has anyone stopped to think that this Air superdrive "Only" might be useful on future MacBookXXXX type products. IE a updated macbook or a 15" macbook pro, that does not have a internal Drive.
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MacBook Air SuperDrive Accessory Needs High-Power USB Port
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@lupin..the..3rd
I completely agree that Apple is marketing this correctly in not stating that it is a USB device. (MS has always been more underhanded in that area)
However, my concern could play out as follows:
Due to consumer demand (heres lookin at you rotorblade69
), Apple decides to implement its high powered USB spec across their line. Peripheral maker take notice of this and begin to create stylish external USB HDDs for Apple machines that do no require external power. Consumers love the idea but unfortunately it only works for Apple machines. Not to be out-done, Dell extends the USB spec to create a similar, but incompatible high-power variant and quickly jumps in with a line of single cable external HDDs and powered USB hubs that only work with Dell. We are left with the consumer now having to figure out the difference between UniversalSB, AppleSB, DellSB, SonySB
. (all using the same connector )
This is completely hypothetical and I personally I dont see this scenario taking place since USB 3.0 is close to release and may address the power issue. My position is ideological and Im stirring some FUD into the pot to make the point that the long term advantage of compatible standards, outweighs the short-term gain from fragmentation.
I completely agree that Apple is marketing this correctly in not stating that it is a USB device. (MS has always been more underhanded in that area)
However, my concern could play out as follows:
Due to consumer demand (heres lookin at you rotorblade69
), Apple decides to implement its high powered USB spec across their line. Peripheral maker take notice of this and begin to create stylish external USB HDDs for Apple machines that do no require external power. Consumers love the idea but unfortunately it only works for Apple machines. Not to be out-done, Dell extends the USB spec to create a similar, but incompatible high-power variant and quickly jumps in with a line of single cable external HDDs and powered USB hubs that only work with Dell. We are left with the consumer now having to figure out the difference between UniversalSB, AppleSB, DellSB, SonySB
. (all using the same connector )This is completely hypothetical and I personally I dont see this scenario taking place since USB 3.0 is close to release and may address the power issue. My position is ideological and Im stirring some FUD into the pot to make the point that the long term advantage of compatible standards, outweighs the short-term gain from fragmentation.
You guys don't get it....
If you check out this site,http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/macbook-air-superdrive-for-all/ , you would realize that it is not the USB port of the Super Drive that makes it incompatible with other computers, it is the USB to IDE bridge. There is custom firmware in there that does a "handshake" between the drive and the MBA which allows the drive to work. If you replace the bridge, or find someway to flash the firmware, than you can use the MBA SuperDrive with ANY OTHER COMPUTER!
Where are you getting the information that the MBA uses an "out of spec" USB connector? From what I understand, which isn't a lot, so I may be wrong, this "out of spec" talk is just out of speculation. (you like that? I just made it up.) Show me some Apple released specs on the USB of the MBA, and I will believe, otherwise, I am sticking with the FACT that the USB to IDE bridge is the problem.
Cheers
If you check out this site,http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/macbook-air-superdrive-for-all/ , you would realize that it is not the USB port of the Super Drive that makes it incompatible with other computers, it is the USB to IDE bridge. There is custom firmware in there that does a "handshake" between the drive and the MBA which allows the drive to work. If you replace the bridge, or find someway to flash the firmware, than you can use the MBA SuperDrive with ANY OTHER COMPUTER!
Where are you getting the information that the MBA uses an "out of spec" USB connector? From what I understand, which isn't a lot, so I may be wrong, this "out of spec" talk is just out of speculation. (you like that? I just made it up.
) Show me some Apple released specs on the USB of the MBA, and I will believe, otherwise, I am sticking with the FACT that the USB to IDE bridge is the problem.Cheers
If you check out this site,http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/macbook-air-superdrive-for-all/ , you would realize that it is not the USB port of the Super Drive that makes it incompatible with other computers, it is the USB to IDE bridge. There is custom firmware in there that does a "handshake" between the drive and the MBA which allows the drive to work. If you replace the bridge, or find someway to flash the firmware, than you can use the MBA SuperDrive with ANY OTHER COMPUTER!
Where are you getting the information that the MBA uses an "out of spec" USB connector? From what I understand, which isn't a lot, so I may be wrong, this "out of spec" talk is just out of speculation. (you like that? I just made it up.
Cheers
No, its the fact that the port gives near-firewire level power to run the drive. Standard USB ports would not have enough power to run an optical drive without a splitter or a cord.
May I repeat.......
I can't believe I would have to repeat myself on a forum.
If you check the site linked to in my prior post, you can see clearly that the MBA SD will work with computers that do NOT have a "near-firewire level power" USB drive. Hmm, apparently such a USB port is not needed.
I can't believe I would have to repeat myself on a forum.
If you check the site linked to in my prior post, you can see clearly that the MBA SD will work with computers that do NOT have a "near-firewire level power" USB drive. Hmm, apparently such a USB port is not needed.
I can't believe I would have to repeat myself on a forum.
If you check the site linked to in my prior post, you can see clearly that the MBA SD will work with computers that do NOT have a "near-firewire level power" USB drive. Hmm, apparently such a USB port is not needed.
Some people either have never read the report in engadget:
ENGADGET: MacBook Air SuperDrive super hack makes it work with any computer
and at tnkgrl's site:
tnkgrl: MacBook Air SuperDrive for all
or are still clinging to the power issue when it is apparent that the IDE to USB bridge with apple's proprietary firmware is causing the lockout on other computers.
I have confirmed that after performing tnkgrl's hack the MacBook Air SuperDrive does indeed work.
The only problem I have experienced so far is burning DL DVD's with the Macbook. Toast 9 and Disk Utility work for burning both single layer DVD's and CD's.
DL DVD problem may be the generic DL DVD's I'm using.
On the PC side absolutely no problem burning everything, even the generic DL DVD's.
Confirmation that the alleged power issue is "bunk".
Updated 9-15-08 The Macbook burnt DL DVD's perfectly using Toast 9 and TDK DL DVD's in place of the generic DL DVD's.
tnkgrl's hack is flawless and the MacBook Air SuperDrive works perfectly on both PC's and non MacBook Air Macs!
IT IS NOT A USB POWER ISSUE!
Herewith are some .jpg from my MacBook's System Profiler:
MacBook Air Superdrive 1.jpg:
The Hardware shows under Disc Burning that the OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5630A (MacBook Air Superdrive) is connected through the USB Interconnect.
MacBook Air Superdrive 2.jpg:
The Hardware Overview shows that the computer is a MacBook 1.1 not a MacBook Air.
MacBook Air Superdrive 3.jpg:
The Hardware shows under USB that the USB TO IDE is recognized and I am running it through a Hub. Please Note the Bus Power (mA): 500
Hopefully this puts the alleged High-Power USB Port issue finally to rest once and for all.
MacBook Air Superdrive 1.jpg:
The Hardware shows under Disc Burning that the OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5630A (MacBook Air Superdrive) is connected through the USB Interconnect.
MacBook Air Superdrive 2.jpg:
The Hardware Overview shows that the computer is a MacBook 1.1 not a MacBook Air.
MacBook Air Superdrive 3.jpg:
The Hardware shows under USB that the USB TO IDE is recognized and I am running it through a Hub. Please Note the Bus Power (mA): 500
Hopefully this puts the alleged High-Power USB Port issue finally to rest once and for all.
Attachments
Thank you for your work on confirming tnkgrl's work. Like you said, this should finally put to rest all questions. Maybe we could get your posts put near the beginning of the thread.
How many different computers have you tested it on?
The tnkgrl hacked MacBook Air Superdrive tested and working on the following computers:
Mac:
12" iBook G4 1.33GHz 1.5GB 120GB w/ Internal Superdrive
MacPro Dual 2.66GHz 2GB 500GB
MacBook 2GHz 2GB 120GB
PC:
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 2.4GHz 4GB 160GB
Sony Vaio 3.4GHz 2GB 1TB
I attached a couple of more pictures from the VAIO showing the MacBook Air Superdrive recognized on the PC side:
VAIO MacBook Air Superdrive 1.jpg:
The System Profiler shows that the computer is a Sony Vaio running Windows Vista Ultimate Service Pack 1
VAIO MacBook Air Superdrive 2.jpg:
The Device Manager shows under DVD/CD-ROM drives that the OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5630A (MacBook Air Superdrive) is connected as a USB Device.
Attachments
Was waiting for this to happen. Took long enough. I would have opened it up myself and mucked around with it, had I owned a unit. Guess we just had to wait for someone else ballsy enough to do it.
Why was everyone so skeptical? I'm glad this is done now though.
I would have opened it up myself and mucked around with it, had I owned a unit. Guess we just had to wait for someone else ballsy enough to do it. Why was everyone so skeptical? I'm glad this is done now though.
I just saw this on ebay...
Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive --- Works on any PC/MAC
Seems like a lot of markup for a bit of soldering but some people would rather pay for the expertise.
If anyone is planning on mod-ing a MacBookAir Superdrive themselves there is another USB to IDE Bridge card which has the crystal as a surface mount component.
There is also no need to remove the daughter-board with this one.
Slim Optical Drive IDE to USB Adapter
I ordered this board and will post if this mod works as well.
BTW The shipping was $9.00 so this board gets a bit pricey!
Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive --- Works on any PC/MAC
Seems like a lot of markup for a bit of soldering but some people would rather pay for the expertise.
If anyone is planning on mod-ing a MacBookAir Superdrive themselves there is another USB to IDE Bridge card which has the crystal as a surface mount component.
There is also no need to remove the daughter-board with this one.
Slim Optical Drive IDE to USB Adapter
I ordered this board and will post if this mod works as well.
BTW The shipping was $9.00 so this board gets a bit pricey!
^^^^
Thanks... I'll be looking out for your results...
I got the MBA Superdrive along with my wife's MBA and we used it exactly once.
Although I'm a bit soldering challenged, I'm itching to try the mod--I figure, what's the worst that could happen? I wreck a device we never use anyway.
Thanks... I'll be looking out for your results...
I got the MBA Superdrive along with my wife's MBA and we used it exactly once.
Although I'm a bit soldering challenged, I'm itching to try the mod--I figure, what's the worst that could happen? I wreck a device we never use anyway.
If anyone is planning on mod-ing a MacBookAir Superdrive themselves there is another USB to IDE Bridge card which has the crystal as a surface mount component.
There is also no need to remove the daughter-board with this one.
Slim Optical Drive IDE to USB Adapter
I ordered this board and will post if this mod works as well.
BTW The shipping was $9.00 so this board gets a bit pricey!
I just finished the mod of a second MacBookAir Superdrive using this other USB to IDE Bridge:
Slim Optical Drive IDE to USB Adapter
I am happy to report that this card works as well.
The cable is a tight fit with this card but it works and you do not have to remove a daughter card or relocate the crystal.
You have to solder the wires from the MacBookAir Superdrive as in this sequence:
RED
GREEN
WHITE
BLACK (Two Wires)
Some System Profiler and Toast Burn pics of a DL DVD showing the Optiarc DVD (MacBookAir Superdrive) being used successfully with my First Gen MacBook!
Attachments
You will need to pull the plastic plug socket, where the new supplied power cord attaches to the new board, off. It should come off with pliers.
You will then need to snip the plug pins close to the board or it will not fit in the enclosure.
Then just solder the wires from the MacBook Air Superdrive to the snipped pins in this sequence:
RED
GREEN
WHITE
BLACK (Two Wires)
There are a total of 5 wires and 4 solder points. Both black wires are ground (and are connected together), the red wire is +5V, the green and white wires are the USB data pair.
After soldering put some Kapton Tape over the solder points.
The screws Apple used to secure their board to the DVD are too short to use with the new board, so use some additional Kapton Tape to secure the board to the DVD.
Check the pull apart pictures here:
http://www.jacobpierce.com/blog/2008/06/01/tear-down-external-usb-macbook-air-superdrive/
And tnkgrl's pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnkgrl/sets/72157605790040071/
You should be good to go.
Let us know your results when you finish.
Good DVD Burner Recommendation?
I agree. I am disappointed in this MBA spec because of the limitation of one USB port. I had no problem with that as long as I could use a hub at home. So now I cannot do something as simple as burn songs from a playlist because my itunes library is on an external usb HD and I can't have the HD and Superdrive connected at the same time!
Does anyone have a good external USB DVD burner to recommend that works on a USB hub?
Thanks.
I agree. I am disappointed in this MBA spec because of the limitation of one USB port. I had no problem with that as long as I could use a hub at home. So now I cannot do something as simple as burn songs from a playlist because my itunes library is on an external usb HD and I can't have the HD and Superdrive connected at the same time!
Does anyone have a good external USB DVD burner to recommend that works on a USB hub?
Thanks.
The tnkgrl hacked MacBook Air Superdrive works fine on a USB hub (see above posts)
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/6310066/)
or if you are soldering challenged try the LaCie 8x DVD±RW Slimline Drive with LightScribe.
LaCie makes both USB and Firewire models.
There's a thrill in doing it. It's a fun challenge hacking the drive to work on anything.
Worked well. Ordered the part from your link and a refurb drive from the apple store. Took an hour or so (took my time just to make sure i didn't screw up). Just a few notes from my install that may be useful.
1. rtheb's comment of cutting the pins very close is key. There is not much room to play with if you don't do it right and I nearly had to recut because it was close.
2. The existing black sticker and the heat resistant tape is useful (especially if you dont have that stuff lying around). I reused the black sticker to make sure that none of the board components make contact with the drive and the tape i wrapped around the soldered points so that it wouldnt make contact with the case.
3. I had originally thought to to desolder the pins and just solder directly to the board, but the board heats up too quickly for the iron i had and ended up with the pin cutting method (couldn't find my wire cutters and used a small serrated knife - it worked fine).
4. The macbook air eject button (at least from I could gather) doesn't work with the modded drive. You can still right click and eject from the desktop but the keyboard key is effectively useless.
5. The screws that come with the IDE board are long enough for this mod and doesn't require tape to hold it down.
Also just to note, getting the case off the drive was very tough. My drive barely had enough room for a credit card to fit and I had to use a screw driver to help nudge the old credit cards in place. Once you get one side off, the whole thing just pops off.
1. rtheb's comment of cutting the pins very close is key. There is not much room to play with if you don't do it right and I nearly had to recut because it was close.
2. The existing black sticker and the heat resistant tape is useful (especially if you dont have that stuff lying around). I reused the black sticker to make sure that none of the board components make contact with the drive and the tape i wrapped around the soldered points so that it wouldnt make contact with the case.
3. I had originally thought to to desolder the pins and just solder directly to the board, but the board heats up too quickly for the iron i had and ended up with the pin cutting method (couldn't find my wire cutters and used a small serrated knife - it worked fine).
4. The macbook air eject button (at least from I could gather) doesn't work with the modded drive. You can still right click and eject from the desktop but the keyboard key is effectively useless.
5. The screws that come with the IDE board are long enough for this mod and doesn't require tape to hold it down.
Also just to note, getting the case off the drive was very tough. My drive barely had enough room for a credit card to fit and I had to use a screw driver to help nudge the old credit cards in place. Once you get one side off, the whole thing just pops off.
You will need to pull the plastic plug socket, where the new supplied power cord attaches to the new board, off. It should come off with pliers.
You will then need to snip the plug pins close to the board or it will not fit in the enclosure.
Then just solder the wires from the MacBook Air Superdrive to the snipped pins in this sequence:
RED
GREEN
WHITE
BLACK (Two Wires)
There are a total of 5 wires and 4 solder points. Both black wires are ground (and are connected together), the red wire is +5V, the green and white wires are the USB data pair.
After soldering put some Kapton Tape over the solder points.
The screws Apple used to secure their board to the DVD are too short to use with the new board, so use some additional Kapton Tape to secure the board to the DVD.
Check the pull apart pictures here:
http://www.jacobpierce.com/blog/2008/06/01/tear-down-external-usb-macbook-air-superdrive/
And tnkgrl's pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnkgrl/sets/72157605790040071/
You should be good to go.
Let us know your results when you finish.
Update on my status:
Thank you very much for the detail, it is very, very helpful.
It has kind-of worked for me. My MBP recognizes the drive and it will mount a CD I put in it.
But Toast (8, update) will freeze on startup when the drive is plugged in to my machine, and when I tried to burn a test disc through disk utility, that froze too.
My solder points are a mess, so I'd guess I've got a bad connection. I'm going to resolder it, but I haven't had time. Hopefully I haven't fried the board by overheating it.
Your success gives me hope. Alas, I am pretty bad at soldering. It seems it requires 3-4 hands to do easily--I only have 2.
The case came off pretty easily for me. Credit cards are too thick. What worked well for me was a supermarket dicount card. It is thinner than a credit card but sturdy enough to do the job. To get the card in the seam, I jammed a small flathead screwdriver into the seam between two supermarket cards (to keep from mangling the aluminum too badly) and used that to pry the seam open a bit to the point where I could slide the one of the cards in. The supermarket card is pretty mangled, but the enclosure is in great shape.
BTW, what kind of soldering iron tip and solder do you use for this kind of work?