BestCD/DVD Drives for MaciMore2019
If you've recently upgraded to a new iMac or MacBook Pro, you're probably going to need an optical drive if you want to continue importing your movies and music to iTunes, or just access the content on your discs. If you think you'll need an external drive mostly for Blu-Ray discs, most of them will also play DVDs and CDs but are not readable/writable drives for CDs or DVDs. Either way, here are some solid options.
The SE was the first Mac that was strong enough to take on the PCs. It meant business. It could read PC 3.5' 1.44 MB floppies (after an update in August 1989). It was also the first to come standard with an internal hard drive and internal fans to provide the cooling Compact Macs. You may not have an optical drive on your daily Mac, but that doesn't mean you can't access files from a CD or DVD. This is where Remote Disc comes in. It's a Mac feature that lets you view and access files on a Mac or PC with an optical drive from a Mac that doesn't have one. Here's how to set up. An external optical drive will allow you to access discs on your Mac. To do this, you’ll need to buy an external disc reader that plugs into your Mac via a USB cable. Such an external drive could read CDs and DVDs, play Blu-Rays, and even burn discs — if that’s what you want. Mar 13, 2013 iMac keeps ejecting disc by Bradden. Try a DVD drive cleaner. Run it a couple of times and see if you can burn then. Sounds like a dirty optical drive but.it could be worse. Did you know you could share the optical drive from one computer with another OS X machine? It even works cross-platform to a certain extent, allowing you to use your Windows optical drive through your Mac. Learn how in this quick, in-depth guide to optical drive sharing. Why would you ever need to.
No adapter needed: Confoly USB-C Superdrive
Staff pickI have this model CD/DVD drive for my Mac computers for multiple reasons. For one, it's practically the same as Apple's SuperDrive in every way, and second, it's got a USB-C cable so I can connect it to my MacBook Pro without needing any additional adapters. Oh, there's a third reason, too. It comes with a USB-A adapter so I can connect it to any standard USB port.
$49 at AmazonCupertino's own: Apple USB SuperDrive
Apple's branded playable/burnable CD/DVD drive is the perfect complement to your iMac or MacBook Pro unless you have a late 2016 or newer MacBook Pro, in which case you'll need the USB-C to USB adapter. It's not much larger than the size of a CD case, so it fits snug in your computer bag without taking up a lot of room. All you have to do is plug it into your computer using the USB cable. There's no need for special software or external buttons that might get broken. Mac miller swimming album download. It's solid, simple, and it looks great with your Mac products.
$79 at AmazonUSB-C and USB 3.0: VisionTech External CD/DVD Drive
With no eject button on the device and powered by USB the VisionTech External CD/DVD Drive is very slim and compact. You can tuck it away anywhere that makes the most sense for you. Preprogrammed for both Mac and Windows, you shouldn't need to do any formatting to get the drive to work. Plus, this drive has both USB 3.0 and USB-C cables, meaning you can plug it right into your MacBook with no adapter needed.
$31 at AmazonInexpensive choice: LG GP65NB60
LG makes a CD/DVD drive that is lightweight, fast, and doesn't cost much. It's made of a hard shell plastic material, so it isn't going to feel as sturdy as Apple's SuperDrive or Confoly's USB-C drive. However, in exchange, you get something that's about as light as a CD in its case.
$25 at AmazonAlso worth considering: Verbatim External CD / DVD Writer
Here's another inexpensive choice, this time from Verbatim. Weighing just 12 ounces, this CD/DVD burner is compact, lightweight, and USB powered. It's a suitable choice if you need to back up sensitive data, as well as music and video libraries.
$24 at AmazonStill serving a need
There are a lot of reasons why you'd need a CD/DVD drive for your Mac, despite the concept being heavily outdated in 2019. Whether you want to digitize your DVD collection or just view a disc on your computer, an optical drive is cheap and sometimes necessary.
As you can see, we've selected the Confoly USB-C Superdrive as our favorite since it's super similar to Apple's SuperDrive and you don't need adapters to utilize it. If you're working with a small budget, take a look at the LG GP65NB60. It gets the job done for a surprisingly low price.
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One of the things I missed the most when I replaced my late 2012 MacBook Pro with my brand new MacBook Pro is the optical drive. I didn't really use it that often, but I did use it, and I knew I'd miss it. Yes, an external CD/DVD drive works just fine and iCloud (as well as other cloud-based services) have made it easy to transfer files digitally. But in a pinch, you might just want to access files from a disc on another computer.
This is where Remote Disc comes in. It's a Mac feature that lets you view and access files on a Mac or PC with an optical drive from a Mac that doesn't have one. Here's how to set up and use it.
The minimum requirements
Most importantly, the Mac you are trying to access a Remote Disc from can't have a built-in optical drive. If it does, you just won't see Remote Disc as an option in Finder.
The disc you are trying to access must also support Remote Disc. Remote Disc does not support certain types of media, mainly copy-protected media like movies and music. You can't access audio CDs, Blu-ray or DVD movies, copy-protected games, recordable CDs or DVDs that you want to burn or erase, and Microsoft installation discs.
Mac Compatible Optical Drives
How to set up Remote Sharing on Mac
From one Mac to another, Remote Disc is just about as simple as can be. It's just a matter of ticking a box in your System Preferences.
- On the Mac with an optical drive, click on the Apple Menu icon.
- Launch System Preferences.
- Click on Sharing.
- Tick the box for DVD or CD Sharing.
- To protect your content, tick the box for Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD Drive.
When DVD or CD sharing is on, a green light will appear on the Sharing page.
How to set up Remote Sharing on Windows PC
Sharing your CD or DVD drive from a PC is not any harder than sharing from a Mac, but you do have to install some additional software first.
- Download and install Apple's DVD or CD Sharing software onto the PC.
- Open your PC's Control Panel.
- Click on Hardware and Sound.
- Click on DVD or SD Sharing Options.
- Tick the box for DVD or CD Sharing.
- To protect your content, tick the box for Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD Drive.
If your PC has firewall software in place, add ODSAgent and RemoteInstallMacOSX to the programs that your firewall will allow.
How to access files from a Remote Disc on your Mac
Once you've enabled Remote Disc on either a Mac or a PC with an optical drive, you can access it in Finder on your Mac.
- Open a Finder window on the Mac without an optical drive.
- Scroll down the sidebar menu and select Remote Disc under Devices. Mac leopard download.
- Double-click on the Computer that you want to access the optical drive from.
- Click Connect or Ask to Use in the upper left corner of the Finder window.
- https://ccxvwi.weebly.com/blog/ranking-up-to-dmg. If you have enabled the requirement to ask first, go back to the computer with the optical drive and click Accept.
After you've connected to the computer with the optical drive, you'll see the files in the CD or DVD. Double click on a file to open it or drag the file to your desktop to save a copy.
How to disconnect your Mac from the Remote Disc on another computer
When you're finished getting what you need from the CD or DVD on the computer with the optical drive, you can disconnect from it by clicking on Disconnect in the upper left corner of the Finder window.
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If you don't see the Disconnect button in Finder, you can click on the Eject button next to Remote Disc in the sidebar of the Finder window.
You can also simply eject the CD or DVD from the computer with the optical drive. You will be prompted to confirm that you want to remove the disc.
Any questions?
Do you have any questions about accessing a Remote Disc on your Mac? Put them in the comments and I'll help you out.
Updated February 2018: Rewrote for macOS High Sierra.
macOS Catalina
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