Boot a sick mac into target disk mode for troubleshooting. Exceptions include the trayloading imac, power macintosh g3 and g4, models of ibook g3 without firewire, the first macbook air 20082009, and old unibody macbook. If youre not familiar with firewire target disk mode it transforms a mac equipped with a firewire port either 400 or 800 into an external hard. Apr 27, 2009 once you have the firewire cable, just simply connect the two computers together. Requires two macs with firewire ports, and firewire cable. The key first step in the transfer was to restart the old imac while pressing down the t key so as to make it a target disk. In this boot mode, macs firmware empowers its storage drive to act as an external storage device without loading macos. Connect the two computers with a firewire or thunderbolt cable.
Target disk mode allows one mac with firewire or now with thunderbolt to be used as an external hard disk connected to another computer. That feature is the target disk mode built into the mac firmware. Target disk mode is a mac feature that has been around since the release of the powerbook 100 in 1991. It allows users to connect two macs together via thunderbolt, usbc, or firewire ports and share the content of the targeted macs internal drive. Boot into target disk mode on the old mac shut down the old mac that will be receiving the hard drive. Forensically sound mac acquisition in target mode sans.
While firewire is no longer shipping on macs, thankfully firewire was replaced with thunderbolt as a high speed data connection on newer. The mac being used as the source for the display cant make use of any of the display imacs. You can then transfer files between the two computers faster than using a network. Shut down the mac that you want to troubleshoot or retrieve files from.
Instead, the mac s firmware enables its drives to behave as a scsi, firewire, thunderbolt andor usbc external mass. Target disk mode sometimes referred to as tdm or target mode is a boot mode unique to macintosh computers. How to use target disk mode with thunderbolt 3 on macbook pro. How to install mac os x lion using target disk mode. Nor can target disk mode be used with apples usbc charge cable, which is a usb 2 cable when used for data. However, my powermac g4 never found the ibook, i tried connecting the cable to both of the firewire ports on the logic board, and the other two on my expansion card, but nothing, it couldnt find the ibook, not even in disk utility. She doesnt have a firewire cable, so we cant do target disk mode. Connect this mac to another mac in target disk mode youtube. Looking to transfer huge files between two macs as fast as possible. Target disk mode has only been available for macs with thunderbolt. If one mac has a thunderbolt port and the other mac has a firewire port, youll need a thunderbolttofirewire adapter cable. Because both computers are already receiving power from an outlet, you do not need such a cable to use firewire target disk mode, but it would work. Windows 7 recognises an sbp2 compliant ieee 94 device has been plugged in. With this firewire cable ready, switch off both macs and first connect the firewire cable to the target mac this is the mac which has the hard drive which we wish to read from, or write to.
Oct 03, 2017 connect this mac to another mac in target disk mode. Jan 14, 2020 target disk mode, also known as tdm is a unique boot feature on a mac computer. If the computer is on, choose apple menu system preferences, click startup disk, then click target disk mode. Connect it to another mac with a firewire cable and. Target disk mode turns your mac into a firewire drive. My 366 mhz lime ibook with 576 mb ram is having a lot of problems with tiger the retail disk.
Nov 17, 2016 looking to transfer huge files between two macs as fast as possible. You only need to connect your thunderbolt or firewire cable to establish a. We rarely suggest using target disk mode for booting a mac, but it can work in some cases, and it cant hurt anything, except taking up some time to try it out. How to boot your mac in target disk mode for easy file. Remember that using target disk mode is only one of several means of recovering from mac os x high sierra with disk drill. Target disk mode is a very handy feature available to use with mac s that have thunderbolt or firewire ports, and it allows you to use one mac as an external drive on another host machine. How to recover data from another mac in target disk mode.
Mar 16, 2020 while in target display mode, only the keyboards display brightness, volume, and target display mode key combinations are active. Firewire isnt a magic bullet for connecting computers unless you use target disk mode, which makes life easy because only one computer is doing the workwhen you have two systems with simultaneous access to the same data, as in the sort of connection youre describing, its far more complicated by necessity. One thought on using firewire target disk mode to install os x on macs without dvd drives pingback. Have just forked out for a firewire cable and am trying to get that working. We decided to go for the gusto in our first test and installed a 240gb owc mercury extreme pro 6g ssd into the main bay of our 2011 thunderbolt port equipped inch macbook pro. Mac target disk mode includes usb the ivanexpert mac blog. If you need to transfer very large files from one mac to another, instead of waiting for the copy to crawl over the network, turn one mac into a firewire drive using whats called.
Mar 19, 2017 target disk mode over usb only works when connected via usb 3, so it can only be used with 2012 and later macs despite apples support article erroneously suggesting older models, by stating any mac. Target disk mode can be used for quite a variety of purposes. Easy, connect it to another mac using a thunderbolt or firewire to firewire cable to start using it as an external disk. Copying files from one mac to another without having to set up file sharing or create a local network. Once you have the firewire cable, just simply connect the two computers together. But in the end, target display mode became an appleonly technology that allowed mac users to drive an imacs display from another mac. Transfer files between two mac computers using target disk mode. How to use target disk mode with thunderbolt 3 on macbook.
Jun 18, 2018 target disk mode was first introduced with the powerbook 100 in 1991 and has made it into most mac models since then. Once the target mac is running in target disk mode, you. Usb target disk mode works with the right cable which apple doesnt sell. Recover mac storage drive data via target disk mode. When and how to use target disk mode mac optimization. If youre not familiar with firewire target disk mode it transforms a mac equipped with a firewire port either 400 or 800 into an external hard drive. In other words, you can connect two macs together using a firewire or thunderbolt cable in order to easily. Nor can target disk mode be used with apples usbc charge cable. You may want to consider using target disk mode with thunderbolt 3. How to boot your mac in target disk mode for easy file transfers. Youll need two compatible mac computers in order to use target disk mode, each with a firewire or thunderbolt interface.
Access files, use migration assistant, and boot from another mac. Jul, 2011 the recepient mac will now boot from the mac os x lion installer partition via target disk mode tdm. Usb, firewire, and inputs other than the keyboard will also be ignored. Get files off a dead macbook using target disk mode. Tdm is really fast thanks to firewire and thunderbolt speeds and this is probably the quickest way to install lion on another mac without just downloading it again from the app store.
Im trying to help my mom transition from her old imac to her new one. Simply hold down the t key when you boot up and the mac in question, as long as it supports this mode, will boot into firewire target disk mode. How to boot mac in target disk mode to transfer files. To enter target disk mode, click the apple menu and select system preferences. How to boot and use mac target disk mode techzillo. Nov 28, 2001 those the ipods cable is a 6 pin to 6 pin cable are used when you want to transfer power along the cable as well as data. While in target disk mode, your mac will act as an external drive and appear in the. On the mac you want to use as the disk in target disk mode, do one of the following. If you are planning on using target disk mode to boot your mac equipped with thunderbolt ports youll need apples special thunderbolt cable in order for. Dec 15, 2019 a very useful feature about the mac that many users remain unaware of is the ability to enter target disk mode. Target disk mode has the power to turn your mac into an external hard drive. Jun 03, 2011 you can use target disk mode on any two mac computers with firewire ports. You can also enter target disk mode by rebooting your mac and holding down the t key as it boots. This allows the first mac to access the second as a firewire drive.
If the computer is off, start it up while pressing and holding the t key. This target mode allows you to transfer data from mac to mac with the help of firewire or thunderbolt cable at a much faster speed compared to the other data transferring techniques. Target disk mode is an exclusive feature in mac, which plays a vital role in data recovery and file transfer. This handy feature allows you to connect two macs via firewire ports, thunderbolt ports, or usbc ports, and then share the contents of the target disk mode mac s internal drive. Understanding the applications for target disk mode computer skills. The other mac should be booted into macos normally, not in target disk mode. Is there any other way ethernet, usb to transfer her files. Youll also need a cable and any necessary adapters like thunderbolt to firewire, or thunderbolt 2 to thunderbolt 3. In order to use target disk mode with two macs, well need a firewire cable of the type 6 pin to 6 pin. Connect this mac to another mac in target disk mode. Instead, the macs firmware enables its drives to behave as a scsi, firewire, thunderbolt. Wipe down an old mac with target disk mode engadget.
I also tried putting the powermac into target disk mode, and the ibook couldnt reconize it. Oct 26, 2017 the use of target disk mode requires that you have another computer that is working and a thunderbolt or firewire cable to link the two of them. Firewire 400 is also supported and the host can also connect via usb 2. If the mac youre using target disk mode on is running an older operating system, it may not contain the needed support for the hardware on the second mac. If both of your macs do not have thunderbolt ports, the next option for connection is firewire. Thunderbolt via target disk mode other world computing blog. Have switched the mac into target disk mode which makes it behave just like an external hard drive and plugged it into my laptop via firewire. Transfer files between two mac computers using target disk. This incredibly useful feature makes troubleshooting, installations, large file transfers, and critical backups extremely easy and very fast. A mac booted in target mode can be attached to the port of any other. Click the startup disk icon and click the target disk mode button to restart your mac in target disk mode. Boot your mac in target disk mode for quick file transfers. If either mac has multiple firewire ports, remove all firewire devices from both computers before using target disk mode. Target disk mode is a boot mode unique to macintosh computers.
You can connect a firewire cable between two macs, and os x can use that cable as a network connection. I connected the older mac with a firewire 800 cable, attached it to a thunderbolt adapter which itself connects to the thunderbolt port of the new imac. With the laptop started in target mode you can now connect the tableau t9 to the host computer figure 10 and target drive firewire 800 port on the mac laptop figure 11 note. Apr 07, 2010 how to use firewire or thunderbolt target disk mode on mac. Ethernet, wifi, and bluetooth are the main ways to network macs, but you can use a few other methods to network your mac, including firewire, firewire disk mode. Use firewire target disk mode to troubleshoot a mac. How to recover data from deadbrokencrashed macbook proair. Apple originally hinted at the imac being used with dvd and bluray players as an hdtv display, and even as a display for another computer. The macbook lacks thunderbolt and firewire interfaces, which are required for target disk mode tdm, in which a mac. File transfer from mac in target disk mode to windows 7 via. The macbook lacks thunderbolt and firewire interfaces, which are required for target disk mode tdm, in which a mac is mounted on another mac as a drive. Sep 02, 2015 how to use your mac as a disk in target disk mode.
Your mac will restart and eventually display the firewire or thunderbolt icon to indicate its operating in target disk mode. When a mac that supports target disk mode is started with the t key held down, its operating system does not boot. Using firewire target disk mode you can connect two macs together by rebooting one into firewire target disk mode. Boot the target mac while holding down the t key until you see a firewire or thunderbolt icon displayed on screen. Target disk mode is apples own mechanism to help you transfer data from one mac to another using a thunderbolt or firewire cable without booting macos. Target display mode lets you use your old imac as a monitor.
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