Installation via External CD/DVD Drive

I have tried fruitlessly to install Windows XP and Windows 7 via CD and DVD on my computer via my external CD/DVD drive. It is a LG GE20 Read/Writer. I can however boot the Mac OS X 10.6 Install Disc from it.
rEFIt recognizes the disc as a valid windows disc (both of them), but when I choose it, I am left with a black screen and blinking white cursor. I tried my linux mint disk, and got the same result. (It's only working with the Mac OS X Install Disc)
My Macbook Pro 3.1 (aluminum, pre-unibody, Santa Rosa I believe) currently has a broken superdrive, so I've had to use this external. Unfortunately I need Windows installed natively (please do not tell me to use VMWare, VirtualBox or Parallels, I already have VMWare and VirtualBox).
I also tried to make a bootable USB from my 7 install disc, by formatting as FAT32 in VMWare, and using "convert" on the DOS prompt to make it NTFS. It is shown by NTFS-3g and is completely working. I copied the entire disc's files over as directed by a tutorial, but it does not boot. (It is MBR)
Any advice would be thoroughly appreciated.

OWC (macsales.com) is a good place to shop for Mac-centric accessories. They cater to Mac users. They have FireWire external optical drives.
If you decide to get one later, you may want to send an email to OWC's sales/tech support to ask if their external FireWire drives are bootable. Just because it is FireWire does not necessarily mean you can boot from a particular FireWire optical drive.

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Portege R500: XP installation with USB external CD/DVD drive - SOLUTION

Hello all !
Just wanted to take five minutes to inform you that installing XP on a Portege R500 with USB external CD/DVD drive is possible, even if you already have erased Vista and only with a bootable CD of Win XP in hand.
First go into your BIOS and check / set first boot device is CD/DVD drive
Start your installation of win XP from the CD without the F6 thing and let it go his way
After a while, the installation stops and says "can't find the file xxxx" and you are invited to say where this file is
You "just" have to replace the drive letter "C:" that is given by default with the drive letter of your CD/DVD (and let the rest just like it is) and the installation will continue until the next "can't find..." and you will again replace the drive letter, etc..
After a complete "manually assisted automatic" installation, you are welcome in Win XP !
Next question is "Where can I find my CD/DVD drive letter ?" and the answer is "this is the next letter after your last HDD letter" (I consider you have only your Portege with nothing else plugged than your CD/DVD) so in most cases it will be "E" because C: is the first partition of your HDD and D: is the hidden / recovery partition that win creates.
But do not worry, if you type the wrong letter you will have as many tries as you wish until you find the good one and for the following "can't find..." it will remain the same.
I hope these pieces of information will help some of you who want a clean install of win XP starting from a newly formatted HDD.
With kind Regards,
Mage.

What a great information!
Thanks a lot for this posting.
I think it could be useful for others here.
Bye

Problems Installing via an External Firewire DVD drive

Hi,
I'm trying to install Leopard from an external LaCie D2 (with LightScribe) DVD/DL drive via a Firewire cable.
I start the iMac (G5 20" SuperDrive is dead) via the "option" key, a screen with a choice between HD and Leopard Install DVD appears.
When I select the second option (install Leopard) I have the Apple Start Up screen (the grey screen with the dark grey Apple) but the spinning flower is missing. And the screen stays that way for minutes... Is it normal? Do I have to wait more? Is my iMac cursed?

Here's the problem:
1- the problem occurs when I boot, so the OS is "innocent"
2- when I load the start up menu (with the option key held down) I see both of the drives (HD and External Firewire DVD drive), so it can't be a "power" problem... (http://youtube.com/watch?v=MQs2n1vxpkw)
3- when I insert a DVD (movie for example), the drive reads it when connected via USB 2.0 and doesn't via Firewire, so the drive is unable to read (or reads slowly)? a Driver problem?
4- when I shutdown the iMac with the external drive connected via the USB port, the drive shuts down too, while it doesn't when it's connected via the FW one...

DVD Player installation error A valid DVD drive could not be found. [-70012]

My iMac has an external "superdrive" and I can't play files .dvdmedia. On opening the DVD Player I get this message: There was installation error A valid DVD drive could not be found. [-70012]
This sent an error message to Apple when I click the OK button.
I have tried to relinstall the DVD player.app from the SnowLeopard disc, but this app was not on the list for custom install. I have repaired permissions, no help! I have shut down and waited several minutes and restarted, no help.

My continued frustration with this problem lead me to an archived discussion https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2020977?start=0&tstart=0 This lead me to beleive I need to use the reset password to fully repair my permissions as contained there. Also while booted in the install disc, I performed a Repair Disc on the StartUp disc.
After all this, when I restarted, the DVD Player was able to play DVDmedia files completely.
So I quess I solved my own problem.

Problems Installing Win7 using External, USB DVD Drive

I have a mid 2010 15" i7 MBP which I upgraded to from 4GB to 8GB RAM courtesy of OWC. I recently upgraded the 500GB 7200RPM HD with a 240GB OCZ Vertex 3 and using an OWC Data Doubler, I replaced the DVD SuperDrive with the 500GB Hard Drive.
I used an External USB DVD Drive to install OS X SL On the SSD without issues. Also, I got all my updates and software installed and working without any problems.
I've been running great for about 2 weeks now, so I decided to install Windows 7 64bit Ultimate. I ran Boot Camp Assistant and partitioned the 240GB SSD in half 120/120. Everything went fine with creating the partition. I selected to Install from the Win 7 DVD media in the USB DVD drive and rebooted. I got a grey screen. I turned the computer off and turned it back on. Holding down Option, I selected the Install DVD from the Boot Menu. I then got a screen with the Apple Logo flashing intermittently with a Circle/Cross Hatch. So I can't get the Windows Install to start to save my life. I know the External, USB DVD works since I used it to install OS X and I have no problems using it in OS X. I Know the media works because I tried a test install, without activation in a VMWare Fusion VM.
Any suggestions are appreciated?

So here is the answer. The Firmware on the MacBook Pro only supports installation of OS X from External Media and will not install operating systems from 3rd Parties. I tried to install Windows XP, Win7 Ultimate 32 & 64bit, and Ubuntu 11.04 but no success.
Supposedly, the MacBook Air does support installation of 3rd party operating systems from external media, but I have no way to confirm this.
I ended up reinstalling the internal DVD drive installing Win 7 and Ubuntu on the SSD. Using rEFI, I'm able to triple boot all 3 operating systems. Then removed the drive again and reinstalled the 2nd HD. Everything seems to be working fine.
I'm looking for someone who has experience in Mac EFI Hacking to see if there is a way to enable booting 3rd Party OSes from external media. I'm guessing someone could examine the MBA firmware and figure out how to hack that capability into the MBP.

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
Bought a used Lacie 1394 Firewire DVR External.
Was able to burn DVD’s and CD’s with Toast 6 Light.
Cannot find the “DVD Player” on the hard drive.
It will read data DVD.
eMac will not read any movies burnt or bought.
I was told I probably need more memory?
Thought running IDVD would fix the problem.
No Soap.
This machine was giving external modem problems before Tiger was installed.
Before we spend more money or just get ride of the eMac.
What is the DVD problem?
This same Lacie burner reads and writes DVD and CD fine with our iMac 450 DV 320mb memory. Running 9.2 and X.3

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.

Can i use ANY external CD/DVD drive with the NEW mac mini?

We just got the newest Mac Mini and want to get an external drive for importing and burning CD's and DVD's.
Can we use ANY external CD/DVD drive or do we NEED to use the "Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive."
Thanks
Eliot

Maybe.
I've had some situations where a non-Apple DVD drive would not do a particular job. When I tried the same project with the Apple SuperDrive everything worked perfectly.
This is an area where I would not try to save money.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC684ZM/A

My external Iomega DVD drive does not read DVDs. Why?

My external Iomega DVD drive does not read DVDs. Why?

what does this question have to do with a mac? post in the Iomega fourms.

HP external USB DVD Drive not recognized by computer.

Have HP Mini-210 and HP external USB DVD Drive. When attached, the DVD drive lights and spins but computor will not recognize it. When checking Device Manager, it says no driver for DVD drive.. I try to reinstall the driver, and then it says I have the best one already. Device Manager continues to indicate that this drive has a problem. Tried to download a driver from HP support and it was not available on line.
Copied install disk that came with drive thru dropbox cloud to move it onto the computor. Was able to install the programs but still have no driver and unable to use DVD drive.

Try this wayne
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929461/en-us

In case of system failure, how can I install Mac os now that Apple doesn't include installation disk or a dvd drive?

I'm thinking about getting an imac but I'm afraid that I can't install an os without the installation disks and the dvd drive, help please

Apple - OS X Recovery restores your Mac with a few clicks.
OS X: About OS X Recovery - Support - Apple

My laptop won't boot form external USB DVD drive

Hi, I have HP pavillion dv6748us. My internal dvd drive is not recognized, cannot access and not listed in device manager & window explorer. I need to reboot from the external dvd but don't see the option listed in BIOS. Below is the sequence listed in my BIOS. I have recovery disk and would like to know if and how to add external USB DVD DRIVE into to BIOS.
Your help is greatly appreicated!
(1) ATAPI CD/DVD ROM DRIVE
(2) USB HARD DRIVE
(3) NOTEBOOK HARD DRIVE
(4) USB DISKETTE ON KEY
(5) USB FLOPPY
(6) NETWORK ADAPTOR

Have you tried 2? The BIOS may see the DVD drive as a mass storage device and not distinguish between a hard drive and an optical drive.

Is there any way to hook up the iPad 2 to an external CD/DVD drive?

I want to get my girlfriend an iPad for college, but her textbooks frequently come with CD's with supplemental learning resources. She also enjoys watching DVD's. Unfortunately, the iPad lacks a USB port, so it can't be connected to an external CD/DVD drive. Is there any workaround, such as a USB adapter that can be used with the existing iPad interface? Or is there some sort of wireless solution to be able to use an external CD/DVD drive? Knowledgeable feedback is appreciated, and please don't suggest buying a laptop, as I have already considered that. My inquiry refers strictly to my query regarding hooking up an external CD/DVD drive to the iPad 2. Thanks in advance!
Lou

louven23 wrote:
please don't suggest buying a laptop, as I have already considered that.
Ok - then since the answer to your question is NO - then you have all of ....
Knowledgeable feedback
that there is on the subject. There is no way to connect any device to the iPad except for a camera using the camera connection kit.

Which external cd/dvd drives are compatible?

my optical drive has broke in my standard macbook, think its from 2007. It is too expensive to get repaired so i was just wondering which external cd/dvd drive are reconised and work with this macbook from the UK? thanks!

This is not that easy to say as compatibility depends on the slave/master settings and therefore you would need to ask an ASP.
Maybe check some lightscribe ODDs and ask the guys from ASP.
But honestly, would you really want to waste your money on this feature? I know, those discs look pretty nice when used ligthscribe on it, but is it worth it?
I have one in my other notebook but I have only used it once.
And you will need special blank CDs/DVDs with this surface to use lightscribe feature.

My Macbook Air 11" External CD/DVD Drive Wont Start Up

When I plug in my External CD/DVD SuperDrive into my Macbook Air and Insert the sims 3 into the super drive. I hear the external CD/DVD Drive start up and then it sounds like its shutting off and then i hear it start up and then turn off again. Ive tried inserting different disks into my external CD/DVD drive but none of them show up on my desktop like they usually would. PLEASE HELP!

try a diff. disk. likely dust on the laser diode lens of the Superdrive.
if same, and ejects after a few seconds, the lens is dirty

Cannot boot to Windows disc from external USB DVD drive.

I have a MacBook Pro 17" Early 2011 8,3. I have tried to use bootcamp to install Windows 7 from a external USB DVD drive. All I get, like many people, is a black screen with a blinking cursor, as if it never makes it to boot. I tried restarting to the OS selection for holding alt, and tried the DVD again, did not work.
I saw a few posts claiming that this didn't work on some models of Mac because of a EFI problem that would not allow booting from a external USB, which is really stupid because it would seems some models can... And MacBook airs can... Can someone please confirm this for me? Has anyone found a resolution?
If not, APPLE PLEASE FIX THIS.

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Yes the MBP is currently running Tiger, I want to flatten this with a fresh install of Leopard. I can view the install DVD when in Tiger currently.
I haven't tried what you have suggested, but I have seen various posts suggesting this approach. I've also seen several posts explain how to create a partition on an external firewire Harddrive and this seems to have worked for various people.
This would however mean that I didn't really need the external Lacie drive at all, as I've got access to my G5s DVD drive over the network. The more I search on this, the more convinced I am the USB drive was a bad idea.
Once again thank for the response.

Installation via External CD/DVD Drive

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