Save a bit of time when using target disk mode

Aug 02, '05 09:11:00AM

Contributed by: Phil St. Romain

Yesterday I started up my wife's iBook (G3800/40/512) in FireWire Target Disk Mode, but noted after doing so, that I hadn't first connected it to the eMac (G4700/60/256) I was planning to transfer files from. The iBook display was showing the target mode symbol, so I thought I'd try just connecting the FireWire cable to the eMac. The iBook mounted right away, I copied the files, then unmounted the iBook, which was still showing target mode. I then disconnected the FireWire cable from the eMac and connected the iBook to my iMac (G52Ghz/120/1g) and it mounted just fine there, too, so I transferred a few documents then unmounted it. Of course, I had to do a hard reboot on the iBook to get it out of target mode, but I'd have had to do that anyway.

Apple's documentation on Target Disk Mode states that you should have the cables connected prior to target mode booting, but apparently that's not always the case -- at least not with the Macs I was using. It turned out to be a small time-saver not having to continually reboot the iBook, and I can imagine there are other advantages to doing things this way as well. I'm not sure what the risks are ... but no harm done in my experience.

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