Mac OS X question - Firewire Target Disk Mode

Factual Questions
1

I have an iBook G4 (circa 2005) with a defective DVD drive, and a current spec iMac.

I would like to do a full clean and reinstall of OS X 10.4 on the iBook using its original DVDs…am I correct in thinking that if I connect the computers with a Firewire cable and boot the iMac in Target Disk mode, its DVD drive will essentially act as an external drive the laptop will recognize, and I can proceed with the reinstall from there?

Thanks.

2

Pretty sure no, but the only way to be positive is to try it. Alternatively, a usb DVD drive probably isn’t very expensive.

3

I have done just this, and it does work. I was somewhat surprised, but the DVD drive does appear, and the boot and install system is able to recognize it correctly.

4

Yep, I was skeptical, too, but just did it last month.

And it looks like the same Target mode’ll work with Thunderbolt (the new high-speed connector that doesn’t, y’know, connect to anything yet).

5

Humor appreciated — but there is now one device at least.