Putting a laptop dvd drive in a mac pro

[kxfrog]

Hi, Can i put an old IDE CD/DVD Laptop drive in my 2009 Mac Pro?
thnx

 

[gugucom]

It would be unlikely. The Mac Pro needs a tray loading mechanism which generally isn't done in laptops. The next problem would be fixing the drive as they usually have proprietory fixtures opposed to the standardized 5,25" drives used in a Mac Pro.

 

[UltraNEO*]

Hi, Can i put an old IDE CD/DVD Laptop drive in my 2009 Mac Pro?
thnx

Yes, it's technically possible but you'll need the correct interface converters. Laptop drives a sub-miniture connector for both data and power, not found on desktops... and you'll need to create a custom mounting solution then problem solve the sliding door on the MacPro, where a tray would normally appear from. Though it's physically possible to remove it entirely.

 

[kxfrog]

Hi, My laptop drive is a tray loading atapi dvd drive, the front bezel comes off easily, could it fit in the mac pro with any thing like a laptop dvd drive to 5.25" adapter if they exist?

 

[nanofrog]

Hi, My laptop drive is a tray loading atapi dvd drive, the front bezel comes off easily, could it fit in the mac pro with any thing like a laptop dvd drive to 5.25" adapter if they exist?

As UltraNEO mentioned, assuming you can actually find both the miniSATA connector based IDE->SATA converter, yes.

But neither the mounting adapter or the IDE->SATA converter using the necessary miniSATA connectors are available. So though technically possible (i.e. DIY both adapters), it's not likely. I've never seen what you need at any rate.

At least the IDE based (or SATA optical + IDE-SATA adapters) aren't horribly expensive.

 

[JesterJJZ]

You can get a decent superdrive for about $30. You'll probably spend more than that trying to modify the one you got to work with it. Just sell that one on ebay and get a new drive.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

There was a solution like this for the G5 PowerMacs where it added 2 laptop optical drive bays in place of a single 5.25" desktop drive. Then again, they used IDE drives. The 09 MP's have SATA optical drives.

I can't remember what it was called or who made them. This made it possible to have 2 dvd burners in a G5 as there was only one space originally for a normal sized desktop drive.

I'm sure the same setup could be used in the Mac Pro if you want to use one. DVD drives are so cheap now a days that taking that approach isn't really cost effective. Even BluRay drives are cheap.