g4 to g5 transfer

[markedwards1967]

Hi, first post so be gentle and help me solve this problem that has been driving me nuts for ages please ;-) How can I transfer audio/midi files from G4 to G5? I only have 1 screen attached to the G5 so obviously anything that happens with the G4 is going to happen without me seeing what is on the screen ( is this a problem? ). I tried connecting via firewire & usb. I have tried booting one up while holding the T key down and vice versa, when i did this all i got was a large Y icon bouncing round my screen aimlessly leaving me no chance but to cut the power to restart. What I am trying to retrieve is Logic files that i had on the G4 which has panther and transfer them to the G5which has tiger ( is this a problem?? ). I have read previous posts and followed instructions & tried every possible combination without success. I know this must seem relatively simple to some on here, but its been driving me crazy that I cant work it out. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[FJ218700]

I tried connecting via firewire & usb. I have tried booting one up while holding the T key down and vice versa, when i did this all i got was a large Y icon bouncing round my screen aimlessly leaving me no chance but to cut the power to restart.

you were close it seems,

have the G5 on, start the G4 by holding down the "T" key, if you had a screen on it, you would see the firewire "Y" symbol. Then connect the G4 to the running G5. On the G5's desktop, the system drive of the G4 will appear.

Drag and drop the files you need.

 

[markedwards1967]

tried this and still nothing

Hi, thanks for the reply. this is what i did, G5 on, powered up G4 with T down, tried this with both usb and firewire leads and still nothing? i know both computers are running fine, but just getting them to connect with each other isnt so easy. Im starting to hate macs, please help ;-)

 

[SuperCompu2]

Hi, thanks for the reply. this is what i did, G5 on, powered up G4 with T down, tried this with both usb and firewire leads and still nothing? i know both computers are running fine, but just getting them to connect with each other isnt so easy. Im starting to hate macs, please help ;-)

USB will not work, and for FireWire to work you'll need a FireWire 400 connector (similarly sized to a USB port) on both sides of the wire, connected to both computers. In order for the G4's hard drive to show up on the G5's desktop, you'll need to start up in Target Disk Mode ("t" producing bouncing Y screen) and then connect the two computers with FireWire.

Here's an example of what a FireWire 400 connector looks like, you'll need to have a cable with two of these in order for it to work.

 

[markedwards1967]

i did?

Hi, thanks for the reply. in your picture thats the lead i have and thats how I started it up. G5, start up G4 with T pressed down, attach firewire and....nothing happens?

 

[FJ218700]

Hi, thanks for the reply. in your picture thats the lead i have and thats how I started it up. G5, start up G4 with T pressed down, attach firewire and....nothing happens?

should be working, try attaching both computers before you startup the G4, and have the "t" held before you hit the power button and leave your finger on it for a least a minute or until the icon appears on the G5 desktop.

by the way, make sure your finder prefs on the G5 are se to show external drives, check disk utility on the G5 and see of the drive is recognized there. can also check system profiler under firewire and see if it recognizes an attached external.

 

[markedwards1967]

hi, thanks for the reply. im not sure what the last part of your message means but firewire says "unknown device", hard drive doesnt mention anything about G4. the only time i get Target Disk mode is when i fire up G5 and then i just get this logo bouncing round the screen, but i cant do anything then and just have to switch off computer. apologies again for my ignorance, i speak to guys at work with pc and they just laugh at how complicated macs seem to be. ive got 2 computers here, tried attching them with usb & firewire, have started them up and held down the T and tried every combination i can, and still ...zip?

 

[FJ218700]

sorry, double post, see real one below

 

[FJ218700]

hi, thanks for the reply. im not sure what the last part of your message means but firewire says "unknown device", hard drive doesnt mention anything about G4. the only time i get Target Disk mode is when i fire up G5 and then i just get this logo bouncing round the screen, but i cant do anything then and just have to switch off computer. apologies again for my ignorance, i speak to guys at work with pc and they just laugh at how complicated macs seem to be. ive got 2 computers here, tried attching them with usb & firewire, have started them up and held down the T and tried every combination i can, and still ...zip?

1, USB sucks, throw the USB cable in the trash.

2. it looks like the G4 is booting into target disk mode seeing as the G5 is recognizing that there is a firewire peripheral attached (i.e. the G4 in T-mode)

3. make sure, hook a monitor up to the G4 and make sure you're getting the firewire symbol on the display.

4. there is no need to start the G5 up in target disk mode, that does nothing.

5. if 2 and 3 are correct, go to applications-->utilities-->disk utility on the G5 when the G4 in on and connected in target disk mode.

on the left side of the application window you will see a list of hard drives. the G4 drive should be there. if it is unmounted, mount it (see top of window). If it cannot mount, the drive is likely damaged. try to repair the drive (bottom central of app window).

If you can mount the drive, get your files off.

hope this is a bit more clear

 

[Macky-Mac]

Hi, thanks for the reply. in your picture thats the lead i have and thats how I started it up. G5, start up G4 with T pressed down, attach firewire and....nothing happens?

1) To make it easier for yourself, you want to have the firewire cable connecting the two computers BEFORE you start up the G4

2) it's hard to tell from your other posts, but you do realize you shouldn't be holding down the "T" on the G5 at all? Only hold down the "T" on the G4

Are you doing the following??:

-with both computers off and display attached to the G5, plug the firewire cable into the firewire ports on both computers
-turn on the G5 normally....don't hold down the "T" key or anything unusual
-after the G5 is booted up and all looks normal, then it's time to turn on the G4 while you hold down the "T" key on the G4 (and ONLY the G4)
-on the monitor (attached to the G5) you should now see an additional HD icon (it's probably yellow-orange and has a Firewire symbol on it). It should be named the same as the HD on your G4 because that's the G4's drive. You should be able to open it and then copy files to your G5.

I'm repeating some of what others have already posted but that's because i get the impression you aren't really clear on what you should be doing.

If you think you're following the right procedure and it still isn't working for you, test your cable to make sure it's not bad. You may also need to test both computers' Firewire ports to make sure they're working properly

 

[markedwards1967]

hi, thanks for the reply. tried with new firewire, both computers off, start up g5 then g4 while holding down T on g4 and still nothing. is there anything else I can try?

 

[FJ218700]

I'd just pull the drive and put it into a cheap external adapter.

 

[Macky-Mac]

hi, thanks for the reply. tried with new firewire, both computers off, start up g5 then g4 while holding down T on g4 and still nothing. is there anything else I can try?

hmmmm, what could you be doing wrong? Maybe you're not holding down the "T" on the G4 before you start it up? And then keeping it pressed down until the firewire symbol shows up on the screen connected to the G5??

it's a pretty simple process so if you're doing it correctly and it's still not working, then you have to consider possible hardware problems. Some things to check;

Have you verified that the firewire port on the G4 is working? And on the G5? And of course have you verified that the firewire cable you're using works in other situations?

And you're sure the G4 is working fine by itself? Hook up to the display to it and turn the G4 on (no firewire connection to the G5) just to make sure it's all working fine....and the G5 works as it should when there's no firewire cable connecting it to the G4?