Install Catalina On Mac Pro 5 1


Articles › How to Upgrade the Mac Pro 5,1 to the latest firmware and Boot ROM Version
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This guide explains the simple process for updating to the latest firmware version for all 2010 and 2012 MacPro5,1 models. The process is the same for 2009 MacPro4,1 models that have been flashed to 5,1.
If you have a metal graphics card and want to upgrade to macOS Mojave, or just enable your Mac Pro to install and boot from High Sierra or later on a PCIe NVME drive, Boot ROM version 144.0.0.0.0 is required.
Depending on which versions of OS X you have previously installed on your Mac Pro will determine which Boot ROM Version you currently have.
To find your current version, click on the Apple at the top left of the screen and select About This Mac.
From the Overview window click on System Report
Check which Boot ROM version you currently have.
If your Boot ROM version is 138.0.0.0.0 or higher, or MP51.0089.B00 your Mac Pro has already been upgraded to the highest version that is available from the OS X High Sierra installer and you should start with Step 2. If you do not have either of these versions then you should start with Step 1.
An Apple OEM or Mac graphics card is required for Step 1. A Metal capable graphics card is required for Step 2. If you do not have a Metal graphics card that is necessary for Step 2, you can complete Step 1, and complete Step 2 at a later date.
NB. It is always recommended that you create a backup of your OS and files before you attempt any update. Use Time Machine or the software of your choice to make a complete backup to ensure you can restore your system in the event of a problem.

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To complete Step 1 you will need to have an Apple OEM or Mac graphics card installed.
Download the Mac OS X High Sierra installer from the App Store. Use this link to open the download page in the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-high-sierra/id1246284741
If you see this page in your browser, make sure App Store is highlighted and click on ‘Open Link’.
The App Store will open to the macOS High Sierra page. Click the ‘Get’ / ‘Download’ button and wait for the download to complete.
When the download has finished click Open. You can also open the installer at a later date. It will be located in your Applications folder and is called Install macOS High Sierra.app.
The firmware update will open before the OS installation begins. To continue with the Mac Pro firmware update first read the instructions, then click the Shut Down button at the bottom of the firmware update window. You will be prompted to enter your password, and then the computer will shut down.
Wait until the computer has shut down and the light on the front panel goes out. Press and hold the power button for 10-20 secs until the power button light begins to flash rapidly, and then release it. You should hear a long tone and the computer will reboot. After reboot the DVD/Optical drive tray should open and a progress bar will be seen on the screen.
When the update is complete the computer will reboot to the desktop and open the High Sierra installer. If you don’t need to install 10.13 you can quit the installer.
Open the System Report again to check your Boot ROM Version has updated. If it has you should see version MP51.0089.B00 or 138.0.0.0.0. If you have a Metal capable graphics card you can continue to the next step. If you don’t have a Metal capable graphics card, this is the highest firmware and Boot ROM version available for your Mac Pro.
If your Boot ROM version did not change, the firmware update did not apply and you will have to run the OS X 10.13 installer again. This normally happens due to some incompatibility with non-Apple hardware in your Mac Pro.
If you are having problems be aware that using an Apple OEM or Mac graphics card is necessary for Step 1. You should try removing any PCI cards and non-essential hardware from the computer. You might also try resetting the PRAM (Hold Control + Option + P + R at startup. Keep holding the keys until you hear the Mac Pro chime a second time and then release.), before running the updater again.
If when you run the update the DVD/Optical drive tray does not open and the computer does not reboot to the desktop, and/or the screen stays black or grey with the power button lit, the update did not install. To be sure this is the case wait 5 minutes before you press and hold the power button to shut down the machine. Then press it again to reboot. The computer will reboot to the desktop and open the firmware installer. You should shut your machine down, disconnect and remove all non-essential hardware from your machine, reset the PRAM, and then run the installer again.

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To complete Step 2 you will need to have only a Metal capable graphics card/s installed, and OS X High Sierra 10.13.6 installed and running on your Mac Pro. If you don’t plan on using High Sierra other than to update the firmware, then use a spare drive, or even partition an existing HD for the High Sierra install. If you have just completed Step 1 you can use the High Sierra installer you just downloaded to install 10.13.6 and continue.
Assuming you have already installed and booted to OS X 10.13.6 with a Metal GPU installed in your Mac Pro you are ready to continue. The process is identical to the previous update but repeated with the Mojave installer.
Download Mac OS X Mojave 10.14 from the App Store. Use this link to open the download page: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-mojave/id1398502828
If you see this page in your browser, make sure App Store is highlighted and click on Open Link.
The App Store will open to the macOS Mojave page. Click the Download button and wait for the download to complete.
When the download has finished click Open. You can also open the installer manually. It will be located in your Applications folder and called Install macOS Mojave.app.
The firmware update will open before the OS installation begins. To proceed with the Mac Pro firmware update first read the instructions, then click the Shut Down button at the bottom of the update window. You will be prompted to enter your password and then the computer will shut down.
Wait until the light on the front panel goes out. Press and hold the power button for 10-20 secs until the front panel light begins to flash rapidly, then release it. You should hear a long tone and your Mac Pro will reboot. After reboot the DVD/Optical drive tray should open, and with a Mac metal graphics card a progress bar may be seen, or just a grey screen. If you do not have a Mac metal graphics card you will have no picture on your screen until the drive tray closes and the computer has rebooted. As mentioned in the instructions, do not shut down or restart your computer while the update is in process.
When the update is complete the Mac Pro will reboot to the desktop and the OS X Mojave installer. If you do not need to install OS X 10.14 you can quit the installer.
Open the System Report again to check your Boot ROM Version has updated. If you see version 144.0.0.0.0. Congratulations! You have updated your Mac Pro to the latest firmware and boot ROM version available.
If your Boot ROM version did not change the firmware update did not apply and you will have to run the OS X 10.14 installer again to apply the update. This normally happens due to some incompatibility with non-Apple hardware in your Mac Pro.
If you are having problems be aware that using a Metal capable graphics card is necessary for Step 2 and any non-Metal graphics cards should be removed. You should try removing any PCI cards and non-essential hardware from the computer. You might also try resetting the PRAM (Hold Control + Option + P + R at startup. Keep holding the keys until you hear the Mac Pro chime a second time and then release.), before running the updater again.
If when you run the update the DVD/Optical drive tray does not open and the computer does not reboot to the desktop, and/or the screen stays black or grey with the power button lit, the update did not install. To be sure this is the case wait 5 minutes before you press and hold the power button to shut down the machine. Then press it again to reboot. The computer will reboot to the desktop and open the firmware installer. You should shut your machine down, disconnect and remove all non-essential hardware from your machine, reset the PRAM, and then run the installer again.

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Although there are rumours that it may be possible to install Catalina on old-style cheese-grater Mac Pro 5,1 computers, it will be a ‘hack’ of some description and so we do not recommend it. If you have a Mac Pro 5,1 then consider upgrading to macOS Mojave but that will be it. That said, there will be plenty of life in your Mac Pro. There are some hobbyist hacks (not for production, and install at your own risk) than can allow determined hobbyists to push Mac Pro 2010-2012 to Catalina. But so far, that same hacker group has not published an additional hack for Big Sur and has stated they do not intend to publish such a hack for Big Sur. Catalina does not support the 2010 Mac Pro whether it has a Metal capable card installed or not. You have to hack the firmware to get Catalina onto a 5,1 model. Once you finish setting up setvars EFI utility, you're ready to install macOS Big Sur on your Mac Pro. Start your Mac Pro and while restarting, hold down the option key and boot from 'Install macOS Big Sur'. The installer will load in a while. When at installation screen, select your preferred language and continue 3. Install Mojave On Mac Pro 5 10 How To Upgrade Mac Pro 5 1 To Mojave. Choose any direct download mirror below. How To Install Catalina On Mac Pro 5 1. Final Cut Pro X (10.4.5) MAC full. Free download 2.69 GB.

Apple’s latest macOS, Catalina, has just been released to the public last October 7, 2019 and you can now install it on your Mac, as long as your device meets the hardware requirements. First revealed during the WWDC 2019 conference in San Jose, California, macOS Catalina introduces some new exciting features and functionalities.

As we say goodbye to iTunes, macOS Catalina brings in new apps and features to the table, including Apple Music, Podcasts Books, and TV. Another major feature is Sidecar, which can turn your iPad into another display. For ordinary users, this means getting a secondary display for free. For developers, on the other hand, this secondary screen can be used as a drawing tablet using supported apps.

With the release of macOS Catalina 10.15, a lot of Mac users are enthusiastic to install the newest Mac operating system. Just like the previous versions of macOS, some were able to upgrade without a hitch, but several users encountered various issues during downloading and installation of the update.

Some users experienced slow downloading of the update, while others got error messages when installing Catalina, including:

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  • Storage system verify or repair failed
  • This copy of the Install application can’t be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading.
  • An error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running again.
  • Copy of install macOS application is damaged and can’t be used to install macOS.
  • There is not enough free space on the selected volume.

This guide will give you a detailed rundown of the most common macOS Catalina installation and update errors encountered by Mac users when upgrading or installing macOS Catalina, along with the instructions on how to deal with these hiccups.

Install Catalina On Mac Pro 5 1

Why macOS Catalina Won’t Install

Various problems can occur during the installation of macOS Catalina. If the installation won’t start, seems to freeze midway , or never seems to complete, then it means that there must be something wrong somewhere.

The first main reason why users can’t install macOS Catalina is compatibility problem. If your Mac doesn’t support macOS Catalina, you won’t be able to proceed with the installation. You need a fairly recent Mac to be able to run macOS Catalina. Here are the Mac models that support the newest macOS:

  • MacBook (2015) and later
  • MacBook Air (2012) and later
  • MacBook Pro (2012) and later
  • Mac Mini (2012) and later
  • iMac (2012) and later
  • iMac Pro (2017) and later
  • Mac Pro (2013) and later

If your device is not on this list, then you’re sure to run into problems when installing Catalina.

Another thing you need to check before installation is your available storage space. You will need around 6.5 GB just to download the installer. Once you’ve downloaded it, the amount of space you will need during the installation depends on whether you’re doing a clean install or an upgrade.

A clean install will eat up around 20 GB of storage. On top of that, you have to make room for apps, user data, and user updates. An upgrade install, on the other hand, will only take up 6.5 GB of space for the installer, plus some installation files that the installer will copy to your startup drive.

If you’re tight on storage space, you should consider removing unneeded apps and files on your Mac. You can uninstall the apps one by one, and delete cache files and data using Mac repair app. Make sure you have at least 25 GB of free space to be able to install macOS Catalina successfully.

Aside from compatibility issues and insufficient storage, poor internet connection, incomplete or corrupted installation files, hard disk problems, and faulty software can also cause issues during the installation of macOS Catalina.

Installation Checklist for macOS Catalina

Before proceeding with the installation, it is necessary to spend some time ticking off the checklist below. These steps will not only prevent errors from happening, but also ensure that your data remains safe in case something goes wrong.

  • Back up your Mac, especially your iTunes media library since Catalina will no longer have iTunes.
  • Take note of the 32-bit apps on your Mac . You will need to update them to the 64-bit version after upgrading, or find an alternative for them.
  • Delete old Install macOS files from your Applications folder. These old macOS installation files may cause error during the upgrade.
  • Remove all external drives and accessories.
  • Plug in your Mac’s power adapter.
  • Connect to a stable Wi-Fi network.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you can now proceed with the upgrade.

How to Upgrade to macOS Catalina

The easiest way to download and install macOS Catalina is through the App Store on your Mac. Just open the App Store and search for macOS Catalina. Click the install button to start downloading, then click Continue.

You can also visit the macOS Catalina website and download the installer from there. The installer will be downloaded to the Applications folder on your Mac. Once downloaded, the installer will open by itself. Just follow the onscreen instructions to proceed with the installation. You might be asked to log in using your admin username and password during the process.

As long as your device is compatible with Catalina and you’ve followed the instructions, you’ll be able to successfully install the new macOS on your Mac. But if you encounter any error during the download or installation, refer to our guide below to sort out the issue.

How to Fix Common Download Errors for macOS Catalina

Downloading the installer is the first step of the installation process. The installer takes up 6.5GB of storage, but you will need more space to be able to run the new macOS smoothly. If you have Automatic Updates enabled, the installer might already be downloaded on your device.

If the installer has not yet been downloaded, go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Software Update to download Catalina.

If the downloading process gets stuck or is taking a long time to complete, here’s what you can do:

  1. Go to the Apple Server status website and check if the macOS Software Update‘s button is green. If not, then there’s probably some issues with the website, so you might need to try upgrading some other time.
  2. If the macOS Software Update is green, but you’re still having download problems, check your internet connection. Consider switching to a wired internet connection if possible.
  3. If the download is stuck for a long time, cancel it by clicking the X button.
  4. Switch to a different DNS server and retry the download again.

Install Macos Catalina On Mac Pro 5 1

It might take a few attempts for the downloading to be successful, especially in the early days of the release of the update.

How to Fix Errors When Preparing for the Installation of macOS Catalina

Once you have successfully downloaded the installer to your device, the system then prepares your Mac for the installation process. There are users who encountered errors during this stage and came across the Error occurred preparing the installation. Try running the applicationagain message.

The first thing you need to do when you encounter this error is to reboot your Mac. You might need to restart your system a couple of times to deal with this problem. If the error doesn’t go away after rebooting, here are some steps you can try:

Check Your Mac’s System Date and Time.

An incorrect system time usually gets in the way of a lot of system processes, including updates. To make sure your Mac’s date and time are correct, follow the instructions below:

  1. Go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Date & Time.
  2. Tick off Set Date and Time Automatically.
  3. If the option is already checked, uncheck it then reboot your Mac.
  4. Go back to the Date and Time panel and check the option again.
  5. Next, try re-installing macOS Catalina.

Re-Download the Installer.

If the step above did not work, you might have to delete the macOS Catalina installer on your Applications folder. Find the Install macOS file in the Applications folder and move it to the Trash. Empty the Trash and reboot. Once your Mac restarts, try downloading the installer and then run the install process again.

Delete the Installinfo.plist File.

If you encounter the Copy of install macOS application is damaged and cant be used to install macOS error during the preparation of the installation, the best workaround is to delete the installinfo.plist from the installer package, then try re-installing.

To delete the installinfo.plist file, check out the steps below:

  1. Go to the Applications folder and look for the installer package for macOS Catalina. It is usually named Install macOS.
  2. Right-click on the file and select Show Package Contents.
  3. Click on Contents > SharedSupport.
  4. Delete the Installlnfo.plist inside the folder.
  5. Type in your admin password to confirm the action.
  6. Click on the installer to run it again.

How to Fix Catalina Installation Errors on Mac

Install macos catalina on mac pro 5 1

After preparing your Mac, the system then proceeds to the installation process. There are different errors you might encounter at this stage, so you need to take note of the error message and at which stage it happened.

Here are some of the errors you may encounter during the installation process.

Stuck at Setting Up Screen

When you’ve been stuck with the Setting up your Mac message for several hours or you encounter the dreaded spinning wheel, the best way to deal with this is to restart your device. Press the power button to shut down your Mac, then press it again to reboot.

Storage Space Problems

If you failed to optimize your storage space before the installation, you might come across errors related to insufficient storage space. You might see the macOS Could not be installed, the target disk is too small message or the There is not enough free space on the selected volume error.

This happens because you do not have enough space on your Mac. Free up some storage first before proceeding with the installation. You might need around 20GB to 25GB of space for macOS Catalina to run efficiently on your Mac.

Network Access Error

If you see a Code=551 error anytime during the installation process, you need to check your network settings. This error happens to devices with overactive firewall or those installed with third-party security software, such as VPN and antivirus. If this happens, disable this software first before trying to reinstall macOS Catalina.

Installation Doesn’t Complete

Sometimes, your Mac gets stuck with the x minutes remaining screen during the installation. When you encounter this problem, click the X button to exit the installation process and check your console logs. It is possible that your user account is corrupted, preventing your system from completing the installation process.

The only way to deal with this is to create another admin user account and install macOS Catalina using that account.

Mac Fails to Start After Update

You might think that everything is over once you finish the installation process and your Mac restarts. But sometimes, errors can still happen even after the installation has been completed. Some users reported getting stuck with a black screen, while others encounter the spinning wheel during the restart following the update.

This error is usually caused by incompatible or corrupted kext files. Kext or Kernel Extension files are the drivers for macOS. To check whether kext files are causing the error, move all of them out of your Extensions folder before rebooting your Mac.

To move your kext files, follow the steps below:

  1. Boot your Mac into Safe Mode by holding down the Shift key until you see the Apple logo.
  2. Open Terminal under the Utilities folder, then copy-paste the following command:

mkdir ~/Extensions-Backup && sudo mv /Library/Extensions/* ~/Extensions-Backup/

Once done, restart your Mac in normal mode and see if it goes through.

If All Else Fails, Do a Fresh Install.

If you’re still having issues despite following the guide above, you may need to do a fresh install of macOS Catalina. To do this:

  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Press Power + Command + R keys to bring up the macOS Utilities screen .
  3. Click Reinstall macOS.
  4. Select Disk Utility > Erase HDD.
  5. Install the macOS Catalina from here.

Remember that erasing your HDD will delete all of your files and settings, so make sure you have a backup before doing a fresh install. This should hopefully take care of common macOS Catalina installation problems.