Shut down on start up

there's several ways that you can go with a replacement drive. You can purchase the usual SSD, which is a laptop size drive, using an SATA interface, so very easy to install. Yes, you can use a 2.5 to 3.5 inch adapter.
If you use that for a boot drive, then does not matter which bay you use, but I think that for one boot drive, bay 1 is preferred.
If you have multiple boot drives installed, and maybe one or two external that can also boot your Mac Pro, you can choose which drive to boot from during boot. Just hold the Option/Alt key when you press and release the power button. Keep holding that option key, and you will get a boot-picker screen. Select that drive you want to boot from, and press enter.
If you would normally always boot from the same drive, select that drive in your System Preferences/Startup Disk pane. That makes your boot drive the default.
The method that I suggested is a form of cloning software (called Migration Assistant) -- when all you need is a way to migrate your files and apps from another drive. Migration Assistant is built-in to macOS.
Assuming the old drive is working well enough to finish that file transfer, which you would need to try, then you should be OK.
 
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Good Morning, All is well, I think the fat lady has sung her last, for the time being anyway.
I purchased a OWC Mercury 3G, 250Gb capacity SSDrive along with an adaptor sled, both online. The disc arrived yesterday and without waiting for the adaptor (which still hasn’t arrived), I fitted it into bay 2 and secured to the tray using the elastic band method (1 is inaccessible for fingers without an adaptor), and moved the old Seagate 750Gb troublesome drive to bay 3.
Interestingly I checked the old Seagate and correct DeltaMac it was the original, manufactured in 2006 so not surprising it’s on it’s last knockings!
Anyway booted from the system stick, formatted the new drive and continued the installation on to it.
Desperately waiting for the install to ask me to migrate from the old drive, it’s the last action after a couple of restarts, I waited whilst everything transferred over, without a hitch, brilliant and all seems to be well.
Initially I still had access to the old disc, but since a few startups It has now disappeared. I think it’s dead so must have got the contents off just in the nick of time. Anyway I don’t think I’d have been using it again. Re-installed the video card and away. All I need to do is re-calibrate the screen, looks like dishwater at the moment.
Must remember to back up on a regular basis, in fact clone what I’ve got, I will be getting further discs for this and also look into time machine.
All that has suffered is that the last couple of weeks of emails have gone to my previous G5ppc which has been briefly resurrected. My wife’s Imac has benefited from a system update and I think i’ll continue by going on to Mountain Lion next. Into the future ...
I just love keeping older things going, especially macs, I find mine more than adequate from a speed angle, the only real irritation is older browsers can be a pain in practice. Just been remenicing about old macs, the ci, the fx, the Quadras ... aahh.
Thanks a lot for all helping me out, couldn’t have done it without you, rock on!

and nearly forgot, the solid state disc is noticeably faster
 
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Plus using such an old Mac that's five years old then consider replacing the processor paste because certain years paste because in those days that stuff seems to dry out!
 
Tell me about processor paste, I wasn’t aware of its existence till recently ... gunge in a computer! and it’s 18 years old
 
Any ideas why this question mark is appearing central on each window I open, since re-installation, see image
Also had to re-install some Epson software which I had retained in Downloads, is this normal?

Screen Shot 2022-03-05 at 12.44.00.png
 
Yes, reinstalling printer drivers is normal.

As for the question mark - move the mouse to it and just hold it there (don't click) - it should tell you what it is suppose to be. More than likely a shortcut for a system function such as move to trash, or print.
 
As for the question mark - move the mouse to it and just hold it there (don't click) - it should tell you what it is suppose to be. More than likely a shortcut for a system function such as move to trash, or print.
Nothing if i don’t click, But if I click I get The item can’t be found. Maybe it was always there, but I never noticed it. I’ll have a look on the Imac later. Have looked and just a blank artistic space but no question mark
 
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Nothing if i don’t click, But if I click I get The item can’t be found. Maybe it was always there, but I never noticed it. I’ll have a look on the Imac later. Have looked and just a blank artistic space but no question mark
Just a remnant from before. Hold down the "Control" key And click it. Dialogue should pop up to delete it.
 
Just a remnant from before. Hold down the "Control" key And click it. Dialogue should pop up to delete it.
still wont go, although did get options to add tasks to window header which I wasn’t aware of. Aaahh if I drag the default toolbar it goes, thanks for your help
 
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