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How to get files off a working 2010 imac with black screen

Our 2010 iMac (OS10.12) starts up (I can hear a chime) and sounds like it's running OK but the screen is black. I've tried all things suggested in other posts and have concluded that the screen is absolutely dead and the iMac has consequently reached the end of its days. But I need access to the disk to copy files which haven't been backed up and then wipe the disk before disposal.


I have read that I should start it in target mode (by pressing T while starting up) after connecting with another computer ideally by firewire cable or if, not, by ethernet cable. I don't have a firewire cable with the right connectors to connect to our other iMac (2011, OS10.13) so have tried with ethernet cable, connecting each end to the ethernet socket in the two computers (I presume this is right and I don't need to connect it via the modem?). Do I need to change any preferences? I restart the broken iMac holding T (for how long?). I can't see what's going on so don't know what it is doing, if anything. I read that I should see the disk image on the other computer, but nothing comes up.


Where am I going wrong? Is there another way of accessing the files on the disk? Please help. Thanks.

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Aug 11, 2021 8:52 AM

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Posted on Aug 11, 2021 9:21 AM

You need a FireWire 800 to Firewire 800 cable to go between those iMac's for Target Disk Mode.

for example > https://www.amazon.com/Pasow-FireWire-MacBook-Digital-Cameras/dp/B071KSLDJ8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?



also see > https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/transfer-files-mac-computers-target-disk-mode-mchlp1443/mac


Edit: an Ethernet connection might work, if you previously had File and Screen Sharing setup between the two iMac.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 11, 2021 9:21 AM in response to Lesley Fenton1

You need a FireWire 800 to Firewire 800 cable to go between those iMac's for Target Disk Mode.

for example > https://www.amazon.com/Pasow-FireWire-MacBook-Digital-Cameras/dp/B071KSLDJ8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?



also see > https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/transfer-files-mac-computers-target-disk-mode-mchlp1443/mac


Edit: an Ethernet connection might work, if you previously had File and Screen Sharing setup between the two iMac.

Aug 12, 2021 3:45 AM in response to den.thed

Will order the firewire cable, thanks for the precise details.

Regarding your edit: I didn't have any luck when I tried it with an ethernet connection: I'm not sure (I can't remember) if file and screen sharing were on on the 'blind' computer. Will the firewire connection work even if they're not turned on?

Many thanks for your help, den.thed


Aug 12, 2021 7:31 AM in response to den.thed

I meant: will it work if sharing isn't turned on both computers. They're both on the same network and we use to pass files to each other via airdrop so does that mean that sharing is on?


I'm pretty sure the computer is working OK. I can hear it running and I can even hear the sound of emails coming in. It seems to be just the screen which is dead.


I've ordered a cable anyway and will give it a try next week when it arrives.


Thanks for your input.

Aug 12, 2021 9:45 AM in response to Lesley Fenton1

It has been a while since I used Target Disk mode to recover files from Mac with a dead display but, when I did, I did not use Sharing. Normally you wait for a screen indication that the ailing computer is running in TDM. As my screen was black, all I could do was watch for the old Mac's hard drive to appear as an external drive on the dsktop of a fully working Mac. It did. Mischief managed.


That was a 2007MBP with a dead nVidea 8600GT graphics chip (may the fleas of 1000 camels invest their armpits!) and the lifeboat was the 2012 MBP13 I still own. Both had FireWire ports.


However, when my 2010 iMac 27 died with the same symptoms you descibe, I could not get it to connect o the same working laptop that I used to salvage the other dead mac's files. I concluded that the iMac was "deader" than I originally though, and I used my daily Carbon Copy Cloner backup to recover everything.


Assuming the hard drive still works, you may be left with opening the 2010 and extracting its HDD. Use a universal USB drive adapter or a drive dock to recover the files from the bare drive after it is out of the computer. It is the computer equivalent of killing the cow to extract a live calf but may be your only shot.


If the hard drive is the problem, well, I hope there is a backup....

How to get files off a working 2010 imac with black screen

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