Apple USB SuperDrive and iMac

Question

Apple USB SuperDrive and iMac

The internal DVD drive on my 2007 model iMac (one of the early 20" aluminum models) is on its last legs, apparently. The Apple Store guy on the phone said (a) cleaning disks are not recommended with vertical slot drives; (b) bring it in for them to look at; (c) the new aluminum iMacs (which I think I will get later this year) do not have an internal disk drive; so (d) they will need an external DVD drive to play movies.

So I went out and bought an Apple USB SuperDrive, which plugs into the back of my iMac with a USB cable. It gets all its power through that cable. I

I cannot get it to work. Nothing. I slide the DVD into the slot until it hits a spring and doesn't go any farther. Nothing happens. I tried to open the DVD from the Open command in the DVD player, but the drive did not show up. It doesn't show up with Disk Utility, either.

How can I get the SuperDrive to work?

Also: The packaging and brief little booklet says it's compatible with an iMac. The Apple Store tech guy said my iMac has enough power for the SuperDrive. But that same brief little booklet only says this:

"Choose Software Update from the Apple menu to update your system software to the latest version. [I already am at the latest release of 10.8.2.] Attach the SuperDrive to a USB port on your computer. [Check.] Do one of the following to eject a DVD or CD. [ !!!! ]

Eject? How about Insert or Start? That's my problem.

Anyone have any advice?

Danke, mes amigos

Posted on Feb 13, 2013 8:05 PM

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Answer 1

Niel

Level 10

726,527 points

Feb 13, 2013 8:15 PM in response to Michael Brady

Apple's USB SuperDrive doesn't work with Macs which originally shipped with an optical drive. Return it to the store.

(76822)

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Answer 2

Feb 13, 2013 8:41 PM in response to Niel

Oh, wonderful. The Apple guy explicitly said I could use it with my current iMac and with the new one I'm thinking of buying. Thanks for

Grrr.

Thanks for the info.

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Answer 3

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Feb 13, 2013 8:43 PM in response to Michael Brady

There is a workaround to make the USB SuperDrive work on Macs with a built-in SuperDrive > http://www.tuaw.com/2012/04/02/use-the-macbook-air-superdrive-with-any-almost-ma c/

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Answer 4

Feb 13, 2013 8:51 PM in response to Niel

This really fries me.

Before I bought the SuperDrive, I looked it up at the Apple website. This is what they say:

"Compact and convenient, the Apple USB SuperDrive connects to your MacBook Pro with Retina display, MacBook Air, iMac, or Mac mini with a single USB cable and fits easily into a travel bag. It lets you install software and play and burn both CDs and DVDs, including double-layer DVDs."

And:

"You’ll never have to worry about lost cables with the Apple USB SuperDrive. It connects to your MacBook Pro with Retina display, MacBook Air, iMac, or Mac mini with a single USB cable that’s built into the SuperDrive. There’s no separate power adapter, and it works whether your Mac is plugged in or running on battery power."

On the box itself, it says in small, light gray type:

"Compatible with Mac systems without a built-in optical drive." Note, it says "systems," meaning hardware, not OS.

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Answer 5

ssls6

Level 4

2,879 points

Feb 13, 2013 8:53 PM in response to mende1

Nice find 🙂

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Answer 6

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Feb 13, 2013 8:54 PM in response to Michael Brady

It may be confusing for some users because Apple doesn't specify compatible models. The Apple USB SuperDrive, by default, is only compatible with the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro with Retina display, Late 2012 iMac and Mac mini, all of them without a built-in SuperDrive

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Answer 7

Feb 13, 2013 9:07 PM in response to mende1

This whole thing started when I called Apple and asked them if they had a way to clean the optical scanners in the DVD drive. They said they didn't advise using any kind of cleaner disk on a vertical slot mechanism and that the only way to play DVDs on my iMac would be either to bring it in and replace the drive (probably pricy) or attach an external DVD drive ... such as the SuperDrive. Well, why not. But I bought it at BestBuy instead (it's a good deal closer to me). That's when I began to have trouble using it.

I called Apple again and described what was going on. The guy on the phone asked around and their conclusion was that the drive was bad. But during that conversation, I asked if my computer had the oomph to power the SuperDrive. Here's the irritating part. The Apple guy asked me what model my iMac was. I told him, "07," and he asked someone at the Genius Bar, who told him that that model was powerful enough to run the SuperDrive. He never said, "Sorry, buddy, not compatible." So it's a 15-mile trip (one way) to the BestBuy tomorrow to return the drive and then even further to the Apple Store to tell them what's on my mind." Sigh.

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Answer 8

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Feb 13, 2013 9:08 PM in response to Michael Brady

Have you tried to use it following the steps of the workaround? If you are decided to return the Apple USB SuperDrive, note that you can use any other external optical drive with your iMac

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Answer 9

Feb 13, 2013 9:17 PM in response to mende1

I looked at that link (thanks). I haven't tried it yet. I wondered if that simple hack (adding those two lines) would make the SuperDrive usable on an iMac, since the article was about Mac laptops.

Since we're on the subject: I'm not too savvy about scripting and stuff like this. Is this a simple text file that I can edit with TextEdit? And I just add those two lines after <dict> as shown?

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