USB SuperDrive - Anybody get this piece of junk to work?

So basically unless you have a brand new "thin" imac, the chipset in the superdrive will prevent it from working with any other device.

Just realized you siad your iMac has a dead optical drive. That means it is not the new "thin" iMac and the SuperDrive will not work with it. I would reccommend returning it and picking up a universal one from best buy, staples, or even online. You can find them dirt cheap now.

Yes so when they say iMac they are referring to the new iMac releases just a few months ago. The USB SuperDrive will only work with USB devices that do not have built in SuperDrives (Mac Mini, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and the New iMac)

I completely understand the frustration. However I believe I may have found something to help. Below a change you can make in Terminal to allow the USB SuperDrive to work with your computer. I just tried it out and it worked! If you feel comfortable with terminal, you might want to try:

**********Be sure to have backed up your computer before changing anything like this in Terminal!**********

1. open a terminal
2. type (on a single line)
   

   sudo pico /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist

3. Insert “mbasd=1″ in the <string></string> value below the <key>Kernel Flags</key> (If the string is not empty to begin with (it normally is), then use a space to separate the mbasd=1 from what’s already there). The file will then look like:
   

   <?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″?>
   <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC “-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN” “ http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd” >
   <plist version=”1.0″>
   <dict>
   <key>Kernel Flags</key>
   <string> mbasd=1</string>
   </dict>
   </plist>

   [Update: As CyborgSam pointed out in the comments, the file might not yet exist at all on some Macs. In that case, the pico editor window will initially be empty - if so, just copy and paste the entire XML block from above].

4. Save (press Ctrl-X, answer yes to save by pressing Y, press enter to confirm the file name).
5. Restart your machine. That’s it!

Found this here: http://www.hardturm.ch/luz/2011/10/how-to-make-the-macbook-air-superdrive-work-w ith-any-mac/

Good luck and be careful!

No problem at all! Good luck with phone support - they're always a thrill to deal with!

The reason your Superdrive didn't work is because unless you're running a 2012 iMac the Apple Superdrive is NOT meant to work with your machine.

See this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5630

So that is why it didn't "Boom just work" Due to your ignorance not the death of Steve Jobs.

I would've advised you to return it and purchase a 3rd party external superdrive that would work on a Mac. Instead of playing around in terminal.