#How to put mac in target mode drivers
#How to put mac in target mode update

In our example, we'll use a 2012 Retina MacBook Pro (left) as the host to boot a 2011 MacBook Air (right) as the target. Note that TDM will still work if you have to use a FireWire adapter, such as when connecting a 2010 MacBook ProРІР‚в„ўs native FireWire 800 port to a 2013 MacBook Air using a Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter. With Thunderbolt a relatively new addition to the Mac, however, youРІР‚в„ўll likely find that FireWire is far more ubiquitous. If available, Thunderbolt will provide the fastest experience, especially when used with Macs that have internal solid state drives instead of mechanical hard drives.

#How to put mac in target mode drivers

So if your host Mac is a new 2013 Haswell-based MacBook Air, for example, and your target MacРІР‚в„ўs hard drive has OS X 10.7 Lion installed, you wonРІР‚в„ўt be able to boot to the target hard drive because Lion doesnРІР‚в„ўt possess the drivers for the new Haswell hardware.Р”Р„ssuming that your Macs are compatible, next decide if youРІР‚в„ўll use Thunderbolt or FireWire.

#How to put mac in target mode update

As you may know, with very few exceptions, Apple does not update older versions of OS X to support newer hardware. To accomplish this, first make sure that your РІР‚СљtargetРІР‚Сњ Mac (the one youРІР‚в„ўll configure for Target Disk Mode) is running a version of OS X equal to or greater than the РІР‚СљhostРІР‚Сњ Mac. In KenРІР‚в„ўs situation, he would put the Mac mini into Target Disk Mode, attach it to his MacBook Pro using FireWire or Thunderbolt, and then boot the MacBook using the miniРІР‚в„ўs hard drive, producing the same basic result as if he had physically removed the miniРІР‚в„ўs drive and installed it in his MacBook. From a user perspective, the internal drives of a TDM-connected Mac appear indistinguishable from those of an external drive enclosure.Р”В«ut an even more interesting aspect of TDM is that it allows a user to view another MacРІР‚в„ўs hard drive as a potential boot drive, and to boot natively into OS X with a combination of one computerРІР‚в„ўs hardware and another computerРІР‚в„ўs software. If a Mac wonРІР‚в„ўt boot, a user can connect it to a working Mac, initiate Target Disk Mode, and then, if the hard drive is still functioning, view the driveРІР‚в„ўs contents. TDM is most often used to help diagnose malfunctioning Macs. TDM allows a user to connect two Macs using either FireWire or Thunderbolt, allowing one Mac to access the otherРІР‚в„ўs internal drives as if they were external FireWire or Thunderbolt drives. The answer to your question arrives courtesy of a feature called Target Disk Mode (TDM), which Apple introduced way back in 1991 with the PowerBook 100.