Make sure you have the right cable connected to the right port, otherwise it will not work. Method 2: Check Your Connection.Īs mentioned above, you can use two cables to connect your iMac to your Mac: the Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort cable and the Thunderbolt cable. If your iMac’s model is not on the list, there’s nothing you can do except to look for a different iMac that supports TDM.
A window will appear with all the information about the Mac you are using, including the model name, serial number, memory, and processor. To check your iMac version, click the Apple logo at the topmost left of the screen, then click About this Mac. Unfortunately, iMac Retina 5K, late 2014, and newer models can’t be used as external displays because the Thunderbolt 2 cable being used for TDM cannot support the new ultra high-resolution display. Here’s a list of the versions capable of Target Display Mode: This means that only versions released after the 2009 iMac have TDM support.
Target Display Mode was introduced with the release of the 27” 2009 iMacs installed with Mac OS X 10.6.1. Not all iMacs can be used as an external display.
Method 1: Check if Your iMac Supports Target Display Mode.
Check out the solutions outlined below to figure out how to fix Target Display Mode. Knowing the cause of the problem makes troubleshooting easier.
What to Do When MacBook Pro Target Display Mode Is Not Working You should now be able to use your iMac as your display. Connect the two devices using the Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort cable, then press Command + F2 on your iMac keyboard. To use TDM, turn on your iMac and log into your account.
On the target Mac computer, and you can drag your wanted files and transfer them to the other Mac computer.ĥ. Once the Mac computer started up, you will see a disk icon on the other Mac computer. Open Startup Disk > click the Target Disk Mode option. When the Mac is on, click Apple menu at the top-left corner of the desktop > click System Preferences. Choose the Mac you would like to regard as an external hard disk, start this Mac up and at the same time press and hold the T key.ģ. Find your Firewire or thunderbolt cable to connect your two Mac computers.Ģ. How to use Target Disk Mode to transfer and move files?ġ. If you are wishing to browse and copy files to another computer quickly, then we suggest you give this target disk mode a try. Users can take advantage of this function to transfer and move files to another Mac computer using firewire or thunderbolt cable. So, what is target disk mode? For two Mac computers, one will be regarded as an external hard disk on the other. Usually, all Mac computers will be connected with each other as long as they come with FireWire or thunderbolt ports. How to Use Target Disk Mode to Transfer and Move Files Between Two Mac Computers?Īs a Mac regular user, have you been wondering how to transfer files between two Mac computers? Looking to know how to browser and copy files on another Mac? Here is an answer, we’ll use the target disk mode.