Using my G5 as an external hard drive

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Level 1

5 points

Using my G5 as an external hard drive

I'm about to buy a new intel-based iMac to replace my old G5, however, I would like to retain the G5 and use as an external hard drive which will save me the hassle of migrating everything across and also give me additional storage capacity. I have a mini-network already set with my PC but the real question is, is there a way of setting up the G5 so that I can just switch it on and not have to log in to my user profile? I don't want to have to have my existing 27 inch monitor permanently hooked up just for booting up and shutting down. I want to have that hooked up to the iMac. Whilst I've used Macs for nearly 10 years I've always had a single standalone system so would value any help in setting this up.

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Jun 19, 2011 2:57 AM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Jun 19, 2011 9:36 AM in response to MGW

With the G5 in Target Mode, it'll act just like a Firewire Drive, all filees should be viewable, except for Permission Problems with the newer OS.

Another option is that you could enable Screen Sharing on the G5 & operate the G5 from either account, but does require a login which could be quite automatic...

You won't need CoVNC for your situation.

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Answer 2

MGW

Level 7

27,047 points

Jun 19, 2011 8:39 AM in response to peter967

The easiest way to accomplish what you want to do is to remove the drive from the G5 and put it in an firewire/usb external enclosure. That way, both computers can access the data on it, and the drive can also be used for storage.

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Answer 3

Jun 20, 2011 1:06 AM in response to peter967

I found this great post on the magical instructables.com http://www.instructables.com/id/Turn-an-Old-Mac-Into-a-Home-File-Server/ Target Mode might be faster though

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Answer 4

peter967 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 19, 2011 3:01 AM in response to peter967

OK, I posted this without really checking through other threads first so apologies for the duplicate post. I have read some things about using Target Disk mode but can someone confirm whether or not that addresses my original question about not having to log on? Also, my wife has her own profile on the G5 so would we still be able to access her files?

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Answer 5

peter967 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 20, 2011 1:00 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks for the helpful replies. I'll probably start by just connecting the two as suggested and then maybe think about removing the hard drives at a later stage.

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