How do I connect my Mid-2010 iMac to my Late 2015 Macbook Pro

Question

I mistook the mini Display Port (mDP) behind my iMac to mean it was a Thunderbolt port. The ⌘ Command F2 does not work when both ends are Thunderbolt for my setup.

Please suggest what cables to buy.

Edit: This is 27 inch iMac Model Identifier: iMac11,3

Which iMac do you have specifically? Please issue the command system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | grep -i identifier in Terminal and post the results to your original question. — Allan, Jun 22 '16 at 17:26
Thanks. That info is super important to make sure we are giving you an accurate answer. — Allan, Jun 22 '16 at 18:18

Allan · Accepted Answer · 2024-02-28T00:34:40.990

0

If you are using a 27 inch iMac (Mid 2010) then you need a mini DisplayPort to mini DisplayPort cable.

According to Apple's Support Page, Use your iMac as a display with Target Display Mode, you can accomplish this with the cable referenced above, but only with a 27" iMac if you are using the Mid 2010 model. The other option is to use a Thunderbolt cable which is backward compatible with the mDP to mDP cable. Thunderbolt uses the same connector as the mDP cable, but exta signaling for PCIe, USB and mDP

edited Feb 28 '24 at 00:34

answered Jun 22 '16 at 17:31

Allan

101,432

Do I need an mDP to ThunderBolt cable too - my MBP does not have a mDP port. It has two Thunderbolt ports instead. – Blanche Ebbutt Jun 22 '16 at 17:55
No. mDP to mDP per Apple. A Thunderbolt port is a combination of mDP and PCIe. – Allan Jun 22 '16 at 18:08
So one end of the new mDP cable will connect to the iMac and the other end will also fit into the Thunderbolt port on my MBP? – Blanche Ebbutt Jun 22 '16 at 18:14
Correct. mDP and TB use the same connector. I wrote a primer on TB here. – Allan Jun 22 '16 at 18:17

How do I connect my Mid-2010 iMac to my Late 2015 Macbook Pro

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