Actually, it is possible to boot mac from external drive or a hard drive, but there are a few specific requirements needed for your mac to. Apple has begun to stop installing cd dvd drives since the introduction of macbook air in january 2008. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. Bootable optical media cd or dvd on macs equipped with apples super drive or a usb thumb drive formatted with a guid partition type and containing an os x installer or a. With your new mac devices, you are not able to run cds or dvds. Apple and the incredible vanishing cd drive macworld.
If you think youll need an external drive mostly for bluray discs, most of them will also play dvds and cds but are not readablewritable. Main results wd my passport wireless 250gb external usb 3. First plug in the external drive to a usb port that you know works with other devices now insert a dvd movie that you know w. If you think youll need an external drive mostly for bluray discs, most of them will also. Mac pro late 20 macbook, macbook air with retina display, and macbook pro models with. Its portable design is great for mobile workstation. The mini can be used as an external hard drive by connecting it via a firewire cable and starting it up in firewire target disk mode. Optical drives went the way of the dodo bird a few years ago on mac computers due to most software, movies, and music all moving. Whether youre at the office or on the road, you can play and burn both cds and dvds with the apple usb superdrive. If youve recently upgraded to a new imac or macbook pro, youre probably going to need an optical drive if you want to continue. Have read or played cd, cd r, dvd, dvdr, and burned a data cd r, but have not yet ripped or written a dvd. Best external dvd drives for laptops, pcs, and macs.
The mac, unlike most windows pcs, doesnt have an external eject button on its cddvd drive. Sep, 2010 an alternative to cd dvd sharing is to use another computer to duplicate the mini dvd to a larger disc format some office services like fedexkinkos or other printing and office centers may do this. Apple usb superdrive with attached usb typea connector cable. For this purpose, you need to rely on external cd dvd drives. The owc ministack is the compact, stackable, external hard drive solution designed to complement the look and feel of the latest mac lineup. Reviewed on aug 24, 2019 3 others also recommend for mac. Only slightly bigger than a cd case, the apple usb superdrive slips easily into your travel. Memory, hard drive and an optical drive any or all. Need an optical drive for your mac or windows system so you can read audio cds, watch dvd movies or just read and write data disks.
Virtual cd rw lacie dvd update tool lightscribe host software apple combo drive update fwb cd ro. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Just because your mac doesnt have a builtin superdrive doesnt mean you cant add one both the apple usb superdrive and macbook air superdrive are. Import songs from cds into itunes on mac apple support.
How to find an external drive that is not showing up on mac. Apple advises against booting from external storage containing a version of mac os x earlier than the one your mac shipped with. Virtual cd rw lacie dvd update tool lightscribe host software apple combo drive update fwb cdro. Having this external drive you will be able to play and burn cds as well as dvds, create backup discs and install program software. In the itunes app on your mac, insert an audio cd into your computers cd or dvd drive, or into an external. External drives are perfect tools to store information and protect from various cyber threats.
Sep 14, 2015 bootable optical media cd or dvd on macs equipped with apples super drive or a usb thumb drive formatted with a guid partition type and containing an os x installer or a usable operating system. The mac, unlike most windows pcs, doesnt have an external eject button on its cd dvd drive. With a footprint identical to the 2010 and later mac mini, the two stack together for seamless desktop integration. I have a mac pro and happened to have an extra internal cddvd drive that i know works. Just because your mac doesnt have a builtin superdrive doesnt mean you cant add one both the apple usb superdrive and macbook air superdrive are compatible with all macs made after 2008, but theres also a wide range of nonapple cd and dvd drives out there that are typically much cheaper, and will work with most macbooks just make sure you check. Shop for external cd dvd drive for mac at best buy. How to get my mac to recognize an external dvd drive quora. My mac mini does not have a drive for these, this works and solves the problem, and its reasonably priced. Later apple discontinued manufacturing macbook and imac with optical drives in 2016 and mid2011 respectively. Apr 04, 2017 need an optical drive for your mac or windows system so you can read audio cds, watch dvd movies or just read and write data disks.
An alternative to cddvd sharing is to use another computer to duplicate the mini dvd to a larger disc format some office services like fedexkinkos or other printing and office. Does anyone know if there is an emergency release mechanism anywhere. Most of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your macs usb port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. You can also share discs from the optical drive of another mac, or from a windows computer. Add optical drive capability to your mac mini, macbook air, or macbook pro with the apple usb superdrive.
Have read or played cd, cdr, dvd, dvdr, and burned a data cdr, but have not. The remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. There are a plethora of dvd drives available from branded and nonbranded manufacturers but. One more representative of the best cd and dvd drives is apple usb superdrive. Dec 11, 2019 it should just work, i have been doing exactly that for many years and external dvds have always worked on my macs. I searched in the usual obvious places but was unable to find it. If your mac doesnt have a builtin optical drive and you need to. So, even in 2019, there are still situations when you need an external optical drive. How to start up your mac from a bootable cddvd, usb thumb. Instead, apple made use of the ability of optical drives to respond to an open or close command sent over the drive s electrical interface. Verbatim 98938 external dvd burner wmdisc for pc and mac.
Jan 24, 2020 best external dvd drives for laptops, pcs, and macs. Aimed at multimedia professionals, the caldigit av pro 2 is a welldesigned, mac formatted external drive that comes in ssd and spinning disk versions, and includes both a usb hub and thunderbolt. How to use mini or other nonstandard optical discs on your mac. Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the finder in the lefthand column under devices, since macs treat them the same way as. Most of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your macs usb port, you soon see it mount on the. There are many options you can choose between, such as hard drive, usb flash drive and many.
Share external dvd drive from mac mini apple community. The drive came with a double usb cable in case necessary for enough power but it also works ok on the mini with a single generic usb cable. Using mac mini as external hard drive apple community. If your laptop does not come with a dvd drive or your pc does not have the 5. How to play dvds and cds on a mac that doesnt have a. The external drive uses the format which is not recognized by mac. Apr 12, 2017 the remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer.
Mac secret trick how to clone mac hard drive with disk utility hdd sdd macbook pro imac 20102019 duration. If you want to find an external drive which is not showing up, you should note that in most cases, people tend not to plug the drive properly which leads to the connection failure. The last apple mac to ship with an optical cd or dvd drive was a in macbook pro, originally released in june 2012, but on sale until october 2016, when apple discontinued that model. Macbook air with retina display macbook pro with retina display imac late 2012 and later. Get a free addition to setapp the ultimate mac user book. If you dont see info for the cd, click the cd button near the top left of the itunes window. Is it something like a 2 hard drive raid set up or would i have to transfer my stuff to the mac mini internal hard drive to edit them then back to. If your mac doesnt have a builtin optical drive and you need to use a cd or dvd, you can connect an external drive like the apple usb superdrive. Optical drives went the way of the dodo bird a few years ago on mac computers due to most software, movies, and music all moving online, but sometimes you still need a good old fashioned cd drive. On the server mac mini which has an external dvd drive connected. Jan 02, 2020 best cd drives for mac mini imore 2020. I have a mac mini early 2009 model with a 120gb hard drive but need more space for photo editing. If youve recently upgraded to a new imac or macbook pro, youre probably going to need an optical drive if you want to continue importing your movies and music to itunes, or just access the content on your discs.
How to play dvds and cds on a mac that doesnt have a built. Owc ministack the external drive with a mac mini footprint. Also included is the shipping safe box, shipping to other world computing, and return delivery of the upgraded mini to you. Writes cd r discs at up to 24x speed writes cd rw discs at up to 16x speed reads cds at up to 24x speed. On the client macbook which i want to have access to the dvd drive on the server mac mini. First plug in the external drive to a usb port that you. Instead, apple made use of the ability of optical drives to respond to an open or close. Mac mini model a47 optical drive replacement ifixit.
In the itunes app on your mac, insert an audio cd into your computers cd or dvd drive, or into an external drive thats connected to your computer. Im trying to determine whether i will need to remove the entire optical drive or not. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your mac. Ive got this model mac mini and the optical drive has a disc stuck in it. Its perfect when you want to watch a dvd movie, install software, create backup discs, and more.
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