Thunderbolt ports on 2010 iMac

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Thunderbolt ports on 2010 iMac

I have a 2010 iMac 27" retina monitor version. It has been sliding into senility for a couple of years, and I just purchased a 2024 MacBook Air. I want to connect the two machines for data transfer. My iMac has two ports identified as Thunderbolt 4 by System Report, but they do not look like the Thunderbolt ports on my MacBook Air, or the ones being sold by Amazon. How do I adapt cables to make the connection? I have already figured that getting a hub for the MacBook might be useful, but making sure I have a Thunderbolt cable that fits my old iMac looks necessary.

iMac 27″, macOS 11.7

Posted on Apr 27, 2025 4:56 AM

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Answer 1

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Tesserax

Level 10

158,526 points

Apr 27, 2025 6:25 AM in response to kwalterscott

To clear it up: your 2010 iMac actually does not have Thunderbolt ports. It has Mini DisplayPort connectors, which look almost identical to Thunderbolt 1 ports (and they use the same connector shape). Thunderbolt wasn't introduced by Apple until early 2011 models. What’s likely happening is that your System Report is either misreporting things, or there's some misunderstanding based on similar port shapes. Mini DisplayPort ≠ Thunderbolt.

Your 2024 MacBook Air, on the other hand, has Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports — completely different connector shape.

Typically, you would use Apple's Target Disk Mode to do this transfer. The only issue is that, AFAIK, the 2010 iMac does NOT support Thunderbolt at all. You can double-check this by hold down "T" when starting the iMac — if you see a Thunderbolt or FireWire logo, you’re good). Otherwise, the other option is to have both Macs connected to the same local network (either by Ethernet or by Wi-Fi), and then, use the Migration Assistant to transfer the data. Note: If you're transferring a lot of data, I recommend using an Ethernet cable between the two, and if necessary, a USB-C to Ethernet adapter for the MacBook Air.

Ref:

Transfer files between a Mac with Apple silicon and another Mac - Apple Support
Transfer to a new Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support

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Answer 2

kwalterscott Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 27, 2025 9:34 AM in response to Tesserax

The "Thunderbolt" symbol over those two (never-used-before) ports on my iMac fooled me. I really appreciate your input on that.

I think the ethernet (iMac) that has an adapter for USB-C is my best bet.

I tried a full migration and immediately was alerted that there was not enough memory in the MacBook Air. I left off a few items and tried again, and using the wireless link, and I am not sure when the process finished early (6+ hours) this morning, but again, I got an insufficient memory alert. Now looking to do a massive de-clutter on the iMac and try again. Using your cable recommendation.

Thank you.

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Thunderbolt ports on 2010 iMac

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