Sharing external optical drive.

It's official. I have three iMacs, and the optical drives in each one have now failed. The optical drive of the oldest iMac (c. 2007) lasted the longest, and just bit the dust.
I have external USB optical drives on two of the three iMacs. I would like to be able to access the external optical drive of the iMac it is tethered to from the iMac that does not have an external drive (yes, I could just move the drive to the other iMac, but I want to make this work). I can access external USB hard drives from the other iMacs, I am not sure what is different about the optical drive.
Any ideas?

Optical drive sharing only works with the built-in drive.

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Installing Win7 on a macbook pro using a mac mini as external optical drive

hi everyone,
My 2 year old son watches movies on my macbook pro. He stuck something in the optical drive making it unusable. Repairing it is 200 to 300 euros (ouch).
I want to install win7 via bootcamp and I'm using my mac mini (october 2009) as an external optical drive. These are my steps:
1.hold the "t" on the mac mini
2.connect it to the macbook with a firewire 800 to firewire 400 cable
3.Power up and hold the "alt" on the macbook
4.I see the optical drive on the boot screen and I choose it
5.Then I get a blank screen and a few seconds later the "missing operating system" message appears.
Am I missing something? Is it possible to install win7 using a mac mini as an external drive?
PS1:I already have partitioned the HD with bootcamp.
PS2:I've upgraded the hard disk drive of the macbook with a seagate momentus 500GB hard disk. Don't think this is the problem, thought I should mentioned it.

Hi Mike,
For reference it is called "IP over Firewire".
Connect the two computers with a fire wire cable. System Preferences > Network > Configure IPv4: > Manually > IP address: 192.168.3.1 (and .2 on other) > Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0. Leave the other fields blank. Do this on both computers on the computer you want to allow access to or both for two way access go to System Preference > Sharing > Select a service to change its settings. Turn remote Login on.
On the MBP go to the Finder Menu > Go > Connect to Server > Type in the IP address of the Mini 192.168.3.2 (Whatever you gave it)
With this configuration you still have full use of the Mini and certain apps can use Xgrid and use the processor of the mini when it is not doing anything. I would keep the Mini as 10.4 unless you really need both machines running Leopard. As noted before you cannot boot the MBP from a HDD that is Apple Partition Scheme and vice versa you cannot boot the PPC from a Guide Partition Table.
Sweet Polly

Ripping DVDs using external optical drive with MacBook

Quick and possibly ridiculously silly question here. I have a collection of about 475 Region-2 DVDs (i.e., playable in the UK, not in the US) I purchased many years ago that are just taking up space. What I would like to do is rip them and store the files on an external drive.
The problem is that the optical drive on my MacBook is broken (no, I’m not happy about it -- see the dozens of pages of complaints in these Forum on the issue) and I don’t want to spend $1000 right now buying a new one.
This means I need to purchase an external optical drive. Unfortunately, I’m pretty confused about whether these things (by LaCie or Samsung, for instance) can actually rip anything, let alone Region 2 DVDs. I know they can write DVDs, but ripping—that I’m not sure about. Logically, they should be able to but I'm wondering whether their ripping capability has been disabled.
So, does anyone happen to know whether an external Superdrive can rip Region-2 DVDs? And if so, can you recommend any good ones for the Mac?
*Incidentally, I should add that these files are for my personal use, won’t be shared/uploaded, and will serve only as backups to my purchased DVDs. Basically, all I really want to do is clear out my cramped apartment and stick all the DVD boxes in a storage unit once and for all.*
Thanks for your help

I have a collection of about 475 Region-2 DVDs (i.e., playable in the UK, not in the US)
You must have one of those old-fashioned DVD players that looks for region codes.
Most better DVD players are now region free and will play NTSC or PAL DVDs.

New MAC Mini w/OSX Lion - will not boot from USB or external optical drive when attempting to use BootCamp to install Windows 7?

The University recently purchased 6 brand new MAC minis for deployment in classrooms I support. I am attempting to create a dualk--boot environment comparable to our existing computer systems, only these machines wil be running MAC OS X Lion and Windows 7. After following the procedures outlined in the BootCamp on-screen prompts, and attempting a few techniques I found in the tech support user-base, I am still unable to get the MAC mini to boot up from the USB flash drive, or from an external optical drive, so that I can complete the installation of Windows 7. When using the Boot option key at start-up, all devices are displayed suggesting that they are being properly recognized, however the computer boots to a black screen with an error message indicating that "No bootable devices are found - press any key to continue." I am able to boot into the computer's internal drive, but not from any external devices. I fully expected that the semi-automated BootCamp procedure properly prepares the USB device for booting, and for installing the Windows 7 OS.

Meh, with the price they take for a drive in Denmark, I don't think it's worth it... They take around 160 $ for the drive (that's the cheapest MacBook drive I could find), and I am not even sure that's the one I need.

What do i do when external optical drive doesn't show up in finder? how can i import software, music, etc. when the drive isn't recognized/mounted/whatever?

the internal optical drive on my early 2006 20"imac has mechanical problems ejecting discs. i've gone thru all the recommended steps to eject discs, and have luckily been able to eject the last 3 discs but only after spending 30-60 minutes going thru all of the steps over and over, and today just trying "eject disc" in itunes since i had itunes open. i don't want to put another disc in - the drive clearly has problems with the mechanical eject mechanism, and from what i've read that's not unique to my computer.
i bought an external optical drive: lite on, clamshell design to avoid problems with the eject mechanism; i contacted the mfr who said it's mac compatible.
the drive plays dvds, which is all i've tried so far, but doesn't show up in finder. so i don't know how to use it to load software, or music, or anything besides watch dvds.
is there something i can do to get the drive recognized/mounted/whatever? i would prefer to not spend the $220 which was quoted to me by an authorized mac repair company, even tho i think that's probably a reasonable cost given the delicacy of the operation as shown on ifixit.com.
thanks!

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):
If you want to burn files or music to blank media, you can use Finder or Disk Utility for files, but should use an iTunes playlist/iTunes for music and a movie burn app for videos/movies (such as iDVD, Roxio Toast, Burn, etc).
If you simply want to drag files over as a backup, an external hard drive is a much better solution than a burner.

Cannot access shared external hard drive with other mac accounts

I cannot access a shared external hard drive with other mac accounts (all accounts are on the same macbook Pro). The shared external drive is shared via time capsule and is connected (of course) in USB. I see well this external hard drive as a shared disk with my main account. Yes shared option has been activated with the Airport Utility .. but when I open other account these othe accounts can see the external drive but cannot access to its content that is flagged with a no way sign. Strangely enough when I close my main account and start opening a new session with one of the other account then fine I can access the external hard drive and its content .. BUT then it is from my main account than I cannot access its content the no way sign showing ..
Looks like only one account at a time can access the content of this SHARED external hard drive .. any one as an idea on how to really make it a shared hard drive so that all accounts on the same mac can also access it ? I am at my wit ends on this case. THANKS ..

Results of my enquiries at Apple Genius Bar .. the guys found the problem interesting. They've been unable to provide a fix neither to give any explanation as to the reason why. To be fair I was not much impressed by the technical level demonstrated ..
In the mean time I have found that if account no.1 can see the shared external drive content and in such case account no.2 (same Mac computer) cannot see its content (only the external HD with a no way sign) this account no.2 can UNMOUNT (by ejecting) this external HD from account 1 and then remount it (just clicking on the TC shared part in a finder window) and .. see and access its content ; whilst account no.1 cannot see its content anylonger. Unless it unmounts the shared external HD and remount it .. then account no.2 can see its content anylonger. This can goes on an on.
So eventually YES the TC can allow to share a USB external drive between several accounts and a same Mac .. BUT this require to unmount and remount EACH time the external drive is accessed from a "no.2 account". So OK to share files with seldom access but not practical in case of frequent access needed.
I just I have now to figure how iTunes can automatically unmount and remount a shared external HD when it needs to access one of this shared HD content from on time account no.1 and then next time from account no.2. May be I am asking too much ..

Burn in itunes using external optical drive imac 2009

My Matsushita optical drive (2009 iMac) no longer works. Is there an external optical drive that I can purchase for burning music CD's?. I already have Maverick, but I believe the operating system is not the problem. The external optical drive has to be compatible with hardware that already has an internal (non-functioning) drive.

I have a PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-XD09.
It's worked on systems with or without optical drives for me since 2009.
It was $69 at Bestbuy.
It has a USB/Power combo cable that uses TWO USB ports, but I got a 5v AC adapter for $4.99 and now it only needs one USB port to function. I've burned with it under 10.8.4, 10.8.5 and 10.9.0.
They've upgraded it since I got mine (Link here) so it can burn Blu-Ray now

Can I connect an external Optical drive to Omni 10

I am thinking to buy an Omni 10 tab. I want to confirm thad does it support external Optical Drives via USB OTG.
I have found from other threads on HP Support that it supports External HDD bt I am not sure about External ODD.
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.)
However, there is a straightforward solution to attaching a wide variety of high-power USB peripherals to an Omni tablet, if they are connected via a Powered USB Hub. Although the Omni micro-USB port limits data transfers to USB 2.0 speeds, I recommend employing a USB 3.0 hub, because they typically are bundled with higher-output power supplies than their USB 2.0 counterparts.
Most low-power USB devices — keyboard, mouse, flash stick, card reader — can usually be connected directly to an Omni tablet, via a micro-usb adapter cable, and won't require any supplemental operating power. However, if you intend to operate an Omni tablet for sustained periods with any USB devices attached, time between charges will be substantially reduced, so attach the supplied charger as well, whenever possible ...
I hope to see you back here at some point, to tell us about how-much you're enjoying your new Omni 10 tablet! Your questions are welcome as well...
Enjoy!

External optical drive that works?

Hi, I have had an Imac 27 i5, its 3 weeks old now, I did the free Lion os upgrade before realising that Lion seems to be buggy.
I have had problems some of which I have got over thanks to this forum, some I have not I still cant get my isp set-up working but a work-around is giving me service, the wireless connection drops out regularly but using ethernet works. Mail wont send my emails and Itunes is problematic. The bluetooth trackpad, mouse and keyboard disconnects frequently but thankfully reconnects soon after. Neither of my two existing external hard drives or my external optical drive would work on this Imac, I replaced one hard drive and that works now, but tells me that I have 120gb free on a drive that is only 120gb and has a full Time machine backup on it?). I replaced the optical drive with a very cheap one and that works now.
My old optical drive used Llitescribe and I really want to carry on using it with the Imac, Can any of you guys recommend an optical drive with Litescribe that will work with the Imac and os Lion? I am getting tired of having to spend out money replacing things I expected to work with the Mac and dont!
I brought the Imac because I wanted a hassle free computer, I read and took in all the reasons for using Mac over Microsoft and to be hounest with you the Last 3 weeks have nearly driven me to send the Imac back! I expected it to "just work" and be easier to use but it has not turned out that way for me up to now, I have contacted Apple about the problems and they dont seem to be of very much help - up to now, but thanks to you guys and this forum I am getting things sorted, slowly. Apple need to get thier act together I think! What hurts the most is that my 3 year old £600.00. HP PC with windows 7 worked "out of the box" and has "just worked" to this day! I cannot say that about the £1650.00. Imac!

The external Apple superdrives are compatible only with the Macs that did not come with an internal optical drive. Take it back and get a 3rd party drive, preferably one with drawer loading. I have an 2011 iMac and bought this external drive: 24X OWC Mercury Pro. I do a lot of ripping of audiobooks for my iPhone so wanted one with a faster read throughput than USB 2 which is all my iMac has. So I use the FW port on the drive.
OWC is a very well know Mac supplier and has excellent reputation both for item quality and customer support.

Please help me find an effective solution for an external optical drive for my Mid 2012 Macbook Pro.

I have replaced my optical drive with a DataDoubler and they both work fine but the new external optical drive enclosure doesn't work with the optical drive I took out of my Mid 2012 Macbook Pro... Well it does work and recognises my optical drive perfectly, it runs fine but it can't handle some disk installations.
I have heard that the apple external superdrive isn't reliable for playing DVD's or lasting either.
Can I have someone with experience with external optical drives to give me professional advice or just other people with solutions.
Below is an image of what I have now for an enclosure.

Vespita wrote:
Okay, wise guy. I don't use Google, but my Startpage seach yielded this.
Now wasn't that easier than asking us to look for the item for you?
Let me fix your link for you.
"Okay, wise guy. I don't use Google, but my Startpage seach yielded this"

WHAT is the use of a retina display when you can't watch DVD movies? what's the purpose of a super thin retina macbook pro when you need to buy an external optical drive? doesn't it defeat the purpose already?

i don't care if my macbook is a little thicker as long as i don't need to burden myself of an external optical drive just for a simple and common task of watching/listening to discs.

the hippie wrote:
i don't care if my macbook is a little thicker as long as i don't need to burden myself of an external optical drive just for a simple and common task of watching/listening to discs.
I'm confused, why did you choose to buy the retina model if you don't like it? This is exactly why Apple still manufacture/sell the 'old' style MBP which is thicker and has an optical drive built-in!

Can "Refit" Be Used for USB Boot From External Optical Drive?

Since the new Mac Mini 2011 has no optical drive, how would one make a generic USB 2.0 optical drive act as a boot device? I have heard that a utility called "Refit" can alter the boot loading order and device choices in Macs. I suppose it is also possible that the new Mini may already be set up to boot first from USB. I would appreciate any comments. It would be nice to have some kind of optical drive boot option for Windows installation and other possible utilities that need to boot before the OS in order to work. Maybe I will have to take my external optical drive to an Apple store to find out. Hope not. I also suspect that a USB keyboard will be mandatory for "Refit" and the boot drive to be used before Mac OS X is loaded.

No utility should be needed.
You can hold the Option key down during the boot process to select which drive you wish to use as a boot device.
Also pressing and holding C boots to the optical drive.
There is reportedly a pretty broad number of USB optical drives that people have been able to use as a boot device, as inexpensively as $30. I don't know that there is a specific list though. I would research whichever model you wish to buy with a quick google search or searching that model here in the forum.
Or maybe somebody will have a recommendation which one they have.

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.

MBP Late 2010, How can I install Win7 Boot Camp using External Optical Driv

Hello:
I have a new MBP purchased in February. It's not the 2011 model. I replaced the Optical drive with an SSD drive and put the optical drive in an external enclosure. The Optical drive works great, reads, writes, etc. My Windows 7, Pro 64bit DVD works also, tested on a PC.
I use the Boot Camp assistant to create a partition. It them reboots and never starts up from the optical drive. I get an Apple logo alternating with a stop sign.
I have got back to OS X by starting with the Option key and choosing my OS X volume.
I tried booting to the DVD by using the option key, that did not work. I then choose the EFI option which allowed me to hit any key and appeared to boot from the external optical drive. Windows setup screen came up and I hit enter to start the file loading process. It eventually stopped when the progress bar was all the way across the screen. Then nothing.
Questions {Please give definitive answers, not guesses, thanks :)}
1) Is it possible to setup a boot camp Windows installation without an internal optical drive? Yes/No.
2) If yes, how?
3) I see the rEFIt utility has helped some but I read mixed reports. Will this help me boot and run Windows setup from an external optical drive? I don't want to install it if it's not known to be a certain fix.
4) Is my only options to reinstall the optical drive?
I chatted to OWC the vendor that sells the bracket. They had no idea how to install a Windows BC partition without an internal drive.
I am seriously discouraged by what seems to be Apple wanting to control everything. I had a Mac Pro and Air book in my future but now, it's on hold.
Thanks in advance,
Kevin

I tried what you are doing with a 2007 MBP, and could not get any Windows CD s to boot from an external optical drive, firewire or USB.
I think this is fundamental to Windows which won't boot from an external USB drive either even on a Windows machine (although I believe there may be complex ways of achieving this). I don't think this is Apple trying to control the world.
I ended up taking the MCE Optibay out and putting the original optical drive back in.
Just possible that something has changed between a 2007 MBP and 2010 MBP, but I doubt it.
If you want the second internal HD, you have two options:-
1. Put the Apple optical back in, install Windows, then take out the optical and refit the SSD. The external optical will still be able to install windows apps and data etc, just not boot any windows install CDs or utilities (like Paragon rescue disks). You will not be able to do a Windows repair install without refitting the optical.
2. Parallels, which has come a long way in the last two years. I am 99% certain that Parallels will install from an external optical.
Message was edited by: Mike Boreham
Message was edited by: Mike Boreham
Message was edited by: Mike Boreham

External optical drive for macbook3.1

Hello Users...
I am using macbook3.1 - 2007 later version, I got the problemwith its optical drive (DVD reader only). Now it's too expensive to replace theoptical drive. So I would like to buy an external optical drive. And myquestions are-
1)Can I use an external Blu-ray drive for thesame MacBook? Does it support the current OS/hardware?
2)If it’ssupport, what is the best external optical (DVD/ Blu-ray) drive for themacbook3.1?
Your suggestions are very helpful for me..

Correct.

Sharing external optical drive.

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