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mac air superdrive with the imac?
- Thread starter Ph17
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It works with any Mac...and I'd guess it would work with some PCs.
I guess people think that it's tied with the MBA because that was the first Mac to drop the optical drive.
I guess people think that it's tied with the MBA because that was the first Mac to drop the optical drive.
Actually, the Apple USB SuperDrive is not guaranteed to work with all Macs! It draws more current from the USB port and may overload a standard USB spec port (500ma) and shut down. Certain Mac computers (rMBP, Air, Mini) are designed with a higher-than-normal current available from their USB port to support this drive. This has been an issue in the past with trying to use this drive for computers with a failed internal optical drive, including older iMacs.
It is listed as an "accessory" for the new iMacs, but not listed as compatible under the SuperDrive specs. Perhaps they are coming out with a new one, or just the specs haven't been corrected? It also may be that a USB-3 port (900ma) will supply the required power.
From the Apple specs:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD564ZM/A/apple-usb-superdrive?fnode=5f#overview
System Requirements
MacBook Pro with Retina display
MacBook Air computer
Mac mini computer
There are several brands of external optical drives designed for the Netbook market which will also work with your Mac and are available for around $30.
Some come with dual USB plugs for additional power, but the ones I have tried worked with a single USB connection on my Macs.
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It's the power requirement thats the issue not the brand.
The likely reason iMac isn't listed is because all iMacs up to now have had Superdrives and the page hasn't been updated yet.
I would imagine that it works out of the box with the new iMacs. In any case the SuperDrive will work with most Macs by editing your plist and adding the mbasd=1 string. It works with my 2011 17" MBP and lets me utilize Boot Camp Assistant where my external LG drive wouldn't. Also plays DVD movies nativity with QuickTime.
I suspected as much too.
I have never seen the actual current drain listed for the USB SuperDrive other than that it was above the 500ma spec of USB-2. However, USB-3 specs at 900ma and I would hope that would be more than adequate for the USB SuperDrive. If so, then any of the new Macs with a USB-3 port could use it without a problem.
It will work. Apple just rebrand the packaging on the outside. Apple just enable a flag in a config file to allow usage of these drives and nothing more.