mini as slave, but have no keyboard

[weilanddavid]

I have a mac mini and a macbook laptop. Unfortunately I don't have the keyboard and monitor for the mini with me, but I wan't to access its harddrive from the macbook (i have firewire cables). With just a keyboard I'm guessing I could hold down 't' and have the mini's harddrive show up on the macbook. Unfortunately (long story) I don't have easy access to any usb keyboards where I am. I've also tried bluetooth, but I think the keyboardless mini is waiting for an OK to let me browse. No luck.

 

[Wallace25]

You can try to connect it to your network, then log onto it from your laptop. in your finder window, click network, your mini should show up, then you can connect to it by entering its user name and password.

Or if you have remote desktop, that is an easy way too, but requires the application, which it would be cheaper to buy a keyboard. But logging on through the network should work.

 

[rjphoto]

Memo to Steve

Put a button on the Mac Mini to allow it to boot as a target drive.

To: weilanddavid

Tough one. I'm stumped. This kind of problems are the type of thing I lvoe to figure out, but this time I'm going to have to pass.

You said long story, but gee "I gots ta know..."

No Walmart or Target or Best Buy, etc. near by?

 

[rjphoto]

You can try to connect it to your network, then log onto it from your laptop. in your finder window, click network, your mini should show up, then you can connect to it by entering its user name and password.

Or if you have remote desktop, that is an easy way too, but requires the application, which it would be cheaper to buy a keyboard. But logging on through the network should work.

If he's got a network. But wouldn't that require the mini to join the network via some sort of set-up?

 

[weilanddavid]

i'm in italy, but my keyboard and monitor are in storage in portugal, until july. you asked, . it's not really an emergency to access the mini (i'd wait til july before buying a new keyboard). i probably could find a keyboard here (though no walmarts here, yet). and I would borrow, but I don't know any mac users over here.
the 'network', btw, is two people sharing a dsl connection. possible to find it by connecting them separately?
thanks.

 

[smartin684]

Can't you just connect with Firewire cable and mount the drive on the laptop? Also any usb keyboard should work. Doesnt need to be a mac keyboard.

 

[Guy Incognito]

What about booting up both machines, connecting from the laptop to the mini using VNC, rebooting the mini in target mode, and going from there?

 

[CanadaRAM]

What about booting up both machines, connecting from the laptop to the mini using VNC, rebooting the mini in target mode, and going from there?

All of the above suggestions are really, really hard to do unless you had previously prepped the Mini to boot without password, automatically launch VNC or something, share some folders, configure a Firewire network, somehow rigged the machine to launch int Target disk mode without a keyboard to hold the "T" key down, etc.

The solution is to buy a cheap USB keyboard and mouse. As far as sharing a DSL connection, is there a hub or switch or multiport router? If not get a small Ethernet 4 port switch as well.

For the price of 6 fancy coffees, this could be sorted nicely...



(* Maybe there's a market for a little USB Memory key dongle that will emulate a keyboard, and issue a selectable series of keystrokes, like "T" or "C" or "Command Option PR" or "{password}" - of course it would probably cost more than a keyboard but what the hey...?)

 

[rjphoto]

USB Keyboard

http://www.compuvisor.com/sukeikeblsp.html

Superman USB Keyboard for $16.95.

Like smartin684 said, any USB keyboard will work.

Check the local computer shops...

 

[Wallace25]

If he's got a network. But wouldn't that require the mini to join the network via some sort of set-up?

If it was in the automatic network setting, then you should be able to plug in ethernet and be connected, even if it was just a computer to computer network.