How can I access a 2012 Macbook Air storage when the display has failed?

My daughter has a MacBook Air "Core i7" 2.0 13" (Mid-2012) 2.0 GHz Core i7 (I7-3667U)

• She closed the MacBook to have lunch, and after it would not work - there was no display.
• She tried resetting NVRAM (as advised by Apple) to no avail.
• After dismissing repair options I purchased her a new MacBookAir, which arrived 2 days ago.

While waiting she used one of my old MacBooks.

I attempted to connect to the MacBook via ssh - I can see that it obtains an IP address, but cannot access it. I presume that remote log in, remote access and normal file sharing was not enabled.

The last backup was 6 months ago, and I would like to recover files if possible.

Most of her work is on the university server, so is still available, but it would be handy if I could recover others.

I thought of accessing the disk - I believe that there is feature (but can't recall), although the Firewire ports on the machines are different.

I would welcome any suggestions to enable access to the SSD. As a last resort I will remove it from the Mac.

What options exist to get at the files short of paying someone to do the repair or recover the data?

Solution 1:

You can boot the old Mac up into 'Target Disk Mode', by holding T at startup.

You will need a cable that connects the two together: this is a bit complex, because the 2012 MBP has FireWire and Thundberbolt 1 and the new Mac has no FireWire and Thunderbolt 3. So'll you'll either need a Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adaptor, or a Thunderbolt to FireWire adaptor.

When the Migration Assistant runs on the new Mac, you may be able to connect the other Mac via Ethernet (again with the relevant adaptor on the new Mac), to begin a transfer of the data. It's possible you might have to type in an admin password on the old Mac.

Removing the drive and connecting it via a USB-C to SATA cable is also possible.

Solution 2:

Have you tried Target Disk Mode on the "dead" laptop to get files from it? https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201462

If the computer runs then it should be able to enter TDM by holding down the "T" key as it boots up. With a dead display you won't see the screen indicate success on entering TDM but you should have indication of success by the drive in the TDM computer showing up as a drive on a computer it is connected to. See the link above on how to connect the two computers.

It sounds like you may have resolved the issue so this might not be helpful to you now. I mention this as something you could consider in the future in dealing with this computer (file sharing works but TDM is likely much faster) and/or for those that find themselves with a similar issue.