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User profile for user: kleyw
kleyw Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Make high sierra startup disk from Mojave using external SSD

Forgive me if this is posted somewhere or it's super-obvious but I just cannot find what I think that I am looking for.


I just got a new iMac (my last one died after 9 years) and it is running Mojave. I want to create a High Sierra Startup Disk on an external SSD so that I can try to revive my 2011 (Early) Macbook Pro to get some files. None of the startup recovery commands have worked on it. I can't seem to figure out how to do it. Basically, I want to be able to hopefully be able to access the Macbook Pro's HD one last time and my only thought after what I've already tried is to do the above.


Any suggestions? I some familiarity with Terminal.

iMac 27", macOS 10.14

Posted on May 11, 2019 11:33 PM

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User profile for user: dialabrain
dialabrain
User level: Level 10
126,803 points

Posted on May 12, 2019 2:58 AM

First, you cannot boot a Mac with a version of macOS that is earlier than what it was shipped with. So if your iMac came with Mojave you can't do what you want. However, if your MacBook Pro will boot you can use Target Disk Mode.

See: Use target disk mode to move files to another computer - Apple Support

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User profile for user: kleyw
kleyw Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

May 12, 2019 6:08 AM in response to dialabrain

Thank you for your reply. I was hoping you wouldn’t say that. I had tried booting it into target mode with my previous iMac and it never worked. I’m guessing that would still be the case? A week ago, I got it to boot up and I wasn’t prepared. I guess I’ll jut continue to try periodically and cross my fingers. Thanks again!

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Make high sierra startup disk from Mojave using external SSD

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