Hi people, i used target mode to back up files on a broken Mac and also delete personal info before sending it off for repair. The deleted files ended up in the thrash can of the other Mac I was using to access the hard drive. Would there also be a copy of these files in the thrash of the actual broken Mac or have these files now been deleted?
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Target mode question
- Thread starter Elduderino82
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The personal information files from the failed Mac are deleted if you moved the files to the trash from the failed Mac drive and emptied the trash while the Mac were still connected in Target Disk Mode.
Thanks CoastalOR. So you're saying if I emptied the items from the trash in the working Mac while connected to the failed one the files will be gone? There won't be a second copy in the thrash on the broken Mac?
Correct, they will be deleted.
In Target Disk Mode your OS is running on the good Mac and your failed Mac disk is just acting as an external drive and it operates just like any external drive. With any external drive if you drag a file from the external drive to the trash and then empty the trash while connected the files are deleted from the external drive. If you disconnect the external drive BEFORE you empty the trash then the files remain in the trash on the external. The next time you reconnect that external to your Mac then the items will show in the trash can and remain there until you empty the trash while the external is connected. You can test this with any external drive or a USB flash drive.