curly1
Level 1 (32 points)
Audio

Q: iMac as 2nd display for MBP Retina

I'm trying to establish and use my old iMac (2011) (OS 10.10.5) as a second display for my newer MBP Retina (OS 10.11.4) by following these directions but they don't seem to work:


Follow these steps to start using your iMac as a display:

Make sure both computers are turned on.

Connect the Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt cable between the two computers.

Press Command-F2 on the keyboard of the iMac that you want to use as a display.

After you press Command-F2, your iMac displays the desktop from the connected Mac.


Those directions seem very straight forward and I've followed them exactly so I don't understand what I could possibly be doing wrong. Is there a problem with them?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4), 2.5 GHz 16MG

Posted on Apr 24, 2016 12:40 PM

by Duane,Apple recommended
Duane Duane
Level 10 (124,018 points)
A:

curly1 wrote:

 

clarify:

I'm using a Thunder cable adapter to connect with the Firewire cable. Would that make a difference?

Yes. You need to use a Thunderbolt cable.

 

Use your iMac as a display with Target Display Mode - Apple Support

Posted on Apr 24, 2016 1:37 PM

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curly1

Q: iMac as 2nd display for MBP Retina

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  • by curly1,

    curly1 curly1 Apr 24, 2016 3:28 PM in response to Duane
    Level 1 (32 points)
    Audio
    Apr 24, 2016 3:28 PM in response to Duane

    Let me take some time out and try it all again fresh-maybe I'll do or see something I haven't done.

    Thanks for sticking it out!

  • by curly1,Apple recommended

    curly1 curly1 Apr 26, 2016 9:11 PM in response to Duane
    Level 1 (32 points)
    Audio
    Apr 26, 2016 9:11 PM in response to Duane

    Very possibly you don't, at this point, want to know this but taking time away from this problem did work out for me. I said I had changed ports well apparently I'd only done it at the MBP and not at the iMac. It turns out that one of the two Thunderbolt connections on the iMac is bad. And, of course, that's the one I was plugged into.

    So when I changed it the screen lit up. So one fire snuffed out!

    Once again thank you for your efforts on my behalf.

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Apr 27, 2016 7:01 AM in response to curly1
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Apr 27, 2016 7:01 AM in response to curly1

    Great! Glad that you got it sorted out.

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