Can I install CentOS via Target disk mode on a 2010 MacBook Pro

I've got an old 2010 Mackbook Pro, but the graphics card has died, so the display is useless. Can I repurpose this as a headless server by installing CentOS via target disk mode from my current MacBook Pro (over thunderbolt cable)?

Once I've installed CentOS, how can I SSH into it without a display on the host machine to get credentials?

Solution 1:

Yes, there are absolutely no problems with that:

1. Plug the Thunderbolt cable to both Macs;

2. Start the broken Mac in Target Disk Mode by pressing T during startup;

3. Plug a USB drive or insert a DVD with the installing image of CentOS to your second Mac;

4. Start the second Mac by holding option (Alt) at the startup and select the CentOS drive to boot it;

5. Complete the installation process paying attention to not wipe your second Mac's HDD but installing the OS on the broke one;

6. Create a user account with password, not just root;

7. After installing everything, reboot both Macs normally;

8. Connect the broke Mac with a Ethernet cable to the same network of your second Mac or you can just run a cable directly to it;

9. Find out what's the IP address of your broke Mac by looking at your Gateway interface or type arp -a in the terminal;

10. Use a SSH client and connect to the IP address of the broke Mac logging with the account you created earlier and then type the password: ssh [email protected].

Enjoy your new server!