Can I clone a Mac Pro 2008-2010 to a new 2013 Mac Pro?

[DEMinSoCAL]

I know this would not work in the Windows world, but wondered if I used a bootable Mavericks USB drive and disk utility, could I clone a HDD from a Mac Pro (2008-2010 model with Mavericks) onto the SSD of a new Mac Pro, and expect it to (first) boot, and (second) keep all the apps and configurations that are installed?

Obviously, I'm trying to keep from having to reinstall everything from scratch, and with regards to the Migration Assistant, from what I've read, that can be a whole can of worms itself.

Since OS X is so closed, and each OS does have built-in hardware support for everything from old to new, I thought it might be a possibility?

 

[Intell]

Yes that will work so long as the version of Mac OS X on the source machine is equal to or greater than the version of Mac OS X the target machine originally shipped with.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Yes that will work so long as the version of Mac OS X on the source machine is equal to or greater than the version of Mac OS X the target machine originally shipped with.

Why would that matter, since the cloning (disk utility "restore") basically wipes the destination away anyways? Even if the new Mac Pro shipped with Yosemite, the cloning would make it Mavericks, yes?

 

[Intell]

It matters because a 2013 Mac Pro cannot run Snow Leopard. If you cloned a 2008 Mac Pro's Snow Leopard installation on to a 2013 Mac Pro, it wouldn't boot. The 2008 must be running the 2013 Mac Pro's special build of 10.9.0 or at least 10.9.1 to be able to clone to a 2013 Mac Pro.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

It matters because a 2013 Mac Pro cannot run Snow Leopard. If you cloned a 2008 Mac Pro's Snow Leopard installation on to a 2013 Mac Pro, it wouldn't boot. The 2008 must be running the 2013 Mac Pro's special build of 10.9.0 or at least 10.9.1 to be able to clone to a 2013 Mac Pro.

We have 3 Mac Pros (2008, 2009, 2010), and all are running Mavericks. You're saying that in order for this to work, the old Mac Pro's have to have a "special" build of Mavericks on them (namely, the build that ships with a new Mac Pro)?

If that's the case, then lets say the new Mac Pro's came with Yosemite (I have them, but have not opened them, so I don't know for sure what they have installed on them). Is there a way to upgrade/install the "special build" Yosemite on the old Mac Pro's in preparation for the cloning?

 

[redheeler]

We have 3 Mac Pros (2008, 2009, 2010), and all are running Mavericks. You're saying that in order for this to work, the old Mac Pro's have to have a "special" build of Mavericks on them (namely, the build that ships with a new Mac Pro)?

If that's the case, then lets say the new Mac Pro's came with Yosemite (I have them, but have not opened them, so I don't know for sure what they have installed on them). Is there a way to upgrade/install the "special build" Yosemite on the old Mac Pro's in preparation for the cloning?

If you're running Mavericks 10.9.1 or later on the classic Mac Pros you don't have to worry about any "special build", it will run just fine on a nMP.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

If you're running Mavericks 10.9.1 or later on the classic Mac Pros you don't have to worry about any "special build", it will run just fine on a nMP.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to try it. Wish me luck!

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

If you're running Mavericks 10.9.1 or later on the classic Mac Pros you don't have to worry about any "special build", it will run just fine on a nMP.

One question...instead of cloning to the internal SSD on the new Mac Pro, can I just boot off an externally connected SSD (via Thunderbolt adapter) that contains a cloned copy of the old Mac Pro HDD? That way, I don't mess up the new Mac Pro internal SSD.

This would just be for testing. Ultimately, I would clone to the internal SSD.

 

[filmak]

One question...instead of cloning to the internal SSD on the new Mac Pro, can I just boot off an externally connected SSD (via Thunderbolt adapter) that contains a cloned copy of the old Mac Pro HDD? That way, I don't mess up the new Mac Pro internal SSD.

This would just be for testing. Ultimately, I would clone to the internal SSD.

Yes you can, just choose the external drive on boot (by pressing alt key) or via system preferences.