If you have a disk already mounted and your system goes to sleep, it also powers down ports, including usb ports. Apple has begun to stop installing cd dvd drives since the introduction of macbook air in january 2008. Dohonesbest rohent external cd drive for pc windows 1087 laptop and support macbook air,ma. I have a macbook air and would like to buy an external cd drive to play cds and dvds.
How to install software from a cddvd to a macbook air. Branded external cd drive usb dvd rw disc reader burner laptop pc windows 8 10 mac. In order to create the stunning air design with truly revolutionary dimensions, apples engineers had to leave out the 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. Plug your adapter, hub, or docking station into your mac laptops usbc ports. However, if you own a macbook air, you have two choices when it comes to reading the contents of a cd or dvd.
How to connect the apple usb superdrive apple support. How to connect your existing accessories to usbc on. So you have to resort to one of the following means to get your programs installed. I absolutely adore this usb external dvd and cd drive. Apple sells an external optical drive that reads and writes cds and dvds. The apple usb superdrive is compatible with mac models from 2008 and later that dont have a builtin optical drive.
How to use cds, dvds, and blurays on a mac without an. Apples usb superdrive is the mac external hard drive designed to complement macbook pro air. To use your superdrive, connect it to a usba port on your mac, then insert a disc. Macbook air retina, inch, 2020 macbook air retina, inch, 20182019 macbook air inch, early 2015 2017. Usb cddvdrw writer burner external hard drive for apple. How to make external hard drive work with mac and pc set up guidehow to use hdhow to use hd duration. Common problems and fixes when boot mac from external drive. The easiest option is to simply purchase an external usb dvd drive. For this purpose, you need to rely on external cd dvd drives. How to boot a mac from an external drive or alternate. 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. If you dont have another computer, it may be the only solution unless another computer is borrowed. Apple superdrive 8x external usb doublelayer dvdrwcdrw. Later apple discontinued manufacturing macbook and imac with optical drives in 2016 and mid2011 respectively.
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. Sometimes your macbook pro requires to be booted from an external hard drive instead of a primary start up drive. Its called the usb superdrive, and it plugs into a usba port. When you wake your mac up, for whatever reason, your external drive does not wake up. Find out which macs can use the apple usb superdrive and how to connect it.
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. To do this, youll need to buy an external disc reader that plugs into your mac via a usb cable. For conducting the booting procedure, it would require an external hard drive that would be connected to your mackbook pro. Nov, 2018 find out which macs can use the apple usb superdrive and how to connect it. External cd drive not working, advice please applevis. Its also highly compatible and supports macbook, macbook air, imac.
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. With your new mac devices, you are not able to run cds or dvds. 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. Just wondering what external usb dvd drives that would work for the macbook air since it doesnt have a dvd drive. For use with your macbook pro with retina display, macbook air or.
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. Connect your device to the proper spot on your adapter, hub, or docking station. Shop for external cd dvd drive for mac at best buy. To use your superdrive, connect it to a usb a port on your mac, then insert a disc. Use the apple macbook usb superdrive on windows 788. Jan 17, 2018 how to make external hard drive work with mac and pc set up guidehow to use hdhow to use hd duration. The key is finding a drive that is compatible with os x and plugging it into the macbook air via a usb port.
The macbook air forgoes the optical drive to keep it thin and small. How to connect external hard drive to macbook pro wikihow. Such an external drive could read cds and dvds, play blurays, and even burn discs if thats what you want. Boot from an external drive on macbook pro toms guide forum. 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. Dec 15, 2014 apples macbook air, along with many other macs, no longer includes an optical drive. 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. And just bought a external cd drive from victech on amazon.
External dvd drive usb cd player rw burner laptop pc imac macbook pro 7. The description says that it is compatible with mac, but when i plug it in, the cd drive does not appear on my desktop. 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. External dvd drive usb cd player rw burner laptop pc imac. How to start up your mac from a bootable cddvd, usb thumb. Make sure that the aluminum enclosure of the superdrive is facing up.
Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. The remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. But you can still use cds, dvds, blurays, and other optical discs on your mac. 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. Macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac late 2012 and later, mac. External dvd drive usb cd player rw burner laptop pc imac macbook pro air. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your mac. The macbook air does not have a cd, dvd, or superdrive. There are several reasons why your mac wont recognize a drive. 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.
This is the simplest solution, but will cost more money. 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. Emmaky, usb external slot dvd cd drive burner writer. 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. Lacie 2tb mobile drive external hard drive usbc usb 3.
Apple s usb superdrive is the mac external hard drive designed to complement macbook pro air. If you want to boot your macbookairproimac from an optical media like cd or dvd you need to follow the steps below. How to use a superdrive on a mac laptop with an internal dvd drive. Apr 12, 2017 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. Jul 21, 2019 the only ports youll find on the macbook lineup are usb c thunderbolt 3. A must for modern laptops which now dont come with disc drives built in. This way you can boot your mac with an external usb drive, but the most critical part is to prepare the usb drive. If you have multiple usb drives connected, then the startup manager shall list the drives with the bootable os.
You can also share discs from the optical drive of another mac, or from a windows computer. I know that apple sells this part but i cannot find it in accesories. Unlike an internal drive which resides hidden inside your macbooks case. Workarounds for the macbook airs lack of optical drive. 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. There are a couple of workarounds if you really need a cd or dvd drive. Burner drive for laptop, notebook, desktop, mac macbook pro, macbook air and.
External usb dvd drive for macbook air apple community. 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. A few reasons might include update, troubleshooting, repairing of disks, partition, etc. Estone usb c external cd dvd drive, usb type c adapter to usb 3.