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User profile for user: zornme
zornme Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Brand New Aluminum 20" iMac won't mount iBook in Target Disk Mode

The iMac won't mount (or even see) my old iBook in target disk mode. My iBook G4 has no problems mounting the new iMac in target disk mode. Disk utility from the OS X install disk doesn't even see the iBook when its in target disk mode. The cable is brand new, I've reset pram/open firmware on the iBook and even done an archive install. I've also left the iMac unplugged for ~5 minutes to attempt to reset the firewire bus. I'm also fully up-to-date with Software Update on both computers.

System.log on the iMac shows all kinds of fun stuff like:

Aug 9 00:23:14 xxx-computer kernel[0]: /SourceCache/AppleFWOHCI/AppleFWOHCI-299.4.1/AppleFWOHCI.cpp 3466: ERROR: FireWire (OHCI) Lucent ID 5901 PCI: handleUnrecoverableErrorInt

Aug 9 00:25:02 localhost kernel[0]: FireWire (OHCI) Lucent ID 5901 PCI now active, GUID 001b63fffe8e2c96; max speed s800.

Aug 9 00:27:01 xxx-computer kernel[0]: FireWire (OHCI) Lucent ID 5901 PCI: 95 bus resets in last minute.

Aug 9 00:33:34 localhost kernel[0]: FireWire (OHCI) Lucent ID 5901 PCI now active, GUID 001b63fffe8e2c96; max speed s800.

I'd appreciate any advice, I'm thinking this is a hardware issue but I sure hope it isn't because I just bought it less than 6 hours ago.

Edit: I should mention that I have been able to mount my iPod on the new iMac via firewire.

Aluminum 20" iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Aug 8, 2007 10:13 PM

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40 replies
User profile for user: TeaMan
TeaMan
User level: Level 1
132 points

Aug 16, 2007 8:46 PM in response to Jason Creasey

My wife's new iMac 20" just came and it too will not recognize her iBook G4 set to Target Disk Mode. The iBook goes into TDM just fine. I also tried connecting the iBook to my G4 tower and it saw it just fine. But the new Intel iMac does not see it at all. Makes me wonder if the firewire port is dead. I too would like some help on this problem. Obviously multiple people now are encountering this problem.

Apple?...are you listening?
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User profile for user: jeffberg
jeffberg
User level: Level 4
1,325 points

Aug 16, 2007 8:57 PM in response to zornme

my new 20" imac has the same problem. whether I put the iMac or my PowerMac G4 733 into FireWire Target Disk Mode there is no mount. Also, they cannot talk over firewire networking. My PowerBook G3 Pismo does mount just fine... i hacked it by shutting down the Pismo and plugging the powermac G4 into one firewire port and the imac into the other port, then they could talk to eachother.

weird, not sure if it is worth a call to applecare
Jeff
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User profile for user: solomon71
solomon71
User level: Level 1
4 points

Aug 19, 2007 12:10 AM in response to zornme

I just had the same problem. Trying to transfer over to the new iMac from a Cube. The FW disk was not being recognized. I finally got an external FW drive and plugged the Cube into it as well as the iMac, kinda using the external drive as a bridge. Once I did this, the drive in the Cube was recognized and I was able to use Migration Assistant to do its job.
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User profile for user: zornme
zornme Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Aug 19, 2007 9:15 AM in response to zornme

Oddly enough, the issue turned out to be my firewire cable. I was using a brand new firewire cable from the apple, and, despite the fact that I could use the same cable to mount the iMac in target disk mode on the iBook, switching to a much heavier duty cable that I borrowed from work resolved the issue.
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User profile for user: TeaMan
TeaMan
User level: Level 1
132 points

Aug 19, 2007 9:58 AM in response to zornme

This is odd given that when my wife's iBook G4 tries to mount the iMac intel in TDM it gives an error msg that corresponds to an error msg Apple states it should and won't mount it. See:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303118

But then maybe your iBook has MacOSX 10.4.x instead of 10.3.x like my wife's iBook?

I tried two different firewire cables and while I would say either are heady duty, neither worked either.
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User profile for user: Gonzo gonzo
Gonzo gonzo
User level: Level 1
5 points

Aug 21, 2007 8:35 PM in response to jeffberg

Hello everyone. I just bought a new Imac 24". I also have the same problem. Im trying to connect a Powerbook G4 1.0 Ti in TDM to be able to transfer files an applications to the new Imac with no success. The Imac will not show a harddisk in the desktop. I also have a very old PowerMac g4 400 and I am able to connect the Powerbook the the tower in TDM. I already tried changing cables. Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance.
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User profile for user: mani
mani
User level: Level 1
0 points

Aug 25, 2007 7:36 PM in response to zornme

I have the exact same problem with my new iMac, also using an iBook G4. It works with the iMac in TDM, though.
I believe it's not a Mac OS issue, but rather a firmware or (hopefully not) a hardware problem. I come to this conclusion because I tested connecting the iBook in TDM in Windows Vista and Gentoo GNU/Linux, in either of them I receive error messages. In the case of Linux it's even a constant flow of errors, just by plugging it in.
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User profile for user: DJJD
DJJD
User level: Level 1
0 points

Aug 30, 2007 4:29 PM in response to sacredheartmedia

I'm having the same issue with my brand-new 24" aluminum iMac and an iBook G3. Odd, though: I did manage to get the iBook to mount once, but then not ever again.

Also, my external FW400 case works fine with the same cable, so it shouldn't be the cable or the port's fault.

Firewire networking wouldn't work either, although I might have been doing something wrong as I had never used it before.
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Brand New Aluminum 20" iMac won't mount iBook in Target Disk Mode

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