Suggest a replacement cd/dvd drive

of course there are several CD/DVD drives on the market that are USB. However I have found the one that is the most trouble free and seems to work the best for Macs is the New CD/DVD Superdrive that is sold by Apple and it works perfectly with your Mac. You can either go into your local Apple store if there is one nearby or you can order one on-line and they are less than $90.00. You will not be disappointed with that choice.

You can buy any external DVD drive that connects by USB port and it will work with your Mac. It doesn't have to have the Apple name on it for it to work.

In fact the Apple External Superdrive will not work on your Mac. They only work on Mac computers that did not have a built in DVD drive originally.

Note that the Apple External superdrive Does Not work on Mac computer that original came with a built in DVD drive. That drive only works on Mac computers that never had a built in DVD drive like the Air models, the iMac models from Late 2012 (and newest iMacs) and the Retina Macbook Pro's. None of them have a built in DVD drive. The Superdriive will not work on any other Mac computer.

Donald Morgan wrote:

of course there are several CD/DVD drives on the market that are USB. However I have found the one that is the most trouble free and seems to work the best for Macs is the New CD/DVD Superdrive that is sold by Apple and it works perfectly with your Mac. You can either go into your local Apple store if there is one nearby or you can order one on-line and they are less than $90.00. You will not be disappointed with that choice.

As previously stated by LowLuster, Apple's own new external optical drive only works with Macs that do not have a bulit-in, integral drive. It will not work with 2011 and older Macs

If you had a Mac that the Superdrive failed on the New Superdrive does in fact work on them. Going into System Preferences and and it will recognise the new external USb Superdrive.

You are completely mistake. It does not work on any Mac that originally came with a built in, integrated, DVD drive. Whether that DVD has failed, is still in the system or is out of the system or if it still works. The Apple external DVD drive will not work on those Mac computers.

For the optical drive it depends.

Do you play and burn a lot of CD/DVDs?

If no!, then you could get by with a cheaply priced (under $50) USB 2.0 optical that may last anywhere from 1-3 years.

If yes, then you might want to consider more expensive optical drives in rugged enclosures that will last longer than cheaper drives. Also, with more expensive drives, you have the choice of faster burning FireWire optical drives than USB. 2.0 drives. Depending on your model iMac you could have the choice of faster Thunderbolt or FireWire 800/400 instead of USB models.

For the internal hard drive, you need to backup your important data to either CD/DVDs, Flash Drives or external hard drive.

You can have the internal hard drive replaced by Apple ($200-300 replacement) OR, depending on your model iMac and your fastest data transfer connection that it has, purchase another additional external hard drive and run your Mac from an external hard drive.

You may very well be correct but by what I read in another thread it gave other information on 09 Macbook and here was the responce.

, first dissable the internal reader hardware from devices setup. Then plug the external usb superdrive and that's it.

My apology if I am incorrect but by what I read there are work arounds to installing the USb Superdrive by Apple.

You can get a replacement from OWC and install it yourself. It's cheaper and it won't take up any space on your desktop. They have tutorials on YouTube, etc.

It's pretty easy easy to open up. I changed my HDD on my iMac and it took about 45 minutes from teardown to OS install.

just a thought.

Yes,

You are correct, but these are workarounds.

And as such may not be easy for new or novice, inexperienced users to implement.

Why go through jumping through hoops and workarounds when there a plenty of alternatives that are easier and are just plug and play drives.

Besides, the drive inside the Apple external optical drive is the same ole' cheap optical drive that has always been installed inside iMacs. It may or may not fail like they do inside an iMac (since it is an external enclosure, now and away from additonal heat), but I think for what this is, Apple has overpriced this when there are better alternative drives out there.

I was referring to the optical drive. I just mentioned my HDD as an example for the ease of opening it up.

You can find a replacement optical drive here http://www.macsales.com

You can make it work by Hacking Around Inside OS X but why bother. It is not that good a drive to begin with, prone to failures and because of the slot load style there are just to many motors and moving parts that a standard Slimline Tray load DVD drive doesn't have that will break eventually. Once one of those motors go bad the drive is dead even if everything else in it is still working properly.

Then you have the over the top price of $80 where most other external DVD drive cost around $30-$50.

Donald Morgan wrote:

You may very well be correct but by what I read in another thread it gave other information on 09 Macbook and here was the responce.

, first dissable the internal reader hardware from devices setup. Then plug the external usb superdrive and that's it.

My apology if I am incorrect but by what I read there are work arounds to installing the USb Superdrive by Apple.

I do not suggest nor do I think you should get a Firewire external DVD drive. For one thing they are expensive, 3 times the cost of any other external DVD drive. Secondly a CD or DVD can only be read or written to so fast and all external DVD drive that connect by USB 2.0 will not slow them down.

Thirdly with a USB 2.0 drive it can be connected to many computers as every computer being manufacturered has USB. Firewire is a DEAD technology. Not even Apple is including it on their newest system and they started Firewire

petralyn wrote:

Thank you and to all. I've have replaced the hdd several years ago. It's the optical that I question. As I read the suggestions it seems many are rec'd an external drive using high speed wire. If there's a good internal then I'd replace it at the same time I've the case open.

LowLuster wrote:

I do not suggest nor do I think you should get a Firewire external DVD drive. For one thing they are expensive, 3 times the cost of any other external DVD drive. Secondly a CD or DVD can only be read or written to so fast and all external DVD drive that connect by USB 2.0 will not slow them down.

Thirdly with a USB 2.0 drive it can be connected to many computers as every computer being manufacturered has USB. Firewire is a DEAD technology. Not even Apple is including it on their newest system and they started Firewire

petralyn wrote:

Thank you and to all. I've have replaced the hdd several years ago. It's the optical that I question. As I read the suggestions it seems many are rec'd an external drive using high speed wire. If there's a good internal then I'd replace it at the same time I've the case open.

Totally disagree.

I have/own a LaCie external tray loading FireWire drive that I have had for almost eight, count 'em, eight years!!,

I have burned plenty of music, video and data discs on this drive and it is still going. I am using this drive with my newer 2009 iMac, now. The more expensive FW and Thunderbolt drives are, usually, better built and have more durable enclosures and, depending on price, with hard drives, more reliable hard drives inside.

They are more expensive, but FW peripherals last.

I also, have three FW 800 drives and have had these a fairly long time, too.

New FireWire technologies may not be being developed, but this doesn't mean it is a "dead" technology.

Not by a longshot.

Tell Mac users with older Macs, like early 2011 and older that their FireWire devices and drives are "dead" technologies.

I don't think so.

Another thing you never, EVER, mention. FireWire technology and its data transfer protocols are a continuous, constant stream of data. Unlike USB 1.0 and 2.0 (I am excluding the new and much faster USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt technologies) that transmit data in short streams or packets of data.

This is one of the reasons that Mac users need or needed FireWire, for its continuous, constant and regular stream of flowing data.

If you need to run a Mac, regularly, from an externally connected hard drive, the fastest data transfer protocols for doing so are USB 3.0, Thunderbolt OR FireWire (800).

And for a "dead" technology, plenty of devices still available.

Apple thinks the optical disc is "dead". technology.

Do you agree with their assement! as well?

CD/DVDs and optical drives in a lot of electronic and computer devices are still available everywhere.

Hardly "dead" technology.

So, I totally disagree with your assement of FireWire technology.