Can't boot normally after Target Disk Mode

Question

Level 1

10 points

Can't boot normally after Target Disk Mode

I received a "new" 2015 Macbook Pro and am manually transferring documents. media, and other items from my mid-2012 Macbook Air. I put my MBA into Target Disk Mode to easily transfer files over Thunderbolt, but now I can't boot my MBA normally - it is booting into OSX Utilities. I've tried shutting down a few times, tried starting up while pressing Option, nothing seems to work. [I am able, by starting up and pressing T, to put it back into Target Disk Mode.]

Am I missing something? How can I get my MBA to operate like a normal computer again? Thanks.

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jun 28, 2016 6:27 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Esquared

Level 6

12,415 points

Jun 28, 2016 6:35 AM in response to mlbdenver

Is it possible that you moved* some items from the MBA to the MBP in stead of copying them? Where any of those 'other items' outside your User folder?

* This means: keeping the command key pressed while dragging.

Reply

Answer 2

Leopardus

Level 4

1,303 points

Jun 28, 2016 7:16 AM in response to mlbdenver

Let it boot into DiskUtilities. In the menu bar use the dropdown menu to select the Boot disk

Reboot after the selection has been made.

HTH

Leo

Reply

Answer 3

Jun 28, 2016 7:15 AM in response to mlbdenver

Have you tried turning it off and on again? (Just kidding.)

When you hold Option after power-on, do you see multiple drive icons you can select? I'm assuming you should only see a single drive (unless you have multiple drives connected to the Mac).

Also, I'm assuming that after you completed the transfer process, you powered off the unit, and disconnected the Thunderbolt cable, and then pressed the power button.

Reply

Answer 4

mlbdenver Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 28, 2016 6:44 AM in response to Esquared

Hi. Interesting thought, but actually this happened before I was even able to move any files (long story, I tried to set up with firewire-thunderbolt, which didn't work, so I didn't actually get to move any files on that attempt). Once I was correctly set up to move files over Thunderbolt, I only moved my photos before I tried rebooting again.

Reply

Answer 5

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,306 points

Jun 28, 2016 6:56 AM in response to mlbdenver

reset the nvram

How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 6

mlbdenver Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 28, 2016 7:15 AM in response to AmarandAgasi

Appreciate the humor! 🙂

For whatever reason, when I tried re-booting with Option previously, I didn't get any drives to choose from. I just did it again and lo and behold, there were two drives (my regular HD and some other drive that I didn't recognize - EFI boot?). I chose my regular HD and it started up properly! So thank you!

I will need to go back into Target Disk mode again to continue moving files, so this is good to know. I'm glad I didn't fry my current working laptop.

Appreciate the help of the community!

Reply

Answer 7

Jun 28, 2016 7:21 AM in response to mlbdenver

I have backups all over the place: external hard drive, WD My Cloud Mirror, you name it. I use Time Machine (revision control) and SuperDuper! (bootable external drives) to back everything up, all the time. If I were to dump my MBP in the river, I'd cry, and then buy a new one with zero data loss. Having a backup plan is super important! And thanks for the Helpful/Solved. I'm trying to get enough points to change my avatar to a custom one! 🙂 This is a bit like grinding in an RPG dungeon!

(Glad you got the reference!)

Reply

Answer 8

Leopardus

Level 4

1,303 points

Jun 28, 2016 7:24 AM in response to mlbdenver

Glad that you got sorted!

Leo

Reply