Mac mini and external optical drives apple community. Aimed at multimedia professionals, the caldigit av pro 2 is a welldesigned, macformatted external drive that comes in ssd and spinning disk versions, and includes both a usb hub and thunderbolt. Do i really need a macspecific external hard drive. Good product and recommendi have a mac book pro without dvd, this dvd drive with usb c connection give me a easy connect dvd drive without any tr. Need an optical drive for your mac or windows system so you can read audio cds, watch dvd movies or just read and write data disks. During the style evolution, lgs optical drive has achieved a new status from slimmer to the slimmest. Apr 04, 2017 need an optical drive for your mac or windows system so you can read audio cds, watch dvd movies or just read and write data disks. Apr 12, 2017 the remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. There are a plethora of dvd drives available from branded and. Asus powerful bluray drive with 16x writing speed and usb 3. Windows 10 is not working with optical drives especially those of the external kind. If youve recently upgraded to a new imac or macbook pro, youre probably going to need an optical drive if you want to continue importing your movies and music to itunes, or just access the content on your discs.
Feb 25, 2020 external drives come with a variety of confusing and esoteric ports. For your mac, lg brings an ultraslim dvd external drive. Typically, external drives are formatted out of the box. I have attached it to other systems using windows 7 in my home and to other laptops using windows 7 and it works great. You can also share discs from the optical drive of another mac, or from a windows computer. There are two ways to access such external drives on your mac via linux os or fuse system. The mac and windowscompatible device can write up to 16x with bdxl support that supports data storage up to 128 gb. If you think youll need an external drive mostly for bluray discs, most of them will also. Another reason for your mac not recognizing external drives is a dirty or loose connection between your cable, usbc multiadapter, thunderbolt 3, or other connecting ports. In case a computer is old you may need an extra ycable. It has a stylish design thanks to a concentriccircle hairline finish. An optical drive refers to a computer system that allows users to use dvds, cds and bluray optical drives.
Lg offers the latest in stateoftheart technology with the reliability you expect. That being said windows and mac are on different file systems so you will need your drive to be in fat32 or else use a software like paragon ntfs if you want to share between windows and macs. Optical drives add bulk to laptops, and many slim laptops sacrifice this feature for a smaller and lighter frame. Consider how youll be saving and transferring files, such as photos, videos, files from tablets, files from pc laptops, or photos from toprated cell phones. Mediastation drives are compatible with both windows and mac computers. Mac mini and external optical drives hi all, just wondering if ill be able to use external optical drives with my mac mini which doesnt have a dvd writer, it detects and mounts in osx, but cant playback a dvd or burn, do i have to use any third party software like roxio. Explore lgs external and internal drives and burners as well as our complete line of allinone computers, and the superior data solutions of lgs bluray burners and drives, dvd burners and drives and more. Jan 02, 2020 best cd drives for mac mini imore 2020. Drive speed is measured in revolutions per minute rpm, based on how fast the drive can spin. The easiest would be installing linux to a secondary drive or virtual machine.
Apple may have ditched physical media, but if you have discs you want to watch, play, or rip, then these external dvd and bluray player and. If your laptop does not come with a dvd drive or your pc does not have the 5. Modern external dvd drives do not require an external power source. If you think youll need an external drive mostly for bluray discs, most of them will also play dvds and cds but are. It is a plug and play pnp drive that does not require additional drivers and supports windows, mac and can run on linux too. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your mac. Recover data from scratched or damaged cd or dvd optical drive. Such an external drive could read cds and dvds, play blurays, and even burn discs if thats what you want. Nov 14, 2019 there are two ways to access such external drives on your mac via linux os or fuse system. There are a plethora of dvd drives available from branded and nonbranded manufacturers but. Superdrive bluray, dvdcd optical drives w firewire. Asus zendrive is compatible with windows and mac os as well as nero backitup for android devices.
In this case, i decided to put the drive through the paces of burning a dvdr. How to get my mac to recognize an external dvd drive quora. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Apr 01, 2020 modern external dvd drives do not require an external power source. I was pleased with the buffalo external optical drive and it being a bluray compatible. So, even in 2019, there are still situations when you need an external optical drive. A portable drive draws power from your computer, so you wont need a power outlet, plus these drives easily fit in laptop backpacks. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. Typically youll get more capacity for the price with desktop external hard drives for mac, which you can store on computer desks. Superdrive bluray, dvdcd optical drives w firewire, usb. Desktopbound and portable platterbased storage has never been cheaper. The drive is a great choice for those looking for a external cddvd player writer, it works on both macpc platforms, its a great alternative for the super drive which. There are two main types of optical drives and burners. Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives.
Hp has no viable fix and every driver has been updated on the system. If your mac doesnt have a builtin optical drive and you need to use a cd or dvd, you can connect an external drive like the apple usb superdrive. Furthermore, this external optical drive can be used comfortably on both mac os as well as windows 10. Find the best external dvd drives for macs based on what customers said. It should just work, i have been doing exactly that for many years and external dvds have always worked on my macs. First plug in the external drive to a usb port that you know works with other devices now insert a dvd movie that you know w. Compare portable, usb and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online. External optical drives bluray up to 16x, dvd up to 24x, dvddl up to 16x, cdrw up to 48x readwriteburn speeds.
Apr 15, 2020 the best external hard drives for mac are. Jan 24, 2020 best external dvd drives for laptops, pcs, and macs. Discover the world of external hard drives for mac. Its always better to choose an external dvd or cd drive which supports usb 3. Such an external drive could read cds and dvds, play blurays, and even burn discs if. May 09, 2019 the best external hard drives for mac in 2020. To find your best external hard drive for mac, youll want to decide how quickly you want to save and retrieve data. Best external dvd drives for laptops, pcs, and macs. Just because your mac doesnt have a builtin superdrive doesnt mean you cant add one both the apple usb superdrive and macbook air superdrive are compatible with all macs made after 2008, but theres also a wide range of nonapple cd and dvd drives out there that are typically much cheaper, and will work with most macbooks just make sure you check. Top 10 best selling external optical drives cd drive 2020. The drive contains some lenses that project electromagnetic waves that are responsible for reading and writing data on optical discs. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac.
If you think youll need an external drive mostly for bluray discs, most of them will also play dvds and cds but are not readablewritable. Jan 24, 2018 we use 2 different external optical drives. It could be possible that mac successfully recognizes the external drive, but it is not showing on the desktop of mac. The point is that lots of computers have enough power for an optical drive, so you will need only one cable for its work. Amazon prime day is the perfect day to pick up an external cd or dvd drive for your mac. How to use cds, dvds, and blurays on a mac without an. An external optical drive will allow you to access discs on your mac.
How to play dvds and cds on a mac that doesnt have a built. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Just because your mac doesnt have a builtin superdrive doesnt mean you cant add one both the apple usb superdrive and macbook air superdrive are compatible with all macs made after 2008, but theres also a wide range of nonapple cd and dvd drives out there that are typically much cheaper, and will work with most macbooks just make. Mediastation external optical drives are ideal for simple and frequent data backups on bluray, cds, and dvds. Product title external suction optical drive burner usb external s. How to play dvds and cds on a mac that doesnt have a. This drive works just like any other optical drive but keep in mind this external usb dvd burner uses 2.
Highperformance, plugandplay external opticals with multiple interface and disc support options compatible with mac and pc. Optical drives are integral parts of electronics devices such as vcd players, cd players, bluray. So check your cable, your dongle if used, any additional adapters, and the ports on both computers and drive to ensure that they are clear, clean, snug and fit tightly to. With its 8x dvdr writing speed, you can quickly transfer data from your dvd or cd to your macbook or imac. Dec 15, 2014 an external optical drive will allow you to access discs on your mac. Tips to fix mac doesnt recognize external hard drive on. To do this, youll need to buy an external disc reader that plugs into your mac via a usb cable. This is the latest generation of the western digital my passport external hard drives comes in capacities from 1tb to 4tb, and features cloud storage.
External optical drive will not work in windows 10. Place any internal bluray, dvd or cd drive into an owc external enclosure to create a custom optical drive solution. Mac mini and external optical drives hi all, just wondering if ill be able to use external optical drives with my mac mini which doesnt have a dvd writer, it detects and mounts in osx, but cant playback a dvd or burn, do i have to. External drives come with a variety of confusing and esoteric ports. Mac only drives are just marketing bs although sometimes hard drive companies ship unnecessary software with their drives which may be os specific. The last apple mac to ship with an optical cd or dvd drive was a in macbook. A budget external optical drive that supports a variety of cd and dvd formats and supports usb 3. The other is a more expensive bd writer, with external power supply, and long cable. Youll find desktop and portable external hard drives. Optical drives went the way of the dodo bird a few years ago on mac computers due to most software, movies, and music all moving online, but sometimes you still need a good old fashioned cd drive. External cd drives included in this wiki include the lg wp50nb40, pioneer super slim, asus zendrive, guamar dvd, roofull portable, apple. This external dvd optical drive is ultra slim and has usb 2. Adding external optical drives and burners can provide you with all the capabilities you need.