

- #How to enter target disk mode how to
- #How to enter target disk mode mac os
- #How to enter target disk mode update
- #How to enter target disk mode software
If that doesn’t help, try using a different cable instead. Test the connection using different ports on your Mac. If Target Disk mode looks like it’s working, but you can’t connect it to another Mac, there might be a problem with the cable or port you’re using. Check the cables and ports are working Thunderbolt ports are best for Target Disk mode. If it appears grayed-out, select it and click the Mount button. If that doesn’t work, open Disk Utility and look for your Target Disk in the sidebar. This should make your Target Disk appear in the sidebar of Finder, beneath the Location heading. Go to Finder > Preferences from the menu bar, then open the Sidebar tab.Ĭheck the box to show Hard disks and External disks in the sidebar. Put your Mac into Target Disk mode and connect it to another Mac, then open Finder on that other Mac. But if that doesn’t work, you still might be able to find your Target Disk using Disk Utility instead. The first thing to do is to adjust your Finder preferences. It’s possible that Target Disk mode is working on your Mac but you can’t see it due to a problem with Finder. Change your preferences in Finder Make sure Finder is set up to show connected drives. After you recover your data from your backup, Target Disk mode should work with older operating systems.
#How to enter target disk mode mac os
We suggest you select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID Partition Map.Ĭlick Erase to erase and reformat your Mac. Click Erase and choose a Name, Format, and Scheme to use.

If that isn’t possible, you need to reformat your Mac storage, which you can only do by erasing the drive.īack up your Mac using Time Machine first or you will lose all the data on your Mac.Īfter backing up, go to View > Show All Devices in Disk Utility and select the parent folder for your Mac’s hard drive in the sidebar. If your Mac is in APFS format, Target Disk mode only works if you connect to another Mac running High Sierra or later. Open the Disk Utility app from your Utilities folder and select your Macintosh HD in the sidebar.ĭisk Utility lists the hard drive format at the top of the window, beneath the hard drive name. If your Mac is currently in Target Disk mode, press and hold the Power button until it turns off, then restart it.
#How to enter target disk mode how to
How to check the format of your Target Disk Mac Check your hard drive format in Disk Utility.
#How to enter target disk mode update
If you can’t update that Mac to High Sierra or later, you should check which format the Mac you put into Target Disk mode is using.
#How to enter target disk mode software
Open System Preferences and click on Software Update to check for new updates. The easiest solution for this is to update the Mac you want to transfer files to. Earlier software can’t read APFS so won’t recognize your Mac. If the Mac you want to boot in Target Disk mode is formatted as APFS, then you need to use a computer running macOS High Sierra or later to connect to it. Update macOS or reformat your Mac Apple releases new software updates all the time, make sure your Mac is up to date. Whatever the reason Target Disk mode isn’t working, you should be able to fix it with the simple troubleshooting steps below. A hardware fault is stopping Target Disk mode from working properly.You’re using the wrong cable or port for your Mac.You might experience problems for any of the following reasons: It’s impossible for us to say exactly why Target Disk mode isn’t working on your Mac.


Related: Why is Target Disk mode not working? But it’s not so easy to fix if Target Disk mode isn’t working properly. It’s easy to put your Mac in Target Disk mode by holding T while it boots up. When in Target Disk mode, your Mac behaves like an external storage device that lets you transfer files to another computer.
