Reporting: MacBook CD/DVD drive won't read discs - can it be fixed? This post has been flagged and will be reviewed by our staff. Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community. + The drive illustrated is the type used in iMacs, delicate but not nearly so much as the Macbbok pro superdrive. The latter can also be opened with care but is better cleaned by careful insertion of a cleaning disc or the business card + optical cleaning cloth.
- Mac Cleaner Review
- Best Mac Cleaners
- Optical Drive For Macbook
- Industrial Optical Cleaner
- Mac Compatible Optical Drives
- Mac Dvd Drive Cleaner
Did you know you could share the optical drive from one computer with another OS X machine? It even works cross-platform to a certain extent, allowing you to use your Windows optical drive through your Mac. Learn how in this quick, in-depth guide to optical drive sharing.
Possible Scenarios
Why would you ever need to borrow another machine's optical drive? Perhaps you have a Macbook Air and want to reinstall OS X, but it's an older version of Air and you have no inner recovery drive with the installation burned onto it. Or maybe your Macbook Pro drive died, and you really need to back up your data onto some optical media.
Yet another scenario: someone gave you a CD with pictures, and you have no means of reading it with your Macbook Air, as you have no external optical drive.
All these can be solved with the help of DVD/CD Sharing, an option available since OSX 10.4+. To use this feature, we need to prepare the machines first and foremost.
Since OS X 10.4+, the option to use a remote optical drive is natively available.
Step 1. Prepare the computer without an optical drive
This section focuses on preparing the computer that will be the user of the remote optical drive.
While the computers without an actual drive won't have the following option, it is sometimes required on machines that have a broken drive. Therefore, go to System Preferences > Sharing > DVD or CD Sharing. Turn it on, and leave the 'Ask to use' checkbox unchecked. Spotify download bug.
DVD or CD Sharing is usually unnecessary on the Mac that will be using another Mac's drive, but can sometimes play a role in getting it to work properly.
Also note that Apple restricted the Remote Disc option (the ability to use another machine's optical drive) to devices that actually don't have an optical drive (Mac Mini, Macbook Air, etc.), so we have to hack around that and manually make it available.
If you want an iMac or a MacBook Pro to be able to use another machine's optical drive, open the Terminal application (Applications > Utilities > Terminal) and enter the following commands:
This tells the system to allow the machine you're on to see the remotely shared optical drive we'll be setting up in the next step. Note that it is unnecessary to do this on a Macbook Air or Mac Mini.
Step 2a. Prepare the Mac with an optical drive
This section focuses on preparing the computer that will be the provider of the optical drive. Best app to open exe files on mac. It assumes the computer has OS X installed. If it has Windows installed, see the next section instead.
Free spotify with virgin. If you have another Mac which will be providing the drive we'll be tapping into, make sure it's on the same network. Wireless or wired doesn't matter as long as they share the same local area network. Next, do the exact same as above - go into System Preferences > Sharing and check DVD or CD Sharing.
If you want, feel free to check the 'Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD drive' option - this will make sure that the Mac looking to use the drive requests confirmation from the host first, which will appear in the form of a popup.
Tip: It is recommended you check 'Ask to use for additional security' if you intend to maintain this relationship between your computers for a while.
Step 2b. Prepare the Windows computer with an optical drive
This section focuses on preparing the computer that will be the provider of the optical drive. It assumes the computer has Windows installed. If it has OS X installed, see previous section instead.
Surprisingly, Apple supports sharing from Windows as well. This means you can tap into a Windows host and use its optical drive. To do this, you need to be running Windows XP SP2 or newer, and you need to download and install the DVD or CD Sharing software update.
Once done, a new option will appear in the Control Panel.
DVD or CD Sharing on Windows
This acts exactly the same as the option on an OS X machine and offers the identical options, with one additional important benefit we'll cover later.
Step 3. Using the remote drive
Now that our OS X/Windows host is prepared, it's time to access the drive from our drive-less machine. Open Finder, and look for Devices. In case you don't see the devices section, go to Finder > Preferences, and under Sidebar check everything you see in the Devices section near the bottom.
After you do this, the remote host should appear in the Devices list in your Finder's sidebar, like so: Free memory cleaner for mac.
By clicking on it, and then on 'Ask to use if you checked that option' on the machine you prepared, you can access the device.
Your Mac will tell you that it's talking to the other machine
It's connected!
It is very important to remember that drive sharing won't work for media that is copy protected - DVD movies, Audio CDs, original games and bootable media like OS installation DVDs. This is strictly for backup purposes and/or data read/write operations - not for streaming content from one device to the other. If your drive died, it is recommended you buy an external one or a SuperDrive - external USB optical drives can be found for as little as $30 these days.
Installing OS X from a Windows Machine
The Windows update package comes with an interesting perk - it has out-of-the-box support for installing OS X directly on a Macbook Air remotely. To do this, prepare the Macbook Air as you would usually for accepting a remote optical drive for use. Then, on the Windows machine, go to Start > Programs > DVD or CD Sharing and select the only available option. Insert an OS X installation disc into the drive, and follow the wizard instructions, it's as simple as that!
Mac Cleaner Review
Conclusion
You are now fully prepared to share an optical drive from Windows or OS X with another OS X machine. This should alleviate some headaches should you ever run into problems with your drive or purchase a machine without an on-board optical drive.
BestCD/DVD Drives for MaciMore2019
If you've recently upgraded to a new iMac or MacBook Pro, you're 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. If you think you'll need an external drive mostly for Blu-Ray discs, most of them will also play DVDs and CDs but are not readable/writable drives for CDs or DVDs. Either way, here are some solid options.
No adapter needed: Confoly USB-C Superdrive
Staff pickI have this model CD/DVD drive for my Mac computers for multiple reasons. For one, it's practically the same as Apple's SuperDrive in every way, and second, it's got a USB-C cable so I can connect it to my MacBook Pro without needing any additional adapters. Oh, there's a third reason, too. Epson workforce wf-3640 software download for mac. It comes with a USB-A adapter so I can connect it to any standard USB port.
$49 at AmazonCupertino's own: Apple USB SuperDrive
Apple's branded playable/burnable CD/DVD drive is the perfect complement to your iMac or MacBook Pro unless you have a late 2016 or newer MacBook Pro, in which case you'll need the USB-C to USB adapter. It's not much larger than the size of a CD case, so it fits snug in your computer bag without taking up a lot of room. All you have to do is plug it into your computer using the USB cable. There's no need for special software or external buttons that might get broken. It's solid, simple, and it looks great with your Mac products.
$79 at AmazonBest Mac Cleaners
USB-C and USB 3.0: VisionTech External CD/DVD Drive
With no eject button on the device and powered by USB the VisionTech External CD/DVD Drive is very slim and compact. You can tuck it away anywhere that makes the most sense for you. Preprogrammed for both Mac and Windows, you shouldn't need to do any formatting to get the drive to work. Plus, this drive has both USB 3.0 and USB-C cables, meaning you can plug it right into your MacBook with no adapter needed. Spotify notification mac app.
Optical Drive For Macbook
$31 at AmazonInexpensive choice: LG GP65NB60
LG makes a CD/DVD drive that is lightweight, fast, and doesn't cost much. It's made of a hard shell plastic material, so it isn't going to feel as sturdy as Apple's SuperDrive or Confoly's USB-C drive. However, in exchange, you get something that's about as light as a CD in its case.
$25 at AmazonAlso worth considering: Verbatim External CD / DVD Writer
Here's another inexpensive choice, this time from Verbatim. Weighing just 12 ounces, this CD/DVD burner is compact, lightweight, and USB powered. It's a suitable choice if you need to back up sensitive data, as well as music and video libraries.
$24 at AmazonStill serving a need
There are a lot of reasons why you'd need a CD/DVD drive for your Mac, despite the concept being heavily outdated in 2019. Whether you want to digitize your DVD collection or just view a disc on your computer, an optical drive is cheap and sometimes necessary.
As you can see, we've selected the Confoly USB-C Superdrive as our favorite since it's super similar to Apple's SuperDrive and you don't need adapters to utilize it. If you're working with a small budget, take a look at the LG GP65NB60. It gets the job done for a surprisingly low price. Fruity loops free download mac.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Industrial Optical Cleaner
Protect your investment!⌚️Mac Compatible Optical Drives
Keep your Apple Watch Series 4 safe with these great cases
Mac Dvd Drive Cleaner
You’ve got a gorgeous new watch; snag a case to keep it pristine.