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Does Apple sell just the Superdrive?
- Thread starter jmk
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SuperDrives are just the Apple name for DVD-RWs. They ship them with Matshitas and Pioneers (and maybe others). I put a new OEM Pioneer DVR-108 in my Quicksilver at home, replacing the DVR-103 it came with. No problems..
That being said, I don't know if you can do this with the Mini. It's a very small formfactor, and from what I read, it's not the easiest box to open and get around in.
That being said, I don't know if you can do this with the Mini. It's a very small formfactor, and from what I read, it's not the easiest box to open and get around in.
Apple do not sell individual components (at least to individuals, they no doubt sell these things to authorised repairers and so on). As noted above SuperDrive is simply an Apple marketing name. If someone posts the exact drive details (from System Profiler) you could install the drive yourself (it's not that hard to get into a Mini, the guides are available online).
Note the Mini uses a laptop slot loading optical drive which will be more difficult to buy at retail than a standard desktop drive.
Note the Mini uses a laptop slot loading optical drive which will be more difficult to buy at retail than a standard desktop drive.
This drive should work. Found it via a quick Google search. I don't see why it wouldn't, as it's a laptop, slot-loading model just like the mini has. You'd just have to install it on your own. Hope that helps some.
--Greg
--Greg
Greg_C said:
Wow. That's expensive. I can't imagine many people would go for the upgrade at that price!
A less expensive option is the Pioneer DVR-K04:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/item/7472/PIODVRK04L/
There are even videos of how to install it:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/optical-drives/
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/item/7472/PIODVRK04L/
There are even videos of how to install it:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/optical-drives/
Cryomancer said:
thanks for the links. i might have to end up doing that this summer. and add 1gb of ram
Cryomancer said:
Here's an even less expensive link:
http://www.ultradrives.com/product_info.php?products_id=792
Hi, I know your thinking about an internal "superdrive" but check out the LaCie web site (recon page) if you want to think about an external drive. I got mine for $117 shipped next day and it's been great so far.
Mechcozmo said:
Yeah, my Mac mini has a Superdrive.
So you should just get it BTO to save you the trouble.
Greg_C said:
It is on the high end but is not unreasonable. You can also pick up a 4x for about $100 on eBay. As far as installation goes ... it's not that bad, just as bad as you might think. The hard part with the Mini is getting the case open. After that it is a typical install job. If you can add ram, you can handle the superdrive. Many people are not comfortable adding ram to the Mini so it will depend on your own comfort level.
breathofj said:
I believe that only the newest version of iDVD (in iLife '05) will work with external drives. And it is a two step process rather than the one step with the superdrive because you must first save as a disk image, then burn the image to DVD using whatever software you want,Toast being the most popular.
You are right about that as I just bought iLife '05 on monday and used Toast 6 Ti. to burn the disc image. Everything works great that way and I'm
ldburroughs said:
The Mini is quite a bit harder to open up and operate inside than other computers due to the compact dimensions. You have to be careful of Airport Extreme antennae, BlueTooth antennae, the short cables, etc.
So if you are fairly comfortable with computers, you should be able to. Just remember the mini is a SLOT LOADING drive and can't fit anything larger.
If you want to just install RAM, you should be able to... if you are afraid of your computer, stay away from the insides and anything labeled "Windows"