DVD/CD drive for my 2023 iMac 24” computer. The Apple super drive doesn’t work on this iMac. What drive can I get to work on this iMac?

Because the SuperDrive has not been refreshed since summer 2012 😱, I am considering this one for our next iMac:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MR3USD24/

for a number of reasons, among them:

• It has an independent power supply so it can be hubbed or docked
• It uses USB3, not the 10x slower USB2 like the SuperDrive
• Tray-loading optical drives are far more reliable than slot-load drives in my experience
• Tray-load drives can access odd-shaped disks.
• If the cat chews apart the combo power/date cable on the SuperDrive, you buy a new SuperDrive and possibly a new cat.
• If said cat destroys either the power or data cable on the one I linked, you buy a US$10 replacement cable

One man's opinion aided by a bit of research.

Allan Jones wrote:

Because the SuperDrive has not been refreshed since summer 2012 😱, I am considering this one for our next iMac:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MR3USD24/

•

for a number of reasons, among them:

It has an independent power supply so it can be hubbed or docked

• It uses USB3, not the 10x slower USB2 like the SuperDrive

• Tray-loading optical drives are far more reliable than slot-load drives in my experience

• Tray-load drives can access odd-shaped disks.

• If the cat chews apart the combo power/date cable on the SuperDrive, you buy a new SuperDrive and possibly a new cat.

• If said cat destroys either the power or data cable on the one I linked, you buy a US$10 replacement cable

One man's opinion aided by a bit of research.

The Apple USB SuperDrive should work with that computer, but it can be finicky about power requirements. Are you connecting it to the Mac through a hub/dock? Or directly, through an Apple USB-C to USB adapter?

Also keep in mind that the drive itself will not show up as an icon on the Desktop. Only discs will (if you have the Finder settings configured to show them).

Allan Jones wrote:

Because the SuperDrive has not been refreshed since summer 2012 😱, I am considering this one for our next iMac:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MR3USD24/

They have a small, bus-powered one, too - but on looking at its description, I saw that you sometimes had to connect it to two USB ports to supply it with enough power.

So one of the full-size OWC burners looks good to me. The main problem: finding a convenient place to put a drive on my large, but already overcrowded, desks. I have to give that to my old iMac: it may not have had the ability to accept the small mini-CDs, but the built-in slot-load drive was in a convenient place.

I use this one & it's great...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B091Y9L722/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B091Y9L722/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Servant of Cats wrote:

.

The main problem: finding a convenient place to put a drive on my large, but already overcrowded, desks.

A universal condition! I feel your pain!

When I replaced my 2010 iMac with a 2017, the only optical option I had was an old Sony external rescued from a rummage sale for US$5. It works for reads when set on its side—which saves space. However, I've never tried writes with it that way as my need to burn disks has almost disappeared.

They have a small, bus-powered one, too - but on looking at its description, I saw that you sometimes had to connect it to two USB ports to supply it with enough power.\

The Y-cable/twp port approach was a great solution when we actually had a plethora of ports. Now...not so much. Look at the entry-level iMacs. Mrs AJ's new iMac 24 will be the 4-port version.

PS: No insults to cats intended in my other response, although we had one that was a cable eater when a kitten. She outgrew that, fortunately, and became my best furry friend for 16 years.

Allan Jones wrote:

PS: No insults to cats intended in my other response, although we had one that was a cable eater when a kitten. She outgrew that, fortunately, and became my best furry friend for 16 years.

No offense taken. I've read that there's some sort of bitter citrus-tasting thing that you can put on cables to discourage cats from chewing on them, although I've never had to use it.

Allan Jones wrote:

Servant of Cats wrote:

.

The main problem: finding a convenient place to put a drive on my large, but already overcrowded, desks.

A universal condition! I feel your pain!

Do you think that tray has the little tabs on it that can hold a disc in place when oriented vertically? Maybe that kind of tray drive can operate on the side for a smaller footprint on the desk?

I am still using a Super Drive on my Intel 2019 iMac, I used some double-sided sticky foam mounting tape to put it on the back of the iMac so the slot loads/ejects from the side of the iMac, just like where the built-in drive used to be in the older legacy iMacs, no additional desk space required!