Stuck on startup screen!! Help!!

[akaPeach]

Hi guys.

I just bought a new 240gb SSD from OWC, swapped out the drive of my mid 2012 MacBook Pro, installed a fresh copy of Mavericks on it and was working fine for a little while. I then started the task of installing Pro Tools, then as I was installing the 2nd part (virtual instruments) the installer froze, then froze the whole computer, curser wouldn't move at all and the whole computer was not responding. I left it for a while as I know these things happen but after about 20 minutes still nothing, so I hard booted the computer and it started up sweet. I attempted to install again and same thing happened!!! But this time, after hard booting it is stuck on the grey apple screen with the loading wheel spinning. Any help would be much appreciated. My plan is to reinstall my old HDD (still fully functioning), download Mountain Lion and start again (a little less buggy and faster for Pro Tools??)

Cheers for any help!

 

[akaPeach]

possibly problem solved.. Ive managed to get it to start up again and is all running fast (like it was after the fresh install).. Also managed to install the rest of Pro Tools without a hassle (I was installing off a external HDD so I transferred it to the desktop first before installing)...

Just a quick question. Before I go any further, what OS X would you recommend for a Pro Tools rig. I can stick with Mavericks or can downgrade to Mountain Lion. I have read mixed reviews so I am a little unsure.

Thanks for any help in advance!

 

[sharon22]

OMG, interesting post! I have some thoughts/ideas on this.

My first instinct or reaction to this is there's something wrong with the new hard drive. So.... if it were ME, this is what I would do. I would boot up from a different drive (external, or whatever), and I would ERASE the SSD (you know, using disk utility, just erase it, then choose the Mac Format Journaled, Extended, the usual stuff), and then right at that point, I would run a "REPAIR DISK" on it.

Then, I would do a CLEAN INSTALL of Mavericks. After I did the clean install, then I would copy over any files from your old drive that you need. If it's just a few files, just copy them over, if it's a lot of files, or Applications, or whatnot, then I'd use Migration Assistant.

THEN, I would run "REPAIR DISK" one more time, then I would run REPAIR PERMISSIONS.

("Repair Permissions" is almost ALWAYS a very, very good idea before installing stuff!)

Then, I would try installing Pro Tools again.

That's just me. Many (probably everybody else but me) would say don't mess with anything, you got it to work, leave it alone. But the way I think, I'm thinking there's some little itty-bitty bit/byte out of order, something didn't go right, need to start all over, so that down the road similar things won't happen again.

Regarding ML vs Mavericks for Pro Tools, you may wish to consider that when Apple does the Software Updates, there may come a point where it will say "Sorry, Pro Tools requires OSX version 10.X.X and ML is no longer supported," or something like that. So, you could either save yourself the hassle and just go with Mavericks (which, by now, in it's final iteration of 10.9.5, is VERY thoroughly vetted, all the bugs worked out), or, if you wish, do ML, and cross any bridges when you come to them. Me? I would do Mavericks all the way!

CONGRATULATIONS on your new SSD. My goodness that must be fun. Most of my posts, here on this forum, usually include me daydreaming about getting a SSD for my iMac!

 

[akaPeach]

Thanks for the tips!

I ended up formatting the drive, and verifying the disk (I possibly thought there was a problem too), but it all came back fine. I continued to download and install ML as I figured I can always upgrade to Mavericks later down the track when everything is supported by Avid for Pro Tools.

I just tried your repair permissions trick, and it came back with heaps so I'm happy for that tip!

Cheers