Target disk mode – why not working?

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Level 1

50 points

Target disk mode – why not working?

I'm trying to repair my kid's iMac 14,2 by starting it in target mode. The other computer is my Mac Pro 4,2 'Nehalem'. They are connected by a FireWire 800 cable and a (genuine) Apple thunderbolt-to-firewire adapter, thunderbolt at the iMac end.

The iMac starts up as it should and i see a dancing firewire symbol on its screen – but there's no sign of it in the finder on the other computer.

Am I doing something wrong or is there a reason why this doesn't work? Thanks all!

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Dec 23, 2020 10:44 AM

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Answer 1

Angus McC Author

Level 1

50 points

Dec 23, 2020 12:33 PM in response to Angus McC

Oh waitaminnit – the target disk, i.e. the iMac, DOES show up in Disk Utility, -sseming ly twice: it's the two "AAPL Firewire T..." in the screncap attached, and the two greyed-out "Untitled" below.

That "Loading disks" wait-wheel has now been spinning for over an hour.

Do we think that this is a hopeless case, or should I let it run overnight and see what happens? Thanks...!

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

61,202 points

Dec 23, 2020 5:32 PM in response to Angus McC

What OS is on the Mac Pro? A newer Mac likely is using the new APFS file system so macOS 10.12.6+ needs to be used to read the APFS file system.

Since you see two volumes (common with a Catalina and Big Sur system) it seems you are running macOS 10.12.6+ so I'm guessing the iMac's hard drive is failing since it keeps spinning.

If the drive is failing, then you won't be able to access any files on the drive using normal utilities since standard utilities (including data recovery apps) cannot handle the errors thrown by a failing hard drive. Plus the more you use the drive (even letting it spin) the worse the failure becomes.

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Target disk mode – why not working?

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