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If you’re using a Mac and you hear the term Boot Mac in Target Disk Mode you might be curious about what it means. At the same time, another thought might come to mind: can I use it? We will tell you everything you need to know in this article, so sit back, relax, and get ready to learn how to turn your Mac into an external hard drive and easily transfer a lot of data.
Target Disk Mode lets you basically turn one Mac into an external hard drive that you can control with another Mac. Most of the time, this feature is used when the Target Disk Mode Mac can’t start up macOS by itself, but you still need to get some data out of it or use some of the target storage temporarily.
What Is Target Disk Mode?
Target Disk Mode is a boot mode that lets you browse the Mac’s internal drive and move files to and from it without starting up macOS. Volumes add up almost instantly, and using a cable makes transfers much faster than using similar wireless methods.
In Target Disk Mode, you can’t use the target Mac. Your Mac is basically a case for your internal drive. Before you can use your Mac again, you’ll need to unplug it and restart it as usual.
Target Disk Mode was first added to the PowerBook 100 in 1991, and since then it has been added to almost all Mac models. The only exceptions are the tray-loading iMac, Power Macintosh G3 and G4 models, iBook G3 models without FireWire, the first MacBook Air (2008–2009), and the old unibody MacBook.
How to Boot Mac in Target Disk Mode
- Connect two Macs both through the Firewire or Thunderbolt cable mentioned above.
- If your target disk Mac is turning on, click the Apple logo and go to Apple Menu > System Preferences > Startup Disk, and click the Target Disk Mode button from the startup disk preference pane, it will restart your Mac and enter macOS Target Disk Mode.
If your Mac won’t turn on right now, you can force your Mac to shut down by holding the power button, and then reboot Mac with the T key pressed. For Macs with T2 or FileVault enabled, enter the password when asked.
- Then you’ll see a Thunderbolt or FireWire icon on the screen, which means that the Mac is in Target Disk Mode.
- Wait until the second Mac detects your Mac and recognizes its startup disk as an external drive.
- Then you can go ahead to copy or transfer files from the target Mac to the connected Mac easily.
What You Need to Use Target Disk Mode
To use Target Disk Mode, you’ll need two Mac computers that work together, each with a FireWire or Thunderbolt port. You’ll also need a cable and any adapters you might need, such as a Thunderbolt to FireWire or Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter.
You can’t use USB type-A connectors, not even USB 3.0 ones, but old Thunderbolt and FireWire connections work well with the latest standards. Thunderbolt cables are not cheap, so keep that in mind. Apple is asking $39 for a Thunderbolt 3 cable that is 2.6 feet long.
If you have a new Mac, like a MacBook Pro from after 2017 or a slim iMac, make sure you choose a real Thunderbolt 3 cable and not a new-style USB cable or an Apple charger. We’ve put together a guide to help you understand how USB-C and Thunderbolt cables are different.
FAQs
How to get out of target disk mode? Occasionally things go wrong, and you might find yourself stuck in Target disk mode, unable to eject the disk (the other Mac). All you need to do is hold down the Power Button on Mac acting as the external drive, release it after Mac shuts down, and remove the cable.
You can erase your Mac and use macOS Recovery, the built-in recovery system on your Mac, to reinstall macOS. WARNING: Erasing your Mac removes all the information from it. Before you start, back up your Mac with Time Machine.
Exiting Mac Recovery Mode by Restarting the Mac. All you need to do is restart the Mac to exit out of recovery mode. You can initiate the restart from the Apple menu and choosing “Restart”, or by holding down the Power button on the Mac to turn it off and back on again.
A factory reset will erase all information stored on your hard drive, so the first step is to create a backup of your important data, files, and information. You can do this manually by copying your data to an external hard drive or uploading it to your iCloud, but my preferred method is to use Time Machine.Jan 21, 2021