The macbook air is designed to be as thin and as light as possible. Try restarting the system and press the c key to get it to read the disk which it will fail and kick out. During startup of the drive, you simply insert a cddvd and wait for your macbook to read the disk. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. Now you probably all know that that macbook air has no optical drive so were going to walk you through the process of using a remote disk drive from. The macbook air as well as other optical driveless macs, such as the mac mini and the new retina macbooks comes with a feature called remote disc, which lets you wirelessly borrow the optical drive of almost any nearby mac or pc. Remote disc, remote install, and related technologies that enable the air to. My best friend bought a new laptop today and gave me his old macbook pro to try and fix, if it was possible. How to forcibly eject a cd dvd from a macbook air usb superdrive. Sharing discs 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. This can be done between macs or between your macbook and a microsoft windows pc. How to forcibly eject a cddvd from a macbook air usb superdrive. Compare portable, usb and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online. Shop for external bluray for macbook air at best buy.
The macbook air is designed to be as thin and as light as possible and so it does not include an optical drive of any kind. On your macbook air, within the remote disc window, doubleclick on the name of. The sony vaio x505, released in 2004, had a minimum thickness of 0. Apr 12, 2017 the remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. The only way to watch a dvd is to use an external dvd drive. The macbook air superdrive has unique firmware which prevents it from being properly recognized as a plug and play optical usb drive by windows. One more representative of the best cd and dvd drives is apple usb superdrive. I love my macbook air, and im sure you lucky folks who have one of the new retinadisplay macbook pros love your. Ive tried to get info, and it shows locked in grey letters. Activate the dvd and cd sharing option in the sharing list.
Its portable design is great for mobile workstation. How to use remote disc sharing in windows 7 to share a dvd. I got my new macbook air but, while trying to download drivers from a printer disc im not able to eject the disc. Remote disc sharing may not be perfect, but sharing a disc over the network has the same limitations on windows. Otherwise youll need to open up the drive to pull the disk out. On your macbook air, open a finder window and look for the remote disc entry under the devices heading. Youll never have to worry about lost cables with the apple usb superdrive. I cant figure out how to eject a disk from the superdrive. Open a finder window and you should see remote disc. And the most convenient place to access them is in the finder sidebar. Surprisingly the macbook by apple doesnt have a pin hole where you can use a pin to forcefully eject the disc that is stuck in the superdrive. Maybe you just picked up a new external hard drive, dvd or cd device, server, or even memory stick to use with your mac.
How to forcibly eject a cddvd from a macbook air usb. Having this external drive you will be able to play and burn cds as well as dvds, create backup discs and install program software. Use remote disc to share a cddvd drive between macs. Once connected the external superdrive acts just like an internal one. When you try to plug in the drive again, your mac no longer sees it. Another feature you might be able to use is remote disc. Macbook pro os x install with no cd drive macrumors forums. Once os x finds a network drive, you will be able to connect to it and access the resources you have permission to access. How to use another computers dvd drive across a network with. There are two ways to access such external drives on your mac via linux os or fuse system. Apple computers without a builtin optical drive can connect an external apple usb superdrive or macbook air superdrive to read optical media such as cds and dvds. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. Cd drives and dvd drives when youre looking for cd drives and dvd drives, walmart has got you covered.
Bluray discs are the gold standard in physical video formats right now. First, youll need to set up the server on a remote computer with a disc drive. Wondering whether to buy an apple superdrive to go with your mac. Mounting is the technical term for opening the drive to use it.
Insert the cd dvd you would like to share and then boot up the macbook air. However, there are a couple of workarounds if you really need a cd or dvd drive. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Apples branded playableburnable cddvd drive is the perfect complement to your imac or macbook pro unless you have a late 2016 or newer.
The apple usb superdrive has a slightly longer 340mm cable compared to the cable on the macbook air superdrive 250mm. The remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. The macbook air forgoes the optical drive to keep it thin and small. Into the mac with the media drive, insert a data cd or dvd. Shop for optical drives for macbook pro at best buy. How to install software from a cddvd to a macbook air. On that mac, go to system preferences sharing and make sure the dvd or cd sharing box is checked. Now the problem im having with his macbook is, he was trying to get rid of boot camp, and it forced him to do a. We can configure os x to automatically mount the drive in the future to save having to do this every time you want to access something. On your macbook air, within the remote disc window. This january marks the 10th anniversary of the iconic macbook air.
How to share a dvd drive over wifi with remote disc. To eject a dvd or disc from a mac book air when you are. 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. How to use cds, dvds, and blurays on a mac without an. Mac desktop and macbook owners are used to living without a cd or. I heard that some settings in system preferences have to be altered for. Figured it was a better idea than giving it to best buy to dispose of. Assuming the computer with a disc drive you want to share is a mac, click the apple menu, click system preferences, and click the sharing icon.
How to use remote disc sharing in windows 7 to share a dvd or. The remote disc feature in os x allows you to use a dvd drive in another computer on your network as if it were attached to your computer, allowing you to install software on a disc to your macbook air. With this portable disc drive for mac, you can play dvds, rip discs, burn home movies to dvd, extract music from cd etc. Apple sells a usb superdrive that connects to any macbook air, macbook pro with retina display, imac or mac mini.
Ejecting the stuck disc can usually be done in one of the following ways. How to use cds, dvds, and blurays on a mac without an optical. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your mac. Remote disc is a way for macs without optical drives air, mini to access another computers optical drive over a network. Before accessing a cd dvd on your macbook air, you have to setup the other mac for dvd or cd sharing. Youll need to purchase an external disc drive and connect it directly to a mac or windows pc without an optical drive if you want all the features an optical drive offers. The macbook air as well as other optical drive less macs, such as the mac mini and the new retina macbooks comes with a feature called remote disc, which lets you wirelessly borrow the optical drive of almost any nearby mac or pc. See the compatibility list for mac computers and the apple usb superdrive or the macbook air superdrive. Gtechnology 1tb g drive mobile ssd rseries storage. In this tutorial, youll learn how to set up and use remote disc dvd or cd drive sharing for an apple macbook air netbook. You may have a dialog to confirm on the other mac before you can access the media on the macbook air. For more information, including a full demonstration and detailed, stepbystep instructions, watch this helpful. How to show external drives in the finder sidebar on mac. You probably have a decent bluray collection of your favorite movies, but without a bluray drive, you cant play them on your mac.
Theres no separate power adapter, and it works whether your mac is plugged in or running on battery power. From dvd recorders, dvd burners, cd burners and floppy disk drives to dvd duplicators, cd duplicators, dvdrom drives and dvd writers, the selection of cd drives and dvd drives at walmart will give you plenty to choose from. This allows you to insert a dvd into a drive on one mac, and watch it over a. Nov 21, 2012 use remote disc to share a cd dvd drive between macs nov 21, 2012 12 comments now that mac mini, imac, macbook air, and retina macbook pro have moved away from carrying internal superdrives, owners of these newer macs will possibly get more usage out of the remote disc feature than ever before. How to play dvds and cds on a mac that doesnt have a. Dont heed this advice unless you have an old external cd dvd drive i just took my new 2014 mac one apart and it is not the same under the hood as the diagrams herethe process to remove the disc was impossible. Here are 10 methods proven to eject any stuck cd or dvd without wasting your money and time in sending your macbook to apple repair center. I put a dvd in it, it all worked perfectly normal, once finishing the dvd i shut down the computer like i would normal but i forgot to eject the disk. This feature is built into os x, but youll need to install a small utility to share your windows 7 disc drive with a mac. Apple also provides free remote disc server software for windows pcs. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the. I recently purchase a new macbook air and i hope to import some of my songs from my cds into itunes. Appleinsider explains how to remotely access the cd or dvd drive of.
Its also highly compatible and supports macbook, macbook air, imac, mac mini. This situation often occurs after you initially eject the external drive and unplug it from your computer. How to use macbook air superdrive dvd drive on windows pcs. However, as the air doesnt have a cd dvd drive, how can i share my imacs drive with the macbook air. The macbook air has the ability to use the optical drive of a mac or pc on the same home network. There are a couple of workarounds if you really need a cd or dvd drive.
You will see the disk that is stuck in there, but it will be grayed out. Dec 21, 2010 when software comes on a cd or dvd and you want to install it on a macbook air, you cant just pop open the disc drive or slide a disc into a slot, like you would on a computer with an optical drive. So you can put a disc in another mac or windows pc and read it on your mini. Discover the world of external hard drives for mac.
The common issue is ext2 and ext3formatted drives are not readable on macos. If your mac doesnt have a builtin optical drive and you need to use a cd or dvd. This mac external cd drive is designed for the owners of macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac starting from 2012, mac mini starting from 2009, mac pro starting from 20. Discover what you can do with an apple cd and dvd burner and whether.
It should just work, i have been doing exactly that for many years and external dvds have always worked on my macs. Jun 07, 2017 for computers that did not ship with an optical drive and do not have the apple usb superdrive, you can use cd or dvd sharing to access a cd or dvd in another computers optical drive. In any case, its an easy process and this video presents a complete guide. Click on the drive image to the right it will lead you to the ifixit guide on how to open the drive up. If you have access to a second mac that does have a builtin optical drive, then it is possible to insert a dvd or cd into this mac, and then access the disc on the mac that doesnt have the builtin drive, using a feature known as remote disc. Macbook air features the apple t2 security chip secondgeneration custom mac silicon designed by apple to make macbook air even more secure. It connects to your macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac, or mac mini with a single usb typea cable thats built into the superdrive. Its never been a problem before but now it wont eject the disk thats in there. Get help with the slotloading superdrive on your mac.
Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. Jul 28, 20 find out what to do if the cd dvd player in your macbook pro will not work with help from an apple retail expert in this free video clip. How to play dvds and cds on a mac that doesnt have a builtin. First, you can use apples remote disc option to install programs. How to open an external drive thats not showing on mac. So when you use touch id to unlock your mac, authenticate a document, or pay a merchant online, your information stays safe. Mar 08, 2020 sometimes our macbooks, macbook pros, or macs dont recognize our external drives or external thumb drives. Mar 02, 2011 the remote disc feature in os x allows you to use a dvd drive in another computer on your network as if it were attached to your computer, allowing you to install software on a disc to your macbook air. Of course you could also just get a different external dvdrw cdrw drive too at less cost, as many of the other solutions either work immediately with plugandplay in windows.
Being able to see these external devices and their contents is obviously important. Fortunately, apple provides the drivers for running windows on a mac, as part of its bootcamp software. The macbook air does not have a cd, dvd, or superdrive. I have a macbook air which doesnt have a disk drive built in so i bought an external one. The easiest would be installing linux to a secondary drive. Select it and youll see any macs on your local network that have a media drive. Sometimes our macbooks, macbook pros, or macs dont recognize our external drives or external thumb drives. Thats the user inserts a dvd and the superdrive will play dvd, cd audio and record both cds and dvds.
How to set up and use remote disc drive sharing for the. How do i use remote disc with my macbook air and another mac. It, like the macbook air, was a tapered design, with a maximum height of 0. Gtechnology 1tb g drive mobile ssd rseries storage next gallery image. Nov 16, 2011 my macbook pro doesnt recognize the the dvd cd drive because my cat chewed the wire. Apple super drive surface pro 4 compatibility my apple superdrive works perfectly with my wifes macbook pro. On your macbook air, within the remote disc window, doubleclick on the name of the mac that. When i plug it into my surface pro 4, the computer sees it as a usb dvd drive but when i insert a cd dvd, the superdrive does not engage the cd to complete the insertion process or spin up. Both the apple usb superdrive and macbook air superdrive are compatible with. With the apple usb superdrive md564lla you will be able to watch movies on dvd, install software, create backup copies, and perform many other tasks. This connects happily to any usbequipped mac or macbook. Five ways to eject a stuck cd or dvd from the optical drive. Five ways to eject a stuck cd or dvd from the optical. The macbook air ships with software tools that allow users to do without the external drive option for most purposes.
It is compatible with macbook, macbook air, macbook pro, imac or mac mini via a single usb cable to help read dvd cd and write to cd r and dvdr discs. I look at the help files and the internet but the only thing i could find was about setting system preferences to sharing cd dvd drive. Find out what to do if the cd dvd player in your macbook pro will not work with help from an apple retail expert in this free video clip. Once the drivers are installed properly in windows, the apple superdrive should accept discs, read, write, and eject them as expected, just like it does on the mac.
765 65 984 1443 1431 1507 907 1429 1415 645 1328 679 1598 462 1097 168 40 1479 278 663 1396 1210 1512 286 745 1471 226 254 940 111 10 1059 1092 183 536 602 905 1184 1163 216 1258 597