Powerbook used as a monitor to my mac mini?

crcr2003 · #1 September 21st, 2005, 12:32 PM

hi!

i am a mac newbie, so please dont shoot!

i wish someone can tell me if i can connect the mac mini to my powerbook 1.67GHz? i sometimes need a monitor on the road, so i wonder if my 15" powerbook "screen" can be used as a "monitor" to the mac mini? DVI plug? S-video? what should i do on my powerbook that i know i will be only seeing the mac mini "stuff" and not the my applications from my powerbook?

thanks guys!! i m a complete newbie! i just bought me few weeks ago a powerbook and a mac mini.

ElDiabloConCaca · #2 September 21st, 2005, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crcr2003

i wish someone can tell me if i can connect the mac mini to my powerbook 1.67GHz?

Nope.

crcr2003 · #3 September 22nd, 2005, 12:36 PM

nope? as in u dont know or that i cannot do it? i google n i read i can connect it as an external hard drive but still insufficient, cant i really connect the mac mini to my powerbook n use the powerbook screen as the monitor for the mac mini? i dont like so much the idea that i also must carry a monitor to my mac mini at the same time i m carrying an expensive powerbook. i love mac! steve dont let me down!!!

HateEternal · #4 September 22nd, 2005, 12:40 PM

I have never seen a Laptop with that functionality, it would be neat but yea that is definitely a nope.

My question is why do you need both? Or perhaps why didn't you get 2 laptops?

nixgeek · #5 September 22nd, 2005, 12:59 PM

What you CAN do is install Apple Remote Desktop Client on the Mac mini and configure it to use the VNC protocol, that way you can use the VNC client on the PowerBook to access the mini. Of couse, this means you would have to create a "mini-network" by either using a network cable or using a FireWire cable and either enabling AppleTalk or using TCP/IP.

My favorite VNC client for Mac OS X is Chicken of the VNC.

patrean · #6 September 22nd, 2005, 07:49 PM

If you had a spare keyboard on the road, connect it to the Mini and connect the Mac Mini to the PB with a Firewire cable, hold down 't' and boot the MacMini up in target mode, then select the Mini harddrive as a startup disc and disconnect the spare keyboard.

jan210@psu.edu · #7 February 3rd, 2006, 03:16 PM

Wouldn't it be possible to boot the Mac Mini in Firewire target mode (not sure if they have them, but everything else does...so it stands to reason) and then use the firewire disk to boot the laptop. This would give you access to the Mac Mini as the primary drive and thus use the applications, desktop, and documents from the Mini.

ElDiabloConCaca · #8 February 3rd, 2006, 04:51 PM

Yep, completely possible with the sole exception being that if the Mac mini didn't have a version of OS X installed that is universally compatible with the iBook -- much like when the G5s first came out and had "special" versions of Software Restore CDs/DVDs that would not boot any other machine, and no other copy of OS X would boot the G5.