I'm having trouble mounting macbook pro in target disk mode

The weird thing is that I was successful transferring files as little as two weeks ago! I have a Mac Pro tower and new Macbook Pro. I returned from being away and want to transfer my files back to the tower. I have FW800, the same cable I've used in the past and cannot see the hard drive icon on my desktop. Any ideas?

Hi, Allyson. Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
Sometimes we all forget the exact procedure, and miss a step.
Please be sure that hasn't happened to you by checking out the instructions for using FireWire Target Disk Mode.
There are troubleshooting tips there for when it isn't working, too.

Similar Messages

Can a Mac Pro boot off a MacBook Pro in Target Disk Mode?

Summary: "Are you able to boot a Mac Pro off of a Mac Book Pro in Target Disk Mode?" OR "Will a Mac Pro boot off an OS X install that was made on a MBP?"
Details:
I'm finishing a music project that was created on a PPC G5 Quad computer and going to a studio in Santa Monica to complete the final mixdown. My 3rd party software plug-in configuration is unique, and the studio doesn't have all of the software instruments that I do on their 8 core mac pro. My G5 software installation is mirrored to my MacBook Pro, but the MBP doesn't have enough CPU power to play the project back.
Is it feasible to have the studio's 8 core Mac Pro boot from my MacBook Pros hard drive? Essentially, we'd be using my OS and software on their powerful CPU / hardware. I figure, since they are both Intel builds of OSX, this should be do-able.
I don't have access to the Mac Pro until I show up to start working.
Thanks for any input / suggestions!

The MacBook Pro boots fine in 10.5.8, and loads the Logic project without any faults. The only issue is that a CPU shortage occurs when you attempt to play the sequence.
Like you suggested, I performed separate UB installations of all the needed software on the MBP solely so I could move Logic projects from one computer to the next without a hitch. (Actually, DropBox does this for me). Migration assistant was not employed in this process due to the PPC / Intel issues you noted.
I didn't need to mention the G5 as it appears to have caused some confusion based on Kappy's reply, but I did want to explain my work flow thoroughly.
It sounds like booting the MacPro from my MBP is feasible. I'll mark this topic 'solved' and head over to the studio tonight. I'll post here any anomalies from the session (if any).
THANKS~!

How-To: Install Bundled Apps to another MacBook Pro using Target Disk Mode

Recently, I replaced the dead hard drive on my wife's computer. All the data was previously backed-up so all I needed to do was reinstall the original OS. Oops! Those disks disappeared over two years ago...perfect, right? No poblem, I already had the boxed install DVD for Snow Leopard and installed the core OS. But what about those bundled applications? Aha! That is the marketing coup Apple doesn't really talk much about. You see, you get the entire suite of Apple branded apps with the original install disks but not with a boxed OS install disk. It's just something that you have to find out for yourself...the hard way.
My requirement: restore all the iPhoto data to the reimaged machine running Snow Leopard. But that data has no application that can read it. Solution - Reinstall iPhoto from another source.
So I developed this workaround I hope the rest of you find amusingly simple, wildly helpful
Here's how I restored iPhoto on my wife's computer:
1) Get two Laptops side by side. In our case we both have macbook pro 2008 computers (Wife's and Mine)
2) Power both down and direct connect a firewire 400 cable (or 800 if you have it) between the two
3) Start the Wife's laptop in Target Disk Mode: Press "T" immediately after engagin the power button, hold it down until you see the "fanned" firewire symbol floating across a grey screen - it's quite large, about the size of your hand making a "stop" gesture
4) No start the Mine laptop by pressing the "option" key (two keys to the left of the space bar)
5) You will presented with a pair of hard disks to boot from, choose the Wife's laptop hard drive
5a) you'll notice now that the Mine laptop is booting the OS system files of the Wife's laptop (Her desktop, her preferences, etc...)
6) On the Mine laptop, insert the original Mac OS Install Disk (#1) that came with the Mine laptop (usually any OEM install disk will work, though)
7) Double-click on the DVD icon on the desktop when it mounts and look for a shortcut that reads, "Install Bundled Applications Only"...launch it
8) Now choose install bundled applications but make sure to press the "Customize" button in order to specifically choose which OEM software you want. In our case, just iPhoto
9) Follow the installer prompts all the through to completion and exit (you will be prompted to insert disk #2 along the way).
10) Remove the install disks, power down
11) Power down the Wife's laptop too
12) Disconnect the Firewire cables from both laptops
13) Power up the Wife's laptop normally
14) Launch the FInder and drill down to Applications. Look for iPhoto and launch it
15) iPhoto will either pickup the "iPhoto Library" that was previously restored after reimaging with Snow Leopard or you may be prompted to manually associate a library with iPhoto.
16) Once complete, you'll se all the restored pictures and data from when before the original hard drive crashed. Wife will be pleased and you'll look like a Genius
This is a really handy trick for troubleshooting a lot of install and restore related issues.
Hopefully you'll find other uses for it too.
Good Luck,
TheHighSierras

I think the problem is that you can't install an older OS X version onto a system running a newer OS X version. So I would try the following:
     1. have an external disk or create another partition on an internal drive to use for the Mountain Lion install (you might have to shrink an existing partition to make room for another)
     2. Create an external bootable USB thumb drive with the Mountain Lion OS on it (do a search on the web for this - for example see http://www.macworld.com/article/1167857/how_to_make_a_bootable_mountain_lion_ins tall_drive.html
     3. Reboot Yosemite and then boot from the USB thumb drive by holding down the option key
     4. run the mountain lion installer and install on the new disk/partition you created in step 1 - it will also create another recovery partition from this same part of the disk
Now your Mac system will have both a Mountain Lion install as well as the Yosemite install. You won't be able to use Migration Assistant to move things from Yosemite to Mountain Lion because it will see that you're "going backwards" and won't allow you to.
Have a good backup of everything before starting in case there are problems.
Good luck...

I am having trouble connecting MacBook Pro (10.6.7) to Novell server. I get incorrect username and password message. I can connect worksations running 10.5 without any problem. Any possible solution? Thanks, Ned

I am having trouble connecting MacBook Pro (10.6.7) to Novell server. I get incorrect username and password message. I can connect worksations running 10.5 without any problem. Any possible solution? Thanks, Ned

Having the exact same problem with connecting ML and Snow Leopard machines to a Windows 8.1 machine. Oddly enough, connecting and copying to/from works perfectly from a Mavericks machine, despite the problems reported about Mavericks regarding the exact opposite. An old thread, but did you find a solution?

Using Mac Pro in Target Disk Mode Connected to MacBook Pro

Hi all,
I am trying to set up two macs to run off of the same monitors/keyboard/mouse/etc. I know about KVMs, but they are too expensive for my current setup.
I want to know if it's possible to run a 2006 Mac Pro in target disk mode connected to a brand new MacBook Pro 13" via a firewire to thunderbolt converter.
I would need to access the files, but also run the applications from the Mac Pro on the MacBook Pro.
Would such a setup work? Would I have to reboot each time I wanted to switch machines? Would there be a significant lag in the Mac Pro's performance?
Any tips or links to articles/etc. would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Nick

Hi Niel,
Thanks for the speedy response.
I should have clarified that I know that I can access the drive like a firewire drive. I'm more curious as to whether I can either:
1. use it's applications in target disk mode (based on your answer -- No, unless all the necessary system components are identical between the two computers).
2. Boot from the Target Disk computer as if it were a separate drive of my main computer. If so, since this is Firewire and not SATA, will I notice a severe loss of processing power?
Nick

Can iMac Retina mount external HD in Target Disk Mode?

I'm trying to mount an ailing HD in a 24" iMac to my iMac Retina in Target Disk Mode. It will not mount. I'm using a Firewire 800 to Thunderbolt adapter. When I plug the Thunderbolt adapter into a MacBook Air, the Target Disk HD mounts....
Is this the way it is with iMac Retina?

I'm not sure what you are trying to confirm here. If I boot from the install disk, why would I get a different driver than what I would get by installing the OS (from that same disk)? Or if it is a firmware problem then the disk doesn't matter at all.
If I boot from the install disk the sytem still doesn't recognize the G4 iBook in TDM. I don't know if this is relavent, but I have to boot the G4 iBook, connect the firewire cable, then boot the Intel iMac in TDM mode for it to mount on the iBook. Booting the iMac first, or connecting the firewire cable after the iMac has booted does not work. If I hold down the option key while booting the Intel iMac it will let me select the startup disk. If I insert the install disk it will add the install disk to the menu. If I connect a firewire cable and boot the G4 iBook in TDM it does not add the firewire disk. If I boot the iBook in TDM mode then boot the iMac from the install disk it does not see the iBook either. In all cases the Intel machine ignores the PowerPC machine.
The system profiler does not say who made the FW chip. I too am suspicious that it some kind of driver/firmware problem. I have an old firewire iPod , and I have an old firewire iSight camera, and they both work fine with the Intel iMac. There is another discusion were someone was having trouble with a firewire drive on an Intel iMac. Firewire is pretty symmetric (unlike USB which is master/slave). It is odd that one direction should work and not the other. It seem like some obscure bug that only effects block devices on the Intel side.

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.

Using a MB Pro in target disk mode via USB?

Can a MB Pro be used in target disk mode via USB instead of Firewire?
Thanks!

Perhaps because it's called FireWire Target Disk Mode, and is not designed to be implemented via USB.
Keep in mind that sustained data transfer rates with USB are much lower than FireWire (the 480 mbps for USB2 and 400 mbps for FW400 are max rates, not average sustained rate). Also, USB requires the CPU to manage data flow, while FW does not.
FW400 or FW800 are will work, just not USB.

Having trouble connecting Macbook Pro to Samsung HDTV

Hello all,
I am operating a Macbook Pro mid-2012 with OS 10.8.2. I have a Samsung Smart TV and I am trying to connect using Belkin HDMI cable and mini port adapter. I've run searches for firmware updates and come up with nothing.
I have tried all three HDMI ports on the TV in conjuction with connecting to my mini display port. I always have the correct input selected on the TV for the port I am trying.
When I plug into the Macbook, the screen goes off for a second and then returns as if it recognizes when I plug in but nothing on screen.
What I get on the TV Screen:
NO SIGNAL
1-check the cable connections and the settings of your source device (the cable is connected, the settings may be a problem)
2- Press SOURCE on your remote to select connected source device (as noted above, I've done that each time)
When I go into System Preferences>Displays>I get two options display and color then best for built-in display or scaled and a brightness slider...that's it.
I'm stumped. Please help.

Please post what specific Belkin cable you have. Another user was trying to do this same exact thing a few days ago and the Belkin cable they had bought was an older Mini DisplayPort to HDMI converter. The 2012 MBPs like yours have a Thunderbold port on it that's exactly the same dimensions as the old Mini DisplayPort ports are. While the Thunderbold port is supposed to be backwards compatible with older Mini DisplayPort devices, perhaps this Belkin converter has some compatibility issues with it. Their adapter was an all gray one bought from Walmart.

Having trouble connecting macbook pro via HDMI to television?

When I connect my macbook pro to television via HDMI thunderbolt cord it flashes blue, then the mac does not recognize any other displays. I have tried all HDMI ports and am getting the same results. Please help, trying to watch netflix on larger screen.

I don't know that it wouldn't be best to simply get a 'smart' device (my Blu-ray player is the 'smart' device in my AV line-up) such as an Apple TV, etc., to actually view NetFlix movies. That's what I do - my BR player on Ethernet - and the results are terrific. Although I've used a Thunderbolt>HDMI adapter in the past (I don't have a machine with native HDMI ports) I find that the quality and speed is just better with a smart device.
Just a thought...
Clinton

Having trouble with macbook pro dock at the bottom of the screen

I have a 13'' macbook pro, and i now have 2 different docks at the bottom of my screen. One is functional and the other one is not. How to i get rid of one of the docks?

Please post the age of your MBP, IE what year is was made, IE what year Model is it. and also as above a image/picture of the screen (a Screen Shot may not do it if the second Dock is some type of Ghost entry).
Other then that you have some type of software corruption or hardware failure going on. There should never be a second Dock at the bottom of the screen. So there is No easy fix for this problem. It may be hardware and if so that hardware would need to be replaced. Or is could be software corruption and in that case a Wipe of the drive and reinstall may be needed.

Am I the only one having trouble reading MacBook Pro Webpage?

Hello everyone,
Posting more out of curiosity if anyone agrees that the MacBook Pro webpage linked from the Apple Home Page is terribly hard to read?
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
The faint text as one scrolls the page is near impossible to read as one scrolls down the page.
At first I thought that perhaps this was designed to be read by users not using CRT displays....but I can't imagine even on a TFT display that it is readable.
What were they thinking? I love the striking look of the black background but the text design/color makes no sense to me.....
Not trying to bash Apple site designers, as I have always been very impressed with the classic designs that I have seen....but this black background with white text trend seems very poorly planned.
Is it just me?
littleshoulders [:-)

re: "that gray is way two dark two be on black"
David,
You are correct, I should have said "gray" and not white. I perceived the gray to be white, but just fading into the black when, of course, it's grey on black!
I'm glad you posted that.
I'm really surprised that the designer would feel that that made any sense to do the layout that way.
Strange.......
best,
littleshoulders [:-)

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

How to remove time machine backup from a mackbook pro used in target disk mode

Many months ago I (as my backup drive failed) I used my macbook pro in target disk mode to store the time machine backup of my iMac. How do I delete the backup on the macbook pro? I am running mountain lion on both machines. When I boot the macbook pro in target mode, it's not showing up in the finder on my mac.

When I boot the macbook pro in target mode, it's not showing up in the finder on my mac.
From the Finder menu bar, select
Finder > Preferences > General
and check the box marked Hard disks.

Target Disk Mode on Macbook Pro to Windows Vista?

I am scheduled to take my Macbook Pro in for the NVidia Warranty repair and need to back up the hard drive (I know, I know...). I can't get the Macbook to boot at all b/c of the NVidia issue, except in Target Disk Mode.
And the only other computer I have is Windows (I know, I know...this feels very cathartic, btw). Is it possible to have the Windows Vista computer connect to the Macbook via FireWire while the Macbook is in Target Disk Mode to temporarily back up my files on the Windows computer?
I know I could pay for backup, but I'm cheap. So I'm trying to find a workaround.
Any help would be appreciated!

Is it possible to have the Windows Vista computer connect to the Macbook via FireWire while the Macbook is in Target Disk Mode to temporarily back up my files on the Windows computer?
It may or may not work depending on the PC's configuration, but a program such as MacDrive needs to be installed on the PC to enable it to read the Mac's hard drive in any case.
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I'm having trouble mounting macbook pro in target disk mode

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