Two i3 iMacs won't work in Target Display Mode

I do have Belkin Mini DP to Mini DP cable. Command + F2 doesn't help either. Please help

24. Can I use Target Display Mode or Target Disk Mode with Boot Camp and Windows 7 or 8 using a Thunderbolt-capable iMac?
No. Target Display Mode and Target Disk mode are not supported using Boot Camp and Windows 7 on a Thunderbolt-capable iMac.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5219?viewlocale=en_US#17

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Using iMac (Target Display Mode) as an External Display for MacBook Air

I have a Mid 2010 iMac with a 2 thunderbolt ports. I now have a brand new MacBook Air (2012 Core i5 1.8GHz with 8GB RAM) with a thunderbolt port. I have a Belkin Mini Displayport Cable to connect the two. I want to use the iMac as an external monitor for the MacBook Air. I cannot seem to get this to work. Can I do this? Do I have the right cable?

You can do it but you need a thunderbolt cable to connect the two. Then just hit CMD F2 on the iMac and it will enter Target Display Mode.

15 inch early 2011 Macbook Pro to Mid 2010 27 inch Imac Target Display Mode

Hi Guys
I have a early 2011 15" Macbook Pro with thunderpolt port aswell
as a Mid 2010 27" iMac with MiniDisplay port.
I am trying to use the iMac as a second screen for my Macbook.
Both has Mountain Lion on them.
I have both Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt aswell as miniDisplay to MiniDisplay
cables.
I can't get target display mode to work.
The thunderbolt cable doesn't work at all.
The MiniDisplay does seeem to work to an extend but not completeley.
When i plug in the MiniDisplayPort cable to both machines then
the Macbook pro screen becomes blue which means secondary monitor detected.
iMac screen becomes blank. Sometimes i have enough time to see in system preferences that
the Macbook pro actually has a secondary monitor.
But just as it turned blue on the Macbook pro and black on the iMac. It turns blue again
and the iMac returns to it's Desktop.
The exact same happens when i Press Command + F2 on iMac keyboard.
Any help or ideas?

I have a 13"macbook air and a Dec. 2012 iMac 27". Out of the blue it stopped working in Target Display Mode. Switching cables doesn't help, and the iMac and MBair are connect to power. I can see the iMac screen in Share Screen mode on the MB air.
This seems to be an issue, I have encountered eg. in MacRumours:
Jan 11, 2013, 10:17 AM
#5
martinm0
macrumors 6502
Join Date: Feb 2010
I have the same issue with my 2012 27" iMac (3.4, 680MX). When I initiate Target Display mode the iMac goes black and never comes back up. On the laptop I can see the display in Display Preferences, but its as if the backlight doesn't come on in TD mode. (I even did screen sharing into the laptop and can see both displays there.
Anyway, called Apple and they determined its an issue and I have to send in for a replacement.
Anyone else with a 2012 iMac (21.5 or 27), can you please test out Target Display mode and let us know if things are working or not?

Broken Graphics card Target Display mode

I have a 2009 iMac that now has a faulty graphics card, the computer crashes once photoshop runs.
I don't have the mac at the moment to test, but could I still get target display mode to work?
How well does the mac need to run before TDM can work?. If I power it up, sometimes it won't get any further than the apple logo, can it work then?
Thanks
Matt

I purchased a Belkin AV360 and it did not work with Target Display Mode on my new mid 2011 iMac.
After a bit of searching on why it didn't work I've found all sorts of articles on this issue with older display port devices not working with target display mode on the new Thunderbolt macs. I sure hope this can be resolved with a firmware update, or by someone (Belkin/Kanex) making a new Thunderbolt compatible adapter.
And I don't know if anyone has confirmed it yet since the feature is so hard to take advantage of now, but I'm hoping this years iMac at least accepts 1080P signals in addition to 720P and the native panel resolution. It would be worth the wait for an adapter if it accepts 1080P as well, which would make it at least more future proof since everything has gone to 1080P so rapidly.
I was really counting on my new iMac doubling as a TV/Console display in my room - it was part of what justified the high price of the investment and the convenience of the all-in-one design. I would be very pleased if Apple can help resolve this.

HT5219 target display mode

I bought an iMac 27" and MacBook Air in June 2012. Currently I am thinking of use my iMac as a monitor as well. So if I want to use my MacBook Air as the source, what kind of cable do I need? Thunderbolt cable, minidisplay cable or either?
I also want to use my PC with minidisplay port as the source as well and use my iMac 27" bought in June 2012 as taget display. What kind of cable should I buy? Thunderbolt cable, minidisplay cable or either?
Thanks

If both machines use Thunderbolt then simply get a Thunderbolt cable and connect the MBA to the iMac. You will NOT be able to use the PC for Target Display mode unless it also has Thunderbolt and even then it's iffy. Please carefully look over Apple's
iMac (Mid 2011) and later: Target Display Mode does not work with Mini DisplayPort cable
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3775

Unable to control brightness in target display mode

I use my 27" mid2010 iMac as a display for my MacPro. However after the Mac OS X recent update to 10.6.8, I noticed I am unable to control the screen brightness. Usually, I was able to do so using the iMac keyboard to adjust brightness etc. but now they do not respond in Target Display Mode. The brightness adjustment do respond if I am using the iMac but not anymore in Target Display Mode. This is a little frustrating as the screen is really bright and is hurting my eyes.

Same here. Late 2009 iMac 27". This must be a bug. (Apple: please fix this, thanks!)
As a temporary solution I installed one of the brightness control apps you can find in the App store.
I used Midnight from Ollix, searching for 'brightness' in the app store reveals some more.
<note: controlling brightness this way affects colors and is no REAL fix, just makes your eyes hurt less until the bug is fixed>

I have a late 2010 MB Air (mini display port) and a new 2013 iMac (thunderbolt) which I would love to use as an external display. I suspect that target display mode won't work.Any ideas for how to achieve this?

According to the TDM support page, this isn't possible. I tried it with a Mnidisplay port to minidisplay port cable without success. Its a shame that thunderbolt doesn't appear to be backwards compable as I could have achieved this with an older iMac.
Cheers

You are correct....it will not work. Please carefully read Apple's Target Display Mode: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Mid 2010 27" IMac Target Display Mode has stopped working

I have a 27" mid 2010 IMac, NOT the thunderbolt version, and have been using it in target display mode for my Mac Pro and 2010 Mac Mini with no problems. I have used the Belkin cables, and routinely would switch between internal and external machines using Command-F2. Worked like a champ for about 7 months.
Today, with no obvious change, I cannot get the IMac to enter TDM. This is true whether I use the Mac Mini or the Mac Pro, and is true using either of two Belkin Cables.
I reset the PRAM and NVRAM on the IMac, but this made no difference. I changed keyboards from my Bluetooth IMac keyboard to an Apple USB keyboard. Again, no improvement. I have rebooted the machine without benefit. The IMac seems to function just fine in every other respect.
Since I have no other monitor that supports the mini DisplayPort on the two other machines, I am dead in the water at this point.
The machine is a mid 2010 27" IMac, OSX 10.6.7, 2.93Ghz I7 CPU, 16 Gb RAM, 480Gb SSD and has worked well for quite a few months.
Any help will be appreciated.

When the display only shows the background, it's working in extended desktop mode. That's a logical extension of your desktop to the right of the MBP. Drag an application off the MBP to the right and it will appear on the iMac. When you close the lid of your MBP the iMac becomes the primary monitor in Clamshell mode.
If you want to mirror the MBP to the iMac then press CMD F1, press again for extended desktop mode. These settings are in System Preferences > Display > Arrangement tab.
When the iMac is in Target display mode, you don't use the keyboard on the iMac. Use the keyboard on the MBPro.

Brightness iMac in target display mode: who has it working in 10.6.8?

"With Target Display mode, you can use your iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) with Mac OS X as an external display.": http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3924 . "Use the keyboard of the 27-inch iMac to adjust display brightness and sound volume and to control media playback of applications running on the 27-inch iMac in Target Display mode."
This used to work perfectly for me. But under 10.6.8, the brightness control stopped working. Sound and media control still work as expected. I posted before on this.
Now I know more people are experiencing this problem... I am looking for people who DO have it working under 10.6.8!
I'm looking for anything I can do to get it to work, maybe the info from people who have it working gives me some clues.
Lion is just around the corner. Please let me know if Lion fixes this problem for you.
Thanks!
Maarten

I'm using two 27" imacs and one of them is still on 10.6.8 one has been upgraded to Lion just now.
I thought it was the Lion update which caused this issue for me because I installed 10.6.8 on both of them today as well.
Now I can't adjust the brightness in target display mode on either 27" imac.... worse that that it sets it to full brightness too.
I don't know of I want to try to go back to before 10.6.8 with time machine, talk about gutted ?
can you use monitor calibration as a work around ?
I found TS3919 but it doesn't work BTW , it says to set the brigthness before entering target display mode..
Simon

TS3775 Hi I am trying to connect my mba mid 2011 with an imac 27" 2011 with target display mode tdm. When I am using a thunderbolt cable nothing will work. When I use a minidisplay cable, both screens turn blue but eventually nothing happens. What is the

Hi I am trying to connect my mba mid 2011 with an imac 27" 2011 with target display mode tdm. When I am using a thunderbolt cable nothing will work. When I use a minidisplay cable, both screens turn blue but eventually nothing happens. What is the problem

Your answer is likely in Target Display Mode: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Apple Support If you are familiar with this document, please re-read it and I suspect you may find something you either missed or are doing incorrectly.

Target Display Mode not working iMac 27(2012) Bootcamp to iMac 27(2013)

Hi All,
I recently purchased an iMac 27" 2013 which replaced my iMac 27" 2010.
===============
PREVIOUS SETUP
===============
(1) iMac 27" 2012 - Running Windows 8.1
(2) iMac 27" 2010 - Running OS X Mavericks
(1)+(2) were connected with a Mini-Display-Port cable.
(1) was using (2) as external display while (2) was set to Target Display Mode using CMD+F2
==============
CURRENT SETUP
==============
(1) iMac 27" 2013 - Running Windows 8.1
(2) iMac 27" 2012 - Running OS X Mavericks
(1)+(2) are connected with Thunderbolt cable.
(1) can't use (2) as external display anymore becuase CMD+F2 has no effect anymore on (2) in this scenario.
If (1) and (2) are both running OS X all works as expected.
I am aware about the support hint from Apple where they state TDM is not working under Bootcamp.
And I agree, while booted into Windows Bootcamp this machine can't serve as external display. Makes sense because TDM is baked into OS X display drivers.
Anyone had the same experience and came to a soltuion?
Thanks,
Martin

"Apple has no plans to implement a client driver for Windows since there is no Thunderbolt SW stack available for Windows like there is for Display Port."
That is a little bit funny since Gigabyte and other big companies have said that 2014 is the year that they are going to implement Thunderbolt in many motherboards.
"GIGABYTE 7 series motherboards are the very first to offer fully certified dual onboard Thunderbolt™ ports. Capable of connecting up to 12 devices plus 3 digital displays simultaneously with breathtaking data transfer speeds that can transfer 1TB of data in only five minutes, GIGABYTE Thunderbolt™ motherboards offer the fastest connection interface on the desktop PC."
Have you asked Apple about that? I dont understand why Apple is crippling Thunderbolt on their devices...

Target Display Mode: Lenovo T420 DisplayPort to iMac (2nd screen) does not work

Configuration:
- Laptop Lenovo T420, DisplayPort, Windows 8.1
- DisplayPort cable, Adapter to Mini DisplayPort
- iMac (Intel, 27-inch, Mid 2011) as 2nd screen, connected via Mini DisplayPort Adapter, Mavericks OSX 10.9.1
Problem:
- iMac does not start Target Display Mode
- Even cannot be forced via Cmd + F2 or Cmd - Shift - F2
Test:
- Lenovo via DisplayPort cable to 2nd screen works fine
- Can switch between PC only, Duplicate, Extend display
Question:
- What is wrong?
- What can be done to idenify the root cause?
Kind regards, Marcel.

Hello Marcel,
It sounds like you are wanting to use the iMac in Target Display mode with your PC. Target Display mode is a feature that is supported from one Mac to another Mac according to this article:
OS X Mavericks: Use another Mac as a display
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14264
Target Display Mode lets you use a Mac as the external display for another, “primary” Mac.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Sterling

2010 iMac Target Display Mode not working

I'm trying to use my 27" 2010 iMac with OS X 10.7.5 as the display for my Power Mac G4 using Target Display Mode, but command+F2 doesn't do anything. I have it hooked up from the G4 using a DVI -> Mini Displayport adapter into the iMac. I've tried having the G4 plugged into the iMac, shutting both down, booting the G4 first and then the iMac. I've tried repairing my disk permissions on the iMac. I'm using an Apple keyboard and have tried both a wireless and USB keyboard, still no luck. Is what I'm attempting impossible or am I doing something wrong?

Target Display is working on the iMac, but by default, the MacBook Air uses the external display (in this case, the iMac) as an extended display, so you have to drag the windows to the right of the display of your MacBook Air and they will appear on your iMac.
If you want to show the same on both MacBook Air and iMac displays, see "Video mirroring" > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5019

MacBook Air to iMac Target Display Mode not working

I would like to connect my MacBook Air (13") with my iMac (27") to use the latter as an external display with Target Display Mode.
I followed instructions from a number of posts (http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14264), and connected the two with thunderbolt cable and hit Command-F2 -- the iMac goes black and MacBook stays the same. One post suggested dragging windows over to the iMac as an extended display, and I was able to drag Safari totally off-screen, presumably onto the other display, but the iMac still appeared black
Other issue is that hitting Command-F2 again doesn't do anything. I could only get the iMac out of TDM when I unplugged the thunderbolt cord.
I have a brand new Macbook Air and iMac along with new thunderbolt cable (all purchased at Apple Store in 2014). Would appreciate any help, thanks!

Additional twist to this...
Tried to troubleshoot and reset the System Management Controller (SMC) per http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
When I hit Command-F2, one window from my MacBook will display on the iMac (it was Safari a few times, Outlook once), but neither keyboard/mouse can DO anything in that screen. That window also disappears from the MacBook. And I can only return after unplugging thunderbolt (not command-F2).
Help please

Hi, iPak II user. Two keyboard keys won't work, and the picture goes haywire sometimes, flashing itself, bak to old stuff, typing in the safari line, all this going on vey fast. Any fixes out there?

Hi, iPak II user. Two keyboard keys won't work, and the picture goes haywire sometimes, flashing itself, bak to old stuff, typing in the safari line, all this going on vey fast. Any fixes out there?

Sounds like it could be a hardware problem.
Try a restart or reset to see if that helps. If not, contact Apple Support.
Restart: Press On/Off button until the Slide to Power Off slider appears, select Slide to Power Off and, after It shuts down, press the On/Off button until the Apple logo appears.
Reset: Press the Home and On/Off buttons at the same time and hold them until the Apple logo appears (about 10 seconds).
No data will be lost.

Two i3 iMacs won't work in Target Display Mode

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