2013 imac running OSX Mountain Lion won't recognize Samsung external DVD-RW model SE-208DB/TSWS

I read through this entire thread until I got to this post. Pushed on the USB connector - POP! Suddenly it was recognized. Weird (to me, anyway) that the partially connected cable provided enough power to open and close tray, but whatever.

Had the same issue with a Macbook Pro 2015 (13inch retina) and this samsung DVD drive [Samsung SE-208GB]. The disk sometimes appeared for a second, then disappeared.

The solution was to use a different USB lead (micro to USB type A lead)

The USB (mini to type A) lead supplied with the Samsung DVD writer has an issue: the silver part on the Type A connector (the part that plugs into your Mac) is SHORTER than other USB cables I have in my collection. This means that although power is connected (the two outer power pins in the connector are longer inside every USB lead to ensure they connect first) and you can hear the disk spin up, the data pins are not reliably connected. I was able to use the writer on my iMac, using the Samsung supplied cable, via a short USB extension lead. I suspect this explains why some users have solved the issue using a USB hub as they are not going directly into the Mac with the Samsung supplied lead. This is a case of a slight incompatibility between the connectors used by Apple and Samsung.

This worked for me too. Thanks!

thank you so very much. this really helped me. i was ready to return the dvd drive after trying all the fixes. i even wrote to the manufacturers asking why the dvd floated instead of seating securely in the drive. they said nothing about it in their reply, just told me to download some expensive software... when all i needed to do was press down on the dvd and seat it where it is suppose to be. what a simple fix! thank you!

Maybe try upgrading to OS X EL Capitan

Recently purchased Samsung slim portable DVD Writer, model SE-208DB/TSWS and have tried to install on my iMAC (2013 purchase) running OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5. Using one of 4 USB ports for this single USB cable DVD-RW drive. The iMAC does not recognize this drive. The drive box states MAC compatible with OS X 10.4.6 or higher. I tested the drive on a PC and it recognized it on the first try. Any help would be appreciated. driver

This worked for me. I used a different usb cable and it mounted on my mac running El Capitan.

I have been going through all the options in this thread to solve the problem of a poor connection. I have done a firmware upgrade as mentioned above. The only thing that worked was plugging in a cable from another device (the same connectors). Strange enough, there seems to be a difference between the connectors that I cannot explain. It worked though so I am throwing out the connector that came with the cd writer.

P.S. my problem was an intermittent connection causing it to be recognized and whenever I started an operation (reading it) it would loose connection and re-connect again. Weird stuff.

This post was useful for me.

I found my model. There was two almost same models, but I found mine. updated firmware and my mac recognized disc.

Thanks!

Upgrading does not solve the problem