Target disk mode -big sur

Btw, it's late and I might have said it slightly wrong. I remembered I read on a forum that 1 dot = current directory and 2 dots = parent directory. If you go into the dot and then type ls -la and you see the same lines as your original comment, you are still in the same directory.

In that case, you go into the .. folder (2 dots) and type ls -la again and post the lines here.

I hope you understand, it was very hard for me to figure it out and even harder to explain

ok, i think we're getting somewhere, if you're able to hang in there with me till the end, i promise i will be sending you a starbucks gift card to your email to thank you for your time...you have no idea how grateful i am lol

ok so i typed " cd .. " as you mentioned then i did " ls -la " and i got into a lot more lines now!

this is what i see: (there's so much to type..i hope if i type a little bit of it, you'll remember if it was similar)

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 .

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 ..

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 MobilesoftwareUpdate

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 at

drwxr---------- root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 audit

drwxr---------- root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 backup

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 containers

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 db

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 empty

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 folders

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 install

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 jabbered

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 log

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 ma

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 mail

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 netboot

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 networked

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 protected

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 root

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 rpc

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 run

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 rwho

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 select

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 spool

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 tmp

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 vm

drwxr-xr-x 27 root wheel 2200 Feb 7 0:4:20 yp

**ignore everything before the last word at the end...i'm copying and pasting but those are the folders/different files i see after entering the ".." folder

hope this is something close to where you got

I have read the instructions given, but as I am such a novice I am unsure of a couple of things before I start the recovery process.

Do I need to plug the Mac into another Mac once it's in Target Disc mode?

What is terminal?

Thanks,

Chloe

Target disk mode = plugging it in to another computer yes. Then HOPEFULLY you can acces the harddrive of your own pc and make room by deleting files. For me this wasn't possible, just like for many other people. Please google "how to target disk mode" to try the first solution. Try it, and if it doesnt work you can try the terminal solution.

If you don't know what terminal is, I suggest you first read up on that by googling it. You can acces terminal (and a few other boot options) by pressing and holding cmd+R while you start up the pc. But that is for later concern, first try target disk mode

I have this exact same issue but I don’t have everything backed up. Fortunately I have MOST of it backed up to Dropbox but is it such a fantasy to think that Apple would present the target disk mode because it might actually help as opposed to just be a never ending loop that makes me want to go Office Space on this mother?

I spent $100 on a Thunderbolt 2 cable and an adapter just so I could plug this thing in to another MacBook and the loop still never ends.

Thanks for nothing, Crapple.

I did the same thing re. buying the cable and adaptor. I was frustrated too - and like you I had most backed up elsewhere - but I can use the cable for other purposes and was just glad the Terminal route worked to save erasing and starting over.

Apple needs to do a better job on the space needed for these updates. I've never had an issue before as long as there was space to download the update, it typically went fine.

What is frustrating for me is that Target Disk Mode still doesn't work after the update was successfully completed.

To those who have also had success with the Terminal route, does TDM work for you now? When I tried to move some files between Macs after the update, TDM was still kicking me out of after 15-20 seconds and rebooting the system.

I was able to see more files yes but that may only be because I had time to look around using Terminal. Target Disk Mode kept booting me out after about 30 seconds so didn’t have time to really get my bearings.

Hi,

I ended up taking my laptop to a shop and they were able to fix it for me...Thank God!

However, I wanted to still say thank you so much for all your help and time in explaining how to get into the terminal and do the commands...you have no idea how much I appreciated the help, can I send you a small starbucks giftcard as a thank you?

if you feel uncomfortable, totally understandable, just know I am extremely grateful!

Hello,

Same here! It cost me €35 and I lost all of my data. I do have Big Sur operating fine though. There was no way I could devote 12 hours to fixing it (which someone mentioned last week) and I didn't have another Mac to plug into.

Hopefully, Apple will consider giving a warning to users before before they start the installation in future.

Thanks for the advice along the way.

I have the same problem. It goes to a black screen with a thunderbolt or firewire (?) icon and gets stuck there. I have to force shutdown by the power button. How do you get the computer to restart in any other mode? I don't know that I have a recent backup.

Hi, I think you are my last resort! I've been able to follow your instructions up until Disk Utility. Now I can see I have no space but cannot locate Terminal. Only option seems to be First Aid but wanted to check with you for advice first please

Thanks

No problem. If First Aid is your option, it sounds like you're still within the Disk Utility area. What you need to do is get back to the main Recovery Mode screen - where you had the option to select Disk Utility from a list of 4 options.

See screenshots and instructions in this link - https://osxdaily.com/2017/05/18/access-terminal-recovery-mode-mac/.

If in doubt and you're not sure how to work your way back to that main screen, just reboot into Recovery Mode and start over.

From there, select the Utilities menu at the top of the screen and Terminal should be an option.

How to upgrade to macOS Big Sur - Apple Support

You're welcome.

I have an older macbook airt that upgraded with no problems