Cant Install Mavericks on a MacPro 2013 that came with Yosemite

You cannot install Mavericks on it - Macs are not capable of booting with an OS version older than what they came with originally.

I purchased a refurb iMac at the Apple store for that precise reason: it still came with Mavericks.

Well, I just found the specs for your machine and it states that it originally came with Mavericks:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/specs/mac-pro-eight-core-3.0-xeon- e5-gray-black-cylinder-late-2013-specs.html

Where/how did you buy it if it came with Yosemite?

FWIW, if you want to reinstall the original OS, you have to erase your hard drive using Disk Utility in the Utilities screen in internet recovery first. So, I'd give that a try after you make a backup.

Have you tried erasing the hard drive?

As for the initial OS: usually that is a special proprietary version for that machine - that is also why you cannot save the installer necessarily. So it also could have something to do with that.

Are you in Berlin? I'd take it back to the store and ask why they put a new OS on it. Was the box open or retaped? Since any OS downloads from the app store are tied to the Apple ID used to obtain it, also ask them what they used when they did that - have you successfully updated any apps on your machine? If so, then that appears to be ok.

I would tell them that you bought that particular machine precisely because you wanted Mavericks, so they need to give you one that has Mavericks on it.

You can't get the OS from another person because the license for the OS is not transferable, so you might wind up with more problems than you expected.

I would question the store specifically if they installed a newer OS on a machine that came with Mavericks (and if they did: why?). The only other possibility would have been that Apple is now shipping them with Yosemite - which, apparently, is not the case. If you look under Mac Pro here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204319

it shows that yours initially shipped with 10.9 and then with 10.9.2 and 10.9.4. So, if the machine is new, it should have one of those. Make a copy of that page and take it with you. Tell them you want them (and/pr Apple) to get you a copy of the initial OS version. You can find out what that was by giving Apple your serial number and they can look up the OS build it came with.

Hi, can you confirm this please.

You are saying that if I buy an apple computer with yosemite, i cannot go back to an earlier version?? why? because apple doesn't have the drivers for an earlier OS on the newer model? Things change that much, or is it there *** is just too tight??

If I buy Windows 8 and I hate, (pun intended) I can >100% <go back to windows 7 as long as there are drivers . Apple SHOULD be no different, unless they play the say crappy game Compaq played in the 90's putting the frigging bios on the hdd and not the M/B. No wonder they failed.

If this is really the case, I have just found reason to leave APPLE behind forever.

Macs have never supported booting from an OS version older than what they came with. You can use the listing of versions/builds I linked to earlier to see what any Mac came with originally. Some hardware which was manufactured right around the time a new OS is introduced will usually be able to boot from either OS because they were made for the older one.

I need to run Mavericks so I just got a refurb late 2012 iMac from Apple which originally had Mavericks, so I am all set.

Install OSX Restrictions

I want an official Reply by them, I thought this Forum here, is there, for official Apple people reply to problems!!!

Unfortunately, there are no official Apple people here - these are user to user forums. You will need to contact Apple if you want an official reply.

I would:

1. call Apple, give them the serial number, and ask which OS version it came with (or should have come with), and (if necessary),

2. go back to the reseller and question them (if it appears that they installed a newer system on it.

If the answer is that the new ones are now shipping with Yosemite, I would also ask if there is a way to exchange it for one that does come with Mavericks or if there is a way to install Mavericks.

You could try installing Mavericks on a bootable external drive from another machine, then try to boot your new machine from that drive. If that works then of course you can install mavericks on the internal drive (copy the installer onto your bootable external)

Hopefully the OP has found the solution they were looking for by now; after all, it's been 9 months and they've not posted back since.