M1 MBP will not mount external optical drive

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Level 1

6 points

M1 MBP will not mount external optical drive

Have used Asus U9M ZenDrive (USB CD/DVD optical drive) with 2016 13” MacBook Pro/Big Sur 11.2.3. Zero issues.

Just bought new 13” MBP (Apple M1 silicon), also Big Sur 11.2.3. M1/MBP will not mount optical drive. Tried both Apple USB-USB-C adapter an dedicated cable (mini USB to UISB-C)

When optical drive connected to M1/MBP:

1. About This Mac=>System Report=>Hardware=>USB shows an external drive is connected

2. With drive drawer open, disk eject arrow (on the menu bar) says "Close Asus SDRW" and System Preferences window shows a "CDs & DVDs" icon

3. With drive drawer closed, disk eject arrow says "No Drives” and System Preferences shows no icon for the drive

4. Disk Utility does not see the external drive

5. Neither Finder nor any other app see the external optical drive

Have had conversations with Apple support (twice) and with Asus, neither of whom have a solution.

Has anyone seen/resolved this issue ?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Apr 16, 2021 4:59 PM

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Answer 1

anc12 Author

Level 1

6 points

Apr 16, 2021 5:29 PM in response to Allan Jones

Hi Allan

Directly connected to the MBP USB-C port.

I've tried this in two ways: the original Asus cable (mini-USB to USB2) with an Apple USB2-USB-C adapter, and with a dedicated mini-USB to USB-C cable.

Both produced the same result as detailed in my posting.

Andrew

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Answer 2

anc12 Author

Level 1

6 points

May 30, 2021 9:40 PM in response to Fred Royster

Fred, I solved this by getting a powered USB hub (Atola 4 port USB 3.0 $20).

Connected ASUS drive to hub and hub to MBP and all works fine.

Now for the weird bit: disconnected power supply to hub … and all still works fine. In other words, the MBP is powering the drive via the hub. Go figure.

Bizarre but I’m happy I can still rip my CDs.

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