How to connect two macs?

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Hope that I'm posting this in the right place, but here goes. My 7 year old eMac just bit the dust and I replaced it with a MacBook Pro, love it, but I still need to get stuff from the eMac's HD. Disk Warrior is saying that the drive cannot be replaced or repaired, but does provide a preview. How do I transfer stuff from the preview window to the MB? I have a firewire cable that I can connect between the two when I was hoping to get things off via target disk mode. (The eMac boots into TDM, but doesn't show up on the MB... too corrupted to mount...:Grimmace: ) I'm sorry if this is a basic question, but how do I do it with the eMac un-bootable? Migration Assistant requires the eMac to be functioning to allow sharing, etc... HELP, I'm at my wits end here. :\
 

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I'm not totally clear on what is functioning & what isn't on your eMac. If you hit the power button on the e-Mac does the hard drive spin up...does the HD make any strange noises?

Do you get the "?" icon on your screen when starting up?

Have you tried booting from a CD/DVD to see if you eMac will boot from the optical drive instead of the hard drive?

The problem is if your eMac is not booting properly...then you are not able to turn on file sharing. You could try "Target Disk Mode"...but if your hard drive isn't working properly...then this won't work either.

I guess what it comes down to...has your hard drive crashed or not. If it crashed...you have very limited options if you have not backed up the info on that hard drive.

Another possibility would be to remove the hard drive from the e-Mac, and install it into an external hard drive enclosure...then plug it into your MacBook...and see if you can access it that way.

Good luck,:)

- Nick
 
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Sorry, didn't include that much info... no, the HD is FUBARed according to DW. Disk Utility doesn't work, booted from the install DVD to find that out. DW says that it is not repairable/replaceable. And no, TDM doesn't work Yes, the flashing ?, circle with a slash through it, etc... all of the above.
But shouldn't I be able to transfer info from it via FW or Ethernet or something? After all, why would DW give you a preview and tell you to backup if it isn't possible?
 

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Sorry, didn't include that much info... no, the HD is FUBARed according to DW. Disk Utility doesn't work, booted from the install DVD to find that out. DW says that it is not repairable/replaceable. And no, TDM doesn't work Yes, the flashing ?, circle with a slash through it, etc... all of the above.
But shouldn't I be able to transfer info from it via FW or Ethernet or something? After all, why would DW give you a preview and tell you to backup if it isn't possible?

If the eMac hard drive isn't working properly...how were you able to run Disk Warrior to get the preview info?

And what sort of info is Disk Warrior giving you?...is it info similar to the "Get Info, command-I" command in the Mac OS?

Thanks,

- Nick
 
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Nick, also I've heard about removing the HD and trying an external enclosure, but how do you do that? Any writeups? I'm not new to macs, but I'm no genius either, so I'm hoping that someone can talk me through some of these things. TIA :)
 
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If the eMac hard drive isn't working properly...how were you able to run Disk Warrior to get the preview info?

And what sort of info is Disk Warrior giving you?...is it info similar to the "Get Info, command-I" command in the Mac OS?

Thanks,

- Nick

Well, DW takes a couple of hours and builds you a preview of what its fixed/recovered. It says that you should backup this info (which I'm trying to do...), but adds that the volume isn't repairable because of a disk malfunction. There is a greyed out "replace" button at the end of the preview page. Like I said, I'm hoping that there is a way to hook the drives up via FW or something and then drag and drop the files from the one preview window that DW provides to the target window that is next to it. But when you go to "Choose Disk" in the drop down my MacBook doesn't show up as a transferable point when they are connected via FW cable. :Grimmace:
 

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Nick, also I've heard about removing the HD and trying an external enclosure, but how do you do that? Any writeups? I'm not new to macs, but I'm no genius either, so I'm hoping that someone can talk me through some of these things. TIA :)

Regarding the external enclosure. You just purchase an external enclosure for a 3.5" hard drive, then you:

- remove the hard drive from the eMac
- install it into the external enclosure
- connect a cable between the external enclosure & a computer other than your eMac...I'm assuming your MacBook.

BUT...if your hard drive is no good, this may not work.

As far as Disk Warrior. In my previous question I was asking...how are you running Disk Warrior on your eMac if the hard drive is not working? Are you running Disk Warrior from a bootable CD?

- Nick
 
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Ummmm... I'm just using the DW DVD that I bought and booting from it to run the program. :)
 
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Shouldn't the MacBook show up as a target in DW? That's what I'm curious about, if I'm missing something or what?
 

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Ummmm... I'm just using the DW DVD that I bought and booting from it to run the program. :)

Thanks for that info. It is possible to run Disk Warrior from a 2nd hard drive...that's why I was wondering how you were running Disk Warrior on your busted eMac.

I cannot see what you are doing over the internet...so I have to ask questions to get an idea of what's going on. What you're doing may seem obvious to you...but if you do not include this info in your posts...then I have to ask questions.

Thus you kept mentioning running Disk Warrior...but you weren't explaining how you were doing it.;)

Thanks,

- Nick
 

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Shouldn't the MacBook show up as a target in DW? That's what I'm curious about, if I'm missing something or what?

See now you're asking another question...but not explaining what you're doing!

Are you running Disk Warrior from your eMac or from your MacBook? Are you booting from the Disk Warrior CD/DVD, or booting from the MacBooks hard drive?

I would assume that if you are booting your MacBook from the CD/DVD that the hard drive in your MacBook should show up as a "target" in Disk Warrior.

Hopefully all of your Disk Warrior activities follow all of the requirements listed here:

System Requirements

Hope this helps,

- Nick
 
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Ok I didn't most of what was above so because im impatient.

1. You ran DW from the DVD.

2. It said the drive is FUBAR then laughed at you for not backing up.

3. You can't use TDM because the directory of the drive is FUBAR.

4. You need to buy an external enclosure probably an ATA one like this...

5. Remove the old drive from the eMac

6. Slap it in the enclosure and connect it to your new Mac.

7. Pray it mounts and copy your stuff before total drive failure.

8. Start backing up. so you don't have this issue again.

9. You could probably buy a new drive and install OS X on it and the eMac would be good as new.
 
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See now you're asking another question...but not explaining what you're doing!

Are you running Disk Warrior from your eMac or from your MacBook? Are you booting from the Disk Warrior CD/DVD, or booting from the MacBooks hard drive?

I would assume that if you are booting your MacBook from the CD/DVD that the hard drive in your MacBook should show up as a "target" in Disk Warrior.

Hopefully all of your Disk Warrior activities follow all of the requirements listed here:

System Requirements

Hope this helps,

- Nick

Sorry again, Nick. I've just been dealing with this and sweating over it since Friday, so I'm a bit frustrated right now. It just seems like it should much easier than it is turning out to be.
To refresh, yes, I'm booting the eMac from the DW DVD and I'm pretty sure that I'm meeting all of DW's requirements... 640 MB RAM, OS 10.4.11... DW 4.1...
The MacBook is fine, I'm just hoping to get it as a target for the eMac's HD to copy stuff from the eMac to the new MacBook. 90% of the old eMac was backed up from CDs that I had burned, but there's more that I need from it. I just don't understand how to get the MBs drive to show up in DWs Preview on the eMac so that I can drag and drop and copy files. The Preview has a drop down menu that says 'Choose a disk' so I'm guessing that I just need to connect the MB to the eMac. I was trying to use a FW cable with no luck.
Should I be starting the DW DVD from the MB drive and connecting them somehow from there?
Thanks again!
 
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Ok I didn't most of what was above so because im impatient.

1. You ran DW from the DVD.

2. It said the drive is FUBAR then laughed at you for not backing up.

3. You can't use TDM because the directory of the drive is FUBAR.

4. You need to buy an external enclosure probably an ATA one like this...

5. Remove the old drive from the eMac

6. Slap it in the enclosure and connect it to your new Mac.

7. Pray it mounts and copy your stuff before total drive failure.

8. Start backing up. so you don't have this issue again.

9. You could probably buy a new drive and install OS X on it and the eMac would be good as new.

Thanks, IronMac. That sounds about what I'll do when I can remove data, hopefully with DW first. I'd like to try to retrieve it before I remove the HD. I'll probably just replace the drive with another 40G as I wanted to pass the eMac down to my 3 year old.
 

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Sorry again, Nick. I've just been dealing with this and sweating over it since Friday, so I'm a bit frustrated right now. It just seems like it should much easier than it is turning out to be.

I'm just trying to help you out man.;)

There's always the possibility that this drive is a goner...but we will keep trying till we run out of options.

"Ironmac" above suggested a pretty straightforward procedure to approach the problem. So I would vote to give it a try first.

Good luck,:)

- Nick
 

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I second trying the steps Ironmac outlined above. If the drive will not mount, then we can go from there.
 
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So, Nick, thank you again for all the responses. But shouldn't the MacBook's HD show up as a disk in DW if they are connected by FW or am I missing something obvious? I'd rather exhaust my DW possibilities before digging into the eMac just yet. Its a forgone conclusion that I will, but I'd like to salvage what I can using the very expensive software that I thought would be able to help me out first.
 
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I second trying the steps Ironmac outlined above. If the drive will not mount, then we can go from there.
Well, the drive will not mount in the eMac, so would it have a chance if it were removed from the eMac and put in an external enclosure?
I just feel like I am missing something with the FW cable hooked between the eMac and MacBook. Am I? I think that if the eMac were booting I could go into Sys Prefs and turn on File Sharing, but since it isn't...?
Someone else suggested that I run DW another two or three times, but frankly I'm a bit concerned as the drive is making more noise now than it ever has and is getting slower as DW is repairing/building that Preview.
 
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Anyone? I don't mean to be a pest, but back to my question, am I doing something wrong if DW is not showing the MacBook's HD in the Preview if it is connected via a FW with the eMac? Isn't that part of what the preview function is for, to enable you to drag and drop and backup what it can salvage for you? The report says backup now, which is what I want to do.
I'm bummed that the HD is going to have to be replaced, but its beside the point right now. Now I need to rescue what I can. Shouldn't a FW cable work? I know that its a functioning cable.
 

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I can't remember...but have you tried "Target Disk Mode" yet between your eMac & your MacBook? Have you ever done Target Disk Mode before? If not here's the procedure:

How to use FireWire target disk mode

I did some other "Googling" regarding your problem...here's a review of Disk Warrior:

Peachpit: The Top Five Mac Hard Drive, Diagnostic, and Repair Utilities > DiskWarrior

Info on Apple's Hardware test:

Troubleshoot your misbehaving Mac with Apple’s Hardware Test : Macenstein

About Apple Hardware Test (AHT) for iMac, eMac v1.2.2--EMPTY_NODE_

Trying to throw some ideas your way, in case something works.

Good luck,

- Nick
 

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