Reader Sigil has an interesting question regarding a MacBook Pro with ailing i - deal . He ( or she , I suppose ) write :
I have a MacBook Pro with a fail graphics chip . I just read your clause aboutusing an erstwhile Mac as a backup server . If anything , what can I do with my MacBook Pro to salvage some value ?
First , of line , you should confirm that the graphics chip really is break down . It would be draggish to kick downstairs the laptop to less duties if all it needed was a little line or connecter tightening . If you have n’t charter the affair to a Professional for rating , I ’d do that first . You should also suss out the extent of its flakiness . If the intact graphics system is blown out ( or about to be blown out ) the solvent I offer later on may not help you as even a remote connectedness will do you no good .
View a remote Mac via screen sharing
If tryout point that the nontextual matter splintering is on the way of life out but the MacBook can gestate on an otherwise productive life — and be seen via a vnc connection ( discussed later)—using it as a host is an excellent idea . As indicated in the clause you denote to , if you attach a high - capacity hard drive to it , you may indeed expend it as a backup server for the other computers in your plate .
You could alternately or additionally use that laptop computer as a media waiter . Just copy your medium to the intemperate drive attach to the MacBook , fire up iTunes , open its penchant , dawn the Sharing tab , and start the Share My Library On My Local web option . Other computers on your local mesh can now play the medium managed by that Mac . If you also have iOS devices be indisputable to exchange on Home Sharing ( from iTunes ’ Advanced menu ) so that you could get at and dally that medium on your iPhone , iPod touch modality , and iPad . ( I do n’t have the space to explain all the ins and out of sharing media from a central server , but my articleOrganize and Play Your Media From a NASshould give you a well start . )
Depending on howl33tyourskillz(mad , or otherwise ) are , you could go on beyond zebra and sprain the MacBook into a full - botch server and deal mail , calendar , and cyberspace communion as well as utilize it to host a web web site . This is n’t the form of thing “ normal ” people would do , but again , if you have the chops it ’s a cheaper resolution than a new Mac mini .
If you ’ve read this far you roll in the hay that I have n’t really addressed the orchis of the issue , which is : How do I make this unsighted Mac see ? Without remedy the ironware you’re able to’t — at least not using its screen door or , possibly , an connected varan . you’re able to , however , see what it ’s doing via screen communion provided that what remains of the graphics chip allows it . ( And the only way to say if it allows it is to prove the following . )
To do that , ensure that your MacBook Pro is run Leopard ( OS X 10.5 ) or afterwards and is on the same local meshwork as your other computers ( I ’d advise using an Ethernet connection rather than wireless as it will be debauched , which will help with backing up and serve video ) . On the MacBook Pro ( which , hopefully , you could still see well enough for this shortsighted bit of configuration ) launch System Preferences and come home Sharing . Enable Screen Sharing and choose who has access ( I enable Only These Users and then select Administrators as I do n’t require those without an administrator countersign mucking with my server ) .
Now move to another Mac , give a Finder window , and reckon for your MacBook Pro in its sidebar . choose it and click Share Screen . When prompted enter the administrator ’s name and watchword for the MacBook Pro ( not for the estimator you ’re currently using ) . Click Connect and you should see your MacBook Pro ’s display on the Mac you ’re sitting in front of . Alternatively , in the Finder you’re able to choose Go - > Connect to Server , and in the window that appear insert vnc://IP address , whereIP addressis the MacBook Pro ’s IP name and address or vnc://Name . Domainsuch asmacbookpro.local .
Now that you may see your MacBook Pro ’s screen , master it just as you would any data processor you ’re sit in front of . When you ’re complete with it , throw in cover share-out .
And if this wo n’t work because the artwork system is whole nonadaptive ? discipline with your local Professional on the price of fixing .
Updated to handle the issue of a graphics organisation so hose down that a vnc connection does n’t ferment .
