MP 1,1-5,1 Urgent: GPU died - how do I access files from on my Mac Pro?

[Silly John Fatty]

Hi community,

my Mac Pro’s GPU just died (it’s a 5,1 Mac Pro). This is really the wrong moment, as I have tons of work to do and I can’t resume my work. I can work from my iPad, I don’t need any special applications, but I need access to all the files on my Mac.

Does anyone know how I can access them the fastest, easiest way? I have other computers in the house (MacBook, Mac Mini, iMac, eMac…) boy I’m looking for a way to connect the Mac Pro to one of these.

I can’t use Ethernet because apparently I would have to go in the Mac Pro’s settings and allow Sharing. I can’t do that because I don’t see anything.

I’m thinking about FireWire - do I need to enable the Sharing settings too?

What’s the easiest and most forward plug & play solution?


Thank you a lot. I’m in the middle of a project with other people waiting for me to deliver stuff, and this is really the worst possible moment for something like this to happen…

 

[admwright]

Check out target disk mode to read the HD from another Mac: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/transfer-files-mac-computers-target-disk-mode-mchlp1443/mac

 

[ocnitsa]

I'm sure someone else will be able to help you better...personally, I'd do one of two things...either swap in a new GPU or remove the hard drive and use a dongle to connect to it from one of the other computers. (Sata to USB or whatever it requires.) I suspect these are not quick enough for you, though, as they require online purchases.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Check out target disk mode to read the HD from another Mac: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/transfer-files-mac-computers-target-disk-mode-mchlp1443/mac

I’ve actually been trying this for the past hour (connected the MP to an iMac), but the MP doesn’t appear on the iMac.

I'm sure someone else will be able to help you better...personally, I'd do one of two things...either swap in a new GPU or remove the hard drive and use a dongle to connect to it from one of the other computers. (Sata to USB or whatever it requires.) I suspect these are not quick enough for you, though, as they require online purchases.

I've already ordered a new GPU but in fact it will take a while until it arrives. And it’s not by display (tested it with a MacBook and it works fine).

As for the Dongle, what do you mean by that? Do you mean these devices in/to which you connect a “naked” hard drive and then you connect the whole thing via USB or FireWire etc. to another Mac? That would be a solution in fact. Perhaps I can find one in a nearby store.


Thanks to both of you so far!

 

[sundhar1]

Like @admwright said, Target disk mode is your best bet. You may be able to boot the Mac Pro into Target Disk Mode and use a FireWire cable to connect it to another Mac computer with a FireWire port to access the files.

Press the 'T' key on a wired keyboard and power on your Mac Pro. Keep holding the 'T' key until your connected machine can see the drives in Target Disk mode. This should work unless you have a set a firmware password.

Mac startup key combinations - Apple Support

Learn about the Mac features and tools that you can access by holding down one or more keys during startup.

support.apple.com

 

[Macschrauber]

Try if you have screen sharing activated. Files can be transfered with it, too.

 

[startergo]

As for the Dongle, what do you mean by that?

He means sata to USB adapter. I personally bought myself this one:

SABRENT USB 3.0 to SATA I/II/III Dual Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5 or 3.5in HDD, SSD with Hard Drive Duplicator/Cloner Function [20+TB Support] (EC-HD2B)

Supports Standard Desktop 2.5"/3.5" SATA Hard Drives or SSD Supports hard drives up to 10TB Plug and play, no drivers needed Supports Offline Cloning up to 60Mbps Supports Transfer Speeds up to 5Gbps (USB 3.0),480Mbps (USB 2.0), 12Mbps (USB 1.1)_Product description:_The Sabrent SATA Hard Drive Do...

www.amazon.com