Help with Target Disk Mode

I'm having some problems starting up a Power Mac G4 into target disk mode. I've done it before, a couple weeks ago, but now every time I try it instead starts up into open firmware mode. I can't figure out what's going on, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the forum.
Firstly, let's check a few things. Have a look at APPLE'S KNOWLEDGE BASE on how to do it. If that's what you're doing then report back.

Similar Messages

  • Problem With Target Disk Mode

    Folowing upgrade of my Mini and Powerbook to Tiger I have a problem with target Disk Mode when I attempt to eject the transfer to disk following transfer of my user file. I get an error message to the effect that files are in use and the disk can not be ejected. I try force quit (finder only is running) usually to no effect. Sometimes attempting to verify disk permissions in disk utility will clear the problem and allow me to eject the disk. One time it took close to an hour attempting to eject the disk. Is there another way?
    PB   Mac OS X (10.4.3)  

    I had this problem with external volumes like ZIP discs and also external hard drives. Sometimes it was an app used on one of the external files still being open (eg. Word for a text file) which had to be quitted first. The "trackpad" button equals the mouse button which is on the PowerBook. Repairing the target disk via disk utility might also help.

  • Broken Macbook Pro won't finish copying even with target disk mode. Help!

    Hi,
    I'm helping someone with a Macbook Pro 2010-11. It worked for a few years but eventually degraded last month when it wouldn't go 10 minutes without displaying the rainbow loading ball. Possibly a hard drive problem.
    The owner never backed any of the computer up. I am trying to salvage their data before it's lost. The computer can power on. I have been turning the computer on and salvaging most of the data from numerous trips with USBs until it crashes, and then moving on to Target Disk Mode. The computer turns on slowly, displays the rainbow ball every minute or so, and never finishes copying or exporting anything. It still seems to be degrading.
    I still need two things: One is a large folder with thousands of old OUTLOOK e-mails created on an old PC (which the owner no longer has).
    Second is the folder/autobackup where OUTLOOK for Mac stores all the e-mails and settings.
    I have found the folder -- I think it is the Main Identity or Office Identities. Am I correct? Will this bring back OUTLOOK on the newer Macbook Pro exactly like on the old one? I also know where the old e-mails folder is, but when I try to transfer either folder through Target Disk Mode on the newer Macbook Pro, it stops and gives me the "Some data in _____.olk14msgsource could not be read or written." AKA error code -36, halfway through the transfer.
    I have tried exporting OUTLOOK on the broken Macbook Pro to a .olm, but it gets stuck halfway and gets stuck back on the rainbow ball. Then I shut the computer off. I have also tried going into the folders through target disk mode and deleting the .olk14msgsource files that are problematic, but there are too many of them.
    Please help! The owner needs these files and OUTLOOK exactly like it was!
    Thanks!

    Tried connecting the cable?  Still won't start?
    If you are still under warranty and/or have AC, call them & let them deal w/it.
    OOW:  Take the MBP to your local AS or an AASP.  Diagnostic testing is FREE!
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1365 Intel-Based Apple Portables: Troubleshooting a computer that will not power on

  • How do I back up the Mac Pro with Target Disk Mode?

    My Mac Pro's partition has become corrupt, and will not boot. After trying to resolve the issue, it would seem the only solution is to reformat the computer, and start again.
    Nonetheless, I would still like to back it up. I have a MacBook Pro, a firewire cable, and an external hard drive connected to my MacBook. The partition is showing on the MacBook. However, Time Machine cannot back it up - It only sees my MacBook's partition.
    Is there any program I can use, or heck, anyway with just Mac OS-X on the MacBook I could use to back up the Mac Pro partition?
    Also, when I format the Mac Partition, I assume the Windows Partition will also be formatted? The Windows XP partition is working fine at the moment.
    Message was edited by: Christopher.Foss

    to be on the safe side. I would back up both partitions. that being said, if you try to erase the mac partition it shouldn't erase the pc partition. if that fails you could try deleting the mac partition and then re-adding it.
    But if the drive is really scrambled you may have to re-partition the whole drive; witch would erase every thing.
    You could try using disk utility to copy the drive as a disk image:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1553 explains how to do this in section "Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility"
    if disk utility fails you could try:
    you could try carbon copy cloner
    http://www.bombich.com/
    or
    Super Duper
    http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
    Message was edited by: TeenTitan

  • Target disk mode opticle drive?

    My ibook g3 cd drive is broken and my external drive is having problems booting from install discs. The iMac boots them fine. I have an iBook g4 that will do this but its dads laptop. I need to install mac os x 10.1 (which will not mount external drives on installation) on the iBook g3 (there is somthing wrong with the mother board, it runs tiger worse than the iMac which has less ram.)
    my point is is how can I use the iMac g3 opticle drive on the ibook g3 with target disk mode?

    I don't think you can do it that way, if you are using the iMac in target mode. According to this document
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
    "FireWire Target Disk Mode works on internal ATA drives only. Target Disk Mode only connects to the master ATA drive on the Ultra ATA bus..."
    On the slot-loader iMac G3, the optical drive is the slave drive on the ATA bus. The hard drive is obviously master. So only the internal hard drive can be seen by the host computer.
    You may be able to do it as follows. Start the iBook in FireWire Target Disk Mode. Connect it do the iMac running normally. The iBook's hard drive should show up on the iMac's desktop as an external FireWire drive. If so, insert the Mac OS X 10.1 installation disc. Restart with the C key held down to start up from the iMac's optical drive. Run the installation using the iMac and target the iBook's hard drive for the installation. Once installation completes, and after the initial restart, shut down both computers and try to restart the iBook normally, from the new 10.1 installation.

  • Can you install tiger on a power mac g4 with out a DVD drive if so how, I do have have a 2011 iMac can I use that in target disk mode with a FireWire cable any help would be appreciated

    Can you install tiger on a power mac g4 with out a DVD drive if so how, I do have have a 2011 iMac can I use that in target disk mode with a FireWire cable any help would be appreciated

    Hello,
    You need to put the Tiger Install Disc in the 2011 iMac, boot the 2011 uMac into Target mode...
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
    Boot the G4 holding the Option or alt key, hopefully the Install Disc in the 2011 iMac will show as a boot choice.
    We just want to use the 2011 iMac as a big expensive FW Optical drive, it cannot be installed osing the 2011 iMac itself.

  • MBP and target disk mode with PPC desktop

    I am thinking about finally jumping to a MBP from a PowerBook.
    One of the things I do a lot is hook up my PowerBook in target disk mode to interchange information with my PowerPC desktop.
    Any problems with using a MBP in target disk mode with a PPC desktop? If so... what???
    Thanks for any feedback, help, cautions.
    -- Jim
    Powerbook 15 1.67ghz High Res DDR2   Mac OS X (10.4.6)   1.5gb ram, 80gb

    We just took the plunge and our MBP is being shipped.
    Did you let the Migration Assistant move your applications? I am thinking about whether it is a good idea to migrate Final Cut Studio and any other non-Universal apps, for example, from the PowerBook, then get the Universal upgrades? Or just get the Universal versions and install them?
    thanks

  • HT1661 Problems mounting Imac in target disk mode on retina laptop with a solid state drive as host

    I'm trying to use an Imac in target disk mode to copy files from it to a new retina display laptop with a solid state drive, but the target drive will not mount even tho it does start in target disk mode. I have all the proper firewire connection. The Imac will not respond for more than a few minutes before crashing when started from its own system. I would like to salvage a few files from it before I perform a clean install of the system.
    Anyone has any idea why it wont mount in Target mode onto the retina laptop? Help!
    Thanks in advance. :-)

    Mac OS X doesn't offer a "clean install" option.   
    I'm assuming your target Mac is running 10.6?   
    And you setup the target Mac without adding a Firewire cable until after the Firewire logo appears on the screen?

  • Target Disk Mode with G4 PowerBook

    This week I'm installing a new hard drive in my 2003 867Mhz PB. I plan to do a fresh install from the original CDs so I will have a computer clear of much data for a trip I'm going on next week. I will apply all updates to 10.4.11 to match my Mac Pro.
    1. Can I install my '08 iLife apps onto my PowerBook? I'm the only user of both machines and normally I wouldn't care that the PB still has '06 since I rarely use it. However, the purpose of my trip is to take photos for five days. My PB doesn't meet the minimum requirements for Aperture. I want to start culling some of the photos on the trip so I won't have too many to import to Aperture when I return. Taking a bunch of DVDs isn't an option because the PB doesn't have a SuperDrive.
    2. If I can install iPhoto '08, will Aperture see the PB's iPhoto Library in Target Disk Mode? If I can't install '08, will Aperture see the '06 iPhoto Library in Target Disk Mode? I will not be editing any photos in iPhoto on the PB - only viewing them to delete the bad out of the collection so I won't have to import a huge collection. Obviously iPhoto won't be running on either machine when I connect them in Target Disk Mode, so technically I won't have more than one copy in use at any time.
    I have a wireless home network. I could set up file sharing on my PB to transfer the photos, but I think that would be much slower than using Target Disk Mode. Since I'm taking photos for my job, and knowing the schedule of events and shoot list, I'm estimating 10G of photos minimum. That's a lot of time with a pokey old PB for transferring. I won't be taking a Firewire hard drive because it's too bulky with all the other equipment considering that the 120G hard drive I'm installing in the PB won't have many apps. I also won't have internet access so I can't upload the photos to my iDisk.
    3. Does anyone know if Target Disk Mode can be used with my PB when I upgrade my Mac Pro to Leopard? I'm not planning on installing Leopard on the PB (don't know if it meets the minimum requirements) because I don't see myself using the PB too often. By the time I need to be portable more frequently, I will buy a MBP. I hadn't turned the PB on for over a year until last week to make sure it still works for this trip. It would be more useful to buy an extra iPod to store photos than to buy Leopard for the PB.
    Sorry if that seemed like a confusing bunch of questions. I tried searching the forums and Apple's support site and now I'm too exhausted to think too clearly. Thanks for any help or pointers.

    I have to answer my own post as this question probably isn't allowed here. After installing the new hard drive I read the license agreement while waiting for the restore DVD to finish. I didn't bother with upgrading 10.2 which is what the PB had when new. I immediately installed Tiger and after it's done updating I'll see what software I need/want besides iWork. I'm sure Tiger isn't different in the license than Leopard. (So I'll have to plan on getting a new portable soon as I think the Target Disk Mode is faster for transferring unless I get another Firewire drive.)
    But at least the new hard drive and maxed RAM has made my PB a bit more peppy. Or maybe I'm not remembering how slow it was because I haven't yet used it. I'm currently still waiting for Tiger to finish installing. I'll hold off a little longer before upgrading my Mac Pro to Leopard to find out if there are any network gotchas I should know about with my PowerBook. If I'd been using the PB, I'd know all these answers. I've just been so thrilled with my Mac Pro and 23" monitor that the PB hasn't had much appeal. But maybe I'll try to wring a little more life out of the PB.

  • Need Help Installing Snow Leopard onto a blank HD via Target Disk Mode

    Hey everyone.
    Recently I had the HD on my Black Macbook crash due to a mechanical failure. I have just purchased a new Hard Drive for my Macbook. It is completely blank other than the fact that I connected it to my girlfriend's White Macbook earlier today to create 2 partitions. I have a new copy of Snow Leopard that I want to install on it and was hoping someone could guide me through the process.
    What I have with me as of now is:
    One Black Macbook (UK bought) w/ Partitioned Blank HD and a non-functional Superdrive
    One White Macbook (US bought) running Tiger w/ working Superdrive that mounts the SL DVD
    FireWire Cable
    New Snow Leopard DVD
    My first attempt at this failed. I connected the two Macs with the FW cable and started up the Black Macbook in Target Disk mode. Both my HD partitions showed up on the White Macbook. I inserted the SL DVD into the White Macbook and when it mounted I clicked on install. Of course, now it thinks that I want to install SL on the White Macbook whereas I want to install it on the Black Macbook.
    I'm a college student without a working computer and with my finals coming up, I'm in deep trouble. I want to mention that my Black Macbook's Superdrive spits out _everything except for Movie DVDs and My Leopard Startup Disk._ It spins the SL DVD for a few seconds and spits it out as well. I'm wondering whether this might be an issue with the DVD region code on the SL DVD though I don't think that's it. My region code is currently set to Region 1 (US) where I purchased the Snow Leopard DVD off Amazon. I initially thought there was a problem with the DVD and CD lens in the drive and I bought a DVD/CD Lens Cleaner CD but I can't run it because the Superdrive spits that out too. I'm out of warranty on the Black Macbook so fixing the Superdrive is pretty much out of the question. I was under the impression that I would be able to install SL via Target Disk Mode without any hassles but boy was I ever so wrong.
    Is there any way that I can do this? I'm hoping someone here can help me out. Please do if you find the time to.

    By other computer, do you mean the White Macbook? So I should basically put the SL DVD in the White Macbook, restart with the C key held down? Is that right?
    Please pardon me if I'm being stupid.

  • HELP! Macbook won't load into Target Disk Mode

    basically long story short i had about 100 mb of memory left on my 200gb macbook pro. i was trying to save a word document when everything froze, i manually restarted the computer and thats when all **** broke loose
    heres what happened
    -weird sounds coming from computer
    -the computer takes about 5-10 min to get to the login prompt
    -takes another 5-10 min after login to load desktop wallpaper
    -takes about 40 min for it to load anything on the dock and then nothing will load after that none of my desktop icons u cant access any programs..the computer will continue to make weird noises during this time.
    heres what ive done so far.
    -reset pram (didnt work)
    -harddrive test (Did both standard and extended ...test results came back fine nothing seemed to be wrong)
    -i tried to use disk utility to repair disk and it said:
    +"checking extents overflow file+
    +checking catalog file+
    +invalid node structure+
    +rebuilding catalog b-tree+
    +the volume macintosh HD could not be repaired+
    +error: the underlying task reported failure on exit+
    +1 hfs volum checked+
    +-1 volume could not be repaired because of an error+
    +repair attempted on 1 volume+
    +-1 volume could not be repaired"+
    -tried the fsck option and it told me basically the same thing
    -tried booting in safe mode ...computer wont boot into safe mode it will just shut itself off
    so my last option is trying to get info off of my computer using target disk mode...i have a spare macbook that im using as a host for the macbook pro...
    i bought a firewire cable today from the apple store
    i followed the directions step by step on the apple website
    -i connected the firewire cable, both computers were off.
    -i turned the host computer on (target computer remianed off)
    - held the T button right as the computer started
    - then i got a grey screen with a big firewire logo floating around from left to right
    [img]http://www.didntyouhear.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/firewire_logo.jpg[/img]
    what am i doing wrong!? ??
    someone PLEASE HELP!

    ok i figured it out however...
    everytime i try to click on my harddrive or folders in the harddrive the host computer freezes as does the target computer...
    im using a macbook as the host computer to my macbook pro target...
    after performing target disk mode on the target computer and connecting the two computers via firewire...
    i can see my target drive on my host desktop....
    omg and when i clicc on my targe drive i see all my old folders!!! yay!! that means my old files arent lost forever!
    the only problem is when i try to access the folders i get the colored pinwheel
    and its very slow..... nothin will load and then my host computer freezes and i have to forcequit...i didnt even get to begin transferring the files before the host computer would freeze....as this would happen the fans on the target computer would be whirring up and the floating firewire logo screensaver on the target computer would also stop floating from left to right..
    what gives?

  • Slow transfers with G5 client running in target disk mode

    I'm using a brand new dual 3GHz Mac Pro, just arrived today.
    I've connected my G5 in FW800 target disk mode, it's two internal drives are mounted properly on my Mac Pro ("/Volumes/Files 1" is the drive in the G5):
    /dev/disk3 750G 98G 652G 13% /Volumes/Files
    /dev/disk4s3 400G 334G 66G 83% /Volumes/Files 1
    I'm copying all my old data, and it's taking way too long.
    iostat reveals disk activity on disk4 at 10MB/s (it never passed 11MB/s - it's always upwards of 10.5MB/s, so it's being throttled):
    disk4 disk5 disk1 cpu
    KB/t tps MB/s KB/t tps MB/s KB/t tps MB/s us sy id
    128.00 85 10.62 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0 0.00 0 1 98
    128.00 86 10.74 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0 0.00 1 2 97
    128.00 86 10.74 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0 0.00 1 2 97
    122.07 89 10.60 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0 0.00 1 0 99
    There are always 128KB/t when a large file is being copied, so perhaps that's the rate limiter.
    iostat will not print statistics about "disk3", which is the destination RAID1 (mirror) inside the new MacPro. What tools are used to monitor IO stats for Apple's RAID volumes, if iostat won't do it?
    I'm open to suggestions as to what's causing this. I don't know much about tuning MacOS. Is this a firmware issue? The MacPro firmware is up to date (did it today).
    There are no other FW devices connected, period. This is just the G5 connected to the MacPro; FW800.
    I have read articles discussing problems with slave drives not being available from disk mode clients, but this is not that type of problem. As I mentioned, the drives in the G5 all mount correctly on the MacPro.
    Should I post this in a G5 forum as well?
    Thanks for any suggestions.

    I am having the same issue - extremely slow transfer speeds from old G5 to new MacPro. Was originally using a FW400 cable - now I am using a FW800 cable.
    Goes VERY slow when it starts moving video files (from Final Cut Pro, etc.).
    Help! We've been trying to do this transfer for about two days now...

  • Target disk mode with external hard drive?

    Hi all,
    I have a very annoying problem. I've just bought a new Mac Mini, previously I had an iBook G4 600 (about 6 years old). My Mac mini works perfectly, but...
    1) I don't want to copy everything over from the iBook with Migration Assistant, I'd rather pick and choose what to copy. Is buying a firewire cable and using Target Disk mode the only quick way to do this?
    2) I was intending to transfer files using my external HD. But the Mini doesn't recognise my poor old external drive. However, all my iTunes music is on the external HD. It seems by far the fastest way to get the music off (as long as I can't get the mini to recognise the HD)would be to boot the iBook in Target Disk mode then somehow be able to read from the external HD as well. Is this possible? If not, what on earth can I do??
    Thanks in advance,
    Suz
    Message was edited by: Suz

    Okay after testing, I am ready to conceded that you are correct that you can daisy chain an external drive and a TDM Mac together and have them mount both drives.
    However. unless Suz proves me wrong (Which is always a possibility), I do not think that it will fix her initial problem. Since all's TDM does is allow the computer to act as a Firewire device, so it and the external hard drive, are simply 2 FW devices on a serial bus. If the new Mac Can't mount the external drive from the old computer, I doubt it would mount it with the old computer connected to it. (Unless there is just some funky thing going on that having another firewire device on the bus corrects?)
    Let's see if it shows up in System profiler, and if it shows up there how does Disk Utility see it?
    Have you also tried resetting the NVRAM?
    Also just to be on the safe side, do you have another Firewire device that you can connect, to let us know that the port on the new mac is actually working?

  • 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.

  • Can't get Target Disk Mode to work with host computer

    Here's the problem. My Powerbook G4 went down a week ago (it's 7 years old) and I suspect the problem is either the hard drive or the portion of the logic board controlling the drive. I also have a Power Mac G4 400 that's running OS 10.4 Tiger. I've been trying to extract some files (that I failed to back up) from the Powerbook via Target Disk Mode using the older Power Mac as the host, however the target disk doesn't show up on the host screen. When I boot up the Powerbook holding the T key, it chimes and the FireWire symbol shows up like it's suppose to, but that's as far as goes. I plan on upgrading to a newer Mac, which would probably work better as a host, but money is a bit tight right now. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    If the trouble with the Powerbook is either a failed hard drive or a failed hard drive controller, FireWire Target Disk Mode isn't likely to work with any host computer. What you may want to try is installing data recovery software on the desktop G4 and seeing whether it can see the Powerbook's drive (connected in FWTDM) even though it won't mount. Data recovery software is often able to salvage data from drives that won't mount normally; it may be able to do the same thing via FWTDM.
    These three DR utilities are all available in free downloadable demo versions that will show you what the full version would be able to recover before you have to pay for anything:
    Data Rescue
    FileSalvage
    VirtualLab
    Good luck.

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