TiBook as a bootable Firewire external drive?

[Skandranon]

I was wondering if anyone knew if I could use a PowerBook in target disk mode as a bootable Firewire drive.

I've got a new Power Mac G4 Windtunnel at work I'd love to use (it's got a dual LCD setup) but it doesn't have any of the apps that I need. However, my PowerBook has all my apps/settings and is running OS X 10.2.3.

I was wondering if I could boot the Power Mac off of the PowerBook's system via Firewire.

Suggestions? Comments? Thanks, guys.

 

[MacBandit]

You sure can. In fact you can do this with any Apple hardware that has built in firewire. Start up the computer that you want to transfer to. Then start up the computer you want to access while holding the T key down. This will start it up in Firewire Target disk mode.

 

[Skandranon]

But....

Originally posted by MacBandit
You sure can. In fact you can do this with any Apple hardware that has built in firewire. Start up the computer that you want to transfer to. Then start up the computer you want to access while holding the T key down. This will start it up in Firewire Target disk mode.

Can I boot off of it in Firewire mode? After setting the PowerBook in target disk mode, can I go to the System Prefs > Startup Disk and select it as the actual boot drive even though I'm working on the Power Mac?

And afterwards, do I have to reset the startup disks on both machines to make sure I don't screw something up?

Thanks for your prompt reply, Mac Bandit.

 

[Skandranon]

To clarify things...

OK, here's what I want to do, just in layman's terms:

I want to connect the PowerBook to the Power Mac G4 via Firewire. I want to work on the Power Mac G4 and boot the system off of the PowerBook.

(will I need to have the lid shut in Firewire Target disk mode? Could I technically support up to three displays if I have two connected to the PowerMac and one on the PowerBook?)

 

[MacBandit]

Re: To clarify things...

Originally posted by Skandranon
OK, here's what I want to do, just in layman's terms:

I want to connect the PowerBook to the Power Mac G4 via Firewire. I want to work on the Power Mac G4 and boot the system off of the PowerBook.

(will I need to have the lid shut in Firewire Target disk mode? Could I technically support up to three displays if I have two connected to the PowerMac and one on the PowerBook?)

When in Target disk mode the Powerbook will operate as nothing more then an external hard drive. Therefore no ports, display or otherwise will function. I really do not know if you can start the powermac up off of the Powerbook in T-Mode. I really don't think so because you have to have the PowerMac on first to even use T-Mode. PowerMac goes on first then after it is started you startup the powerbook holding the t key. I think this is kind of self explanatory now that I have worked it out in my head I would have to say no, no you can not start the PowerMac off the powerbooks hard drive using T-Mode.

 

[Skandranon]

Will rebooting the PowerMac change the disk mode?

Originally posted by MacBandit


When in Target disk mode the Powerbook will operate as nothing more then an external hard drive. Therefore no ports, display or otherwise will function. I really do not know if you can start the powermac up off of the Powerbook in T-Mode. I really don't think so because you have to have the PowerMac on first to even use T-Mode. PowerMac goes on first then after it is started you startup the powerbook holding the t key. I think this is kind of self explanatory now that I have worked it out in my head I would have to say no, no you can not start the PowerMac off the powerbooks hard drive using T-Mode.

But if I select the PowerBook as the startup drive and ONLY reset the PowerMac (since that's the master system) then the PowerBook shouldn't change disk modes.... right?

Not to be contradictory... I'm just interested in finding out without messing up either machine.

 

[MacBandit]

Re: Will rebooting the PowerMac change the disk mode?

Originally posted by Skandranon


But if I select the PowerBook as the startup drive and ONLY reset the PowerMac (since that's the master system) then the PowerBook shouldn't change disk modes.... right?

Not to be contradictory... I'm just interested in finding out without messing up either machine.

I'm thinking not. The only real way to find out though is to try. Shouldn't hurt anything. Even if it doesn't work your PowerMac will start back up off of the internal drive once it can't find the external one you selected. Let me know if it works.

 

[Skandranon]

Re: Re: Will rebooting the PowerMac change the disk mode?

Originally posted by MacBandit


I'm thinking not. The only real way to find out though is to try. Shouldn't hurt anything. Even if it doesn't work your PowerMac will start back up off of the internal drive once it can't find the external one you selected. Let me know if it works.

Thanks, man. I'm gonna give it a whirl at 5pm. I'll post a final reply on this thread. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Skandranon]

It worked!

I am now running OS X 10.2.3 off of my PowerBook in target disk mode on a Dual 1.25 G4 Windtunnel.

All I did was boot up my TiBook in t-mode, plug it into the G4 Tower and select it as my Startup Disk in the System Prefs.

Voila! All my settings and apps on a much faster machine.... granted everything I'm doing is limited to the bandwidth of the Firewire connection.

Thanks for your help, Mac Bandit.

 

[MacBandit]

Hey, sounds great. Though the bandwidth of the firewire is actually much greater then the potential throughput of your laptop hard drive. The only real speed loss you will see is in access time due to lag through the multiple connection protocols.

This is definitely good to know and wil be very helpful for some to salvage a doa system. Since you can start up off of it, if you have a system that is not seeing it's internal drive or has a system failure it should default to the next available drive and system this being the one of the other computer in T-Mode.