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The Mac Pro First Generation is an Intel Xeon-based workstation computer manufactured by Apple Inc. The first generation model includes the machines from 2006 through 2008.

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Random Mac Pro restart/shutdown

My tower just randomly restarts or shuts down. I took it to a certified Apple repair and they said nothing was wrong with it, however the problem persists.

I did have them professionally clean the inside because I noticed the fan would come on stay on after a certain point.

It's also well ventilated.

If I do not use the computer for days, it will work fine for a while. However if I use it consecutive days, the problem appears and happens more frequently. I spent $700 having the "repair" place clean it and tell me nothing was wrong.

Please advise.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Guys i am having the same issue with my 2012 mid Mac Pro and I’ve taken it into Apple store three times and they can not get it to replicate the issue. But it starts out shutting down without warning , especially when I’m working in photoshop or adobe bridge. It will do this at least once a day and it progressively gets worse until it shuts down every time i restart and it will not stay on. I’ve tried changing surge protector, cleaned it out and reinstalled operating system and reformatted the computer. I’ve replced the ram and added another hard drive. I returned this last time from Apple store about three weeks ago and has started doing the shut down in the middle of the day. Sometimes it restarts and sometimes it stays off. Please help. I read Somewhere about a washer melting and being the problem but now i can’t find where i read this?

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Please read my answer.

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Hi Cynthia! I'm wondering if you had ever gotten this issue resolved? If so what was the solution to your problem?

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I have not fully gotten this issue fixed...but a lot less of the time this is happening. Its Photoshop and Camera Raw from Adobe. Its systematically happening when I work with ACR

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There is software that shuts down, and boots up your computer automagically. Look at what applications launch at startup.. Some possibilities: - System Preferences Energy Saver. Cache cleaning, anti-virus or backup software.

If this Answer is helpful please remember to return and mark it Accepted.

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For anyone having this issue :

Shut down.

Pull out both RAM drawers.

Remove all RAM.

Remove all dust (preferably by dry compressed air).

Carefully but firmly re-seat the RAM on the drawers.

Re-seat the RAM-drawers in your Mac Pro.

I've had this random shut-down issue right around the time Steve died, so it could also be related to his reality distortion field energy playing havoc on my Mac Pro ... but somehow I doubt it ;-)

(The restart occurs after an unscheduled shutdown, if you have automatic restarts enabled in the Energy Saver preference panel.)

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If that doesn't sort it, remove all RAM, and reinstall just 1 pair.

Test pair by pair until offending pair is found.

Then swap 1 RAM module with one that is known to be OK to find the offending module.

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Thanks for this advice. Not being an experienced user with even less experience going into the innards of a MAC, I was a little intimidated. Would have rather taken the behemoth to the MAC store, but this was very easy and simple.

You my dear man were 100%

correct.

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I downloaded iStat Menus to monitor my Mac Pro system. Nothing popped out as a major problem, but it would still shut itself down randomly and sometimes would not restart. As a last resort and 4 weeks off trying different things, cleaning, connecting / disconnecting items. Using Contact cleaner etc. I increased the speed of the fans by 200 rpm and created a User-Fan setting called 'Keep me Cooler' and set this to the default in iStat Menus. This seems to have solved the issue. Nothing is over heating and causing intermittent failures. I hope this helps. LMc

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I've had fourof these in now with the same issue including one of my own. I would get random reboots. The frequency increased as the months went on. I tried the RAM, hard drive, replaced video card. It wasn't until I replaced the power supply that the problem ceased, on all four machines.

Mac Pro First Generation Power Supply Unit Replacement

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Greetings Mayer! Would you be able to tell me if the replacement power supplies that you installed were new, used, or refurbished? I’m having the same restart issue in my mid 2010 Mac Pro 5,1 and it’s just getting worse. Can I get away with a used power supply or would you advise just going brand new?

Thanks for your time! ~MJ

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I've used both with no failures to date. I found some in China new but it took 6 weeks to get it in.

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You are correct Sir, Thanks for the information.

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Replacing the power supply, is it something you recommend taking in to an authorized dealer to complete or do it on our own? I live about 2 hrs from a dealer...

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@sms96 I added the guide to my answer. This is not a tough repair. Apple will probably not work on it anymore and tell you it's a Legacy machine but the new ones are soon coming out and you need to go buy a new one every six years.

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I’ve had this issue for some time. I tried everything from RAM tests, disassembly and cleaning, replace the power supply, logic board etc. I finally decided to pull the heat sinks from the CPU’s. I believe I have finally found the issue which is there are failing capacitors on the CPU card. There is evidence of leakage on the board. I’ve ordered replacement capacitors and will be replacing all the little canned caps.

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FYI I replaced the Capacitors on the CPU card and my machine is now working properly. This is not an easy soldering job that can be done with only a soldering iron. There is too much copper and the heat is sinked away too fast for an iron. I was lucky to have a friend with a rework station with a preheater and hot air soldering station.

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what kind of capacitors have you found?

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Having a similar problem, system freezes and reboots. It seems that one of the RAM cards failed. I removed it but one of the processors and one bank of RAM are getting very hot. Not sure what to do about that.

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Roland, please start a new question as this is is 7 years old and your Q & A will not be noticed much here.

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Hey, there Iam having the same issue. I already cleaning inside, swap all the memory’s, tried diagnostic tests, got a new ssd, manual control fans... nothing worked. The cpu and ram on the back part of the machine is really hot. Did get a solution?

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I have this problem as well….I have a Panic Report from my mac. It may point to Eset but Im unsure. If the mac is active, I dont see the issue happening…it goes down when idle and just reboots by itself.

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Hey everybody, not sure if this will help anybody, but i recently got a mac pro 3,1 that randomly restarts with the fans at full blast or just goes into a full blast mode. well i tried everything, stripping it down to its bare components and eventually just replace the thermal paste on both cpus as well as the chip to the right of the cpus and voila! it works perfectly. i am writing this paragraph on it now and it has surpassed the time that it will take to go into full blast mode. hope this helps someone!

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Cynthia will be eternally grateful.
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