Target disk mode from macbook air to old imac

Hi guys!

I’ve recently restored an old 24” imac (A1225) with damaged HDD. I’ve updated the old drive to SSD and now I’m stuck on installing the OS (el capitan). Tried booting from an USB stick (using the proper Terminal command), but it doesn’t seem to work. It’s showing white screen with a question mark.

I hope to fix it via target mode, but not sure what cables and adapters I should buy and if the connection would work. The imac has Firewire 400 and 800 ports, while the macbook air (13” early2015) has thunderbolt and USB ports.

Many thanks in advance!

Posted on Feb 3, 2021 4:47 AM

Top-ranking reply

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Posted on Feb 5, 2021 9:04 AM

Hello axpetrea,

Thank you for reaching out in Apple Support Communities. It sounds like you're attempting to use target disk mode to start up an iMac from a MacBook Air. We'll be happy to help.

Target disk mode is a feature to help use a Mac as an external hard disk. This is primarily used to transfer files from one Mac to another. Based on the description you provided, we suggest to create a bootable installer for your Mac, which will help you to install the macOS operating system on your iMac. For additional details and guidance, we recommend to follow the steps outlined in this helpful article: How to create a bootable installer for macOS

Kind regards.

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Target disk mode from macbook air to old imac

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