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Target mode question

H

hasaza

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 15, 2007
12
0
Reading, UK
Hi All,

I have a question regarding Target mode, I need to transfer some docs/downloads/pics etc etc from my old PB G4 to my new SR MBP using the firewire cable. However to keep my new MBP as 'clean' as possible I don't want to move any user related stuff or apps, does using Target mode let you do this, i.e. pick and choose what you want to move across.

Tried old method of hooking up an external HD but of course it was formatted NTFS so couldn't write to it and don't really want to go down MACFuse route yet.

Thx
 
mad jew said:
It mounts the other Mac as an external drive, which allows you to manually drag across files at your pleasure. :)
Click to expand...

the crazy one is right. Target mode will mount the mac as if its an external drive. so no worries. just drag what you need/want across.
 
target mode only partly works

I can get my computer to boot in target mode but then it doesn't show up on the computer I connect it to. Anyone have an idea why?
 
You should just connect the two with firewire, boot the PB holding down T until you see the firewire icon floating around its display and then wait a few seconds. The drive should show up on the desktop of the other computer.

You may have it set to not show volumes on the desktop. Open a new finder window and look for the drive there.
 
That doesn't seem to be working. My external hard drive shows up so I think it will show volumes on the desktop but for some reason the target computer isn't showing up on the host computer. Any idea why that might happen?
 
Try another firewire cable. Try connecting the cable to different firewire ports on both machines. Do firewire devices work on both machines?

If the source computer is booted in firewire target disk mode (which is extremely obvious) and it is connected to another Mac using firewire, then it will work. If you are doing that and it is not working, then I would start to figure out what is causing it to fail (firewire cable, firewire ports not working, etc...).

I would try another cable first and then test each computer to make sure that the firewire bus (ports) are actually working.
 
what happens if you run the Migration Assistant on the target (new) computer? Do what it tells you to do as far as connecting the computers and booting into FW Target Disk Mode. At one point it will tell you to connect the computers using a firewire cable and then boot the source (old) computer holding down the T key. If you do that and the Migration Assistant continues then there is nothing wrong. If you boot the source (old) computer holding down T and the Migration Assistant on the target (new) computer does not go any further, then there is a problem (cable or firewire port on one or both machines).

If it does continue after booting the source computer, you know the hardware is working. You can quit the Migration Assistant at this point so you don't start any transfer.
 
I've been able to mount other volumes using this firewire cable, but for some reason this computer will not mount. It is definitely in target mode with the firewire icon moving around the screen. Apple.com says to disconnect the firewire cable and reconnect it. Tried that and it didn't work either. I'm stumped.
 
Have you tried to mount drives on both computers using that cable? The cable sounds like it is good. If the firewire bus on either computer is not working then it is not going to work. I would use that cable to mount a drive on both computers. If both can mount an external firewire drive using that cable, then it appears that all the hardware is functioning.

Have you mounted a firewire drive on both machines or just one?
 
Well, the one computer isn't working right now. That's why I'm trying to put it into target mode, so that I can run disk utility on it from the other computer. When the computer crashed, it was hooked up to an external hard drive, so the port was working then, but the computer hasn't been able to boot since.
 
Well, there is your problem most likely. Can you boot the PowerBook from the install disks that came with the computer?

What exactly does the PB do when you try to boot normally?
 
When I boot it normally it makes some clicking noise and then goes to a screen with a folder and a question mark. If I boot it from the install disk will it erase any files on my computer?
 
If you boot it and it makes a clicking sound and then a flashing ?, then your hard drive is bad. That is why it is not showing up because it can't be mounted. I hate to say it, but you have probably lost everything on that drive.

You can try to boot off the install disk (without installing anything), but the computer probably won't even recognize the drive. Boot to the install disk and select English as the language. Then go to the utilities menu (I think that is it) and select Disk Utility. If you see the drive, try to repair it. If you don't see the drive.... bad news.

You can try that, but I can almost guarantee that you won't see the drive when booted from the install disk either.

You can try to reset the PMU to see if it makes a difference, but I highly doubt it.

Clicking noise and a flashing ?= a bad drive.
 
that's what I was afraid of. Thanks for the help. I guess I'll need to take it to an apple store or something?
 
You can take it in and see what they say. They won't be able to do anything about it if the drive is bad.

Go ahead and boot to the install disk. Select English as the language. Go to the Utilities menu (I think that is what it is called) and select Disk Utility. If it sees the drive, repair it. If it repairs it, then it may boot again. If it does not see the drive then it is bad.

Reset the PMU also. It is a long shot, but it could help.
 
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