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Reinstalling OSX using target disk mode?

L

Lau

Guest
Original poster
Apologies as this is no doubt something that's been asked before, but I can't seem to find the information that says this will work, just that it might. ;)

My combo CD drive on my 12" 1.33 GHz iBook seems to have died. I'm resigned to the fact I'm going to have to send it in, but I suspect that they'll ask me if I've tried reinstalling OSX, and I also have wanted to do this for a while and restructure my files while I'm at it. I know it's not entirely necessary, but I've got so much housekeeping to do I'd like to do it, and it seems sensible to do this and back up properly before I send it in.

My problem is that I can't reinstall without a working CD drive! I also don't have an external CD/DVD drive, but I do have a boyfriend with an iBook. Is there a way to mount his iBook (14" 1.42 GHz) in target mode and use his Superdrive through that, and so run my installation disks through it? (Oh, and without screwing up his iBook, or I'll be in trouble :p )

Thanks in advance for any help or information. :)
 
Lau said:
Apologies as this is no doubt something that's been asked before, but I can't seem to find the information that says this will work, just that it might. ;)

My combo CD drive on my 12" 1.33 GHz iBook seems to have died. I'm resigned to the fact I'm going to have to send it in, but I suspect that they'll ask me if I've tried reinstalling OSX, and I also have wanted to do this for a while and restructure my files while I'm at it. I know it's not entirely necessary, but I've got so much housekeeping to do I'd like to do it, and it seems sensible to do this and back up properly before I send it in.

My problem is that I can't reinstall without a working CD drive! I also don't have an external CD/DVD drive, but I do have a boyfriend with an iBook. Is there a way to mount his iBook (14" 1.42 GHz) in target mode and use his Superdrive through that, and so run my installation disks through it? (Oh, and without screwing up his iBook, or I'll be in trouble :p )

Thanks in advance for any help or information. :)
Click to expand...

Just take it in and say you don't have access to another computer.
 
bartelby said:
Just take it in and say you don't have access to another computer.
Click to expand...

I don't mind doing that if need be, but I would like to reinstall anyway (and would do it when I got it back) so I just thought it would be good to do before I sent it in. If there's no way of, er, Target Combo-Driving it's not a problem, I just wondered if it was doable. I've never used Target Mode before, so I don't really know what to expect from it.

skunk said:
Take Liam's computer apart and swap the drives. He'll never notice. Blokes are terribly unobservant. :D
Click to expand...

:D He's on it at the moment. Reckon I could swap em on the fly? :p
 
Having never tried it myself, I can't offer a confident answer for your question, but if any repair technician asked me whether I'd reinstalled OSX to fix a broken optical drive I'd tell him to replace the bloody drive and not ask me to do anything so completely irrelevant and pointless.
 
IJ Reilly said:
Having never tried it myself, I can't offer a confident answer for your question, but if any repair technician asked me whether I'd reinstalled OSX to fix a broken optical drive I'd tell him to replace the bloody drive and not ask me to do anything so completely irrelevant and pointless.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but you're a six-foot-something 300-pound gorilla. Lau is only a slip of a girl. Those Apple guys can be very scary. :)
 
I know CDs in the Mac that is mounted in target mode, show up on the other computer when it's fully up and running, but it may be different if you're trying to boot and install from it....

found this :)
 
IJ Reilly said:
Having never tried it myself, I can't offer a confident answer for your question, but if any repair technician asked me whether I'd reinstalled OSX to fix a broken optical drive I'd tell him to replace the bloody drive and not ask me to do anything so completely irrelevant and pointless.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I would too, don't worry. :p

Ok, let's ignore doing it because the drive's broken. I'd like to do it to start afresh without all the random crap on my drive, and partition my external hard drive with a clean bootable copy on one partition. Is there a way to do it without a working CD drive?
 
gekko513 said:
I know CDs in the Mac that is mounted in target mode, show up on the other computer when it's fully up and running, but it may be different if you're trying to boot and install from it....

found this :)
Click to expand...

Ooh, now that's useful, thanks, gekko. That's exactly what I needed to see. :) So it will work. Hmm. What will happen when I put the CD into Liam's computer? It won't try and reinstall the OS on his will it, as in I'll have enough options to choose to put it on mine? I presume mine will show up as a hard drive or something.

Edit: it seems like it can be done both ways — with mine as a target disk, and with the "giver" ;) as a target drive, which might be safer on his computer.
 
Lau said:
Yeah, I would too, don't worry. :p

Ok, let's ignore doing it because the drive's broken. I'd like to do it to start afresh without all the random crap on my drive, and partition my external hard drive with a clean bootable copy on one partition. Is there a way to do it without a working CD drive?
Click to expand...

Oh, so now your story changes. ;)

BTW, skunk you got my height closely enough but doubled my weight. When I snarl hardly anyone buys it, except maybe over the phone.
 
gekko513 said:
Good luck with the OS reinstallation, Lau.
Click to expand...

Thanks, gekko, and your link's very useful. I think this should work. :) I'm currently backing up "Macintosh HD" — "Copying 153,669 items — About 4 hours"..." Ouch. :p
 
Well, thanks very much, gekko. I followed the directions you posted (i.e. put the iBook with the working CD drive into target mode) and it worked perfectly. A slight panic in the middle when it needed disk 2, but hadn't ejected the first one, but restarting the target computer with the second CD in it worked fine, although it did make an odd noise when starting up. Otherwise, it was fine. Here's the steps I used:

1. Put install CD into computer with working drive.
2. Shut down both computers.
3. Restart computer with CD in it, holding down "T" to put it in target disk mode.
4. Connect computers with a firewire cable
5. Restart computer with buggered drive.
6. Buggered computer should show CD on desktop as if in its drive
7. Click on install and carry on installing as normal. Halfway through it'll ask for the second CD. If it doesn't eject the first one, shut down the target computer, and restart not in target disk mode. Eject the CD. Put in the second one, and then restart in disk mode and the buggered computer should carry on as normal.

Thanks for all your help, everyone. I'd forgotten how bloody long it takes to install the OS though...:p
 
gekko513 said:
Is the drive still buggered?
Click to expand...

Yeah. :( Bloody thing.

Expect a thread soon bemoaning the shoddy state of Apple UK's repair service. :p I really, really don't want to be with out this little guy for weeks on end.
 
Lau said:
Yeah. :( Bloody thing.

Expect a thread soon bemoaning the shoddy state of Apple UK's repair service. :p I really, really don't want to be with out this little guy for weeks on end.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. I should really send in my MBP to get the screen inverter thing fixed, but I don't want to be without it, possibly for weeks.
 
gekko513 said:
I know what you mean. I should really send in my MBP to get the screen inverter thing fixed, but I don't want to be without it, possibly for weeks.
Click to expand...

I think we should become angered at Apple Europe in general, and demand better and speedier service. :D The thing is, it's not as if I use the CD drive terribly often, but I should get it fixed, and in spite of not having used it for a while now, I had an urge to watch a DVD earlier. :(
 
Lau said:
I think we should become angered at Apple Europe in general, and demand better and speedier service. :D The thing is, it's not as if I use the CD drive terribly often, but I should get it fixed, and in spite of not having used it for a while now, I had an urge to watch a DVD earlier. :(
Click to expand...
I don't really know how long it's going to take. I think I'm just expecting the worst based on some stories here on macrumors. In your case, I agree you should get i fixed. It does after all become less usable when the drive is broken. My screen inverter only bugs me since I have to keep the brightness at 100% or go insane. I can still use it just fine.

You can take bets on how long it will take until you get it back, to have something to entertain you while you're waiting. :)
 
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