How can I make a recovery disk for an imac 24 " early 2008 to April 2009 or connect via thunderbolt to another imacimac 24 " or connect via thunderbolt to another imac
ann
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2)
Your computer does not have Thunderbolt ports, so you would need to use Firewire to connect to a Thunderbolt model that has a Thunderbolt to Firewire adaptor.
If you upgraded to Lion, then you already have a Recovery HD configured.
Full story. I was upgrading to Yosemite about 6 months ago on the 2008 iMac and the system would never complete the install. I took it to Apple and no drive would show up so they said it's either the hard drive or the missing software startup(or something like that). That computer will come on and go thru the install for Yosemite and stop and the same place. I can get into the disk utility but it won't recognize any disks to assess. So I was thinking I'd like to eliminate the missing drive issue before I assume I have to have new hardware installed. I have an iMac 2011 and an iMac 2013 that I could connect to if I can figure out what I am doing when I connect.
As to the already having the Recovery HD. If it has that on the 2008, it didn't show up? Also yes it had been upgraded to mountain lion previous to the attempt to install Yosemite.
I do hope this makes sense. Thank you for any help you can give.
ann
You will need this for the new iMac: Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter. You can then connect the two via Firewire cable. Use Target Disk Mode to access the old computer's disk drive provided it is accessible. If it is, then it will mount on the new computer's Desktop by booting the old one into TDM. Then you can transfer your files to an external disk drive or to the new computer if you have space.
As for a Recovery HD it would not be useful unless the old computer's HDD was repairable. What did you have in mind for a recovery disk?
I guess that is the point. How do I know the hard drive is bad? And if it is of course I want it replaced, but I want to know before I go in and someone just tells me that's what I need. So I have no clue: what is a recovery disk? I guess I am just thinking of something being installed on the system like the normal programing which now shows nothing. So sorry I do not know how to talk intelligently about this.
So I am to get the thunderbolt for the new mac and a firewire on the other end for the old. ..okay, I will get on this shortly. Much thanks
ann
You will only know about the hard drive when you try to access it in TDM from your other computer. If you cannot boot into TDM mode or if the drive does not appear on the new computer's Desktop then it is likely bad.
What you are thinking about as a recovery disk is the Recovery HD normally created when you install Lion or later on the computer. You boot from it as follows:
Boot Using Command+R keys:
1. Restart the computer.
2. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the
"COMMAND" and the "R" keys together.
3. Release the keys when the Utilities Menu appears.
How can I make a recovery disk for an imac 24 " early 2008 to April 2009 or connect via thunderbolt to another imac
