Restrictions on external DVD burners and HDDs?

Hello, I REAALLY want to buy a mac mini - my incessantly crashing Windows machine has a new 160GB drive (internal) and a new Sony DRU720A DVD burner - what I'd like to do is buy a couple of 5.25" enclosures with USB 2.0 or Firewire connections and connect them as externals to the Mini...
are there any complications using a Sony dvd burner with a mac mini? HDD issues to be aware of?
Thanx in advance - help me get back to happy computing!
ferd

I would guess that there will be no issues at all with your hard drive. Those are pretty standard pieces of hardware that are supported by both hard drive enclosures and Mac OS X. A DVD burner may be a different story though. It will have to be supported by Mac OS X whether it's an internal drive or in an external enclosure. However, there is a third party utility you may be able to use to create a driver for your DVD burner. Check out the Patch Burn utility. I've never used it, so I can't comment on it's compatibility, but it seems like it might help you if the drivers aren't already built-in.
-Doug

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I need help with my External DVD-RW and my iMac

I hope there is someone out there that can help me out. I was using my PC for burning DVDs and it just died. I've been using my Pioneer DVD burner in there and now I'm trying to use it on my Intel iMac. When I hooked it up using an external firewire case, this is what shows up in my profiler.
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-110D:
Firmware Revision: 1.41
Interconnect: FireWire
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2000 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No
Even though it is Apple supported, nothing mounts and it cannot burn anything in Finder, iTunes, Toast, etc. Can someone out there help me out.
Thanks in advance!
Montri - THAIICE

I have a Pioneer 110-D flashed to a 110 in an external firewire case and I can burn with all my apps.
This is my profile:
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-110:
Firmware Revision: 1.41
Interconnect: FireWire
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2000 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RAM, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No
You could try a different firewire even though profiler sees the drive.

I am a new Macbook Pro user (just the 13" baby). I have an external DVD drive and would like to load onto my Mac and then onto my iPad - how do I do this?

I am a new MacBook Pro user - actually totally new to the Mac goodies and am having a bit of trouble sorting out how to get a DVD from my external DVD player onto the Mac and then onto my iPad (I travel a lot!). I have been a windows user for many years and am still trying to learn all the bits and pieces. I have VLC on this - don't have any trouble playing a DvD, just don't know how to do the rest i.e. rip it, change to an MP4 and get it onto my other device. Please help! You are more than likely to see many more "how do I do this" on here!

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so the battery is not there to prevent overload of the USB port,
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Cheap external dvd+rw and hard drives

I have recently purchsed the most basic model of the macbook, with a 60gb HD and the combo drive, cos i got a good deal on the price for that model only, however, the HD doesnt have enough space for much other than all my music files and i need an external drive, but am having trouble finding a cheap one that is mac compliant. All seem to be PC compatible, same with the dvd rewriters.
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also, any recomendations on cheap dvd+rw and hard drives? and where can i buy them (bearing in mind i am based in the UK)?
now i have bombarded you with questions, i hope what i have said is clear, and apologise or being such a mac novice!
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thanks

All seem to be PC compatible, same with the dvd rewriters.
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Any cheaper external dvd burners out there???

Now that i've found out that my wonderfully expensive apple doesnt have a dvd burner, i have to buy an external dvd burner. I was recommended Lacie but that's too expensive. Anyone know of any cheaper ones that work fine as well??
also, do i need all of that touch8 stuff? can i just get the dvd writer without all of the extra programs?

That's the beauty of it. No drivers required when you make your own. The OS already has everything you need. There is nothing required in terms of additional downloads to make your burner work via Firewire when you install a Pioneer S-Drive into a standard 400 0r 800 firewire enclosure. It works right out of the box!
At one point in time, I too thought that whatever I build in terms of computer hardware was bound to fail. Now it turns out that the items I built, actually last the longest!
Now there is one exception to the above that comes to minds, Lacie (pre configured) ext. FW HD's may rerquire additional 3rd party drivers at times.
Don't ask me why. You'd have to check their web site for this type of support.

Which external dvd burners are compatible with lion?

I'm looking into buying an external dvd - dvdL - cd burner but wanted to make sure it would work with lion.. anyone ?
thanks!
H

I have successfully used apples external SuperDrive.
However, I get faster results using the Mac's built-in SuperDrive.

Restrictions on external DVD burners and HDDs?

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