SuperDrive on Mac Mini

I can't use my SuperDrive on my new Mac Mini (2010/2/22).
I never tried it before but today ...
When I load a CD or DVD (both new or written), I hear the drive but it can't open the CD or DVD and reject it !!!
Thank you for answer ...

Ed Lawrence1 wrote:
Thanks John i'll look on ebay
It won't be difficult, Ed:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=DVR-TS08&_frs=1
I have the same mini, and followed this to replace my optical drive:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+mini+Model+A1283+Optical+Drive+Replacement/1065/ 1
One tip: as getting the top case off is such a wrench, run it with the top OFF for a few days afterwards, to make sure everything has been put back OK.

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SuperDrive in Mac Mini seems EXTREMELY scratch-sensitive

I've come into this problem with my Mac mini's SuperDrive. The drive seems to be extremely, overly sensitive to even the smallest scratch or dust on a CD, even stuff that isn't easily visible. If I insert a CD with any imperfections at all and the drive tries to read that spot, it begins repeatedly, repeatedly seeking back and forth, spinning up and down, over and over and over, and there is no obvious way to stop it - the system itself even freezes with a spinning beach ball until whatever app is trying to read - say iTunes - gives up (which can take ten minutes or more!) And by freeze I mean freeze - the Dock magnification even stops working when I run the mouse over the dock!
This is becoming extremely frustrating as I try to import my CD's into iTunes! I do take relatively good care of my discs, but we all know that a scratch or two on a CD is inevitable - that's where error correction usually comes in. But for some reason the Mini just gags on these discs and I end up having to wait until the program stops trying to read it and errors out (like I said, which can take several minutes), and then wipe off the disc and hope it fixes it - which is most often doesn't. Ever since I force rebooted a Mac last year stuck at a beachball (similar situation - it was a bad external hard disk, and even pulling it out didn't fix it) and then was unable to even boot into singleuser mode without a kernel panic!, I've been nervous to force reboot Macs.
Advice anyone?

I have no idea how CDs or DVDs get scratched. I have maybe 600 disks between music, games and videos and have never had a problem with scratching. Easiest answer is to not play horseshoes with your disks. On the other hand, most of the disks I rent have been through ****, so someone has to be cleaning disks with sandpaper. There are a thousand products/techniques to clean or repair discs. If you have a problem with scratching try one of the clear protector shields like http://www.gamestech.com/miscellaneousinfo/micellaneous/cleanboy_cdprotector/miscellaneous.htm. I've not used them, but I've heard good things about them.
Steve

External Superdrive for Mac mini?

Recently I got a disc stuck in the drive of my mini and for the life of me I can't get it out so...I was wondering if they make an external Superdrive that will work with the mini. I had a look at the website and found one that says its for the macbook air, would that one work?Thanks in advance.

Speaking for myself, I typically offer links to that vendor because they have Mac, and system specific, solutions which helps with a level of confidence that the problem is more likely than not to be solved. My personal experience with them as a vendor has born that out.
That said, there are other competent vendors out there too who also offer good service and stand by their products, so it's up to you who you use. The only thing that encourages me to OWC is that if you buy something they are offering as a viable upgrade or add-on to your mini and it proves otherwise, they'll resolve the problem.

Correct Superdrive Caddy/Optibay for SSD in Mac Mini 2009

Hi there, I'm looking at getting an SSD for my Mac Mini '09, but could really use some help with a couple of things.
Firstly, from what I understand the Superdrive in Mac Mini's are 12.7mm. Correct?
Secondly—since/if it is the larger 12.7mm—can I therefore use either a 9.5mm or 12.7mm caddy to hold the SSD, or should I ensure it is 12.7mm. I only ask as there seems to be a lot more 9.5mm caddys about and I thought I would get the smaller option so I could re-use it in a Macbook Pro.
Thirdly, there are a lot of caddys about on eBay and I wondered if they are compatible with Minis. I wasn't sure if the design is rather generic between PC and Macs.
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A

Check out > Search Results for data doubler at MacSales.com

Top of the range: Mac Mini vs iBook

Hey hey,
I fell in love with Apple mid last year, and bought my first Mac ever mid November of 2005. It was a 20" G5 RevC 2.1ghz iMac w 1.5gb Ram. It's the best computer I've ever seen and used in my life! Amazing! Anyway, I've been working at my parents to get my sister a Mac for school.
There are 3 options:
- 1.42 80gb Mac Mini with Superdrive
- 1.42 80gb Mac Mini with Combodrive and a TFT (non apple)
- 1.42 14" iBook.
Monique, my sister, would be able to get the first option in March, the second option in April and the third option in June.
She uses my old PC atm, the bulky thing that it is (one way to convince my parents). It's a 1.5ghz 128mb Ram Pentium 4 IBM - load of crap seriously! Anyway, all she uses the computer for is assignments (We'd probbaly get her office over iWork only because she knows how to use office), listening to music, using her 1gb iPod shuffle and to surf and chat online. Now we have just recently got a new 5mp 12xoptical zoom camera and I'm positive she will love iLife shen she realises how good it is with digital life.
What do you suggest to be the better option for my sister? I'm stuck on the portability, or quicker. When we go on holidays I know the iBook would be perfect to download photos and such on the go - seeing as we are taking a 3 week holiday in september, it would be great! I've made a little comparison thingo below:
- Both small and take up not much room
- Mac Mini will have to buy apple keyboard - iBook you have it.
- Mac Mini maybe purchase TFT - iBook you have screen
- Mac Mini not as portable - iBook is
- Mac Mini w/o tft approx half the price of iBook
- Mac Mini w tft is about $200 cheaper than iBook
- Both can connect wirelessly to our wireless home network (iMac, 2pcs atm)
- Mac Mini bigger screen
- My iMac has superdrive so not really need superdrive in Mac Mini. Will save about $100.
What do you think you would go for? I'm not saying I'm going to do what you say, just wondering what other folks would do. I am thinking the iBook.
Thanks guys!
- leighton

Hi Leight,
Your a good brother to be buying your sister an Apple computer. What kind of school does she go to? College? Anyways, I think that the iBook is the best way to go. It is the perfect tool for the average student. I recommend the iBooks for people whose needs fall in the realm of basic computing. I use iLife as a standard for the iBook. She will be doing Word processing (I would hold off on MS Office or iWork because her iBook will come with the trials for both. I bought MS Office, then used iWorks (trial) on my new iBook and I threw the MS Office away.), web browsing (Safari), Music (iTunes), Email (Mail is my favorite), Photos (iPhoto 5 is good for keeping them organized. Her iBook will come with iPhoto 6, which is just truly amazing), messengers (iChat is my favorite, I have everyone from Hotmail to AIM on it. You have to go through Jabber to use Hotmail but I can show you), and she might want watch movies (iMovie). These are all on the iBook as your know, they cover the basic necessities that she would need. I bought my iBook for school purposes only, the "iLifes". I do all my heavy editing and scripting on my iMac, which is more capable. She will love the iBook because she will be able to take it with her where ever she wants. It is so convenient to just carry around with me to class (if the teacher doesn't mind). I would suggest though thinking about buying or recommending to her the following:
Airport Express - I use it in school and when I am traveling. I am not stuck sitting at that awful desk in the corner
iSight - I use it to communicate with friends and family when I am traveling or at school. I find people never relize how great video conferencing is till they try it.
iWork - Even though she knows how to use MS Office, Pages is so much easier and efficient. With Pages there is little to none time wasted struggling to format the document to make it look right. Pages works great with other iLife applications like iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie. I use it all the time for projects, reports, and essays.
AppleCare - A necessity! Even though this will put you back some money, it is worth the cost. If something goes wrong with her iBook she can bring it to any Apple Store and they will fix it. They will fix it for free most times as long as she didn't do anything malicious to it.
I hope that helps,
Jon
PS Why don't you ask her what she wants? Surprise her with choices, and then let her decide. That way you will know that you chose the right one for her.

New Mac Mini+Superdrive+windows 7 - Will it work?

Looking at updating my father to the Apple world, thought I would get him a Mac Mini, and use Bootcamp to install Windows. As the new Mac Mini doesn't have an optical drive (I have a MacBook Air Superdrive), if I use the external one to install Windows, will it install properly? Does the Mac Mini have the drivers for the SUperdrive? Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
vladimir10

Well, running 10 Mac Apps whilst Paralles is running XP & W7, here's the results, many DirectX tests ran at dizzing 400+++ FPS!?
I'm certain running off a SATA drive would double this.
All on a lowly iMac...
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 6 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM71.007A.B03
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Why did apple remove the superdrive from the current mac mini model?

Also why does the standalone superdrive (USD $79) ONLY work with server version of the current Mac Mini? Does not make sense. Was just thinking of buying a mac mini when they changed the line about 2 months ago. I still use DVD's and CD's as I am sure a lot of people out there still do.
It has made me rethink the purchase of the current mac mini - since the standalone superdrive only works with the server version. I wanted to purchase the 2.3Ghz - 500 GB version - but if that does not work with the superdrive - then no good for me.
The Intel core 2 core duo was the one I wanted and it was perfect for me - but the day I went to purchase was the day the new version was announced - apple is not even offering refurbished one of this model (I have looked at that area of www.apple.com) and everywhere I look on ebay for this version - people are selling them for so much more. I wanted to buy this new from apple.
Getting rid of the drive was not the best idea just yet - CD's and DVD's are still so ubiquitious.
Anyone have any other suggestions on how to get my hands on a brand new Intel core 2 duo from apple?
I already have an Imac and a Macbook Pro already wanted to add to my apple collection.

The description:
External SuperDrive
Compact and convenient, the external MacBook Air SuperDrive connects to your Mac mini with a single USB cable. It lets you install new software and play and burn both CDs and DVDs, including double-layer DVDs.
Everything you need in an optical drive.
You can play and burn both CDs and DVDs with the MacBook Air SuperDrive connected to your Mac mini. It's perfect when you want to watch a DVD movie, install software, create backup discs, and more.
The essence of simplicity.
You'll never have to worry about lost cables with the MacBook Air SuperDrive. There’s no power adapter, and it connects to your Mac mini with a single USB cable that's built into the SuperDrive.
Technical Details
Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Writes DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL discs at up to 4x speed
Writes DVD-R and DVD+R discs at up to 8x speed
Writes DVD-RW at up to 6x speed and DVD+RW discs at up to 8x speed
Reads DVDs at up to 8x speed
Writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed
Writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed
Reads CDs at up to 24x speed
I don't see where this says it only works with OS X Server.

Current Mac Mini Superdrive noise/vibrataion...Resolutions?

I've got a Mac Mini that I purchased around September or October of last year, so it's the current generation that's in the Apple Store right now. When the drive spins up anywhere near full speed, whether reading or burning, the excessive noise and vibration makes it almost intolerable to stay in the room with it. It's definitely not "normal" by any stretch of the word. No disc burning has failed because of this, but it does seem to take excessive amounts of time to burn full discs. Also, this weekend I installed Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 on my 2008 Black Macbook and it took around an hour to complete the install. I did the same install from the same DVD on my current Mac Mini and after well over 2 hours of installing and only getting to about 60% progress, I gave up and went to bed while it finished. So same speed drive, close to the same processor, 4 times the RAM...and the Mac Mini takes at least 3 times as long to accomplish the same install. That's not acceptable at all. Granted, I don't use the drive all that often, but when I do I want it to work, and to work efficiently and properly.
I've searched the discussions and see threads from over a year ago on this topic, but nothing recent. Wondering what the latest verdict is on these issues and if Apple has been replacing these as of late and/or has acknowledged the problem. I'm still within the standard 1 year warranty, but also have Applecare, so warranty is not really an issue. I've only found a couple people for whom Apple has fixed this (and then they just replaced the whole machine), and those have all said that the noise was not quite as bad, but that it was still not normal in the replacement machines, and even then that was after 2-3 replacements. I don't want to go through the hassle of replacing my machine multiple times and having to keep restoring from Time Machine backups only to have a machine that isn't quite as noisy. The noise I could honestly deal with if I had to (but I shouldn't), it's the excessively long read/write times that I can't accept. So any new news on this before I go to the trouble to take it to the Apple Store?

Right, and that's what I would fully expect. However, I'm looking for people who have recently had the problem, have taken theirs in for repair (warranty or not) and if the issue was fully resolved or if it was still a problem, even if it wasn't quite as bad as before. If I'm still going to have the issue after a drive repair/replacement I don't want to waste my time taking it in and being without a machine for a few days. I want to know current experiences with the superdrives on the last gen Mac Mini.

Mac Mini + External Superdrive DVD Player Crashing

Hi,
I have a brand new Mac Mini on OSX Mountain Lion and a brand new external superdrive. If a DVD movie is inserted in to the superdrive, DVD Player attempts to load, and then promptly crashes. Anyone else having this problem?

Same thing here. My work around is VLC player but one would think that a brand new mini and a brand new superdrive would work with the Appple DVD Player.
Must be because Steve J. is no longer around

Can two (or more) macbook air superdrives be used on mac mini

on the new (july 2011) mac mini, can I connect two or more of the macbook air superdrives?

I agree with John.
We don't know how the ports are laid out, but if they're a pair (1-2)(3-4), I'd not plug both drives into (1-2) or (3-4). I'd start with the outermost ones.
Please report back if it works.
And, I can't help but smile that you want to use two superdrives with the mini, because those of use who would have loved Apple to keep a superdrive in the 2011 mini, have been getting flack from those who love the omission, that the technology is obsolete, discs aren't used any more, time to move forward, ...

Mac Mini with Superdrive?

So I noticed that mac mini's seem to have the combo drive built in, but do they sell a model with the SuperDrive which would allow you to burn DVD's and all the other "good stuff" with it?

You should be able to buy NEC products locally. [I got the NEC3520A, Japan Link]. You then buy a 5.25" External FireWire box and put the NEC in that box (only two cables to plug in, one is power the other is the data cable) and the box then plugs into your Mac using a FireWire Cable. No software or drivers are necessary using OS X Tiger. I cannot comment on street prices in Japan, this unit was $39 USD.
^^ darn apple forums don't support asian scripts =/ it's romanji or nothing!
Welcome to Speed! and many media types
DVD+R
16x speed
DVD-R
16x speed
DVD+R (Dual Layer)
4x speed
(5x reading speed)
DVD+RW
8x speed
DVD-RW
6x speed
CD-R
48x speed
CD-RW
24x speed
CD-ROM
48x reading speed
DVD-ROM
16x reading speed

Superdrive in macbook & mac mini ... / compatible with all Sony displays ..

superdrive in macbook & mac mini are and dvdram drive [read/write] ? if yes what is the speed ? Can accept disks cd/dvd created on a windows machine ?
mac mini is compatible with all Sony displays like SONY 17 inch SDM-X73/B .26 DELUXEPRO 1280X1024 DVI-D ?

Good Morning,
 Welcome to the Apple Discussion Forums 
To address your questions...
Per the [Apple MacBook Technical Specifications Page|http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs.html] the MacBook's SuperDrive is compatible with the following media types...
*8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)*
*Maximum write:* 8x DVD-R, DVD+R; 4x DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW
*Maximum read:* 8x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-ROM; 6x DVD-ROM (double layer DVD-9), DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, and DVD+RW; 24x CD
Also, yes, the MacBook is compatible with reading from CD/DVD Discs recorded in Microsoft Windows.
Addressing your monitor question, again, yes. That monitor should be compatible with your MacBook when coupled with an [Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter|http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLI D?mco=60A2B5CD&fnode=home/shopmac/macaccessories/cables&nplm=M9321G/B].
Hope this helps! 
David

Can you use other disk drives on mac mini rather than the superdrive?

I have just purchased a mac mini and am exploring the various options available to me regarding disk drives?
Are you limited to just the Mac Superdrive or can you use other makes and models?
i read somewhere that some drives will only let you install software and not let you Burn Music or play games?
Is that correct.
Mike Price

I have three firewire burners daisy-chained to the mini for ripping my CD collection.

3 x Mac minis, with external superdrives, incapable of importing a CD cleanly. ***?

I have three mac minis, each without internal drive, rack mounted in sonnet rack mac enclosures. Each one is directly connected to macbook air superdrives - as sold to me by the mac dealer.
None of these units is capable of importing a CD of any kind cleanly. They all skip the first couple of seconds of a track or play it a few times. I have tested all systems by swapping out the superdrives but always the same thing. Currently the only way to import music on these machines is to import the CD on the desktop mac then put the tracks on to a USB drive.
What do I do?
The minis are only about 4 months old, as are the superdrives. They all have Lion installed.
It's important that they have CD drives as they are primarily used for audio playback.

Hi Woodmeister
They are 2.3GHz Intel i5 machines with no internal CD drive. They have 2Gb ram and are running OSX 10.7.2.
The Macbook air superdrive is plugged in directly to to the back of the mini.
I thought it might just be a bad import but for each disk the errors seem to be fairly consistent across all the computers even using different disks, different drives and different minis. I haven't yet got a successful full import of a CD. It usually messes up the beginning of the first track (by going backwards and forwards over the same bit over and over), and then again about 5-6 tracks in of a normal CD (same thing). It doesn't seem to make a difference whether it's a bought or burned CD.
I have used iTunes, QLab, and Finder to import the CDs and it's always the same.
Thanks

Mac mini and external superdrive

hi
yesterday buy a new mac mini core i5 with a external superdrive and have the next probleme:
when insert a dvd movie the external superdrive no read the movie, only eject the dvd.
what probleme have.
thank you so mutch.

I'll correct myself:
I think you will find that you can't boot from that
drive because it's a USB device. Intel minis can
USB-boot, but PPC systems can only do so from
firewire externals.
Actually some users have had success booting (rather slowly) from USB devices on some Macs, so the above is not universally true. However, if the drive is bootable and the mini recognizes it as such, it will show in the boot loader screen when the system is started with the Option key held down. If it does not appear in the screen and it is correctly attached and powered and has a valid install disk for the system loaded in it, then it isn't bootable.

SuperDrive on Mac Mini

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