[Benjamin Strange]

Hi. I just got a new G5, and I'm trying to transfer all my programs and files from my old G4. However, when I restart my G4 holding "T", instead of going into firewire mode, it just turns off. I don't know how to fix this - I've zapped the PRAM and reinstalled the OS, to no avail. Please help me out with a little advice; I don't want to have to install all my programs and settings from scratch.

Old comp:

Dual 1 GHz G4
OS 10.4


New comp:

Dual 2.3 GHz
OS 10.4

[Kickaha]

Odd, I thought that new Macs came with a Migration Assistant for exactly this... does that require FireWire Target Mode?

[torifile]

Originally Posted by Kickaha Odd, I thought that new Macs came with a Migration Assistant for exactly this... does that require FireWire Target Mode?

Yes. It instructs you to restart your old computer holding the "T" key. Odd that it's shutting down. I'm 100% sure that it's not an OS thing. It's lower level than that. Reinstalling/formatting won't change the problem.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Kickaha Odd, I thought that new Macs came with a Migration Assistant for exactly this... does that require FireWire Target Mode?

Yes, it works through TDM.

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by torifile Yes. It instructs you to restart your old computer holding the "T" key. Odd that it's shutting down. I'm 100% sure that it's not an OS thing. It's lower level than that. Reinstalling/formatting won't change the problem.

So is it a hardware thing? Will I just have to do everything from scratch?

[Benjamin Strange]

I just found this article on Apple's website:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42737

So I dug around in my System Profiler and found this:

ATA Bus:

ST380021A:

Capacity: 74.53 GB
Model: ST380021A
Revision: 5.05
Serial Number: 3HV0XHKT
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk0
Protocol: ATA
Unit Number: 1
Socket Type: Internal
OS9 Drivers: Yes
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
Macintosh HD:
Capacity: 74.53 GB
Available: 20.83 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk0s9
Mount Point: /


Does this mean I do not have the correct drive for this?

[Kickaha]

No, the drive is fine.

The article refers to *which* ATA bus the drive is on. I don't suppose you added a drive inside, or swapped drives around at any point?

There can be more than one ATA bus inside a tower - worst case, try moving the drive to another set of cables inside.

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by Kickaha No, the drive is fine. The article refers to *which* ATA bus the drive is on. I don't suppose you added a drive inside, or swapped drives around at any point? There can be more than one ATA bus inside a tower - worst case, try moving the drive to another set of cables inside.

I haven't changed any drives - I wouldn't know how to do that. I guess I'll dig around inside and see what I can do.

EDIT: Looks like there's only one place to hook up a drive - either there's only one bus, or I don't know what I'm doing. My guess is it's the latter.

[FFL]

have you tried resetting the NVRAM and Open Firmware (see FAQ sticky for instructions)?

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by FFL have you tried resetting the NVRAM and Open Firmware (see FAQ sticky for instructions)?

Yup, I've gone through all those steps. Apparently it's a hardware issue, and is something that can't be done on this computer.

[torifile]

Does the computer ever go into firewire disk mode? I mean, have you ever successfully been able to get into that mode?

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by torifile Does the computer ever go into firewire disk mode? I mean, have you ever successfully been able to get into that mode?

Nope. Never.

[torifile]

Does firewire work?

[FFL]

Apple USB keyboard, or third-party?

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by FFL Apple USB keyboard, or third-party?

It's an apple keyboard. Apparently it's the drive issue.

I'm going to put this behind me and just install everything from the disks. Thanks for everybody's help.

[nskk]

Go to system pref's and click target disk mode. Then you know that you don't even need to press t.

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by nskk Go to system pref's and click target disk mode. Then you know that you don't even need to press t.

That doesn't work either; the comp still just shuts down. I guess this was not meant to be.

[torifile]

Does firewire work?