So you have to resort to one of the following means to get your programs installed. There are a couple of workarounds if you really need a cd or dvd drive. However, if you own a macbook air, you have two choices when it comes to reading the contents of a cd or dvd. For use with your macbook pro with retina display, macbook air or. Apple has begun to stop installing cd dvd drives since the introduction of macbook air in january 2008. A few reasons might include update, troubleshooting, repairing of disks, partition, etc. This way you can boot your mac with an external usb drive, but the most critical part is to prepare the usb drive. When software comes on a cd or dvd and you want to install it on a macbook air, you cant just pop open the disc drive or slide a disc into a slot, like you would on a computer with an optical drive. Connect your device to the proper spot on your adapter, hub, or docking station.
Use the apple macbook usb superdrive on windows 788. It is compatible with macbook, macbook air, macbook pro, imac or mac mini via a single usb cable to help read dvd cd and write to cd r and dvdr discs. How to use cds, dvds, and blurays on a mac without an. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your. Branded external cd drive usb dvd rw disc reader burner laptop pc windows 8 10 mac. Macbook, macbook air, and macbook pro models with usbc ports require a usbc to usb adapter sold separately to use apple usb superdrive. How to use a superdrive on a mac laptop with an internal dvd drive. If you have multiple usb drives connected, then the startup manager shall list the drives with the bootable os. Its also highly compatible and supports macbook, macbook air, imac. Boot from an external drive on macbook pro toms guide forum. External cd drive not working, advice please applevis. A must for modern laptops which now dont come with disc drives built in.
In order to create the stunning air design with truly revolutionary dimensions, apples engineers had to leave out the drive. To use your superdrive, connect it to a usba port on your mac, then insert a disc. Nov, 2018 find out which macs can use the apple usb superdrive and how to connect it. I know that apple sells this part but i cannot find it in accesories. I have a macbook air and would like to buy an external cd drive to play cds and dvds. If you dont have another computer, it may be the only solution unless another computer is borrowed.
There are several reasons why your mac wont recognize a drive. 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. How to connect the apple usb superdrive apple support. Jul 21, 2019 the only ports youll find on the macbook lineup are usb c thunderbolt 3. I absolutely adore this usb external dvd and cd drive. An external optical drive will allow you to access discs on your mac. The disk slot only opens if the cd drive is connected to a laptop, and once connected to my laptop i am able to insert and remove dvds. For this purpose, you need to rely on external cd dvd drives. Create customized dvds with this apple superdrive 8x external dvdrwcdrw drive that features support for doublelayer media, so you can easily back up your important files.
Find out which macs can use the apple usb superdrive and how to connect it. Dohonesbest rohent external cd drive for pc windows 1087 laptop and support macbook air,ma. Sometimes your macbook pro requires to be booted from an external hard drive instead of a primary start up drive. Apple sells an external optical drive that reads and writes cds and dvds.
Its called the usb superdrive, and it plugs into a usba port. How to start up your mac from a bootable cddvd, usb thumb. Apples usb superdrive is the mac external hard drive designed to complement macbook pro air. Plug your adapter, hub, or docking station into your mac laptops usbc ports. Macbook air retina, inch, 2020 macbook air retina, inch, 20182019 macbook air inch, early 2015 2017. I know that some of you are looking around the room at all your existing peripherals and probably feeling a little dismayed that you wont be able to connect them directly to your macbook. Emmaky, usb external slot dvd cd drive burner writer.
Usb cddvdrw writer burner external hard drive for apple. External usb dvd drive for macbook air apple community. How to install software from a cddvd to a macbook air. The key is finding a drive that is compatible with os x and plugging it into the macbook air via a usb port. With your new mac devices, you are not able to run cds or dvds. Unlike an internal drive which resides hidden inside your macbooks case.
The macbook air is designed to be as thin and as light as possible and so it does not include an optical drive of any kind. The easiest option is to simply purchase an external usb dvd drive. The apple usb superdrive is compatible with mac models from 2008 and later that dont have a builtin optical drive. Apple s usb superdrive is the mac external hard drive designed to complement macbook pro air. To use your superdrive, connect it to a usb a port on your mac, then insert a disc. Unfollow external cd drive macbook air to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Apple still sells a usbconnected external superdrive as an accessory. The macbook air does not have a cd, dvd, or superdrive.
Apr 12, 2017 the remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. You can also share discs from the optical drive of another mac, or from a windows computer. When you wake your mac up, for whatever reason, your external drive does not wake up. This is the simplest solution, but will cost more money. How to connect external hard drive to macbook pro wikihow. Just jack it into your macbooks usb port and shove your discs. But you can still use cds, dvds, blurays, and other optical discs on your mac.
How to start up your mac from an external usb storage device if your usb thumb drive, usbbased external disk or flash storage contains a usable operating system or an os x installer, you can select it at boot time using os xs builtin feature called startup manager, which can be invoked via a simple keystroke. How to boot a mac from an external drive or alternate. How to connect your existing accessories to usbc on. Common problems and fixes when boot mac from external drive. The description says that it is compatible with mac, but when i plug it in, the cd drive does not appear on my desktop. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your mac. And just bought a external cd drive from victech on amazon. Apple superdrive 8x external usb doublelayer dvdrwcdrw. Just wondering what external usb dvd drives that would work for the macbook air since it doesnt have a dvd drive. Later apple discontinued manufacturing macbook and imac with optical drives in 2016 and mid2011 respectively. External dvd drive usb cd player rw burner laptop pc imac macbook pro air.
For conducting the booting procedure, it would require an external hard drive that would be connected to your mackbook pro. 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. If you have a disk already mounted and your system goes to sleep, it also powers down ports, including usb ports. While the growing pains of adopting usbc are still present and you may need pricy extra dongles to connect your devices to your macbook, its easy to convert one usbc port into a. The remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. Top 10 best external dvd burner for mac and windows with a huge increase in the trend of making personal computer thinner and thinner, most of the companies nowadays are eliminating one of the most important functions of the computer, and that is none other that the cd dvd drive itself.
If youve ever tried to plug in an apple superdrive external dvd drive into a macbook pro or other mac laptop with an internal dvd drive, you may have struggled to get the laptop to recognise the external drive and therefore be able to use it at all. Make sure that the aluminum enclosure of the superdrive is facing up. The tricks here are similar to how youd access an optical drive on a windows ultrabook or similar pc that doesnt include an optical drive of its own. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. If you want to boot your macbookairproimac from an optical media like cd or dvd you need to follow the steps below. Macbook, macbook air, and macbook pro models with usb c ports require a usb c to usb adapter sold separately to use apple usb superdrive. 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 become eligible for that process. Sep 14, 2015 how to start up your mac from an external usb storage device if your usb thumb drive, usbbased external disk or flash storage contains a usable operating system or an os x installer, you can select it at boot time using os xs builtin feature called startup manager, which can be invoked via a simple keystroke. Top 10 best external dvd burner for mac and windows with a huge increase in the trend of making personal computer thinner and thinner, most of the companies nowadays are eliminating one of the most important functions of the computer, and that is none other that the cddvd drive itself.
Macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac late 2012 and later, mac. Dec 15, 2014 apples macbook air, along with many other macs, no longer includes an optical drive. Good product and recommendi have a mac book pro without dvd, this dvd drive with usb c connection give me a easy connect dvd drive without any tr. External dvd drive usb cd player rw burner laptop pc imac. Workarounds for the macbook airs lack of optical drive. Lacie 2tb mobile drive external hard drive usbc usb 3. Such an external drive could read cds and dvds, play blurays, and even burn discs if thats what you want. 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. This option on boot trick works for quite literally any boot volume, whether its an external usb drive of any sort, a thunderbolt hard drive, boot dvd, cd, the recovery partition, even in dualboot environments with other versions of os x, or a linux or a windows partition with boot camp, if its bootable and connected to the mac it will be visible at this boot manager.
Shop for external cd dvd drive for mac at best buy. External dvd drive usb cd player rw burner laptop pc imac macbook pro 7. How to make external hard drive work with mac and pc set up guidehow to use hdhow to use hd duration. Jan 17, 2018 how to make external hard drive work with mac and pc set up guidehow to use hdhow to use hd duration.
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