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Trouble installing OS fresh, Mac Pro

O

Ojan

Junior Member
A couple weeks ago my mid-2010 Mac Pro started getting extremely slow at times. Restarting would temporarily fix it, until one day it wouldn't get past the apple logo progress bar screen. So I took it in and Apple ran a diagnostic and told me that it's unlikely to be the HDD but "something else" that wouldn't be worth replacing, and recommended a new computer.

However, my old HDD won't migrate to the new computer. Good thing I have a bootable backup. It takes longer than it should to mount, it's extremely slow in accessing files and makes a repetitive sound in even intervals like it's trying to load. So I started thinking that maybe the problem was just with the HDD.

I'd prefer to stay with my old Mac Pro and swap out the old hard-drives with new ones if possible. So I put a new HDD in it and tried installing macOS high Sierra from a flash drive. However, it only gets to the following screen at which point there's a problem..."To install macOS high Sierra, a firmware update is required. To complete the update, click "shut down..." The shut down button is grayed out and will not let me click to continue the process.

Is this clearly a bad sign or is there still hope to install an OS and stay with the Mac Pro? Is it possible that my old nearly-full HDD triggered a more serious issue, or vice versa? I'd really appreciate some guidance.
 
Thanks, but I'm not sure what you mean. Like I said, the computer won't boot with the old drive. It gets stuck on the apple logo progress bar screen.
 
If the problem is only a failing hard drive, then there's a re-install method that should be able to swap in a blank new hard drive or SSD, and proceed to download (over ethernet connection) the version of OSX that originally was factory installed on the machine. Google search for those instructions.
Afterwards, the updated firmware could first be applied (if available), followed by updating the operating system version.
However, if Apple's diagnosis was accurate, then the problem may require replacing the main system board, PSU, or some other component (other than the hard drive going bad).
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your response.

Right. I tried the internet recovery method but it doesn't work, gets stuck
 
Ojan said:
However, my old HDD won't migrate to the new computer. Good thing I have a bootable backup. It takes longer than it should to mount, it's extremely slow in accessing files and makes a repetitive sound in even intervals like it's trying to load. So I started thinking that maybe the problem was just with the HDD.
Click to expand...
If you can still boot while using the "bootable backup", try and accomplish the firmware update at that point in time.
 
try to install an older version of OSX, try Mavericks or an OS that is older and will install without the firmware upgrade. Then once booted up install the firmware update and try to install the latest version of OSX supported by your machine.
 
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