![]() ![]() TL DR As far as I know, no such complete solution, working as you described, exist for the MacBook Pro or indeed any other type of laptop from other vendors.įor those interested in details about why such a solution most likely doesn't exist, and maybe looking for alternatives, let me explain a bit more: The MacBook appearing as a drive, network adapter, or audio I/O device, are examples of what would be useful. If the MacBook could emulate other USB or Thunderbolt devices then that would be even more useful. If there's no software to get a MacBook to emulate a display then it would still be useful for a MacBook to emulate USB keyboard and mouse as that means more easily sharing the limited physical space on a desk or table with two computers as well as using a MacBook as part of a portable KVM console, the video being handled by a video capture peripheral or a separate display. Perhaps some guidance on good search terms to use is all I need. I recognize that a computer pretending to be a Thunderbolt display is not a common request, and support for Thunderbolt displays is not common in computers either, this is why I ask the question here as there's a lot of noise from internet searches making it difficult to find a useful signal. I suspect other brands of laptops have this feature but I'd like to keep this to Apple hardware for now. Again, if there is hardware beyond a common peripheral cable then it could be easily damaged or lost but people tend to keep their MacBook safe.Īpple MacBooks can emulate USB and Thunderbolt devices for target disk mode to work so the hardware to make this work is inside the computer. The software solution sought does not have to be free but it does need to be something that can be downloaded on short notice and/or a copy kept on a drive somewhere, and not cost so much that hardware solutions look tame by comparison. This could get out of the realm of a quick and easy install but it at least avoids added hardware that may be difficult to find, could be lost or broken, or again get us back to finding readily known hardware solutions at lower costs. One thing that comes to mind is loading some version of Linux to run "USB gadgets" software to emulate the USB devices and then run MacOS in a virtual machine. The solution does not strictly have to run in MacOS so long as there is a means to run MacOS on the MacBook somehow still. If the solution requires purchase of some hardware that can't be found at a grocery store or truck stop then the cost and/or delay just leaves the user getting a traditional KVM switch, a video capture device and other bits and bobs, or doing without. The hardware required between the two computers should be no more complicated than a USB or Thunderbolt cable since this should be something that can be implemented easily and on short notice. While the computer attached to the MacBook is most likely a functional Windows computer of some type the intent is to have a MacBook act as a KVM console for the purpose of diagnosing a non-booting system, if the MacBook doesn't emulate USB then boot firmware is not likely to function with it. The MacBook must emulate USB and/or Thunderbolt devices as there is no knowing if it would be allowed to perform BlueTooth pairing, some kind of network control (VNC or RDP as common examples), or any configuration changes or software installs. The intended users would be people that have a MacBook as their personal computer and a computer that is locked up tight from their school or employer. The connection to the other computer should be nothing more than a USB-C Thunderbolt cable, or a USB-C/male to USB-A/male cable like that used to connect a USB-C phone to a computer except that in this case the MacBook is the "peripheral" rather than a phone. The goal is to use some kind of software on a MacBook in order for it to emulate a keyboard, mouse, and display, acting as a KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) console able to switch control between itself and at least one attached computer.
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