-09-27
3. Install a known good 
compatible Mac OS X bootable 
hard drive. Verify the computer 
boots to desktop.
YesRe-install the affected hard 
drive. Go to step 2.
NoIssue not hard-drive related. 
Continue to use the known 
good bootable hard drive 
to determine computer root 
cause. Go to step 4.
4.  Install a known good 
compatible Mac OS X bootable 
hard drive into a different hard 
drive bay. Verify the computer 
boots to desktop.
YesRemove the known good 
hard drive. Re-install the 
original affected hard drive 
into the same bay. Go to step 
2.
X03
NoReplace backplane board. Go 
to step 5.
M19
5. Verify the computer boots 
to desktop and is able to 
successfully read/write data.
YesIssue resolved. 
NoAffected hard drive repairs 
also necessary. Go to step 6.
6.  Format affected hard drive 
using GUID scheme, and clean 
install compatible Mac OS X 
on the drive. Verify the install 
completes without error and is 
able to start up the computer  
successfully. Note: Formatting 
erases all data. Ensure 
customer data is backed up 
prior to beginning this step.
YesIssue resolved.
NoAffected hard drive appears 
to be defective. Replace hard 
drive.
H01  
						

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Hard Drive Noisy 75 2010-09-27
Hard Drive Noisy
Unlikely cause: speaker, backplane board, processor board, processors, memory, power supply, 
fans, Bluetooth card, AirPort card
Quick Check
SymptomQuick Check
Hard Drive Noisy
• Noise during start up
• Noise during operation
• Noise when drive is copying or 
saving data
1. Test with known good media to see if noise is 
optical drive related. 
2.  Check with Activity Monitor for any hard drive 
access when assessing idle drive noise. An 
example is Spotlight indexing in the background.
3. Verify if operational noises are excessive when 
compared to another same model Mac Pro.
4.  Boot from a known good Mac OS source to 
eliminate possible software issues.
5. Boot from Install DVD. Verify S.M.A.R.T. status of 
the affected internal hard drive using Disk Utility.
6.  Reseat any affected drives into other bays, 
ensuring all carrier screws are fastened securely. 
7. Repair any affected internal hard drives using Disk 
Utility.
Deep Dive
CheckResultActionCode
1.  Boot from Restore DVD and 
launch Disk Utility.  Is the 
affected hard drive available 
for Disk Utility to repair?
YesGo to step 2
NoReplace affected hard drive 
or branch to Hard Drive Not 
Recognized/Not Mounting
H01
2.  Repair the affected hard drive 
using Disk Utility and verify it 
completed successfully
YesRestart the computer. Go to 
step 3
NoGo to step 4.
3. Verify if the hard drive remains 
excessively noisy compared to 
other hard drives of the same 
vendor and model.
YesGo to step 4.
NoIssue resolved.  
						

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Optical Drive Won’t Accept/Reject Media 76 2010-09-27
4. Erase the affected hard drive 
and reinstall Mac OS using 
Installer (if it was a boot 
volume). Verify the  process 
completed without any errors.
YesRestart the computer. Go to 
step 3
NoReplace the affected hard 
drive. Go to step 5.
H06
5. After replacing with a known 
good hard drive verify 
excessive noise levels no 
longer occur
YesIssue resolved.
NoGo to step 6
6.  Remove the customer hard 
drive(s), boot the computer 
from an external drive, verify 
if the computer remains 
excessively noisy.
YesFan noise or optical drive 
noise likely to be the cause. 
See Optical Drive Noisy and 
Mechanical Issues: Thermals 
and Enclosure.
NoGo to step 7
7. Install a known good hard 
drive and verify if the noise 
level is similar to customer’s 
hard drives.
YesCustomer ‘s hard drive(s) 
noise levels are similar to a 
known good drive. No repair 
required
NoReplace the affected 
customer’s hard drive. Go to 
step 5.
H06
Optical Drive Won’t Accept/Reject Media
Unlikely cause: speaker, backplane board, processor board, processors, memory, power supply, 
fans, Bluetooth card, AirPort card
Quick Check
SymptomQuick Check
Optical Drive Won’t Accept/
Reject Media 
• Cannot insert a disc into the 
drive
• Cannot eject a disc placed into 
the drive
1.  Verify in Apple System Profiler that the Serial-ATA 
section lists any optical drive in the device tree. 
2.  Restart computer and hold down mouse button 
or keyboard eject key to cycle optical drive.
3. Inspect optical drive enclosure door and drive tray 
for obstructions.  
						

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Optical Drive Won’t Accept/Reject Media 77 2010-09-27
Deep Dive
CheckResultActionCode
1. Is optical drive listed in the 
device tree for SATA devices 
with System Profiler?
YesOptical drive has power and 
is communicating with the 
computer. Inspect disc load/
eject operation. Go to step 2
NoGo to Optical Drive Not 
Recognized/ Not Mounting
2.  Inspect computer enclosure 
optical drive door and the 
optical drive tray. Verify there 
are no obstructions, the drive 
tray is undamaged, and the 
tray does eject/inject on 
command.
YesGo to step 3
NoReplace damaged optical 
drive or computer enclosure 
that interferes with disc use. 
 
Won’t inject 
Won’t eject 
Optical drive damaged 
Enclosure damaged
 
 
 
 
J01 
J02 
J05 
X13
3. Insert known good media and 
test affected optical drive for 
load operation of disc. Does 
media auto eject?
YesReplace the optical drive.  
(Mechanical damage to 
optical drive if found)
J03    
(J05)
NoGo to step 4
4.  Does media mount on the 
desktop?
YesGo to Eject Test step 5
NoGo to Optical Drive Read/
Write Data Error.
5. Does media eject from the 
optical drive on command?
YesIssue resolved. 
NoReplace damaged optical 
drive or computer enclosure 
that interferes with disc use. 
 
Won’t eject 
Optical drive damaged 
Enclosure damaged
 
 
 
 
J02 
J05 
X13  
						

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Optical Drive Read/Write Data Error 78 2010-09-27
Optical Drive Read/Write Data Error
Unlikely cause: speaker, fans, backplane board, processor board, processors, memory, power 
supply, enclosure
Quick Check
SymptomQuick Check
Optical Drive Read/Write Data 
Error
• Read or write speeds slower 
than expected.
• Unreliable recorded media
• Failure to complete recording 
on high quality media
1. Check with known good optical media. ie the 
Install media that came with the computer. Verify 
the media in another same model computer. Low 
quality, and consumer recorded media where 
the recording has not been optimized may cause 
excessive seek and read/write retries (leads to 
slower performance). For information regarding 
factors affecting writing to or reading from optical 
media, review http://support.apple.com/kb/
HT2882?viewlocale=en_US.
2.  For Write issues, check with Known Good media 
that performs well in another machine and drive 
of the same model.
3. Verify Audio CD’s without Copy Control are used 
during testing as computer optical drives may 
have difficulty reading the content.
4.  Check both CD and DVD media. If only one type 
of media is producing errors, there is a laser issue. 
(J99)
Deep Dive
CheckResultActionCode
1. Is media free to spin without 
optical drive scraping edge or 
surface of media?
YesContinue and verify media 
read. Go to step 2.
NoMechanical interference 
internal to optical drive is 
affecting rotational spin of 
media, replace optical drive..
J03  
						

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Optical Drive Read/Write Data Error 79 2010-09-27
2. Can customer’s optical drive 
read both known good CD and 
DVD media?
YesRead functional, verify write 
to disc. Go to step 6.
NoOptical drive reads CD only, or  
optical drive reads DVD only 
indicates optical laser issue. 
Replace optical drive. Go to 
step 6
J03
Optical drive can not read any 
media reliably,  Go to step 3
3. Reseat SATA/Power cable 
connections between 
backplane board and optical 
drive (check for any cable and 
connector damage). Verify 
the media is now recognized 
in System Profiler and reads/
writes reliably.
YesReseat cables. Resolved issue.
NoGo to step 4
4.  Disconnect SATA/Power cable 
at backplane board. Use 
spare SATA/Power cable as 
alternate. Connect the spare 
cable to the port. Connect the 
alternate cable to the optical 
drive.  Verify the media is now 
recognized and reads/writes 
reliably.
YesSATA/Power cable defective.  
Replace SATA/Power cable. 
Issue resolved.
X03
NoGo to step 5
5. Use alternate backplane board 
SATA port and retest. Test write 
data to compatible CD and 
DVD media.  Verify burned 
media is recognized and reads 
reliably.
YesBackplane board defective. 
Replace backplane board. Go 
to step 6.
M19
NoReplace the optical drive.  Go 
to step 6.
J03 
6.  Test write data to compatible 
CD and DVD media.  Verify 
recorded media is recognized 
and reads reliably.
YesIssue resolved. 
NoGo to step 3  
						

							Mac Pro (Early 2009) Symptom Charts — Optical Drive Not Recognized/Not Mounting 80 2010-09-27
Optical Drive Not Recognized/Not Mounting
Unlikely cause: speaker, fans, backplane board, processor board, processors, memory, power 
supply, enclosure, Bluetooth card, AirPort card
Quick Check
SymptomQuick Check
Optical Drive Not Recognized/
Not Mounting
• Discs inject and eject, but do 
not appear in Finder
1. Verify in Apple System Profiler the Serial-ATA 
section lists any optical drive in the device tree.
2.  The Disc Burning section of Apple System Profiler 
will show any media inserted.
3. Check Finder Preferences: General, and make sure 
“CD’s, DVD’s and iPods” is checked under “Show 
these items on the desktop.”
4.  Verify Audio CD’s without Copy Control are used 
during testing, as computer optical drives may 
have difficulty reading the content.
5. Check both CD and DVD media. If only one type 
of media is recognized, there is a laser issue. (J99)
6.  Remove optical drive (with its carrier) and verify 
cables are securely connected to the drive and to 
the backplane board.
Deep Dive
CheckResultActionCode
1. Is the optical drive listed in the 
device tree for SATA devices 
with System Profiler?
YesOptical drive hardware 
recognized. Check Finder 
Preferences: General, and 
make sure “CD’s, DVD’s and 
iPods” is checked under “Show 
these items on the desktop.”
NoGo to step 2