Can I use an external cd/dvd drive on my iMac?

I have a 5 year old iMac (2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 3 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM) running OSX 10.4.11. We purchased Snow Leopard to upgrade only to find out our cd/dvd drive is broken. It would be about $150 to replace and we're looking to see if we could buy an external drive for any less to get up to speed. We almost never use the disc drive so are hoping to do this in the most economical way possible since we'll also be looking to replace this computer in the next two years or so (or give it over to the kids to play on).
Thanks for any help or insight you can offer!

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http://eshop.macsales.com/search/cd+burner

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This is an area where I would not try to save money.
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DrGerega wrote:
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Hi
My mackbook cd/dvd drive broke down so I installed a SSD HD insted an boght an Extrernal CD/DVD drive instead.
But It won't mount so I can't see it under units in finder.
I've got a Mackbook A1278 with 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo and 8GB RAM using OSX 10.7.5
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Used an USB hub instead to give it more power.
I logged in as administrator and tried again
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No. The only way I finally got it to work was after about 5 restarts. I've never seen iTunes flip out like that before.

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louven23 wrote:
please don't suggest buying a laptop, as I have already considered that.
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Can I use an external cd/dvd drive on my iMac?

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