Moving from 2009 Mac Pro to 2012

I have an early 2009 Mac Pro, and a mid-2012 Mac Pro. Can I simply pull the hard-drives out of the 2009 and put them in the 2012 and be good to go, or are there hardware-specific aspects of the installation (i.e., Apple stuff) that will not work because I'm shifting to different hardware? I have a million apps on my Mac Pro and don't want to go through the hassle of reinstalling everything.

Lanny wrote:
CS3 or later. CS2 apps won't run in Yosemite.
Doh. Yes, you'd have to go with a Snow Leopard Virtual Machine if you are using CS2. CS2 was when the painful authorization process started.

Similar Messages

2009 Mac Pro no audio out from Line Out and/or Digital Out.

Hey guys, I recently bought a new tv which has an optical input and thought I'd buy an optical cable to connect it to my Mac Pro's (4.1 model 2009 I believe) digital out port which I have never used before .
The issue I'm facing since is that I can't get out from my mac pro to my tv. I also bought a cable to direct sound from my mac pro's line out, to my tv's red/white stero audio ports.That didn't work either.
When I select Digital out as the default audio output in Sound preferences the OS says that there are not default audio controls for that device and the sound icon in the menu bar is greyed out while when I switch to line out output I can control volume but no audio is coming from my TV.
I've been searching on forums and didn't find any relevant answer so if someone knows what may cause this that'd be really helpful.
*ALSO: I've got windows 8 instaleld on my mac pro as well. The digital out doesn't work there as well although the line out does send sound to the TV.
** I also have soundflower installed and perian although I don't think any of them would mess things up like that.
Do you think this is a problem with my Mac or is this a common Mavericks issue (sorry forgot to mention I'm on 10.9.2)
Many Thanks,
Thanos.

When I select Digital out as the default audio output in Sound preferences the OS says that there are not default audio controls for that device and the sound icon in the menu bar is greyed out
That's normal. Is the correct audio input selected on the TV?

Can fonts from a PowerPC 10.4 be moved to a Mac pro 10.7?

Can fonts from a PowerPC-10.4 be moved to a Mac Pro 10.7

If it's a Type 1 PostScript font (that's they only way I have it), you need all of the pieces. For instance, here's Adobe's Avant Garde Gothic:
Avant Garde Gothic.scr
AvantGarBol
AvantGarBolObl
AvantGarBoo
AvantGarBooObl
AvantGarDem
AvantGarDemObl
AvantGarExtLig
AvantGarExtLigObl
AvantGarMed
AvantGarMedObl
The first file is the suitcase of screen fonts. The rest are the associated printer fonts. You must have all of them together in the same folder in order for them to work. You can put them in a subfolder of the Fonts folder you put them in.

2009 Mac Pro will not sleep from set prefs

Hi all:
I've got a 1 YO Quad, 2.93 Nehelam that wont sleep on set schedule. It has been doing this sense last week. I get the P-RAM, unplugged everything (even power), re-plugged everything, repaired my drive with disc utility, erased start up items, everything.
It WILL sleep on Q but not on a schedule in energy saver prefs. The only thing thats different lately is that Installed CS5 Master suite and Apple's latest audio update (which fixed my audio by the way...)
Any idea's.
Thanks---Seattle

Is this question in the correct discussion? I thought this was the discussion for Mac Pro (previous to 2009). This could be a problem that appeared in the 2009 Mac Pro line ... or it could be related to the OS you are running.

Speeding up an early 2009 Mac Pro

This is not a question - it is an answer.
Starting configuration: Dual quad core 2.26GHz early 2009 Mac Pro (4,1) already expanded to 12 GB RAM; 175GB SSD, 1TB RAID 0 internal HD configuration, 2 1TB external d2 Quadra HDs (1 for cloned backup, the other for Time machine) connected via FW 800. A Superdrive, and an LG Blu-Ray burner, both internal.
My uses: Frequent business use of Microsoft Office and Acrobat Pro; occasional use of Adobe Photoshop Elements, frequent internet access via Safari and Mail; much use of iTunes and iPhoto, some Aperture, and occasional creation and burning of movies and slide shows to DVD and Blu-Ray with iDVD, Final Cut Express, Toast Titanium.
Problem: Extremely slow from power on to the first open program with a usable menu (usually 2-1/2 minutes). Extremely slow changing from one menu item to the next and very slow opening files. Glacial at performing those operations if a backup was ongoing.
Earlier efforts: Followed conventional wisdom for speed by adding 6 GB of RAM, bringing it to 12 GB (though my RAM usage rarely exceeded 3 GB). Added a small SSD containing only the OS and all applications; mapped the home folder to the internal 1 TB RAID 0 comprising 2 540GB 7200 rpm SATA 2 drives (but - having to access the internal RAID for all data files made the addition of the small SSD a futile exercise). The external drives are also 7200 rpm.
Here is what worked!! I replaced the 175GB SSD with a 1 TB Samsung EVO 840 SSD ($565) and re-mapped the home folder back to the SSD; added a Newer Tech MaxPower eSATA PCIe card ($87); connected the two external 1TB drives via eSATA rather than FW 800, which tripled their speed. My OS, applications and data files are around 600 GB, so the 1 TB SSD was large enough to handle everything, while the 175 GB drive wasn’t.
While the EVO 840 SSD and the eSATA card are SATA 3 rated (6Gb/s), the internal bus of the early Mac Pro is SATA 2 (3Gb/s), which is the maximum at which the system will operate. In addition, the internal and external hard drives drives themselves are also SATA 2 (the Superdrive and Blu-Ray burner are SATA 1, but slow nothing down when not being used; and SATA 1 is plenty fast for burners limited to 16X anyway).
The result: It now takes 60 to 61 seconds from power on until Safari opens with a useable menu (including the 5 seconds or so to select the user and log in), a speedup of 90 seconds. In more stark terms, from power on to the log-in screen appears under the old setup was 46 seconds, and with the new, 41 seconds (system and RAM checks take roughly the same amount of time regardless of the drive used); but once the user is selected and the access code is entered, the new setup takes 14 to 15 seconds vice 1 minute 45 seconds! Even better, moving from one menu item to the next in an open application is immediate. Files open quickly. And, there is NO detectable slowdown while any of the frequent backups are ongoing. Performance is now very fast, again.
My Mac Pro cost $3400 when new, and has of course been improved. A used 2012 Mac Pro 6 core with 3.33 GHz chipset would have run $2800 or more, and provided slightly higher GeekBench scores operating single-core, but slower multi-core speeds than I already have. A 3.33GHz 12 core machine refurbished by Apple would have run $5400, and provided 1/3 faster single core speeds, and the multi-core speeds would have been twice as fast, according to GeekBench. The new late 2013 4-core Mac Pro, while beautiful, would have run $4200 delivered (my upper limit), and would have required more investment to put the Superdrive and Blu-Ray burner into enclosures. Here is what amazed me: While its single-core speed would have been 78% faster, its multi-core GeekBench score was slower than my current machine! I guess those extra 4 cores make a difference.
The GeekBench scores heavily weigh processor-intensive functions, such as video compositing and editing, or working with large photo and graphic files. Those are not my primary uses, and spending money for significant performance gains in those areas made no sense for my use. But the $650 I spent for the 1TB SSD and eSATA PCIe card completely solved the slowdown I was experiencing. For my uses, that $650 was a much wiser investment than any of the other options. It gave me speed where I needed it, and not where it would have done little for me.

True but I catch all the Mail, Cache, /SyncServices and /Application Support - and for some reason the /Preferences folder is getting hit a lot.
The reason I use CCleaner is just to wipe clean all the brower type caches in one fell swoop. They get large and unwildly and harder to manage. Easy and faster to just download. Use to use a RAMDisk for the "web.cache" file or folders at one time to speed up system and surfing.
The entire ~/Library is 3GB for me
So even if it was 10GB it would still be fine and make sense to include the "home user account" ~/Library (you can of course include more)
Only saying to locate my 700GB of documents, media files and libraries "elsewhere" - pefect for a 2TB hdd. Or a pair of 10K WD VR 1TB drives though even they are limited if using SATA2 AND you have the system on same bus you start to hit the 700MB/sec that Mac Pro controller can handle.
So the ideal would have high access and to allow concurrent searches and IO in memory first, in cache memory buffers to drive controller and drives, and then use an SSD, before getting to the actual slower hdd. The choise of hdd also matters. Some 500GB drives are more like 85MB/sec at best vs 145MB for a single 2TB Seagate Constellation ($200) or WD Black. And no need to take up two drive bays.
Back to case in point, if you want to put the entire user account on its own SSD, fine but its cost for what performance is not what I would do. Even a small 128GB or spend another $70 for 250GB SSD instead, and leave all the user home account's media files on a slow 7.2K drive. Some 7.2k drives can do much much better on SATA3 / 6G. The 1TB 10K WD VR gets writes as well as reads in the 180-200MB/sec. which is about as good as it gets outside of SSD on a SATA2 bus and is only $200 (4-8X the storage of the SSDs I was talking about).

What USB wireless works with my 2009 Mac Pro

I have just moved to a new house and only have access to wirelss. What are my wirless connectivity options for my 2009 Mac Pro running OS 10.9.2?

that depends. click on the apple, then about this mac, then report, and see if you have a wireless card installed. If not, there are some usb wifi options out there that will work with mac, from Amped, for example. Just plug 'em in, change your network over to Wifi from Ethernet, punch in the password, and you should be good to go
I presume you are talking about the desktop here, not the macbook pro, which is an entirely different critter.
goodl luck to you
JB

2009 Mac Pro will not boot up under Windows

I have an Early 2009 Mac Pro system (Mac Pro 4,1) and I've had this system for 3 years already and have been working under OS X with this system ever since I purchased it.
However, when I tried to boot off my Windows disk, something very interesting happens. The Mac Pro WILL NOT boot up off the Windows disk or a known working Windows partition if two monitors are connected. Upon holding down the option key and selecting the Windows partition, I will get a black screen on one monitor (the one connected via Mini Displayport) and the other screen receives no signal and will enter standby and the system is halted. It does not respond to keystrokes, there is no hard drive activity, no measured power increase on the UPS, no apparent network activity, nothing. The only way to exit this scenario (from what I can tell) is to power off the machine, disconnect the display on DVI, power on the machine again, select the Windows partition wait for the system to reach the login window and reconnect the DVI monitor (at which time Windows recognizes it immediately and the system works fine again).
My question to the community is, does anybody know why this is happening and is there a known fix for this? Quite frankly, having to disconnect a monitor just to restart is very tedious and frustrating.
I have two Samsung P2350 monitors attached to an ATI Radeon HD 4870 (512MB, from Apple). One is monitor is connected via directly DVI and the other is using a Mini Displayport to DVI adapter. Both monitors work fine under OS X with no issue. At first, I thought that this may be a driver issue on the Windows side and after installing all the latest updates and drivers the issue is still apparent. From what I can tell, this doesn't seem like a software issue but rather a firmware or EFI issue as this happens before Windows even loads.
If anyone knows of a fix or what to do in this situation, or if you are also having this issue, I would love to hear your input!
Thank you!
For the record, I am running all the latest software builds on the OS X side (10.7.4, not that it would really matter at this point). I have also disconnected all unnecessary equipment in a trial and error scenario but the results are still the same.
The system passes all ASD testing.
The full specification of the computer and all connected equipment are as follows:
2009 Mac Pro (4,1) 8-Core
2x Intel Xeon Nehalem 2.66GHz Quad-Core CPUs
16GB DDR3 ECC 1066MHz RAM (Apple Branded)
Two OWC 120GB SSDs (One for OS X, the other for Windows 7 x64) - These are in place of my optical drives.
4x 2TB WD Black Hard drives for storage.
Two Samsung P2350 Monitors connected via DVI. (One using a Mini Displayport to DVI adapter).

In Windows I am using the latest (12.4) Catalyst Software Suite, 64 bit of course, downloaded directly from AMD's site after installing the drivers from Boot Camp.
As for installing Windows I used an original (not burned) installation media (Disk is in a pristine condition). And yes, Windows is fine, the problem just seems to be getting the system to boot up Windows with that second monitor. However if the "problem monitor" is disconnected the system boots fine 100% of the time and connecting it later after booting the system will still operate properly.
For the sake of arguement I swapped monitor cables and connected the "second" monitor to the mini displayport adapter to verify that it wasn't a cabling issue and I'm still yielding the same issues.
As for GPU testing, I've played games (Crysis, Grand Theft Auto IV, Battlefield 3, etc.) and I've had no issues with the card or stability.
You would think that Apple would try to find a fix for this, especially considering the caliber of this machine.

How to install Snow Leopard on a 2009 Mac Pro which has Mountain Lion?

The 2009 Mac Pro that I just bought has Mountain Lion. For many reasons, I do not want to have Mountain Lion on my machine. I have been using Snow Leopard for years and I like it fine. I have my Snow Leopard install DVDs. I cannot get this machine to accept Snow Leopard, which must be just another undesirable aspect of Mountain Lion, bacause this machine must have shipped with some variant of Leopard/ Snow Leopard to begin with. Here's what happens when I put the Snow Leopard Install DVD in the Superdrive:
1) First, I held down the "C" key at startup to start from a disc. It showed me a window which said "Mac OS X can't be installed on this computer".
2) Then I started it with Mountain Lion and then put in the Snow Leopard DVD. Got a window which said "The disc you inserted was not readable by this computer". It also had 3 buttons to choose from: "Initialize", "Ignore" and "Eject". So I clicked on "Initialize" and Disc Utility opened on the First Aid page. I assume I'm supposed to erase the startup disc, but I thought maybe I should ask the experts here before I do that.
This machine has two 2TB HDDs that the previous owner has configured as a level 1 RAID. If I am to erase the startup disc do I erase both drives of the RAID set? If I'm not supposed to erase the startup drive, what do I need to do to get back to Snow Leopard? Thanks and thanks again!

The built-in checks will keep you from clobbering 10.8 Mountain Lion by Installing Snow Leopard over it (literally, 10.6 Snow Leopard Installer will see a later version in place, and knows it cannot install over a later version). So it says "Mac OS X cannot be installed on this computer..." and leaves off "... "in its current state."
You will need to Install on a 10.6 Snow Leopard-erased drive. Mac OS X Erase function proceeds to install a Partition scheme and a default Volume after erasing, because a truly blank drive is useless for most Users.
When you boot to the Installer DVD, you are running off the DVD, so all Hard Drives are available to be erased if that is your choice. All data on them will be discarded. If you erase one drive in a mirrored RAID set, normally the other drive would survive and the set would be degraded. But a new version of RAID was introduced right AFTER 10.6, and it is likely that 10.6 cannot read that RAID at all under any circumstances.

I am having a problem with very slow start up after expanding RAM on my 2009 Mac Pro.

I am having a problem with very slow start up after expanding RAM on my 2009 Mac Pro (8 Core 2.93GHz). When I run the Mac Pro with 2 x 2Gb RAM it takes 4 seconds before the gray screen, chime and spinning wheel appear.However when I expand the RAM to 20GB the grey screen and chimes appear after a long 20+ second black screen.
The RAM modules are paored 2 x 4GB Crucial CT51272BA1339.M18FMR and 6 x 2GB SAMSUNG M391B5673FH0-CH9, all DDR3 ECC.
Reading articles on the internet, I thought it may be damaged RAM modules, but I have completed memtest and all are okay. I have tried changing the pairs around and if I use any paired 2 modules the Mac Pro starts normally, only when I try running more than 2 modules the delayed start up happens. (black screen 20 Seconds)
I also have tried PRAM and SMU resets after changing the RAM setups, and the issues always occurs when I have more than 2 modules. As you can see I have 6 SAMSUNG modules and even with identical modules the issue happens, when increasing the RAM to more than 2 modules.
The Mac Pro runs fine after the start up screen and can see all the modules, but has anyone else come across this issue, or have any ideas as to why my Mac Pro is taking 20 seconds to start up with 20 GB RAM?

Hi there. Thanks for your comments.
I have tried all the different combinations of RAM setup, and as stated in my initial topic, the Mac Pro boot up time only slows when I have more that 2 modules. Where I place these does not seem to make a difference.
I have taken the Mac Pro to an Apple Reseller technician yesterday and they where not able to find any RAM errors. Apparently the boot up time is within Apple's acceptable parameters for this set up.
Could anyone that is running a Mac Pro 2009 with more that 4 modules of RAM, please let me know if the boot up time is normal. ( the time it takes from pressing the power button to seeing the gray screen around 16 - 20 seconds)
Or is anyone else having the same issues?
thanks for your responce

Can I move an SSD Boot Drive from a Mac Pro 1,1 to a newer 5,1?

I have a MacPro 1,1 (2 x dual core Xeon, 3.0 GHZ) with 8GB RAM and updated with an ATI 5770 video card, driving a 27" Cinema display; I'm running OSX 10.7.5. There's an SSD boot/OS/App drive, and the data is on a secondary hard drive with backup to the data on an identical third drive. Because it's time to update (I've had this flawless machine for nearly 4 years but need one with 64-bit capability) I've arranged to buy a 2010 Mac Pro 5,1, also with a 5770 card. I don't need the hard drives that are in that "new" one. I would like to just swap the three drives I have in the old one, and put them in the new box. Will I encounter any problems?

There are two types of base Systems:
a) "shipped in the box" with a specific model Mac. These will boot only that model, and software Update does not change that capability.
b) "Full Retail" or "Purchased" (even for $0). These will boot any appropriate Mac, because they contain "Drivers for every appropriate Mac."
Your 10.7 computer shipped with software much older, so I presume you purchased that 10.7, and would therefore expect it to boot any appropriate model Mac.
"A Mac can generally boot software no OLDER than what it originally shipped with."
This table shows the original shipping versions (some of which are custom builds) for these models:
Mac Pro
Date introduced
Original Mac OS X included
(see Tips 1 and 3)
Later Mac OS X included
(see Tip 1)
Mac OS X Build(s)
(see Tip 2)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Dec 2013
10.9
10.9.2, 10.9.4
13A4023, 13C64, 13E28
Mac Pro (Mid 2012)
Jun 2012
10.7.3
10.8, 10.8.3
11D2001, 12A269, 12D78
Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
Aug 2010
10.6.4
10.7, 10.7.2, 10.7.3
10F2521, 10F2554, 11A511a, 11C74, 11D2001
Mac Pro with Mac OS X Server (Mid 2010)
Aug 2010
10.6.4
10.7, 10.7.2, 10.7.3 (Server)
10F2522, 11A511a, 11C74, 11D2001 (Server)
Mac Pro (Early 2009)
Mar 2009
10.5.6
10.6
9G3553, 10A432
Mac Pro (Early 2008)
Jan 2008
10.5.1
10.5.2, 10.5.4
9B2117, 9C2031, 9E25
Mac Pro
Aug 2006
10.4.7
10.4.8, 10.4.9, 10.4.10, 10.5
8K1079, 8N1430, 8N1250, 8K1124, 8P4037, 8R3032, 8R3041, 9A581, 9A3129
Mac OS X versions (builds) for computers
This table show that any build after 10.6.4 (custom) should work to boot a Mac Pro 5,1 2010.
CAUTION: the last version shipped on a "Full Retail" DVD was 10.6.3, which will NOT boot that Mac directly.
NB> If staying with 10.7, you should check whether you are running 64-bit kernel. If not, a terminal command and a re-Boot will fix that.

Can I move hard drives from one Mac Pro to another?

I have two mid-2010 Mac Pros that I work with daily - one 8-core on 10.7.3 and one 12-core on 12.7.4. I would like to take all of the drives out of one Mac Pro and put them in the other and vice versa, essentially trading their content. It probably sounds pointless, but I would like to build the more powerful one out from scratch, and right now the less powerful one is nearly empty.
Can I simply shut off both machines and swap all of the drives in one for all of the drives in the other? I would keep them in the same bays in the machine I'm trading them with, but I'm unsure if I will screw something else up.

rfairley wrote:
...Can I simply shut off both machines and swap all of the drives in one for all of the drives in the other? I would keep them in the same bays in the machine I'm trading them with, but I'm unsure if I will screw something else up.
I've moved drives from a Mac Pro 1,1 to a 5,1 and they were able to boot the newer Mac, but to ensure that the OS was configured for the newer machine, I ran the appropriate combo updater once the drive was installed. If you're planning to stick with the drive rotation, doing that shouldn't hurt and might help even though the machines are of the same vintage. Note, however, that some commercial software keys in on machine specifics and/or the serial number to prevent piracy, so swapping drives can cause other problems.

2009 Mac Pro upgrading graphics card to GTX 680 mac. What is the best version of AE and PP and OSX to have?

Hello,
I have a 2009 Mac Pro 4.1
Mac OSX version 10.6.8
Processor - 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Memory - 24GB
Graphics Card - ATI Radeon HD 4870
I use After Effects and Premiere Pro daily for my work. I am not too technically minded. I want to update and improve my machine as much as possible and am thinking of buying an SSD drive to replace my current start up disk. I also am thinking about getting the GTX 680 mac version graphics card. I have read many online discussions regarding OpenCL and CUDA, many discussions with mixed feelings about the improvements the 680 gives an older Mac Pro - some people say it is amazing others say the improvements seem minimal or worse.
What I want to know is if I purchase the SSD and 680 graphics card what is the optimal OSX - 10.8 or 10.9? and what is the optimal versions of AE and PP to have - CS6 or CC? Also what settings and what additional drivers would I need to consider?
I contacted an independent authorised mac reseller and he thought it was a bad idea to put a new graphics card and get the latest OSX in an old machine and tried to sell me a used 2010 Mac Pro, but I think it would be more cost effective to get the SSD and 680 instead, it's just I read the occasional horror story on a forum and I worry about making the wrong choice, I rely on my Mac Pro to make a living!
Thanks in advance

Thank you for the valuable information Eric, I think I will go with the 680 but I understand that it wont be fully utilised on my old Mac Pro.
Perhaps I will replace my startup/applications hard drive with a 480GB SSD. My other 3 bays are full with 3 x 2TB Hard drives that have media on them so I have no spare room for a dedicated SSD drive for AE cache. But could I put a 250GB SSD into one of the PCI-E slots using something like - SSD SuperSpeed Upgrade Kit for Apple Mac Pro 2008 2009 2010 2012 | eBay
Would this be my best solution? Is it a relatively simple installation, does anyone have any experience of a similar setup?
cc_merchant, thank you for the reply, I am aware you have to pay monthly payments for CC, that is no problem.

I recently changed from a Mac Pro to an iMac. A large chunk of emails have disappeared. Time Machine is no help. Any ideas as to how I can get them back?

I recently changed from a Mac Pro to an iMac. Despite using Migration Assistant, a large chunk of my recent emails and nearly all of my wife's emails have disappeared in transit. Strangely, emails from my distant past are still there. Time Machine is no help; the messages may be on my backup disc but they're behind an invisible icon. Any ideas as to how I can get them back?

Quit Mail. Force quit if necessary.
Back up all data. That means you know you can restore the Mail database, no matter what happens.
Triple-click the text on the line below to select it:
~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/Envelope Index
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C). In the Finder, select
Go ▹ Go to Folder
from the menu bar. Paste into the box that opens (command-V), then press return.
A Finder window will open with a file selected. Move the selected file to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Other files in the folder may have names that begin with "Envelope Index". Move those files, if any, to the Trash.
Log out and log back in. Relaunch Mail. It should prompt you to re-import your messages. You may get a warning that the index is corrupt and that Mail has to quit. Click OK.
Test. If Mail now works as expected, you can delete the file you moved to the Desktop. Otherwise, post your results.

2009 Mac Pro not letting me upgrade to Mavericks nor 10.8

I have a 2009 Mac Pro with OS 10.7.5 installed, it running perfectly fine but for some reason it's not letting me update to 10.8 nor 10.9. Mavericks works totally fine from ssd card mounted on a usb dock but when I try to use the SSD inside or the hard drive the Mac Pro came with it does not boot up. I was getting a problem when trying to upgrade Mavericks from the store where Mac Pro wouldn't boot, it will just show a question mark so I reinstalled OS 10.7.5. When trying to install Mavericks from a usb drive, Mac Pro does not see none of the internal hard drives and for some reason does not even let me eject the optical bay, has this happen to anyone if yes, what you do to fix the problem.

"Image" was not a reference to the physical drive, but rather the actual bytes representing the version of Mac OS X on the drive.
• If you built Mac OS X on that drive from the Mac OS X that shipped with another Mac, it will be trouble.
• If you built the Mac OS X on that drive from a "Full Retail", "Purchased" (for $0, but it still counts as a purchase) version from the Mac App store, it has all Drivers and should work fine.

My Early 2009 Mac Pro won't restart after installing Mavericks

I have installed Mavericks on my Early 2009 Mac Pro and all seemed to install just fine but when I restart the Mac then it won't get past a grey screen with Apple logo. It seems that it does get reasonabley far into the startup, it gets passed the grey screen with cricling progress thingmy under the Apple logo, then it flashes very quickly and after that it is a grey screen with the Apple logo and no further.
I did try installing Mavericks when it first came out and I had this problem so I just abandoned and reinstalled Mountain Lion from my Time Machine backup. However I thought that with Mavericks now at 9.1, maybe it would work okay this time but no change. However this time I do want to get it working because the lastest Final Cut Pro X requires Mavericks and I do a lot of video editing.
Here are the things I've tried which have made no difference:
Removed all peripherals, so that now nothing is plugged in except the original Apple Keyboard, my Apple trackpad and my Eizo monitor.
I tried starting it in Safe Boot mode but this made no difference.
I started it up in Recovery mode and it will start in Recovery mode. While in Recovery mode I checked the startup hard drive with Disk Utility, the drive is fine, as and I repaired disk permisions which made no difference.
I zapped the PRAM.
I connected it to my MacBook Pro in Target Disk mode and used ProSoft's Drive Genius 3 to check over the startup hard drive again and check disk permissions and all is well.
It still will not startup
I would be most grateful if someone could assist.

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a boot failure is to secure your data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since your last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Boot into the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
c. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 3
If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
Step 4
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 5
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Step 6
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you boot in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, your boot volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 6.
If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the boot process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 7
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select your startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
Step 8
Reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 9
Repeat Step 6, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 10
This step applies only to older Macs (not current models) that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery. Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a boot failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 11
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

Moving from 2009 Mac Pro to 2012

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