Grey screen on Target Disk mode boot up

I have a home iMac, Late 2012, OSX 10.9.1, 32GB, and a corp MBP, Late 2011, 8GB. I would really like to use Target Disk Mode to boot the MBP on the faster iMac - it worked once or twice and was fabulous, but that was when both were on Lion.
Now after upgrading both to Mavericks, Target Disk mode bootup isn't working anymore. I get to the Login Screen on the MBP bootup, but after logging in i just get a grey screen. Nothing else.
Pretty sure i'm doing everything right. Connect both, boot target with cmd-T, boot host with "alt", select startup disk, login ..... then nothing.
Fix is probably simple - any help would be great.

Ok this is a guess.
Are you trying to use the system files etc on the iMac to run the MBP?
If so I am surprised it worked in Mountain Lion, the Video cards probably have different drivers and that could be why you cannot login but the login screen with standard resolution works.
You could try and match the resolution on the iMac with one that suits both machines but running it that way is not something I would do.
Perhaps I understand your question incorectly, if so apologies and disregard my post.

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Power Mac G4 stuck in Target Disk Mode

The other night I put my Gigbit Ethernet into Target Disk Mode so I could migrate my files to a newer machine (a mirrored drive door G4 with dual 1.42mhz processors). After the migration was complete (which took 9 hours), I tried ejecting the target disk but got a perpetual spinning beach ball and had to force everything off. Unfortunately, either because my newer machine came with a faulty Tiger installation, or my migration messed the installation up - the finder kept crashing and things such as "Get Info" wasn't working- I had to endeavor to get a working version of Tiger on the newer machine. I wanted to clone my older drive to my newer drive.
Futzing around for over an hour to try to gain access to my old Power Mac's hard Disc, which was still, according to the bouncing Icon on the screen, in target disk mode, I could not access the drive at all from the newer machine. When I tried, such as by double clicking on its desktop icon, by right clicking on the same Icon, or if I went into the system preferences to change the startup disk with the gigabit ethernet attached, I got the perpetual spinning beach ball. Also, I could not access the drive from the disk utility app that is on the Tiger install DVD. Luckily, I had a pretty fresh bootable backup of the gigabit ethernet on a firewire drive that I cloned to my newer computer. I just have a handful of files that I want to transfer from the gigabit ethernet if I had my drothers.
Am I screwed here? Is there a way to force my Gigabit Ethernet out of Target Disk Mode without hooking it up to another computer? If it's possible to get the Gigabit Ethernet to boot again successfully, I can transfer my file over my network. Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers

I am confused...it sounds to me like what you wish to do is to make an exact copy of the hard disk in your Gigabit Ethernet and apply that copy to the drive in your MDD, correct?
From what I understand, you are saying you cannot access your GE's hard disk using target disk mode? Or am I mistaken? Also, can you not boot up normally on the GE's hard disk? Is there something wrong with it?
The easiest way to clone a disk is to just make a disk image of the hard disk you wish to keep, and then apply that disk image to the destination disk. Disk utility can perform all this very easily, and pretty quickly. Of course, if you are having trouble booting in target disk mode, this can be a problem...
I'm still kind of confused on what exactly is the problem, and what you are trying to accomplish. Could you please explain a little more and answer the questions above? Much appreciated.

Does the MacBook 2015 support target disk mode?

Will the new MacBook support using the only port it has USB-C to thunderbolt for target disk mode booting?
thanks

Kappy wrote:
Target Disk Mode is only usable on Firewire. If Apple provides a USB-C to Firewire adaptor then you could use TDM.
Not true: You can access Target Disk Mode through Thunderbolt ports.
I don't know enough about USB-C to know whether TDM is possible: certainly TDM isn't possible on USB-A ports. We'll all have to keep reading the reviews once the hardware is released.

Mac Mini won't Boot after Target Disk Mode

We just bought a new iMac and used target disk mode via firewire from our older Mac Mini running OSX 10.4 to transfer data. Now when we go to restart the mini, the grey screen appears with apple logo and it seems to try to boot up but after a long time alway just ends up with a blue screen. I don't think I "ejected" the mini properly from the imac after the target disk mode transfer. Could the mini be stuck in target disk mode? I've tried to restart in different modes eg. safe mode, pram by holding down keys on start up but doesnt make a difference at all almost as if the keyboard isn't registering (and its a wired keyboard). Any ideas???
Thanks

Try starting up from the Recovery Partition holding the Option (Alt) key and see if you can Repair your Macintosh HD, as per > OS X: About OS X Recovery

Won't boot, recognise superdrive or startup in target disk mode

I've been trying to help a friend with his iMac G4 that crashed. Of course he hasn't backed up his hard drive in years. I've searched the forums and have tried several methods to get his machine running or at least recover his data but with no luck.
Here's what happens:
When I turn on his computer I can hear repeated clicking which eventually stops. The screen comes up grey and eventually a flashing icon appears, alternating between a folder with a Finder icon and a folder with a question mark.
Here's what I've tried:
I've tried booting in target disk mode but that doesn't work.
I've tried booting holding down the mouse button but the superdrive tray doesn't open.
I've booted into Open Firmware and typed "eject cd". The system pauses for a long time then gives me the message "can't OPEN the EJECT device".
I've manually opened the superdrive tray, loaded a disc, then booted while holding down the "c" key. I can hear the drive spin, but the computer doesn't boot from the disk. I've tried loading a Tiger DVD, a DiskWarrior CD and an OS 9 CD.
I've tried removing the Airport card and additional RAM.
I've tried resetting the PRAM.
I've tried resetting the PMU.
I've booted into Open Firmware and typed "reset-nvram" then "reset-all".
Nothing has worked. The computer always returns to the flashing Finder/question mark folder.
I'd really appreciate any suggestions on where to go from here.
Thanks!

When you can't boot from any method it usually signals that one of 2 things (maybe both) have failed:
Motherboard
Hard drive - Some hard drive failures lock up the ATA controller so badly that the Mac can't boot from any device.

G5 won't boot but will go to target disk mode

Hi,
Well it started like this: suddenly a dark grey veil lowered across the screen with a notice in several languages saying "you must restart your mac" (or something to that effect). I panicked and pressed the power button, the mac shut down.
I started it again but it only got as far as the grey Apple screen and then sat there for a while until the fans started ramping up in the famous jet engine style. I shut it down again.
I have tried starting it:
In single user mode = no joy, same as above
In safe mode = some text on a black background, keyboard not functional, fans start going crazy again.
In target disk mode = everything exactly as one might expect, all files accessable, fans ticking over normally.
I have attached an ibook to it, booted the G5 in Target disk mode and run disk utility, repair, but it reported the disk "could not be unmounted". There was a lot of clicking from the G5 though so I assume something happened. I then ran "verify" and it reported that everything was fine.
The G5 still won't start, exhibiting the same symtoms as before.
Anyone got any ideas?
Cheers,
Cliff

Hi Cliff, and a warm welcome to the forums!
See if any of this gives us more clues....
How to reset the SMU on a Power Mac G5 (Late 2004) or Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) ...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1436
Earlier G3, G4, G5 models...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1939
PM G5 won't start...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2173

Mini won't boot - tried many methods, disk visible in Target Disk Mode

I have a PPC Mac Mini running Leopard. It stopped booting last week. It goes to the point where the Apple appears and then stops. No moving ring at the bottom of the screen.
I've done the following w/ no luck to get it booting.
1) Put it in Target Disk mode and run Disk Utility. Repaired permissions and did a Repair Disk. No issues found.
2) Put it in Target Disk mode and ran Tech Tool Pro. Checked volume/file structures and sectors. Nothing found.
3) Reset PRAM.
In Target Disk Mode, I can see the files. But I want to get it running one last time to archive some program configuration files. I know I can erase and restore from a TM backup but I'm using that as a last resort. Other than trying Spinrite, any other ideas?

You must be very keen on those config files. You are going thru a lot of work to get them. But if you must ...
If you have an extra firwire external drive free, that you can partition with APM (Apple Partition Map) and format, then you could use your original install disc or Leopard install disc to install a bootable version of OSX on that external.
Boot from the external, and then download the latest combo update for Leopard and install it on the internal drive. Hopefully that will fix the the internal enough to make it bootable.
Another approach is to pay $100 for DiskWarrior. Most of the time it can fix a problem like yours ... but no guarantees. It is a worthwhile program to own anyway, however.

Broken screen, erased main disk, cannot boot to Recovery Mode to reinstall OS X

I am using a MacBook Air from around 2010, not really sure what version of the OS was on it prior to erasing. The screen is broken so I have to either duplicate the screen or use clamshell mode to see anything. When booting in Recovery Mode by holding Command + R, the only option is to use clamshell mode with an external monitor because otherwise only a gray screen is shown.
My issue is a result of erasing the main disk while in Recovery Mode and then shutting down the MacBook. I turned the computer back on assuming I could use clamshell and Recovery Mode to reinstall the OS but unfortunately this isn't working and I can't get anything to display on the external monitor.
I cannot use Target Disk Mode from another Mac because there is no FireWire port and there is also no Ethernet port.
This leads me to these questions in trying to figure out how to reinstall OS X:
- Is it not possible to boot in Recovery Mode after erasing the main disk?
- Is it not possible to use clamshell mode after erasing the main disk?
I have also tried booting while holding Command + Option + R to use Internet Recovery or booting while holding just Option, there was still nothing to be displayed on the external monitor after closing the lid to switch to clamshell mode.
I'm stuck, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

FYI:
I have tried booting into Single User Mode, using fsck to repair permissions, but to no avail. However in the Single User Mode I did notice something unusual. When trying to reboot using the command 'exit', a long list of errors came out.
Most were Library/Extensions/... .kext is not authentic; omitting from prelinked kernel.
Some errors were ...: No such file or directory
And afterwards the errors were stuck there and no reboot occurred. I also couldn't type anything.

Installing over Target Disk Mode using Grey (OEM-type) Discs

I have a set of Tiger grey install discs labeled for use with a Power Mac G5. I would like to use them to upgrade our eMac, but they obviously don't allow this. I have some family who own a G5, and was wondering if it would be possible to connect the eMac to their computer under Target Disk Mode, then install on the eMac by running the installation on the G5. Anyone have any experience trying something smilar?
I know some will probably say doing this would be a violation of the EULA, but I have looked through the license agreement that came with the discs and haven't seen anything that would prohibit such an installation. It is my understanding that starting with version 10.4.4 of OS X, Apple added a clause to the EULA stating that the grey install discs were only permitted for use with the computer they originally shipped with, but prior to this there were no such prohibitions (these discs are labelled as version 10.4.2).
Thanks for any help

Hi sjpetrick, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Physically that would work to install, BUT whether the iMac will Boot/Run thinking it's a G5 is questionable, and even if it does boot, It won't have some needed drivers for the eMac.

Something annoying this way comes: using targeted disk mode for boot drive

So, this should be doable, but it's not working. Can anyone explain why, or what I'm doing wrong?
I have an Intel iMac, and an Intel MacBook - both are running Leopard. I temporarily want to use the iMac as the workstation, and the MacBook as the operating system hard disk. So, I put the MacBook in targeted disk mode, and connected it to the iMac via firewire 400. From the iMac, I option-booted to see the available boot disks. I then selected the MacBook's disk and clicked the arrow icon to boot. Once the iMac attempts booting, it displays the spinning cog on gray screen for longer than usual, then goes to a blue screen with an intermittent spinning cog. It seems to hang at this point.
I've done this with PPC machines in the past, so I'm not sure what the deal his here. The only things I can think of that would be a problem, but really shouldn't be are: 1) the MacBook is running 10.5.2 (keeping it at v2 due to the CS3 issue) and the iMac is running 10.5.3. Also, the iMac is the 24" model - so perhaps there's a screen resolution issue...
Any advice out there? THANK YOU!

Hi
Presumably the version of Leopard on both models are hardware specific? I would have thought extensions for device specific hardware such as graphics drivers etc on the Macbook would not include support for the 24" iMac. Bigger screen, more resolution support and a more powerful graphics card.
If you were to go the other way I can imagine the driver included for the iMac 24' would probably support the smaller Macbook screen.
I don't have any link or kbase that I can point at to prove this 'theory' because thats all it is - a theory. But it kind of makes sense to me and does explain the behaviour you see.
Tony

Can u boot from a Mac in target disk mode

I'm wanting to know if I put a Mac mini in target disk mode, can I boot from that Mac mini from my MacBook Pro. I'm wanting to set up a mini as a server but it may have to be the basic and ill install server on it but I prefer to do it without using a monitor. I'm curious to know if its possible.

You don't need a monitor with the MM, and neither boot in Target Mode. Like me, use screen sharing for remote access over the network:
On the MM, -> System Preferences -> Sharing, there check Remote Management and choose which user, if not all, may have access. If you're not the only one, you can limit access for each user under Options.
Under -> System Preferences -> Energy Saver, it makes sense to check Wake for network access.
Then you can log out from the MM, leave it sitting at the login screen and turn off or disconnect its screen.
On the remote Mac, open Finder and find the MM under Shared. Click in it, then on Share Screen. You'll need to enter the login credentials for your account on the MM, eventually save it to your Keychain. Then your MM's login screen should appear in a window on your remote Mac. You have now full access to the MM.

G4 PM will not boot after using Target Disk mode connected Intel iMac.

Hi,
We have some new Intel iMacs and have transferred some information from our previous G4 PM (one MDD and one Quicksilver) to the new iMacs. For some reason the G4's will now not boot up and kernal panic on the gray Apple boot screen. This has happened to all the G4's we have in our office. They are running OSX 10.2.8 and the iMacs are running OSX 10.4.4. We can still mount the drives from the G4's using FireWire Target Disk mode.
I have tried zapping the PRAM etc but they still wont boot. I have also tried running the OSX 10.2 Installer disks to try and reinstall OSX on the G4's but the installer cannot see the drives?
Anyone have any idea what is wrong. Never had this problem before using the FireWire transfer.
Thanks,
Nick.

I had an experience with a mini mac after booting in target disk mode while connected to a blue and White G3 via Firewire. After attempting a restart, all I got was a blinking ? which usually means the startup disk or system folder can not be found.
I fixed this problem by booting using the originall install CD and then using the startup disk menu to reselect the original system disk/system folder as the startup disk. On reboot. all was good. Only took a couple of minutes.....

G4 450 Sawtooth - Won't Boot to FW Target Disk Mode

Running 10.5.8
Upgraded NewerTech 2G Processor
ATI 9800 Pro Video Card
Original WD 20G Drive with 10.5.8 (Back Up Boot Disk)
New Seagate 500G SATA - Primary Boot drive
FirmTech SATA Controller Card
New Seagate 1.5T - Misc Storage
Disk Utility and Disk Warrior both report no problems on either boot drive.
The machine will boot in any form I choose.
Any available boot drive / disk using Start Up > Option key
To the Install DVD using Start Up > C key
Using single user mode - Start Up > Comm and S key
Using USB Thumb Drive (Has 10.5.8 and Disk Warrior)
The machine will not boot to Target Disk Mode using the T key. Before getting beyond the Black screen the computer shuts down.
I've tried:
alternately using each boot drive while the other is disconnected
removing RAM
removing the SATA controller card
checked all connections
Zapped Pram and reset PMU (had to reset Mac OSX Firmware for the NewerTech Processor after pram set)
The only other thing I can find is a reference to Firmware Password Protection, but from what I read the computer should show start up problems beyond just TDM. Additionally, I am not familiar with FPP. All I know is it would be set (reset) from the Install Disk.
Any thoughs please?

Make sure there is a hard drive available as Master on the ATA 0 bus.
FireWire Target Disk Mode: Target Computer Shuts Down at Startup
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode

Disk startup full- can't boot normally. Now in target disk mode.

Hello all, so here's my dilemma-
My disk startup is full and now I am unable to boot my computer past the apple logo and the loading circle.
Here's what I've tried,
I am now in target disk mode attempting to transfer over my files to an external HD via a good computer and then wipe/restore the OS on my bad computer THEN transfer my files over to the bad(now good) computer however..... some of my files won't transfer, especially in my iphoto library (It's HUGE 82 gigs) & my very elaborate final cut pro projects that have taken me h o u r s to do.... For example, some video icons don't show up with a snapshot of the video as they are suppose to but instead they're shown with a a default video icon which almost makes me think they're damaged files but the thing is- I was just working with these files.. My comp passed all HD tests. I don't think it's damaged...I don't know what's going on. If I could just find a way to delete some files...especially from my trash(30 gigs in there) so I'm able to at least boot properly, that would be great
Is there anyway to retrieve these stubborn files via target disk mode or another option?
Also do you maybe have an easier way for me to go about this entire process instead of transferring 500gb of data back and forth? I tried to access my trashcan via target disk mode and delete the 30 gigs I have in there but I was unable to delete it- and I do have "read and write" switched on.
Thanks in Advance!! ANY help is appreciated. I'm at wits end here.
Details
-I have a mid 2012 macbook pro connected with the mid 2012 imac that I'm running on target disc mode via thunderbolt cable (I also tried a 2013 air- same issues)

Before you spend a lot of money with a professional recovery service, look over these links:
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201583
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html
Ciao.

Help: Windows XP on MacBook Pro Boot Camp Partition via Target Disk Mode

Firstly, let me lay out my situation. I have an old MacBook Pro (2,2) with a broken disk drive. It was dropped in its youth and can no longer read from or write to CDs or DVDs of any kind. I have just recently bought a new MacBook Pro to replace it (6,2) and am currently trying to convert the old computer into an XP machine through Boot Camp. I'd like to be able to do so without having to buy an external disk drive.
After a clean install of OS X (10.6.3) onto the old machine, I successfully partition 85GB of space (although I previously attempted the same with a 32GB file system to no avail as well) for XP to be installed upon. Because I cannot boot my XP install disk directly from the broken disk drive, I then close Boot Camp Assistant and shut down the computer. I start it up in Target Disk Mode to be accessed from the new MacBook (6,2).
Once the old MacBook is connected, I insert my XP install disk into the new MacBook (6,2) and boot from the disk. After allowing the XP (Professional) boot to load the install files, I arrow-key down to my 85GB partition (FAT32, named standard as "BOOTCAMP") on the old MacBook (2,2)'s hard drive and select it as the partition I would like to install to. This is where I am directed to a new boot window that tells me in a series of paragraphs that the XP installer cannot reach the selected partition for what seems to be a number of reasons. What it seems to be trying to say to me is that it cannot do a remote install of XP on a Target Disk Mode-connected machine, while not "knowing" that I am trying to do so. It's a similar message to the one that Boot Camp Assistant shows when one tries to create a Boot Camp partition on a machine that is being accessed via Target Disk Mode (Apple puts it much more clearly than Microsoft).
I'd be perfectly content, albiet slightly vexed, to conclude here that it is not possible, shuttle over to the nearest Best Buy, and purchase an external disk drive if it weren't for one thing: I tried the same thing two weeks ago with Ubuntu 10.10 and it installed perfectly on the Boot Camp partition I had created then (I have since wiped all and installed OS X cleanly on the laptop).
Here comes the point/questions:
If the Ubuntu boot disk can access the partition, why can't the XP boot disk?
Is there some way to convince the boot system that the drive is local, rather than being accessed via Target Disk Mode?
Is there an easy solution that doesn't even require that, and will allow me to install to the disk over a firewire connection?
If anyone's knowledgeable and/or brave enough to tackle this one, I'll be eternally grateful. Heck, I'll be grateful if anyone even attempts to tackle it.
Thanks,
-Alec Page

Windows XP will only install from the optical drive. Target Disk Mode does not work with Windows volumes. Windows will not install from any external device.

Grey screen on Target Disk mode boot up

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