Can't mount External optical drive

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Level 1

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Can't mount External optical drive

I recently removed my superdrive out of my 2011 mbp 13" and replaced it with a second storage unit. I now have my superdrive in an external enclosure i bought. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GSCS2G/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&p sc=1

I have the a disc in and it spins up and my computer recognizes what is but the dvd player pop up says it "a valid DVD drive could not be found. [-70012] How can I fix this?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Jul 14, 2013 5:12 PM

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Answer 1

LowLuster

Level 6

12,105 points

Jul 14, 2013 5:22 PM in response to hschuch

That's because Apple has restricted the DVD Player App from only working with a internal DVD drive. Tha is on Mac computers that originally came with an internal DVD drive.

There are hacks to make it work with a external DVD drive and no internal. Google "Hack to make Mac DVD Player App work without internal DVD drive". I'm sure it will turn up.

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Answer 2

hschuch Author

Level 1

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Jul 14, 2013 5:42 PM in response to hschuch

For anyone else with this proble this is what fixes it.

http://macenstein.com/default/2011/07/how-to-get-your-external-super-drive-worki ng-in-lion/

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Answer 3

Aug 2, 2016 8:58 AM in response to hschuch

Note that this problem is limited to the built-in DVD player app. If you use another app to play DVDs such as VLC, you should be able play them from your external drive no problem.

If you're nervous about messing with hex editors & the like as detailed by Dr. Macenstein, this blog http://www.fieldsnet.com/a-valid-dvd-dri... has a small Perl script which does the same thing.

Before you try either, make a backup of the /System/Library/Frameworks/DVDPlayback.framework folder.

If on an older MBP you may get the dreaded "USB device is drawing too much power so we had to turn it off" system error.

In which case, you have no option but to restore the DVDPlayback.framework folder from that backup you made before starting, and use another app to play DVDs.

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