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Lynne M Author

Level 1

8 points

Target Disk Mode to access 2011 iMac HD on MacBook Air

Could someone kindly confirm that I'm going down the right path? I've got a mid 2011 27 inch iMac with a dead video card. It's not worth anything to trade in, so I'm going to recycle it. I want to wipe the HD.

I'm thinking the way to go is to use target disk mode to mount the iMac HD on my 2017 MacBook Air. It seems I'd need a Thunderbolt cable. Is that correct? Is there an easier way to get at the HD and erase it that I'm missing?

Just wanted to make sure before I order a cable. I even thought about just dismantling the iMac and removing the HD, but that looks like a royal pain.

Thanks very much for any advice you can provide!

iMac 27", OS X 10.11

Posted on Nov 13, 2019 8:48 AM

Top-ranking reply

Allan Jones

Level 9

72,404 points

Posted on Nov 13, 2019 9:09 AM

It hard to say it is not worth the try but you have a less than 100 percent chance of success.

I've had near-death iMacs with no video nicely mount their drives via FireWire target disk mode, but the last time I tried (2010 iMac 27 to 2012 Macbok Pro, both with FireWire 800 ports) I was unsuccessful.

I even thought about just dismantling the iMac and removing the HD, but that looks like a royal pain.

Don't toss that thought just yet. If you are not going to repair the iMac, its take-apart inflicts nowhere near the pain caused by Late 2012 and newer iMacs. Your case is not sealed. Check this instructional video, realizing you don't have to reassemble:

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_mid27_2011_hd/

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Target Disk Mode to access 2011 iMac HD on MacBook Air

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