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User profile for user: Gary Wright4
Gary Wright4 Author
User level: Level 1
112 points

Will I be able to view/open CD/DVD data disks under Mac OS Catalina?

I have a new iMac on order, and it will probably come with MacOS Catalina.


I have a recent DVD/Blu-Ray external drive, purchased from OWC (optical drive made by LG).


I have a lot of photos and other projects archived to CD and DVD discs as data. Most of the data disks were burned with various versions of the Mac's built-in, Finder-based burn capability, tho some early ones may have been created using old versions of Toast.


I need to be able to open the data CDs and DVDs and copy files from the discs to the Catalina Desktop.


Ignoring anything to do with playing movies/video - can my backup data discs be opened under Catalina without any 3rd party software?


If not, what software would I need to do that?

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Dec 16, 2020 1:32 PM

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User profile for user: Eau Rouge
Eau Rouge
User level: Level 8
42,596 points

Posted on Dec 21, 2020 12:40 AM

Yes should not be a problem. it should simply be a case of inserting the CD/ DVD into the drive waiting for the

Disk icon to show on the Desktop or Finder window sidebar and dragging its contents into a folder you created.

No third party apps are required to do this.


The new mac might come with the new macOS Big Sur.


macOS Catalina and macOS Big Sur do not run 32bit apps,

Your Mac is probably running 32bit apps and if you want to use these third party apps on your new mac

they will need to be updated to 64bit apps, some updates may be free, some may be paid.

Use this app to discover which apps you have are 32bit, https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/

then contact the developers of the software to see if they are providing 64bit updates or alternatives.

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User profile for user: Eau Rouge
Eau Rouge
User level: Level 8
42,596 points

Dec 21, 2020 12:40 AM in response to Gary Wright4

Yes should not be a problem. it should simply be a case of inserting the CD/ DVD into the drive waiting for the

Disk icon to show on the Desktop or Finder window sidebar and dragging its contents into a folder you created.

No third party apps are required to do this.


The new mac might come with the new macOS Big Sur.


macOS Catalina and macOS Big Sur do not run 32bit apps,

Your Mac is probably running 32bit apps and if you want to use these third party apps on your new mac

they will need to be updated to 64bit apps, some updates may be free, some may be paid.

Use this app to discover which apps you have are 32bit, https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/

then contact the developers of the software to see if they are providing 64bit updates or alternatives.

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User profile for user: KMB_12
KMB_12
User level: Community Specialist

Dec 19, 2020 2:09 PM in response to Gary Wright4

Hello Gary,


We see that you're looking for some information on how to move data from CDs/DVDs to your Mac. We want to try to offer some help to get you pointed in the right direction.


Check out this link to view more details on how to Insert CDs and DVDs into Mac. Once this CD/DVD is entered into the iMac, you can transfer data to the Mac. Here's information on how to Transfer your data to your new iMac.


Also, you may find this guide helpful: Choose what your computer does when you insert a CD or DVD.


Cheers!

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Will I be able to view/open CD/DVD data disks under Mac OS Catalina?

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