ibook G4 (dead monitor) transfer to MBP

wadada said:

Hi All,

Searched and couldn't quite find the right answer...

I have 04ish ibook G4 that the monitor died on. It boots up still, and I can mount the hard drive in target mode on my new (used) '10 macbook pro 13", but I don't have permission to access to the user files to transfer to the MBP. Migration Ass't didn't work for me, and for some reason the Time Machine backups didn't seem to backup all of our music.

What can I do to be able to drag stuff from the G4 to the MBP? Do I need to somehow turn on sharing on the G4? Do I need to get an external monitor? Is there a way to hook up the two and have them communicate not in target mode?

Help!

And thanks!

-tyler

Click to expand...

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2120281?start=0&tstart=0

If you don't want to fiddle with Permissions on the iBook, hooking up an external monitor is probably easiest.

A bit more complicated but ... enabling "VoiceOver" (⌘ + fn + F5 key) for Universal Access allows you to navigate the iBook without seeing anything on the screen. The iBook will speak to you and announce which OS elements are selected as you move mouse and cursor. Depending on what you want to do there are different mouse / cursor / return key etc actions that you can use to perform certain actions without seeing the screen. You could use that to go into into System Preferences > Sharing and turn on Personal File Sharing on the iBook by using these Voice Over Universal access tools. After turning on Personal File Sharing on the iBook you can then log in to each user account on the iBook from the Macbook Pro on the same network.

http://help.apple.com/voiceover/info/guide/10.8/English.lproj/index.html

Another edit with a possible route using VoiceOver:
Connect the iBook and the Macbook Pro to the same network
Turn them both on
On the iBook use ⌘ + fn + F5 key to enable VoiceOver.
Move the mouse cursor all the way up and all the way to the left side of the screen then click the Mouse to open the Apple Menu in the Menu Bar. A Voice will tell you if you clicked in the right spot.

Use the down arrow on the keyboard to move in the drop down menu to the item System Preferences. (VoiceOver will announce the other items you pass along the way ...)
Use the return key to open System Preferences
Use the Tab key to jump to the Sharing button (VoiceOver will announce the other System Preferencs you pass)
Hit the Space bar to open the Sharing preference pane
Use Tab to jump around and go to the Services Table
Use the Down Arrow to go down the list of services until you come to File Sharing
Hit the Space Bar to turn File Sharing on

Wait a few moments for the service to turn on and for the iBook to show up in the Finder sidebar (or under Network etc) on the Macbook Pro. You should now be able to access the accounts on the iBook by using Connect As (Using log in name and passwords of the accounts for the iBook users)

Which cable to use depends on the connector in the monitor to which you want to hook up. iBooks came with a VGA adapter but other adapters are available to hook up its video output port to different connectors as well.

If you have neither an adapter nor extra screen or cables to hook up to an external computer monitor or your tv anyway I recommend trying the regular file sharing route first - although via VoiceOver. Which really isn't as complicated as it sounds.

In fact, you can turn VoiceOver on right after starting up the iBook by itself and then navigate around to see if the files are still on its hard disk before you even hook it up to the MBP or attempt to transfer anything.

Just in case.
The screen brightness isn't completely turned down by any chance, is it?
If the back light is off or broken but the screen itself isn't dead then you can also use a flashlight or desk light to read from the darkened screen.

Can you do reverse target disk mode? i.e. put the macbook in target disc, mount it on the iBook, then drag the files you want to it.

what about just using an external hard drive to move your files over?

wadada said:

... I'm trying to setup file sharing between the two, and they see each other, but it asks me for a password when I try to connect them. The password I use to login as the user (each computer has just on user) doesn't work. How do I find the password to use?

Click to expand...

Once File Sharing is enabled on the iBook you can continue from the MBP.
In the Finder of the MBP you use the name and password of the iBook account to connect to the iBook. That should enable you to drag files over to the MBP from the MBP Finder.



You can use:
MBP Finder > GO menu (in Menubar) > Connect to Server (⌘k)
(Use the information provided in the File Sharing Preference Pane on the iBook:
File Sharing: On - Other Users can use shared folders on this computer, and Administrators all volumes, at afp://xx.xx.xx.xx/ or "Your Computer Name".)

Use account name and password of the iBook to log into it.

or

Use the Finder Side bar if the iBook name shows up there. (Depends on OS and the way you set Finder Preferences what Network or shared computers show up and where in you MBP Finder Sidebar.)
(if you're logged in as "guest" for the iBook you'll only see the iBook's Public folders. In that case click Log out and use the Log In As button - enter the user account name and password for your iBook account to see the entire content of the iBook.)
(You could also drag everything you want to share to the iBook's public folder and conect only to that but that's an extra step which shouldn't be required.)

If none of that works perhaps you can describe in a little more detail the method and steps you use to connect and when the connection process fails. How are the two connected? Wireless? Directly via Ethernet cable? Ethernet cables to Router of home network? Firewire cable? ...


Late Edit with Afterthought.
You mentioned that not all your music was showing up in your backup. If music is one of you primary concerns you could try enabling Sharing inside iTunes (iBook > iTunes > Preferences > Sharing > Share Library on Local Network) and then transfer music from the iBook by importing items not in your MBP iTunes Library from the shared iBook Library.

You should be able to simply access the data with an external hard drive enclosure. I've never had permissions issues this way; it could be worth a shot.