[HotSoup]

Hey,

I want to connect my powerbook to my friend's G5 and get some iMovie/Final Cut Projects off him. These can be big files like...we're talking 20GB+ mb. Anyway, my point is, I can't just burn a CD or send it over a network, reasonably.

I think you can turn the powerbook into a firewire harddrive by holding down a certain key? That way I can transfer the files through firewire.

Can someone help me out?

[f1000]

Target Disk Mode: Hold the 't' down while pressing the power button.

[slugslugslug]

What kinda PowerBook? If it's got Gigabit Ethernet (i.e. it's from about 2002 or later), you should be able to transfer over a network about as quick as FireWire by just connecting an ethernet cable directly between the computers.

Of course, I forget the specifics of configuring stuff, but I think if the Ethernet tab in the Network pref pane says DHCP, it'll just make up a local network and they'll see each other via Rendez--uh, Bonjour. Kinda nice option in that it allows you to leave both computers on, in case you remember something you needed to do on one of 'em.

[mduell]

Gigabit ethernet may be faster than FW800, but either one is much faster than your internal hard drive, and target disk mode is a bit easier than networking.

[slugslugslug]

Ethernet might not even be faster than FW anyway, depending on the add'l overhead for the networking software. That's why I said "about as quick." But the time I tried it, I found it remarkably easy. Maybe a few more steps than target disk mode, but I didn't have to wait for either computer to restart.

I should shut up, though because the OP was asking about target disk. And since he's taking the PB to someone else's house, he'll probably have it turned off when he gets there, so my no-reboot advantage is irrelevant

[JKT]

If they both have 10.4.x, you can network the two Macs with a FireWire cable (TCP/IP over FireWire). No need to start one computer in target disk mode if you don't want to. However, in my experience, you have to restart to get FireWire networking to start so its just as easy to use target disk mode... sigh.

[HotSoup]

Originally Posted by JKT

If they both have 10.4.x, you can network the two Macs with a FireWire cable (TCP/IP over FireWire). No need to start one computer in target disk mode if you don't want to. However, in my experience, you have to restart to get FireWire networking to start so its just as easy to use target disk mode... sigh.

Yeah they both do, how do I connect the two w/o target disc mode?

And thanks for all the help

[slugslugslug]

Connect the 2 computers, either with a FireWire or ethernet cable. On each computer, go into the Network Preference Pane (I still wanna call 'em control panels after 3+ years on OS X). From the "Show:" pop-up menu, select either "Built-in Ethernet" [1] or "Built-in FireWire" [2]. Click on the "TCP/IP" tab if it's not selected. From the "Configure IPv4:" pop-up menu, choose "Using DHCP" and click the "Apply Now" button.

The issue of restarting for FireWire networking notwithstanding (I hadn't heard of it, but I also haven't tried with FW), the computers should now be on the same network. Assuming they have filesharing turned on, each should be visible to the other via the Finder's network icon. You could also log in to iChat via Bonjour, though I suppose plain ol' copying would be quicker.

Hope that helps..

Notes:
[1] If the computer is already using the ethernet port for networking, you may want to create a new location so you can easily switch back to the usual network settings. Just choose "New Location..." from the "Location:" popup and name it anything before proceeding w/the rest of the steps. You can switch back to the old one from the same menu or via the Apple menu

[2] If you don't see "Built-in FireWire," it just means it's been made inactive. From the "Show:" menu, choose "Network Port Configurations" and then check the box next to "Built-in FireWire" before continuing with the above steps.