External Optical drive not reading? Or is it my programs...

Hi,
I currently just got a macbook pro 2011, 15". Two internal drives (120 GB SSD for OS and Programs, 750 GB HDD for Data) & external USB Optical DVD/RW
The issue I'm having is when I insert a real DVD into the external optical drive (which is the orignal from the macbook pro not store bought) it doesmn't read the DVD. I have installed Quicktime, VLC player and everytime the external just gives me the VIDEO AND AUDIO TS folders.. any suggestions in what I need to do so I can play DVD's from my external?
Thanks a lot...

DVD Player requires a properly recognized DVD player to be present in the optical bay in order to play DVDs. You can use VLC, but you will have to do as you're doing. Another option is to edit the DVD playback framework, but I'm not going to post those instructions. You can use Google & do so at your own risk.

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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.
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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.

Apple external optical drive not working on macbookpro

I removed my optical drive from my 2011 2.3, macbookpro 13" and added a 2nd hard drive. I have an apple external optical drive(cd/dvd) which I hooked up
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Click here and follow the instructions.
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I've been using a Pioneer DVR111 external firewire drive for the last few months. Until tonight it's performed flawlessly.
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ron
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Can you be more specific about "Arch Linux don't recognized it"?
Post the output of lsusb and dmesg.
Do you have an internal optical drive? If not, what's the output of 'cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info'?

External optical drive not found by iMac?

Just purchased an LG Mac Compatible Slim Portable DVD Writer to use with my 2011 iMac because I replaced the internal optical drive with an SSD drive. When I connect the drive via USB I get an initialization error. Any suggestions as to what might work to resolve this? I will contact LG this week but they are closed for the weekend so I thought I would ask here. Here's a pic of the error message:
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Reset the SMC > Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Unplug the computer's power cord.
3. Wait fifteen seconds.
4. Attach the computer's power cord.
5. Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
and NVRAM / PRAM > About NVRAM and PRAM
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
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5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
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MBP Optical Drive not reading cds or dvds + LaunchDaemons not in Library

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Hey this is my first time using this forum but I'm not computer illiterate so please don't waste my time!
My optical (disk) drive in my Late 2008 MBP is not reading dvds or cds.
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(note)
I could play DVDs but not CDs up until I upgraded to mountain lion 10.8.4, but after the mountian lion upgrade now even DVDs won't work.
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PS.
Please don't be a smartass and say get a new optical drive, I know my MBP is old but I think the problem is not really with the hardware but rather with this absent LaunchDaemons folder.
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Likely not. Your next step is a call to AppleCare or a visit to a repair center.

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My problem is this: I have a June 2010 21.5" iMac which is out of warranty. Disk utility says my HD needs repairing. No problem, I have the original install DVD. Trouble is my DVD drive has suddenly stopped reading discs! I rand Apple tech support for help and I asked them if I could simply buy a usb external DVD drive and re-install that way? Since I will also have to reinstall from DVD; Logic and Pro-Tools. He said no! Consequently I'm booked in for repair next week at an Apple store.
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I've used ancient Compaq "Multi-bay" external drives and a variety of other random-vendor external USB drives with Apple laptops and Apple servers, and they've worked. In several cases, I was using the old Compaq drives because the integrated DVD drivers were dusty or had failed — DVD drives of all sorts can and do fail, Apple, third-party and otherwise — and the Compaq drives were handy. That Compaq Multi-bay drive booted an Apple Xserve Intel box with a bad slot-loader, too.
If one drive fails, debugging suggests trying a different drive.
If you don't want to be concerned about compatibility, order one of those (not cheap) Apple external DVD drives. I now have a couple of those around, and they work.
It's quite true that newer Apple laptops don't have DVD drives, though most of these systems offer a recovery partition on the disk, the ability to create external recovery partitions on the device of your choice, newer ones have Internet-based recovery if you're lacking a drive (booting from Apple's servers via the Internet), and the Mac boxes I've tried will boot from various random USB devices including the old other-vendor DVD drives, and from the Apple external DVD drives. With another Mac with a compatible wiring connection (Thunderbolt and cable on newer Mac systems, and FireWire and cable with a pair of older Mac systems), Target Disk Mode (TDM) can be used. The installations can also be copied to other hard disks, and it's also possible to network-boot most any Mac system, if you have a server around. And there's also the remote disk installations that some Mac systems can offer. Put another way, there are various and good alternatives to device-integrated DVD drives.
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Hi there and thank you for this forum. I am wondering if anyone can help me through this maze of confusion...I have just recently upgraded from 10.3.5 to 10.3.9 and now I cannot access my external Fantom Drive. Both of the USB ports can read other devices, and also I can still read the Fantom from a PC, but when I plug it into my ibook, I get nothing.
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You're welcome.....and thanks for acknowledging me in your post....
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Hi and welcome!
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http://www.patchburn.de/
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EMac External LACIE DVD Drive not reading.

eMac External LACIE DVD Drive not reading.
eMac 700 MHz running OS X 4.4
Came without DVD or modem internal
Has 256mb memory
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Was able to burn DVD’s and CD’s with Toast 6 Light.
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OS X 10.3.x / 10.4.x natively support data burning to external DVD drives but video payback requires software such as iDVD which isn't installed by default on models without an internal DVD drive (the installer sees no internal drive and thinks it's unnecessary). Try downloading VLC Player and see if that will let you play movies.

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I have an external LaCie burner and it will not show up on my Mac unless I insert a CD or DVD - in that case, the media will show up (I have these settings in the Pref Pane):
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I asume that External ODD Requires more power than External HDD.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

@ Ritaban: The micro-USB port on an Omni 10 is capable of supplying only a limited amount of power to operate attached devices (500 mA maximum). Most USB devices which contain motors (hard drives, scanners, optical drives) require substantially more sustained power than an Omni tablet can deliver. (for example, HP-branded portable DVD drives require 2 Amps — that's 4x what an Omni can deliver.)
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External Optical drive not reading? Or is it my programs...

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