MacBook Air SuperDrive Accessory Needs High-Power USB Port

[CWallace]

If I wanted a cheap second burner for my mobile system I could have gone with the Apple model if it was slot loading but alas, they make it compatible with only the MBA.... many lost sales Apple.

What did LaCie do that Apple couldn't do?

LaCie would have to go with an external AC adapter that needs to be plugged into the wall - at least if you want to use that device with the MacBook Air since it only has one USB port so you cannot "dual-port" it to get the ~1.0A such a drive needs to operate unless the LaCie drive is designed to handle more then .5A over it's USB connector and cable.

If the MacBook Air had two USB ports, then it wouldn't need a USB port that could provide ~1A of power and the MacBook Air Superdrive could be powered off two USB ports. And if the MacBook Air had a 6-pin FW400 or FW800 port, that also could have provided the ~1A necessary to power the SuperDrive.

But to stay so thin the MacBook Pro could only have one USB port and no FW so, to quote the late Jimmy Durante, "these are the conditions that prevail".

 

[targat]

I would rather get MacBook than MacBook Air than to buy a external super drive for macbook air, and obviously that is an additional cost. Or buy a generic external super drive. I guess it should work for any computer.

 

[iStefmac]

Well it's called the "MacBook Air SuperDrive," and the description says it's "for the MacBook Air." The system requirements are pretty simple: "MacBook Air computer." Isn't that clear enough?

No, not at all.

No one has ever heard of an external drive that works on one computer in the world. Such a thing doesn't otherwise exist. Nor should it.

 

[iStefmac]

As disappointing as this is, it does hint at a future line of products that will be small light and compact, with boosted USB ports that can use this accessory. (and other future accessories that are minus any power adapters. Ooooo)

 

[WeegieMac]

I was disappointed when it dawned on me that the Macbook Air Superdrive wouldn't work on another Mac.

As only ONE person has pointed out thus far, this was an ideal and brilliantly priced solution for people with a broken SuperDrive.

I own a 17" Intel Core Duo (1.83GHz) iMac and my "wonderful" Fiance used it as her personal bedside DVD player, ramming Will & Grace DVD's into it day after day after day. My SuperDrive is a Matshita, which is renound for being one of the more "volatile" SuperDrive makes available.

Apple quoted me "up to £180" for a new SuperDrive before labour charges, so an external SuperDrive by Apple for £65 (price taken from Apple store online) was looking like an ideal solution. Yes, I realise the product name gives it away, but since it was USB I assumed it would work ... sadly I was wrong, and the search continues. I still refuse to pay the £120 for a LaCie Litescribe.

 

[Sabenth]

http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/LACDV05?cidp=Froogle still steep i know but better than nothing

 

[Eidorian]

MacBook Air: Plugging in a USB device causes MacBook Air to shut down

MacBook Air: 3D graphics applications less responsive when CPU has been in heavy use for prolonged period

MacBook Air: Cannot play DVD movies or ripped CD media using DVD or CD Sharing

It's all about the portability.

 

[MarkCollette]

The more interest is shown in pairing the MacBook Air with this optical drive, the more ridiculous getting a MacBook Air sounds.

 

[CWallace]

MacBook Air: Plugging in a USB device causes MacBook Air to shut down

My boss took out the USB ports on the systemboard of his hp Workstation by plugging in his LG Chocolate phone. It draws more then .5A and it overloaded the port which then took out the entire USB subsystem.

 

[TBi]

My boss took out the USB ports on the systemboard of his hp Workstation by plugging in his LG Chocolate phone. It draws more then .5A and it overloaded the port which then took out the entire USB subsystem.

That should never happen. The boards should have a max output current that is limited internally.

Either he has a really cheap and crappy motherboard (the cause for almost all of peoples windows issues) or else he broke it himself.

 

[CWallace]

That should never happen. The boards should have a max output current that is limited internally.

Either he has a really cheap and crappy motherboard (the cause for almost all of peoples windows issues) or else he broke it himself.

The motherboards in these babies is pretty serious (essentially the HP version of the Mac Pro - we have a few score in production) and it worked fine until he plugged in the phone, which did come with a "dual USB" cable to provide both data and power to the phone.*shrug*

 

[Eidorian]

My boss took out the USB ports on the systemboard of his hp Workstation by plugging in his LG Chocolate phone. It draws more then .5A and it overloaded the port which then took out the entire USB subsystem.

I'm going to agree with TBi here. I've been rather cruel to my USB ports on craptastic desktops to Power Mac/Mac Pros without a short like that. Windows or OS X might complain about the surge but plugging it in again properly resolves it.

 

[LizKat]

The more interest is shown in pairing the MacBook Air with this optical drive, the more ridiculous getting a MacBook Air sounds.

Nah. I got the external optical too. It's like having a pack of nicorette gum in the glovebox for awhile after quitting smoking. Just in case....

I promise to document every single time I actually use my external Superdrive. I will post the results 60 days after my Macbook Air arrives.

Only my cats will know if I lied, of course. But they are blabbermouths.

 

[JonasLondon]

You can buy a cable which plugs into two usb ports and goes to one mini usb for powering external 2.5" harddrives.

I'd guess you could modify/make one of these work work with the drive. Use one USB port just for power and the second for data.

Just what I was thinking. I was a bit bumped when I got a WD Passport 250GB rive that my PowerBook couldn't run it. But a $4 cable solved the "issue" in no time. Anyone tried this yet? We're talking about a simple USB Y-connector btw.

 

[TBi]

The motherboards in these babies is pretty serious (essentially the HP version of the Mac Pro - we have a few score in production) and it worked fine until he plugged in the phone, which did come with a "dual USB" cable to provide both data and power to the phone.*shrug*

This is why the Mac's are more expensive, they use better components. Anyway a "good" HP isn't really that good.

 

[Xapplimatic]

It could work.

It would not work. The way USB works is that a device when you plug it it will send a request for a certain amount of power. It says something lke "I need 500 milliwatts" the hub can respond with a "yes" or a "no". The problem here is that the new DVD drive is asking for an amount of power that every USB port built today except one will send a "No". If is a software issue All ports are current programmed to say "no".

Typically the way this works is the hub will keep track of the power being used by all devices plugged in so if you split the USB cable it can't work because the total is still to large the the second plug in the Y-cable will get the "no" answer. OK possibly you can use two powered hubs and plug one part of the Y-cable into each hub. What a hassel, who'd do that. Better to simply buy a DVD that uses a power brick.

By convention if the device uses only some very, small amount of power it need not ask for more. A USB memory stick I doubt as to ask the hub for power. Likewise the DVD at first uses this method when you first plug it in so that it can run just enough to ask for more power.

Actually.. from the USB spec:

There are also devices at the host end that do not support negotiation, such as battery packs that can power USB powered devices; some provide power, while others pass through the data lines to a host PC. USB Power adapters convert utility power and/or power from a car's electrical system to run attached devices. Some of these devices can supply up to 1 A of current. Without negotiation, the powered USB device is unable to inquire if it is allowed to draw 100 mA, 500 mA, or 1 A.

Thus it should be possible (failing any tamper-checking built into the SuperDrive firmware) to build a custom USB cable that injects power directly to the drive, bypassing the MacBook and thus using the SuperDrive with any computer that has appropriate drivers for the SuperDrive itself (which should be any modern Mac)..

 

[jhsfosho]

What about a powered USB hub?

 

[TBi]

What about a powered USB hub?

Powered USB hubs usually only give as much power per port as the USB ports on the back of your PC, rather than sharing the power from the port it is connected to too all it's ports.

It would have to be a special powered hub with extra power to work.

 

[chickenninja]

This is really strange, UNLESS its gearing up for the power requirements of USB3.0 , or bustin loose extra power so it can power a USB hub all by itself and still remain the worlds most wireless computer. cause come on, no one is goona need optical drives in the future. it blows me away that software isnt sold on flash yet. So obviously will want to have one external optical drive to sell for all of their optical drive free products. and if not the people at hardware need to get there act together and power it over something like firewire or POE or an inline power suply adapter. or make a drive thats more efficient. ya know the whole idea of this external drive is that your not goona use it very much anyway so why not give it a power cable and save your Air some juice and then make it wireless so it still only has one wire. then it would work with everything and could even be used to update the firmware on a base station. or stream DVD content to your airport express, or burn CDs from your iphone. bad move using the USB for power but at least it doesnt have an optical drive which you hardly need anyway.

 

[tnkgrl]

ChrisA is right...

I hacked a "split/Y" USB cable (designed to power an external 2.5" HD using 2 USB ports) and replaced the mini USB connector with a standard female USB connector.

I tested the franken-cable with several USB devices (including the external 2.5" HD it came with) and it works fine.

However, it fails to work with the MacBook Air SuperDrive, regardless on how I "inject" power to the second USB connector (I tried a separate hub as well as a dedicated 1A USB power supply similar to the one supplied with the iPhone)!

My franken-cable works fine on the MacBook Air.

Bottom line: the MacBook Air SuperDrive is always recognized on Macs and PCs as a USB mass storage device (optical drive), but doesn't power up on anything but the MacBook Air.

My franken-cable does not work because the MacBook Air SuperDrive is requesting power from the computer or hub connected to the first USB connector (the data one), and gets a "no" reply, thus never powers up the drive mechanism in order to protect the port, regardless of how much power is actually supplied.

It would not work. The way USB works is that a device when you plug it it will send a request for a certain amount of power. It says something lke "I need 500 milliwatts" the hub can respond with a "yes" or a "no". The problem here is that the new DVD drive is asking for an amount of power that every USB port built today except one will send a "No". If is a software issue All ports are current programmed to say "no".

Typically the way this works is the hub will keep track of the power being used by all devices plugged in so if you split the USB cable it can't work because the total is still to large the the second plug in the Y-cable will get the "no" answer. OK possibly you can use two powered hubs and plug one part of the Y-cable into each hub. What a hassel, who'd do that. Better to simply buy a DVD that uses a power brick.

By convention if the device uses only some very, small amount of power it need not ask for more. A USB memory stick I doubt as to ask the hub for power. Likewise the DVD at first uses this method when you first plug it in so that it can run just enough to ask for more power.

 

[dokein]

hope for compatability with future Apple hardware?

A bit disappointing they're not sticking with the industry standard they played a huge role in popularizing. I liked the idea of using the Air SuperDrive with other Macs equipped with only a combo drive, though I suppose there is a chance that new Macs might be built to the same inflated power specifications. I think it would be very useful if this drive could work with an @TV (though it would cut into iTunes movie rentals and downloads). Having the drive available as a universal accessory would even allow Apple to remove the optical drive from the Mac Mini, and make it even smaller (or eliminate the power brick).

 

[jakealdred]

big shame
remember when steve introduced the imac G4 he said cd's run horible on there side hence the imac G4's horizontal tray
now all imac's have there super drives on the side
and the superdrive with the new imac or macbook pro(if the new ones keep that design) would be ace
-Jake-who feels very sick after cooking tea

 

[TBi]

big shame
remember when steve introduced the imac G4 he said cd's run horible on there side hence the imac G4's horizontal tray
now all imac's have there super drives on the side

The drives at the time didn't run well on their side. The new ones are better designed to work this way.

 

[xtonda]

Came here by accident when looking for high power USB hub

This http://www.targus.com/uk/product_details.asp?sku=ACH81EU in its documentation claims it has two ports that supply 1A current, but looking for some other options before purchase.

 

[brucebrendon]

Ach81eu

seems possibly possible...

ugly as hell tho! let me know if you find anything that works (and hopefully better looking)... would be nice to play a dvd and hear it through the usb bose i just bought, DOH!!