Can I use an old iMac (late 2013) as a monitor and also as an external hard drive at the same time for a for a Mac mini (M1 chip)? If so, how to do it?

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Mi2022 Author

Level 1

4 points

Can I use an old iMac (late 2013) as a monitor and also as an external hard drive at the same time for a for a Mac mini (M1 chip)? If so, how to do it?

My old iMac will be replaced by a Mac mini (M1) but I'd like to use it as a monitor and also as an external hard drive (for backup purposes) at the same time. Is it possible? I found some tutorials to use it as a monitor OR as a hard drive but couldn't find anyone who used the iMac for both tasks with another device.

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 14, 2022 12:30 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 15, 2022 5:55 AM in response to Mi2022

No Mac manufactured from early 2020 onward cannot utilize any iMac that is capable of Target Display Mode as a display.

There are no adapters, workarounds or magic wands to make it work as a display for an M1 Mac. I can verify that as I own a 2013 27" iMac.

Do yourself a favor and simply sell the old iMac and get a display and what ever extra storage that you need.

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Answer 2

tbirdvet

Level 6

17,078 points

Mar 14, 2022 4:33 PM in response to Mi2022

You cannot use the iMac as a monitor.

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Can I use an old iMac (late 2013) as a monitor and also as an external hard drive at the same time for a for a Mac mini (M1 chip)? If so, how to do it?

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