[macrojack]

The drive in my iMac has been unwilling to play disks for a while now. I thought that adding an outboard USB drive would be a cheaper and better solution than getting the iMac repaired. So I asked for the outboard drive for Xmas and Santa came through.

But I cannot get the drive to accept a disk. I tried a different USB port in the Mac but that changed nothing. So I tried the drive with my wife's MacBook Air and it worked fine.

So does that mean my machine is incompatible due to age or some other reason? Or is there something you can suggest that will overcome this problem.

I figured I would ask you guys before I take the drive back to Best Buy.

[Blackmore]

I believe SuperDrive only work with Macs that don't have a built in drive.  You probably will want to exchange it for a drive from a different mfg.  aggravating but I don't think there's a way around your problem

[srb]

From the topic How do I get a USB Superdrive to work with a Mac Mini that was built with an optical drive? on Apple Support Communities:


"Open Terminal, you must have a password set on your Mac or this will not work

Paste the below line
sudo nvram boot-args="mbasd=1"

press Return

type in your password (you will not see the cursor moving)

press Return

Restart, it provides more power to the USB ports.

Worked for me on a 2008 iMac"


Steve

[macrojack]

srb - I would like to try this solution but I'm stuck at "open terminal". What does that mean?

[Phil A]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw7Nd67_aFw

[jparkhur]

Not to make you feel bad but many apple drives are doa.  I know for a fact. Bought three from bbc, all bad.   You can try terminal but would suggest getting a bluray external with more power and speed.  Sorry

[jparkhur]

I have this one. Love it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-16x-external-usb-3-0-2-0-blu-ray-disc-double-layer-dvdrw-cd-rw-drive/6697151.p?id=1218782856727&skuId=6697151&pid=1218782856727&pcatId=abcat0504005

[jparkhur]

Doa info

http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/MD564ZM/A/apple-usb-superdrive



It appears to be 50/50 on working

[macrojack]

Thanks everyone for helping. Once I found the terminal access, the rest was magic. Or it seems like magic to me. Computers are voodoo to me. Or maybe doo doo.

Anyway ------- the drive is working perfectly. I knew it wasn't defective because it worked with my wife's MBA.

Isn't it possible to make computers just plug and play? It seems like an ever changing landscape with all maps written in a foreign language. Just having to ask about finding the terminal was embarrassing, and I still don't know what it is.

My son just got a chrome box. I'm wondering if I might find the Google system easier, but I'm told that whole deal is Cloud based. And that concept remains elusive. I guess I'm stuck on tangibility.

Several times now I have made purchases and stuck my toe into creating an audio library only to find myself utterly confused.
I bought a Prius about 5 years ago and just got in and drove it. No worries about viruses. No landscape changing upgrades. No complications involved in owning it. Why can't I have a computer like that?

[srb]

Just having to ask about finding the terminal was embarrassing, and I still don't know what it is.

Terminal on the Mac is an app that provides a text-based command line interface.  On Microsoft based computers it was the only interface for the DOS operating system; when the graphical Windows operating system was introduced, the Command processor app gave access to the command line.

I agree that you shouldn't have needed to do this for this particular scenario, but the reality is that computers are quite complex under the surface of the GUI (Graphical User Interface) and having the ability to enter commands that are not available through the GUI can often solve problems and fix incompatibilities.

Glad that it got the drive working for you.  If you keep using computers in the future, chances are that you will call upon the Terminal app at least one more time to enter some text-based magic and voodoo.

Steve

[macrojack]

Steve - Thanks for helping me and humoring me. I really just play with the computer. Browsing a few usual websites, checking email, texting, and a little research now and again are all I do with my computer.

Oh yeah - I watch a lot of movies on Netflix and dabble in YouTube occasionally. Also watched The World Cup Soccer online after I dumped cable last summer.

[JLM]

Thanks everyone for helping. Once I found the terminal access, the rest was magic. Or it seems like magic to me. Computers are voodoo to me. Or maybe doo doo.

Anyway ------- the drive is working perfectly. I knew it wasn't defective because it worked with my wife's MBA.

Isn't it possible to make computers just plug and play? It seems like an ever changing landscape with all maps written in a foreign language. Just having to ask about finding the terminal was embarrassing, and I still don't know what it is.

My son just got a chrome box. I'm wondering if I might find the Google system easier, but I'm told that whole deal is Cloud based. And that concept remains elusive. I guess I'm stuck on tangibility.

Several times now I have made purchases and stuck my toe into creating an audio library only to find myself utterly confused.
I bought a Prius about 5 years ago and just got in and drove it. No worries about viruses. No landscape changing upgrades. No complications involved in owning it. Why can't I have a computer like that?

+1,000,000    

Maybe in a hundred years.

[mcgsxr]

Isn't the PC you are describing what various vendors sell as music servers?

I guess that is why the $ markup vs playing around with a music PC on your own.

Vortexbox is close to what you want for a music PC.

[srb]

Isn't the PC you are describing what various vendors sell as music servers?
I guess that is why the $ markup vs playing around with a music PC on your own.
Vortexbox is close to what you want for a music PC.

The music servers are often streamlined computers with only essential operating system processes and services enabled and some have lower noise hardware targeted for audio users.  But they're still computers and are subject to problems and incompatibilities.  The VortexBox User Forum doesn't seem to be exempt from users having problems.

Steve

[macrojack]

The music servers are often streamlined computers with only essential operating system processes and services enabled and some have lower noise hardware targeted for audio users.  But they're still computers and are subject to problems and incompatibilities.  The VortexBox User Forum doesn't seem to be exempt from users having problems.

Steve

Exactly! I started reading with interest when that new Sony box became available but I quit reading as soon as the problems started being reported. That stuff costs a lot of money and should be 100% bug free. Until it is, I'm on the outside looking in with no interest. If anyone in high end audio wants to sell beyond us ever-dwindling number of masochists, they better recognize that 99.99% of the market is not, and does not want to be, computer savvy. We want plug and play, period!

By trying to maximize versatility, they sacrifice utility. Too many choices means too much complexity.