Built In Optical Drive????

This may be a completely anal question but I have a 2008 Macbook Pro and am wondering does this laptop come with a built in optical drive. I am looking at partitioning 10GB to run Windows for a design program I have that is not Mac compatible and it says I need a built in optical drive....I would appreciate any answers as to where I can look, ect......Muchos Gracias

You can boot into one operating system or the other, but once in one you cannot simply switch to the other. To accomplish that you would need to use virtualization software that enables you to run Windows concurrently with OS X. See the following:
Windows on Intel Macs
There are presently several alternatives for running Windows on Intel Macs.
1. Install the Apple Boot Camp software. Purchase Windows XP w/Service Pak 2 or Vista. Follow instructions in the Boot Camp documentation on installation of Boot Camp, creating Driver CD, and installing Windows. Boot Camp enables you to boot the computer into OS X or Windows.
2. Parallels Desktop for Mac and Windows XP, Vista Business, or Vista Ultimate. Parallels is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
3. VM Fusionand Windows XP, Vista Business, or Vista Ultimate. VM Fusion is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
4. CrossOver which enables running many Windows applications without having to install Windows. The Windows applications can run concurrently with OS X.
5. VirtualBox is a new Open Source freeware virtual machine such as VM Fusion and Parallels that was developed by Solaris. It is not yet fully developed for the Mac - some features are not yet implemented - but it does work otherwise.
6. Last is Q. Q is a freeware emulator that is compatible with Intel Macs. It is much slower than the virtualization software, Parallels and VM Fusion.
Note that Parallels and VM Fusion can also run other operating systems such as Linux, Unix, OS/2, Solaris, etc. There are performance differences between dual-boot systems and virtualization. The latter tend to be a little slower (not much) and do not provide the video performance of the dual-boot system.
See MacTech.com's Virtualization Benchmarking for comparisons of Boot Camp, Parallels, and VM Fusion.
Boot Camp is only available with Leopard. The Boot Camp Beta that was used with Tiger has expired and is no longer available for use. So contrary to the other poster's comment, Boot Camp isn't truly "free." You must purchase Leopard to get it.

Similar Messages

External Optical Drive not working with iMac

I have a memorex external drive that I have been using to install Windows 7 with boot camp and have successfully used it on 2 mac-mini's. I am not trying to install Windows 7 boot camp on an iMac that has a broken internal optical drive but the external will not run.
I have tried:
- Startup Utility: Can see the external in there.
- External shows up on desktop with Windows 7
- External shows up in disk utility
- Windows shows up in startup menu with holding down Option.
I see iMac SSD Drive, Recovery HD Drive , Windows CD , EFI Boot cd as options.
If I select Windows it takes me to a black screen that says it doesnt see a boot CD clicking on EFI boot does nothing.
Anyone have any possible solutions into getting this to work?

Valen85 wrote:
I have a memorex external drive that I have been using to install Windows 7 with boot camp and have successfully used it on 2 mac-mini's.
Mac Minis without built-in Optical drives behave differently than iMacs with built-in drives for boot ability,
I am not trying to install Windows 7 boot camp on an iMac that has a broken internal optical drive but the external will not run.
I see iMac SSD Drive, Recovery HD Drive , Windows CD , EFI Boot cd as options.
If I select Windows it takes me to a black screen that says it doesnt see a boot CD clicking on EFI boot does nothing.
This is confusing. If you have the external Optical Drive (Memorex) connected via USB to the iMac and insert a Windows 7+ DVD in it, the Apple Bootmanager will see OSX, Recovery HD, Windows (if already installed on the iMac's internal drive) and possibly Windows and EFI boot from the DVD.
The Windows and EFI Boot will not work if you try to boot the iMac from the external. Test this from the internal Optical drive as well. If your iMac is a UEFI Mac (2013+) it will let you boot from the DVD directly (without Bootcamp).
Bootcamp Assistant will refuse to let you use the external Optical drive, if you try use it to install Windows. BCA only works with internal Optical drives as far as Windows installation is concerned, on Macs that have a built-in optical drive. The exceptions to this rule are 2012 Macs and some 2011 models.

How do you Install Win XP using Boot Camp without use of an optical drive?

So I'm about at my wits end. I'm try to get Windows XP on my OS 10.5.5 MacBook Pro. I've run into what seems to be a bit of a dead in. Unfortunately my optical drive has gone stupid on me and won't allow me to get through the entire set-up. The Mac has know trouble seeing the Installation Disc. After my partition has been created and I click start Windows Installer, the computer reboots in a normal fashion up to when you get the apple with spinning progress wheel. At this point the screen goes black and I get a "-" blinking in the top right corner of the screen. I figure it's just trying to boot from Win Install disk but it just kinda sits there. So here's my question. Is there some way to boot this Windows Installation from anything else but the CD? I luckily have an image of the WinXP CD in about 5 formats. I'm going absolutely crazy because I had just Installed WinXP not more than an hour before I ran into this initial problem but wanted to change the WinXP partition to FAT 32 as opposed to the NTSC format I accidently used. I would really appriciate any help in my dark hour.
System Info
MacBook Pro 4.1
Mac OS 10.5.5
Bootcamp 2.1
Windows XP with Service Pack 2
HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N
System was just recently re-installed with fresh copy of a software and updates.

Kirkdan:
I really would like to help you and get your issue resolved in your dark hour as you said. I am afraid that I do not have good news for you. This is because the limitation put on by this entire process of installing Windows via boot camp.
The answer to you question to install windows from any other medium other than your built-in optical drive is a NO. This won't work since once Windows begins to install then it will not have all the drivers installed to recognize the external CD drive (USB/Firewire) and installation will halt.
Axel F.

Can I choose the optical drive when durning the contents of a burn folder?

I just purchased an external optical drive for my Mac and I want to use it to burn contents from a burn folder. The problem is, each time I click the burn button, the OS still looks for a disc in the Mac's built in optical drive. I've tried to look for an option that will allow me to change this, but there seems to be none. Any help would be appreciated.

I'm no expert, and it is not clear at what stage you are in your attempt to burn to your external drive. If you have not yet created a burn folder, open finder, go to the file menu, and you will find an option to create a burn folder. It will appear on your desktop .Once you have dropped whichever files you want into the burn folder, right click on it, and you will be asked to which disk you wish to burn it. From there you can install the folder onto your external drive.Good luck.
Message was edited by: AJD1170

Is Apple plannkng on making a slimmer MacBook Pro with a optical drive inside?

Hey guys, I am starting to wonder, is Apple planning on making a new MacBook Pro in the future with a built in optical drive? I really like how the new mods are slimmed down, but I hate the fact that there is no built in optical. Thanks!

Apple does not disclose its future developments to any one, including ASC participants. The Terms of Use for these forums even discourages discussion on such subjects. Cannot assist you in this case.
Ciao.

Optical drive keeps ejecting disc-mac book pro any help?

Disc keeps ejecting out, any solutions? mac book pro

The drive accepts discs but they do not mount or are automatically ejected
Check the disc's surface for scratches and dirt, since these things can prevent the disc from appearing on the desktop.
The MacBook Air SuperDrive is designed to be used with MacBook Air and Mac mini computers that do not have a built-in optical drive. For best results, connect the MacBook Air SuperDrive directly to the computer's USB port instead a USB hub.
Reset the System Management Controller (SMC).
Ensure your drive can read the specific type of disc being used. The System Profiler or System Information may provide additional information regarding what media your computer supports.
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or earlier: Open Apple System Profiler by choosing "About this Mac" from the Apple () menu. Then, click More Info.
OS X 10.7 Lion or later: Open System Information by choosing "About this Mac" from the Apple () menu. Then, click System Report.
If the disc continues to not be recognized, contact Apple, an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or make an appointment with an Apple Retail Store for additional troubleshooting, evaluation, or service.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2801

After installing Mavericks, the optical drive doesn't work for movie DVDs, program install DVDs, or music CDs.

The disc loads but is immediately spit back out. I am fairly sure this is an OS X software issue, since blank CDs don't exhibit this behavior. As far as I know, the drive was working fine before installation of OS X 10.9 (actually the machine is at 10.9.1). The machine is a Mac Mini late 2009 with built-in optical drive. I have seen some other discussion of this or a similar issue in the Support Communities and the only suggested fix I have seen is to reset the SMC. I tried that, with no change in the behavior.
Also, the main OS X support page says that Mavericks includes 30 days of free support after install of the product, but when I try to follow any of the links on this page to find the "free" support, all I get are pages that require entering the serial number of the machine, which then tell me that the support for the machine has expired. Anybody know how to access the "free" support for Mavericks? It has definitely been less than 30 days since we installed it on this machine.

After browsing a lot of the "More Like This" links, it appears that a LOT of people are having this problem. It may be that a simple reset of the SMC fixes the issue on later (e.g., maybe >= 2010) Macs. Anybody been able to resolve this issue on a late 2009 Mac Mini?

Does Old imac support External optical drive

APple says that my imac mid2010 21.5" doesnt support external superdrive
but my iMac's built in optical drive has failed so can other external optical drives function on my mac beacuse there seems to be no way of using a disc in a mac whose internal drive has failed!. . . .

It doesn’t support Apple’s one but does support third-party SuperDrives.
(124155)

Optical drive cannot read DVD-RW after burning?

All of a sudden my built-in optical drive (Matshita UJ-857) appears to have lost the ability to mount burned DVD-RWs. I'm using Sony 1-2x media which burn & verify successfully. Following the burn, the DVD-RWs show up on the Desktop and can be browsed in Finder. However, once ejected, the drive cannot mount them again - they spin up for around 30 seconds before being ejected.
Other media (DVD, DVD-R, DVD+R, CD, CD-R & CD-RW) work fine; DVD+RW requires 2~3 inserts before it mounts. I've done PRAM & PMU reset, same results. Is my drive failing?

I can view the same disk/photos on my old L300
There are any number of special so-called packet writing programs which create discs readable only by the same program. If you use the built-in DVD burning for Windows Vista (especially with Mastered format), that problem would not occur.
Burn a CD or DVD
So you should either reburn the DVDs using the Vista machine or copy the pictures to the new machine (probably over your network) and burn new DVDs from there.
When you post here, always tell us the full model designation of your computers. Which Satellite Pro L330? Which Satellite Pro C660? That way we can look up what your machines look like.
-Jerry

Faulty optical drive in mini mac, unable to use remote disc

Hi,
I have a Mac mini (Late 2009) running OS X Yosemite. The optical drive in the mini is no longer able to read CD's or DVD's
We need install adobe suite 6 and this is on DVD. We have tried to access 'remote disc' in finder but have hit a closed door.
Seems according to this article: Use the CD or DVD drive from another computer with your Mac - Apple Support
"You can't use a shared disc
If your Mac already has a built-in optical drive, or an external optical drive connected, you won't see the Remote Disc feature appear in the Finder or other apps."
So does anyone have any idea how I'm supposed to move forward in this scenario?
seems a little restrictive to make 'remote disc' disappear if you have an optical drive...
I have no interest in getting the mini repaired, especially when the technology already exists to do otherwise.
Very very stuck so would appreciate any suggestions.
thanks

- Connect an external optical drive via USB or FireWire (FW)
- If yo have another Mac with FW and optical drive boot the other Mac in Target Disk Mode and connect the two via FW. Your Mini can then access the internal drive on the other Mac
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode - Apple Support
Remove.disconnect the faulty optical drive from the Mini. For how see:
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/mac_mini_2009_opt/
It is not that hard. The optical drive in my late 2009 Mini failed about two years ago and I replaced it with a SSD.

External Optical Drive for MacBook

Sorry if that sounds like a stupid question:
My built-in optical drive on my MacBook Pro does not work.
Can I connect an external drive to my MacBook. I went to a
shop today (in India) but they told me the external drive
for the MacBook Air would not work on a MacBook Pro.
Any ideas? Thing is I bought Final Cut Express but I cannot
install it without a drive now, can I? Does anybody have a
workaround for me? Thanks a lot.
Mike

Just a quick note about this thread, I have the same problem but was apprehensive about buying an external CD/DVD drive because most of them don't say they are compatible with Mac OS only Windows. Can I assume this is not true, it would be great if I could buy a decent drive at last and not worry about the large cost of replacing the built in one. Would I have to download any firmware for a new External drive or would it work from the start?
Cheers Richard

Optical drive ejecting disks

my optical drive keeps ejecting blank disks and DVDs. I've tried different makes and formats but the drive keeps ejecting them. Any ideas on what can I do to rectify

The drive accepts discs but they do not mount or are automatically ejected
Check the disc's surface for scratches and dirt, since these things can prevent the disc from appearing on the desktop.
The MacBook Air SuperDrive is designed to be used with MacBook Air and Mac mini computers that do not have a built-in optical drive. For best results, connect the MacBook Air SuperDrive directly to the computer's USB port instead a USB hub.
Reset the System Management Controller (SMC).
Ensure your drive can read the specific type of disc being used. The System Profiler or System Information may provide additional information regarding what media your computer supports.
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or earlier: Open Apple System Profiler by choosing "About this Mac" from the Apple () menu. Then, click More Info.
OS X 10.7 Lion or later: Open System Information by choosing "About this Mac" from the Apple () menu. Then, click System Report.
If the disc continues to not be recognized, contact Apple, an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or make an appointment with an Apple Retail Store for additional troubleshooting, evaluation, or service.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2801?viewlocale=en_US

Can I install a new operating system using a USB optical drive?

My Mac is out of date, I'm still running 10.5.8 but have the Snow Leopard disk to update my operating system to 10.6.3. However, my built-in optical drive is broken so I use a USB powered optical drive. So, when I start the process of installing the new operating software, will the MAC direct itself to my USB drive to boot when necessary?

Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify, because I'm on 10.5.8 I have to upgrade to Snow Leopard using a dvd disk, which I have. I cannot upgrade to any other more recent operating system until I'm on Snow Leopard, so that's the first thing to do.
So, just to clarify further, I have a DVD drive that plugs into 2 USB ports that I use to burn and read DVDs, ever since the inbuilt DVD drive on my iMac started sticking disks inside.
So...I'm really looking for the best way to do this upgrade with what I have...I don't know whether the Mac will find the disk if it is on the plugged in portable DVD drive rather than the inbuilt DVD drive....
Any advice greatly appreciated...

HT2801 I have a 2009 MacBook with an optical drive built in. It has "spotty" performance lately, so I got a USB super drive for Christmas. Unfortunately, the MacBook doesn't "see" it. Any solutions?

I have a 2009 MacBook with an optical drive. It is becoming unreliable, and as a result, I got a USB SuperDrive for Christmas. Problem, neither my MacBook, nor my iMac (2008) recognize the drive. What's the issue? I thought I could get a few more years out of my MacBook by using an external USB optical drive.

The USB SuperDrive is only designed to work with a few Mac computers.....specificaly the ones that do not have an internal Optical Drive...
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD564ZM/A/apple-usb-superdrive

Optical drives reads but wont write after swap

hello everyone, I bought an iMac G3 450MHz that had had a 'superdrive' fitted. It both read and wrote CD's and DVDs. I tested it out and it worked just fine, I even made a back up copy of my Tiger DVD with it. I wanted to put the optical drive into my beloved Flower Power 600 iMac CD-RW so ,to make sure all the drive cables etc weren't disturbed, I just removed the whole caddy with the HDD plus the optical drive plus all the connecting cables, and popped it into my Flower Power. It booted up fine so I loaded (via carbon copy cloner) the contents of my original HDD. Now, when I look in system profiler, the optical drive shows up as a read/write but will only read discs. If I put in a blank disc the iMac's OS doesn't see the blank disc. Funnily enough my copy of Toast does see it and Toast launches itself. As I want to be able to burn disc images using Disk Utility this is a bit of a problem for me. I might just add, as it may be of some interest, that whoever fitted the superdrive had the HDD jumpers set to Slave but this was how it was when it worked perfectly in the 450MHz it came in so this was how I left them. The other little problem is the iMac won't sleep but I can live with that.

The reason your hard drive is set to slave is because it shares the IDE bus with the optical drive. With the stock optical drive, the optical drive is set to slave and the hard drive is set to master. However, that superdrive is probably hardwired to master, so the hard drive needs to be slave. As long as one drive is slave and the other drive is master, it should work fine.
Are you using the exact same system installation from the 450 on the 600? If not, there was probably some special driver installed to enable the all the superdrive features. Toast is a third-party app that is designed to work with many different optical drives, so such a driver would be built into the software, which would explain why it works (and Disk Utility does not).
What company sold (and installed) this superdrive?

Built In Optical Drive????

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