What CD-ROM drives are compatible with iMac 2019?

Lisafisher110 wrote:

How would I figure that [You may want to confirm that these CDs are compatible with your Mac] out?

Short answer:

The apps are not compatible.

Long answer:

This won’t be a case of connecting the CD drive, and simply running the apps. Far from it.

Three-part answer, software, and hardware, and licensing.

Software: Apps from Mac OS 8 or Mac OS 9 and written for either Motorola 68k or PowerPC processors are not compatible with macOS 14 or macOS 15 on Intel, nor with macOS on Apple silicon.

That’s twenty-some versions of macOS (formerly OS X) back, then one or two major versions of the earlier Mac OS further back, and one or maybe two processor architectures back (PowerPC, maybe 68k) depending on the app.

Which means emulation.

Hardware: You’ll then have to get the contents of the CDs either configured and directly accessible from the emulator, or transferred into macOS where the emulator can access it without the CD drive access. And I don’t know if the emulator can access the CD media contents directly, or whether there’s a way to offload the contents into the emulator.

Licensing: You’ll need to satisfy whatever licensing and/or copy protection may have been used by the app vendor, either in the app itself, or in how the CD was created, or both. Details here vary. Widely.

The path forward:

Install, configure, and troubleshoot emulation.

Here’s an older article on exploring this from macOS 10.15:

https://blog.alexseifert.com/2020/06/09/emulating-mac-os-9-on-macos-10-15/

The link to the pre-built emulation environment is now here:

https://mendelson.org/macos9osx.html

Here is an overview of Mac PowerPC and 68k emulation, including the two emulators used in the above package:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Mac_OS#Emulation

Then get the app, its dependencies, emulation, and licensing working. And emulation of an app, its dependencies, the operating system, the old hardware, and whatever weird licensing got used, is a complex undertaking, and won’t necessarily work reliably. Or might not work at all.

A shorter path?

Again, if they have the books of interest, and if the newer app itself works, Wanderful Storybooks and an Apple silicon iMac is likely to involve acquiring rather less technical savvy, and less troubleshooting.

PS: The migration from Intel processors to Apple silicon processors started in 2020, so that iMac 2019 Intel isn’t all that long for current-version macOS support, either. That iMac 2019 is the oldest with current-version macOS support too, and thus likely the next to drop off current support. The previous iMac 2017 models dropped off current-version support a couple of macOS versions ago.

It’s probably be easier to get the modern versions of that stuff.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Books
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderful_Interactive_Storybooks

Here’s the new home:

• https://wanderfulstorybooks.com/

Lisafisher110 wrote:

Yes. That is what the computer was.

That was interesting. A lot of tech talk but I think I got the point of it. Currently the computer is not connected to the wi-fi because I don't want my son to get into things he shouldn't. However, I'm going to connected and see what I can do. Thank you for your help. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

With regards to application compatibility, there are two main things that define a "platform":

• The type of machine language that the processor speaks.
• The services that the machine provides to applications – especially the services the operating system provides.

Your applications ran on a PowerPC-based Mac under Mac OS 8 or 9. Your iMac has an Intel CPU and a modern Unix-based version of macOS. So both things changed, and the worlds are so far apart that there are no built-in transition aids to let the old software run on the new system.

Or to put it another way … take an English-speaking person who knows enough about U.S. income tax to be able to fill out their own tax returns … but who knows no Japanese, and nothing about Japanese law. Drop them into Tokyo, and ask them to fill out Japanese tax returns, in Japanese, on the day that tax returns are due.

FWIW, the only way to be certain would be to try them out on a Mac with a CD/DVD drive attached. Most likely they will be fine. There are multiple CD/DVD drives compatible with Mac on Amazon, many under $30. NOLYTH seems to be a popular pick.

Lisafisher110 wrote:

Yes. I'm understanding that now. Time for my son to move on and I'll pack the CDs way where he can't find them. I'll keep on the look out for and old iMac OX. Maybe I'll get lucky at some yard sale.

Are the CDs the goal, or the game?

Because if the games are the goal, those apps are still available (for more modern computers).

There’s a list of available games, including a free sample game, here: https://wanderfulstorybooks.com/products

PPS: The CDs might degrade and may no longer be readable, as CDs can suffer a form of rot:

• http://www.rdrop.com/~half/General/CDRot/CDRot.html

Welcome!

I need to do the same thing when Mrs AJ gets a new iMac soon, and have decided this one is the best choice for us:

OWC Mercury Pro USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) 24X Super-Multi DVD/CD Burner/Reader External Optical Drive with M-DISC Support

For a desktop computer you need a self-powered drive (has an independent power supply. Historically tray-load drives like this are more reliable than slot-loaders, and this one has replaceable power and data cords in case the cat chews through one (it happens!).

Apple now show their USB SuperDrive "sold out." It had a number of deficits:

• It has not been updated for 12 years 😳.
• It is USB2 (slow)
• It is a slot loader
• It must scab all power off the the computer's USB port, and does not like hubs or docks
• Its combined power/data cable is not replaceable. One cat bite and you'll need a new drive.

I cannot in good conscience recommend the Apple USB SuperDrive even if you find one at a discounted price.

👉🏻 Disclosure: My only relation with the above vendor is as a customer.

Old Toad wrote:

Are these video DVD? Did you create them or have a service do it for you?

They’re associated with an interactive app originally published by Broderbund, for Macs prior to Mac OS X.

Here are the background links for the app involved:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Books
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderful_Interactive_Storybooks

Here is the new home of that app, and the newer versions:

• https://wanderfulstorybooks.com/

I would not expect these to be standard DVDs.

There’s not much of an overlap between the very first DVDs and the era of Mac OS 8 or Mac OS 9, either.

on the OWC optical drive. I have an earlier model w/o M-disc support and it is an excellent drive. It is self powered and with drawer loading.

Are these video DVD? Did you create them or have a service do it for you? If video DVDs then you have the software on your 2019 iMac to play them: DVD Player located in the System/Library/CoreServices/Applications folder:

So all you need is an external optical drive like the ones previously recommended.

The optical drive will not show up on the Desktop unless there's a disc in it.

With a disc in the optical drive open System settings and go to the CDs & DVDs setting. There set the settings as shown below:

Not to quibble but I believe MrHoffman was correct. These are interactive and therefor have coding which may very well no longer be compatible.

Check the internet for the nearest MUG (Macintosh Users Group) and give them a call. Often they have old hardware that you might be about to purchase or even borrow. If there's one in your area they can be a very valuable resource.

You may want to confirm that these CDs are compatible with your Mac before you spend the money on a drive. If the CDs are quite old, as it appears that they are, they may not work in a newer version of macOS.

Regards.