[X4U] Macs which support "target disk mode"

[Jeff Carruthers]

On Jan 22, 2008, at 7:43 PM, Neil Laubenthal wrote:

> I'm pretty sure the mirror door model supports target disk  
> mode . . . perhaps it needs a monitor hooked up?
>
>
> On Jan 22, 2008, at 15:50, Jim Robertson wrote:
>
>> I passed my dual G5 down the food chain (to my son) last weekend.  
>> We tried
>> to use Firewire Target Disk Mode to transfer his "stuff" from a
>> mirrored-doors G4, but the older computer would just shut down a  
>> few seconds
>> after the startup "bong" and some disk activity.
>>
>> I read somewhere that some G4 computers with Open Firmware might  
>> require
>> booting INTO open firmware before they'd function in target disk  
>> mode. Is
>> that what we encountered? I tried looking in Apple's knowledge  
>> base but
>> didn't find an answer.
>>
>> Thanks so much,
>>
>> Jim Robertson


Assuming that you intend to use the G4 as the source disc, you don't  
need a monitor for target disk mode to work.

Check the help menu to be sure you are invoking Target Disk Mode  
correctly. (You would leave the G5 on, shut down the G4, connect the  
two computers with a firewire cable, then start up the G4 while  
holding down the T key; this will then allow the G5 to see the G4 as  
an attached drive.)

If it doesn't work for some reason, an alternative would be to pull  
the hard drive from the G4 and put it into an external firewire case  
and transfer the files that way, using Migration Assistant.

Don't think you can put the G4 hd into the G5 -- I believe the G5  
uses serial ATA drives, whereas the G4 towers uses ATA drives.

Jeff
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