Access emails on bmp late 2006 with broken screen

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Level 1

13 points

Access emails on bmp late 2006 with broken screen

hi,

i've been trying for all i'm worth to get my mbp late 2006 to show up on an external display so that i can retrieve important emails but it's just not happening.

many times I have started it and then folded down the screen to a near closed position and seen the screen turn off but nothing appears on the external cinema display to which it is connected. I have also tried starting it up and using the F7 key but nothing.

is there another way i should go about this? can i use my Mac mini 2009 which I am using now to boot from the mbp? [that would be ideal] or should i just remove the hard drive from the mbp, put it in an external case and boot from it using the mac mini? i have never booted from anything before, it's new territory for me. please help if you can. thanks in advance,

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), MacBookPro2,2 - 2.16ghz - 2Gb ram

Posted on Feb 8, 2015 5:25 PM

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Answer 1

moovin.com Author

Level 1

13 points

Feb 8, 2015 11:04 PM in response to moovin.com

would someone like to suggest a better forum for this question?

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Answer 2

spudnuty

Level 5

7,116 points

Feb 8, 2015 11:17 PM in response to moovin.com

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities,

"seen the screen turn off but nothing appears on the external cinema display to which it is connected."

What is showing on the internal display?

When you say broken what are the symptoms?

In general you could use Target Disk mode and hook the MBP to your mini, if the disk is still readable.

How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode - Apple Support

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Answer 3

kaz-k

Level 8

49,038 points

Feb 8, 2015 11:43 PM in response to moovin.com

Not sure how old your email are, though it's possible to get emails by Mac Mini to login your email account to get emails if you don't delete emails from mail server.

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Answer 4

moovin.com Author

Level 1

13 points

Feb 8, 2015 11:45 PM in response to spudnuty

hi,

so the notebook screen is cracked and it's bled everywhere and there is nothing to be seen except a bit of movement of blue colour.

so i tried starting it up and as soon as it lights up i close the lid down so that it's like 5mm from closed.

apparently at that point it is supposed to be in 'clamshell' mode and then start showing up on the external monitor.

no dice.

the light from the closed screen stops but nothing appears on the external monitor.

1. so in this target disk mode i assume the broken screen mbp is the target and the working Mac mini is the host?

2. can i then be using the os [10.6.8 i think] installed on the mbp [inotherwords am i 'inside' the mbp], or do i just get access to the hard drive data via the mini's os [currently yosemite]? If it's the later as i suspect it would be really difficult to track down an copy all the emails. my emails were saved in lots of folders within folders - very organised and therefore probably very difficult to replicate on my newer computer.

3. is the cable i need called a firewire to firewire or is it more complicated than that?

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Answer 5

moovin.com Author

Level 1

13 points

Feb 9, 2015 12:04 AM in response to kaz-k

possibly the ones left in the inbox but the important emails were mostly moved into folders 'On My Mac', and i was using pop. i've only recently discovered map and creating folders on the server within my email account.

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Answer 6

kaz-k

Level 8

49,038 points

Feb 9, 2015 12:14 AM in response to moovin.com

1) yes.

2) You don't need to care about OS version, it's just yet another HDD if you see from the Mac Mini.

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Answer 7

moovin.com Author

Level 1

13 points

Feb 9, 2015 1:28 AM in response to kaz-k

kaz-k, you are responding to my response to spudnuty i take it. thanks.

so i think that way is not ideal as it would be a rather complex operation to transfer the emails but if that is the only way so be it.

so...

1] i take it then there no way i can boot from my broken mac book pro because the screen is unusable?

2] if not, what sort of cable do i need to connect bmp and mini via fire wire?

3] can i connect wirelessly?

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Answer 8

spudnuty

Level 5

7,116 points

Feb 9, 2015 7:59 AM in response to moovin.com

"the light from the closed screen stops but nothing appears on the external monitor"

Clamshell mode might not be supported in certain configurations:

http://batter123.over-blog.com/article-mac-os-x-snow-leopard-clamshell-mode-is-n ot-supported-with-battery-73208702.html

and:

http://www.mariasguides.com/2009/12/22/mac-os-x-using-your-laptop-in-clamshell-m ode/

Both say: "

Connect the computer to a power adapter — this won’t work on battery power — and, if necessary, turn your computer on."

So at the very least you should automatically be in screen mirroring.

If you use MacBook Pro in "Target Disk" mode the cable you'll need will depend on the exact models of the Mini and MBP. Generally speaking FireWire 400 or 800 or combo of both.

This will tell you which outputs are supported:

http://lowendmac.com/profiles.htm

"1] i take it then there no way i can boot from my broken mac book pro because the screen is unusable?"

No that should work w/ your MBP plugged in to mains power and the correct video out connector.

If this is your machine:

http://lowendmac.com/2006/15-in-macbook-pro-late-2006/

"Video out: DVI connector (VGA supported with included adapter; S-video and composite video supported with optional adapters)"

2] if not, what sort of cable do i need to connect bmp and mini via fire wire?

Well if that is your machine, it supports both:

"

FireWire 400: 1 port
FireWire 800: 1 port"

The 2009 mini has FireWire 400.

When the MBP is in Target Disk mode the entire machine acts like a large external hard drive case.

"3] can i connect wirelessly?"

Possible but sharing would have had to be turned on. What I describe here is easier.

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Answer 9

moovin.com Author

Level 1

13 points

Feb 9, 2015 3:44 PM in response to spudnuty

Thank you so much for all your help. I did not learn anything new from the first two articles but noticed in the second that it says '4. When the desktop appear on the external display, close the computer’s lid.'. I do not reach the desktop. My mac has a password but i can't see anything to be able to put it in so I never reach the desktop. I have however tried closing lid immediately after startup and also waiting a while but nothing works.

So I think I will give up on using the external monitor. I've done it before, in fact I did it for years, but can't seem to do it now and I'm fed up with trying now. I will seek out a firewire cable and see what I can do with that to retrieve my emails. i'll b back.

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