Target mode possible?

older MacAIr has failed display (broken hinge) white screen only.
cannot start up with external USB system
how can I use it in target mode so I can get the files off before trashing it?

Possibly > How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode

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Is it possible to share 1 bluetooth keypad and 1 mouse pad between two computers in target mode?

Is it possible to share 1 bluetooth keypad and 1 mouse pad between two computers in target mode? Grab a drink and let me tell you my story.
I purchased two computers... an iMac 27" i7 3.4 16GB RAM and a Mac mini 2.3 i5 8 GB RAM. Both have Thunderbolt capability and are in fact connected by thunderbolt. I have 3 problems...
1. My Mac mini WILL NOT recognize any bluetooth keyboard. Let me back up for clarification. I set my iMac up first. No problems there. I then went on to set up my mac mini. A couple of interesting things happened concering bluetooth activity. First thing is that the keypad, which was already paired with my iMac wouldn't be recognized by the mac mini, and yet my bluetooth mouse which was paired with my iMac became paired with my mac mini and thus wouldn't be recognized by my iMac anymore. I had to go to my back room and dig out my other bluetooth mouse so that my iMac would at least recognize my second mouse. So now I have two "mice"presently. One for the mac mini, the other for the iMac. Thankfully I also had a USB keypad for my mac mini. My bluetooth keypad is still paired with my iMac but won't pair with my mac mini, which brings me to another question....
2. CAN 1 KEYPAD AND 1 MOUSE PAIR WITH TWO DIFFERENT COMPUTERS SO THAT WHEN I GO INTO TARGET MODE VIA THUNDERBOLT I CAN USE THE SAME KEYPAD AND MOUSE FOR BOTH COMPUTERS? Anybody have some thoughts on that problem?
3. WHY IN THE WORLD IS MY MOUSE CURSOR DISAPPEARING EVERYTIME I EXIT TARGET MODE VIA PASSWORD AND COMMAND F2. I'm using target mode to access my mac mini. But when I exit target mode to get back into my iMac I'm looking at my iMac screen but I can't see the mouse pointer! I can move the pointer around even though I can't see it. Wierd. And this has apparently been going on for some time with other users for over a year. I am presently completely up to date on Lion updates. Both systems are running 10.7.4. Does anyone have a solution or heard a rumor of a solution coming soon regarding the invisible mouse cursor "curse". I hate having to restart my iMac everytime I exit out of target mode just so I can get my mouse cursor visible again.
Food for thought.... Wouldn't it be really cool to have a target mode capability to see your other computers desktops in seperate window screens on your main display. You then could go back and forth from each window by just double clicking or by certain key commands. You could drag and drop from desktop to desktop. Tell me this is coming soon.
Thanks

There was a duplicate post of this question answered at:
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Is it possible to start a MacBookPro in target mode with a MacBookAir?

Is it possible to start a MacBookPro in target mode with a MacBookAir?
I have a MacBookPro and I would like to start it in a target mode using a MacBookAir as a disk cible,
is it possible to do it? Which cale or adapter do I need to do it?

namdev1 wrote:
Is it possible to start a MacBookPro in target mode with a MacBookAir?
Yes, you can use Target Disk Mode with a suitable adapter:
OS X Lion: Transfer files between two computers using target disk mode
To determine the cable you need requires you describe which MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models you have. The latest ones have Thunderbolt ports, for which you can use a Thunderbolt cable. If the MacBook Pro has only a FireWire port, you can use a Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter. Early MacBook Air models have neither.
Search for cables and adapters on Apple's website:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapte r
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD862ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-cable-05-m

Is it possible to start intel mac in target mode from ppc mac ?

Hello all,
Is it possible to start intel mac in target mode from ppc mac ? If so does using target mode make ANY change at all to the target disk if user doesn't voluntariliy write stuff to target disk ?
Thanks in advance !

Yes, you can, but with some notes. Braby sent some data, I add some other.
Target Mode has two basic roles:
1. to turn a mac into an external drive and/or external optical drive (if it has one, until Air era, all had); you may use this way if your internal optical drive is damaged and you wish to use the optical unit of the other mac; or use it as a simple external disk for backup purposes or else.
2. to boot from a such-booted mac.
#1 is usable with any two macs disregarding whether they are both PPC, both intel, or combination PPC-intel, as the behavior is like any external disk drive or external optical drive.
#2 is impossible if you want to boot the other mac, they must be both intel or PPC, as you cannot use an intel-based mac as a boot mac for the other ppc-mac, and vice-versa.
So said and clarified, you may use, but not if you intend to boot the other one if you wish to use it for various purposes implying boot.

TArget Mode not possible

I discovered the target mode recently (starting up with Fire wire and T pressed) but it does not work on my old G4 MacOS X.4.11
It just starts up normally although I keep the T button compressed.
Same after changing the keybord.

Target Disk Mode only works on Macs with AGP graphics slot. The PCI Graphics slot G4 (how to identify it is in this link), will not go into Target Mode, and the Blue and White G3 tower won't go into Target Disk Mode either.
If neither of those machines is your machine, Target Disk Mode won't work if you use a non-Apple keyboard. It won't work if you use a wireless keyboard. It also won't work if the clock battery hasn't been replaced in more than 4 years.

Can't Put G4 in TARGET MODE

I sure hope someone can help me. I have a 5-year-old G5. It was the biggest system at the time. I just got a gigantic Mac Pro and I'm trying to EASILY use the Migration Assistant to transfer my data. I started by trying to restart the G4 and holding the T key. The G4 shuts down. I tried resetting the PRAM 3 times and then selecting the Startup Disk in System Preferences and restarting using that as the Target Mode. The G4 shut down. I've switched the firewire cables to different connections...no luck. I've tried to restart the G4 with Option-Apple O + F and typing in target-mode and no luck. The G4 simply WILL NOT go into Target Mode. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, what was the problem and how did you get it to work? Help please!!!

Hi...thanks for the link and info but the computer is set up exactly as it came from Apple computer. Where do I look to find out how it was configured and then, if it's not like you mentioned, what do I do? Will I need to bring it in to an Apple repair place to reconfigure it? It states, below, that all later Macintosh computers come with an ATA hard drive at ATA Bus 0 in their default configurations. What do they mean by "later?" This is a G4, 5 years old.
FireWire Target Disk Mode: Target Computer Shuts Down at Startup
FireWire target disk mode requires the target computer to have an ATA hard drive at ATA bus 0.
Symptom
When you try to start up the target computer, it makes its startup sound, but then shuts down. No video appears on the screen, nor does the FireWire icon. The computer starts up normally without the T key held down.
Products affected
* Macintosh computer with built-in FireWire port
Solution
Make sure the target computer has an ATA hard drive on ATA bus 0. It is normal for a target computer to shut down if it does not detect an ATA hard drive on ATA bus 0.
All later Macintosh computers come with an ATA hard drive at ATA Bus 0 in their default configurations. However, it is possible to custom order (CTO) a Macintosh that does not.

Booting from firewire target mode on a mac pro with kernel panic?

hello
i am wondering if it is possible to use firewire target mode to boot a mac pro that has never got past a multi language kernel panic on boot?
basically i have tried all the other options and cant get it to open the superdrive to insert my installation disk, as to repair the drivers with my snow leopard disk.
i've tried holding my mouse key down, the paperclip option on the drive itself and the firmware keycombo, so my idea is that the only way to fix it is with target mode. can this be done - and if so - could someone direct me towards a tutorial that will help me do this.
please advise if this is possible or if there is another method i should use? apart from taking it to the applestore (extreme last ditch option) i am quite low on ideas here.
many thanks!
p.s heres the message i wrote for the original problem which caused all the kernel panics;
"i recently bought a mac pro and upon starting it for the first time opted to transfer the all the data i could over via firewire from my macbook pro.
i used the standard 't' command with the firewire symbol.
Somewhere towards the end of the transfer (I am not sure at what pont - I wasnt there for all of it) - , the monitor went blank and the whole thing was unresponsive. my macbook's firewire sign continued to move around the screen.
after leaving it for some time i decided to turn off the macbook and then the mac pro.
i restarted the macbook and got some pretty crazy stuff happening to my calender - but so far everything seems to be fine.
i am more concerned about the "you need to restart your computer" message; this is the dreaded 'kernel panic' right?. i have never actually done anything with this computer yet, and it was purchased new."

"i recently bought a mac pro and upon starting it for the first time opted to transfer the all the data i could over via firewire from my macbook pro.
Never opt to transfer until you have insured it works fine for a couple days, I would never use Setup or Migration Assistant until such time, and I would have a bootable backup clone.
Try pulling all the hard drives from inside your Mac Pro and boot from OS X DVD - latest OS build.

I used Target mode to transfer files to a new iMac running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 from an older Dual core Intel machine (EMC 2105) also on 10.6.8. but originally Tiger 10.4. The operation was successful and I ejected the disk icon from the new machine and po

IS THE SITUATION HOPELESS
I used Target mode to transfer files to a new i7 iMac running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 from an older Dual core Intel machine (EMC 2105) also on 10.6.8. but originally Tiger 10.4. The operation was successful and I ejected the disk icon from the new machine and powered down the old machine. When this was restarted the next day there was a grey screen with flashing Mac symbol alternating with a 'no entry' sign and occasionally a question mark.Keyboard and mouse were unusable so k inserted the original instal disc (No.1 for 10.4. with installer 1.0.4) which came with the machine in 2006 in an attempt to boot from this. The ensuing window said this was not possible and now it cannot be ejected.I have tried everything ! It offers Disk Utility and other options like Terminal but that doesn't work either.I 'repaired disk' and that was pronounced o.k. None of the various keystrokes at start up will work, and the computer will only offer the installer disc continually.The only option would seem to be is to erase the hard drive completely from the disc in the machine.I don't want to do this as there is still material which I need to recover. I think the drive has in some way been corrupted by using it in target mode, and I don't know if there are any other options to try.
Please tell me how to get this disc to eject !

Graham Giles wrote:
Have you seen this type of problem before? I think it could be a serious issue for anyone in a similar position.
No; but then, I've not had occasion to use TDM. I've been using firerwire drives for over 10 years, both FW400 and FW800, with no issues except a bit of instability using a B&W G3 machine.
TDM should be safe. Using cautious, manual copying of files from the Target machine to the Host machine should not result in unexpected loss of files or damage to the Target drive's directories. It should behave exactly the same as if it were an external (to the Host) firewire drive.
• I don't suppose there is anything I can do to 'put back' lost items from a separate Time Machine drive which has an up to date backup on it.
There is probably a way to do that - seems to me that's one of the reasons for a Time Machine volume.
On the other hand, if the Time Machine volume is rigidly linked to the now-absent OS on the original drive, there may be no way to effectively access the files in the TM archive.
I know that using a cloned drive would work well in this instance.
I have no experience with Time Machine, so perhaps someone who has will chime in with suggestions.
With the machine in TDM with the other machine, have you tried running Disk Utility to see if you can effect repairs to the drive?

Back up in target mode on time capsule

This may be something that's been answered before, but here goes:
I have this macbook pro from work that has become unstable. It crashes constantly, but I can reach it in target mode using my own old macbook.
I've got a 2tb time capsule in service as wireless router.
There's a cat 6 network cable in the house.
What I want to do is make a backup of as much as possible onto the time capsule and then do a reinstall of snow leopard and lion on the macbook.
Depending on the outcome I want to restore as much as possible to the revived macbook or have my macbook replaced and do the same.
What would be the best way to do this? Is it just a question of 'plug in and follow the wizard' or is there more to it?
Thanks for taking the time.

koebeen wrote:
I have this macbook pro from work that has become unstable.
Do you know why? If the HD is failing, or the file system on it is compromised, you may not be able to do much with it.
If it's not a hardware problem, your best bet will be to try to fix it, rather than take the "nuclear" option first.
What I want to do is make a backup of as much as possible onto the time capsule
I take it you've not been backing the MBP up to the TC? Do you have any other backups of it? If so, what?
That can be done, but it's a bit tricky, and Time Machine may not be your best bet.
Since Target disk mode makes the MBP look like an external HD to your MacBook, you should be able to use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper (or the Restore tab of Disk Utility) to make a "bootable clone" of the "external HD" to an actual external HD.
(In theory, and depending on what version of OSX both Macs are running, you could use Migration Assistant to transfer 3rd-party apps, user accounts and data directly to the MacBook, but since there's some sort of trouble, you'd probably be safer trying to do a one-shot copy to a known good drive.)
then do a reinstall of snow leopard and lion on the macbook. Depending on the outcome I want to restore as much as possible to the revived macbook
Do you want the MacBook set up exactly like the old MBP? If so, and if the MBP was running Snow Leopard or earlier, start the MacBook up from the Snow Leoaprd disc, erase the MacBook's internal HD, install Snow Leopard, then use Setup Assistant when it starts up to transfer everything from the external (see Using Setup Assistant on Snow Leopard or Leopard for details).
Make sure everything's there and working right, and backed-up, before upgrading to Lion.
Once this is all done, you can use the Time Capsule for Time Machine backups, and the external HD for "secondary" backups with CCC or SD.
If you really want to use Time Machine, or if the MBP is running Lion, post back. That will be a bit more complicated. Incude the version of OSX each Mac is running, too.

Disk not mounting in Target mode. Other options?

I had a disastrous snow leopard upgrade that has thrashed my hard drive on my MBP. It is strange because my iMac upgraded with no issues and is a more 'complicated' system to upgrade.
I get an invalid node error message when verifying the disk. I cannot boot the OS from the hard drive anymore. Attempting to do an OS install gives me an error message that the contents of the disk cannot be changed.
When I launch the OS from the snow leopard CD, I am able to get to the file system via a Terminal window. There are a few files that I would like to salvage if possible before doing a reinstall of the OS. I tried setting the MBP to Target mode to access from the iMac, but the drive does not mount (only the DVD drive mounts).
Are there any other options? I can also get to these files in single user mode. I would like to physically get them copied somewhere outside of the system if possible (instead of moving them to a different location on the drive and doing an install).
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Andy Manson;
The invalid node error message indicates serious problems with the directory for that disk. This could be the reason that you are unable to boot.
You might try a demo copy of Data Rescue II to see what it salvage in the way of files from the disk.
Since AFAIK DiskWarrior is not ready for Snow Leopard yet that only leaves you a reformat of the drive to repair this problem.
Allan

Security issue: Firewire Target Mode

Hi everyone,
I am concerned about the firewire target mode. As handy as it can be, what about security? I have some very confidential files on my computer and I wonder if there is a way to make sure that nobody can access my files via target mode.
Is there a way to disable target mode? Or to set a password for the target mode?
And I have a back-up on an external firewire drive. Is it possible to password-protect an external drive?
Thanks for your help!
Jan
MacBook Pro 17" Mac OS X (10.4.9) Pro Tools 7.3 / Logic 7.2

FireWire Target Disk Mode falls under the category of "physical access," and there's an old computer saying that no matter what security you use, once an attacker has direct physical access to the hardware, all bets are off, because of the possibility of simply removing the hard drive and putting it in another case to gain access. Therefore, you should concentrate on avoiding theft or unauthorized access to your laptop, like never leaving it visible in an unattended car. You could also turn on FileVault.
I don't use FileVault because I don't want to tie up my CPU unnecessarily encrypting all the huge video, audio, and photo files within my Home folder. However, I do keep all my most sensitive documents (financial, etc) inside an encrypted disk image on my PowerBook hard drive. Anything with an account number or other confidential data is stored in there, and it's only mounted when I really need it.
For the backup, count me as yet another person who keeps backups on encrypted disk images on the external hard drive. It's an extra step to mount it before the backup and dismount it afterwards, but not that much of an obstacle really, and it's pretty safe.

Putting new MacBook into Target Mode

Is it possible to put a fairly new MacBook with a Thunderbolt Port into Target Mode? I want to connect my MacPro to a MacBook in Target mode. I have connected the MacBook via it's Thunderbolt port to my MacPro Firewire 800 port using the correct cable. For some reason I cannot get the MacPro into Target Mode.. Any Assistance would be appreciated.
Aloha, from Hawaii, David - Hawaii PI

Check your steps http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661

Have G4 start up in Target Mode all the time?

Hi again,
I now have OSX 10.3.9 on the Power Mac (see more on that in this thread: (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=668359&tstart=0)
I found out it has 512mb RAM, had OS 9.0.4 on it so I went through several upgrades of software and firmware to get OSX 10.3.9 on it, it is the AGP model, machine ID 406... The discs I have for 10.4 won't install on it so I will have to leave it with 10.3.9 which should be fine.
Is it possible to set it up so that it always starts up in Target Mode? I would like to get rid of the monitor and I have to give the keyboard back to the original owner.
I've looked on Versiontracker and will look more but haven't found an app or script that will start it up in Target Mode without my having to use the keyboard. I see that Tiger allows me to do that (on a one time basis?) but Panther does not. Is there any way to get it to start in Target Mode without my having to use the keyboard and have it reliably stay starting up in that mode?
Once I get rid of the monitor I'm going to have to rely on it doing what I think it is doing.
I suppose I could use ethernet... I may also get an enclosure for it but this is my current inquiry.
Many thanks.
John L

After some searching, I seem to have found a way. From this link at Mac Geekery (http://www.macgeekery.com/node/102) I tried it out and it seems to work fine. If I want to return to full computer mode, I zap the PRAM twice.
Is there any downside to doing that? I see that it resets the clock which might be a problem in keeping files properly filed (having to reset the clock - won't be able to use the online timer server, will I?) but I won't be needing to use it in computer mode very often. (Probably never since I won't have a keyboard for it.)
Anything else I should know?
Thanks.
John L
PS I also saw on the Apple E-mail lists, in the Firewire section, that someone (Eric Anderson) had created a utility that would accomplish the same thing. I signed up (with dificulty, they don't make it easy) to that list and then cancelled that since after signing up I still couldn't see the e-mail address of Eric, which I had hoped would be visible once I signed up.

Installing system on new HD through target mode

I replaced the HD on my G3 iMac(500MHz) and installed OS 9.2 through target disk mode using my G5 iMac. The new HD (80g) and the system show up in
the profiler but the G3 can't find the system folder on start-up. I get the blinking folder with ?. I had to use target disk mode because the CD drive in the G3 isn't working. I bought an external firewire CD/DVD but it needs OS 10.3. I plan to upgrade to Tiger but used my original OS9 install disks to get it running. After looking for info on the forums I'm confused about which computer is actually the target and which is the host. I put the G5 in target mode but it seems that it's possible to do it either way. Starting up the G3 with the option key shows no drive available, just the arrows. Any suggestions?

Hi Neil,
I am having a very similar issue it sounds like..
May I explain it to you - I'm hopeful that you can steer me in the right direction.
Here's what I'm dealing with.
I have an old iMac G3 (Tangerine)
http://www.theapplecollection.com/postcards/iMac04n.html
It's been upgraded, has a fire-wire port now, it's a bit faster, more memory.. still nothing fancy - but it's been running OS 10.3.9 just fine.
Until my son accidentally deleted some files somewhere - that all but made it unusable.
Now - it does not have a DVD-Rom drive - so reinstalling won't work. It also doesn't read 'burned' disks -- so burning a copy of the 10.3.9 OS is out as well.
I have tried the following:
-connecting as a Target Disk - to install the software from my MacBook.
-trying to reinstall the classic OS 9 (original) OS, both restart holding down C and otherwise in hopes that it would restore some basic operating function to the thing..
Neither of them have worked.
I'm dubious about an external DVD-Rom drive as well - because it will most surely have a Driver of some sort that will have to be installed, and i know that won't work...
I'm at a loss.
I haven't heard a single piece of advice that has proven helpful yet ... I wonder if you might be able to help me?
Thanks in advance for anything you can do to help.
Russ

USB Cable for Target Mode

After experiencing video problems, the mother board on my 2002 ibook was replaced by Apple at no cost, but now has failed again. I have read in mac forums it's possible to access the hard drive of my headless ibook by connecting it to my new MacBook with a firewire and booting the ibook in Target Mode. However, my new MacBook only has USB ports and not a firewire port. Could the same thing be achieved with an USB A to USB A cable?

Could the same thing be achieved with an USB A to USB A cable?
No. The only thing I've seen which might work is to use this component and a FireWire ExpressCard.
(49185)

Target mode possible?

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