What cable do I Need to connect my macs in target disk mode?

[Mark200789]

I’m at a loss as to what expensive wire I’ll only use once to buy. I have a new Mac Studio on the way and will be transferring my 2014 iMac to it. The former has thunderbolt 4 and usbc. The latter has thunderbolt 2 and usb 3. What cable is going to handle this? I can’t seem to find one that is TB 2 to 4. The closest I found was tb4 to DisplayPort, but the ads say it’s in compatible with tb 2. Am I crap out of luck here? Is there an option to connect machines directly via Ethernet?

 

[pastoralbasement]

Greetings. For the Mac Studio, I suspect you need an "Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2" adapter. That adapter can be connected to a basic Thunderbolt 2 cable.

Adapter:

Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter

Effortlessly connect your Mac to a Thunderbolt 2 device with the Apple Thunderbolt 3 Adapter. Buy now at apple.com

www.apple.com

Cable:

Apple Thunderbolt Cable (2.0 m) - White

Apple Thunderbolt Cable lets you conduct fast data transfers by connecting Thunderbolt-enabled devices to your Mac. Get fast, free shipping.

www.apple.com

The 2014 iMac would be put into "Target Disk Mode" by holding down the "T" key during startup. I always felt that Target Disk Mode was a great feature. You are lucky it will be an option for you. Going forward, starting with the Apple Silicon processors, "Target Disk Mode" will not be an option, replaced by a different feature.

 

[jdb8167]

starting with the Apple Silicon processors, "Target Disk Mode" will not be an option, replaced by a different feature.

Though I’ve never used it, there is a shared disk mode as one of the recovery mode options. From Apple: Transfer files between a Mac with Apple silicon and another Mac.