Hi, I need to access a cdrom. So I purchased an Apple USB Super Drive and an adapter so that I can plug it in to my iMac. The Super Drive takes a cdrom (I tried several) thinks about it then spits it out. I see people were asking about this in 2008, hopefully there is a fix now ?
Make sure the Super Drive is connected directly to the Mac since adapters, docks, hubs will prevent an Apple Super Drive from working (the exception is if you have a USB-C Mac and need to use an Apple USB-C to USB-A Adapter).
Try disconnecting all other external devices.
What type of CD is it? Data, music, video? What type of file format is being used on the CD? macOS cannot handle certain file systems while Windows & Linux may be more forgiving (especially Linux). It all depends on how the CDs you are trying to access were created.
You don't give any details on the exact model of your Mac. If it is an older Mac, then the Super Drive may not be compatible with it. I know some Apple Super Drives will not work certain Macs (I think Apple included a note with our Super Drive years ago specifically mentioning this issue, but gave no details on why although I have seen references on these forums it may be due to some Macs not being able to supply enough power to operate the Super Drive -- nice to know after a purchase was made). Maybe a split "Y" USB cable which uses the second connection to supply more power would help. Personally I would just use a standard USB optical drive or use your other system to transfer the contents from the CD to other media.
Make sure the Super Drive is connected directly to the Mac since adapters, docks, hubs will prevent an Apple Super Drive from working (the exception is if you have a USB-C Mac and need to use an Apple USB-C to USB-A Adapter).
Try disconnecting all other external devices.
What type of CD is it? Data, music, video? What type of file format is being used on the CD? macOS cannot handle certain file systems while Windows & Linux may be more forgiving (especially Linux). It all depends on how the CDs you are trying to access were created.
You don't give any details on the exact model of your Mac. If it is an older Mac, then the Super Drive may not be compatible with it. I know some Apple Super Drives will not work certain Macs (I think Apple included a note with our Super Drive years ago specifically mentioning this issue, but gave no details on why although I have seen references on these forums it may be due to some Macs not being able to supply enough power to operate the Super Drive -- nice to know after a purchase was made). Maybe a split "Y" USB cable which uses the second connection to supply more power would help. Personally I would just use a standard USB optical drive or use your other system to transfer the contents from the CD to other media.
Hi Dialabrain, I bought a USB-C adapter to USB and I had the drive black side up. I feel very foolish but grateful for your help. It is working now.
A couple things to mention…
Make sure the drive is right-side-up. aluminum up, black down.
The other thing is what adapter did you purchase?
A SuperDrive works with one of these…
USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter - Apple
Is this an old CD burned as a data disk? And by that, I mean really old. Like OS 9 era written in the original HFS format.
If so, Mojave was the last OS that can read an HFS disk. Catalina and later require HFS+ or APFS (as an Apple formatted drive or disk).
No. It should also be able to read any disk formatted as ISO 9660, MS-DOS (FAT16, FAT32, ExFAT), NTFS, any DVD/Blu-ray video disk, and any standard music CD. I have no trouble with any of these in Monterey (or earlier) using my external Blu-ray read/write drive.
Try a couple of things to see if something in your main user account may be interfering.
FWIW, a SuperDrive would not work with a Mac with a built in optical drive.
Hi Kurt, thanks for answering. This is a recent cdrom for a german course. I can play it on a Linux box or Windows but I am trying to use the iMac for my day to day machine. I also tried a couple of music cds. Can the iMac only understand Apple formatted cds ?
FWIW, the user bought an Apple SuperDrive, which cannot read blu-ray disks.
Yes, I was just mentioning all types of disks the OS can access.
I believe you need additional software to play Blu-ray video disks.
Blu-ray data disks require nothing extra. Blu-ray movies, as you mention, do.
I wouldn't feel foolish. Since the SuperDrive was released, it is a very common occurrence. Glad to help.
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