How do I put Mac in target mode?

To enter Target Disk Mode, click the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Click the “Startup Disk” icon and click the Target Disk Mode button to restart your Mac in Target Disk Mode. You can also enter Target Disk Mode by rebooting your Mac and holding down the T key as it boots.

Can I connect two Macs with USB-C?

Using target disk mode (TDM) means you can use the USB-C charge cable that came with your Mac to connect both Macs together and easily copy files from one to the other. Enabling TDM is done by first shutting down the Mac you want to copy files from.

What does Target Disk Mode do on Mac?

What Is Target Disk Mode? Target Disk Mode is a special boot mode that enables nearly any Mac to behave like an external hard drive for another Mac. You can connect the Macs using Thunderbolt 3, USB-C (on the MacBook), Thunderbolt 2, or FireWire.

Can I use my old Mac as an external hard drive?

To make a Mac act as an external hard disk, you can put it in Target Disk Mode and connect it to another Mac with a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable, as follows: Note: Target Disk Mode is available on most recent Macs; however, computers that do not have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports are excluded.

What happens when you restart computer in Target Disk Mode?

Target disk mode is a way of booting a Macintosh computer so that it acts as an external hard drive on another computer. When a Mac is booted in target disk mode, the typical boot sequence is bypassed and the operating system is not loaded.

Is FireWire compatible with Thunderbolt?

Thunderbolt is backward compatible, as is FireWire and USB. However, none of them are forward compatible. So while you can use an adapter to plug an older FireWire device into a newer port (like Thunderbolt 2 or USB3) the other way is simply not feasible.

How do I Put my Mac in Target Disk Mode?

To activate Target Disk Mode, you hold down the T key immediately after you turn on your Mac, before the Apple logo appears in the center of the screen. Target Disk Mode has only been available for Macs with Thunderbolt or FireWire (and, for you old-timers, PowerBook SCSI).

Can you use Target Disk Mode over USB?

Nor can Target Disk Mode be used with Apple’s USB-C charge cable, which is a USB 2 cable when used for data. So, to use Target Disk Mode over USB, you can use:

Can a MacBook Air be used as an external hard disk?

If you have two Mac computers with FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, you can connect them so that one of them appears as an external hard disk on the other. This is called target disk mode. Note: If either of the computers has macOS Big Sur installed, you must connect the two computers using a Thunderbolt cable.

What kind of cable do I need for a MacBook Air?

Each Mac needs either a Thunderbolt port or a Firewire port. A Firewire or Thunderbolt Cable: You’ll need either a Firewire cable or a Thunderbolt cable for this. You can’t do this via a USB cable. If one Mac has a Thunderbolt port and the other Mac has a Firewire port, you’ll need a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire adapter cable.