Because I've seen a slot loading slimline Panasonic CD-RW/DVD drive and it's cheaper than buying an Apple one, would it work?
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Would an iMac G3 support any slot loading slimline DVD?
- Thread starter tomacintosh
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CubeHacker
macrumors 65816
Yes and no. Technically it can work, but you have to do a lot of modifications. You'd need to purchase a slimline IDE to desktop IDE adapter, as well as a converter for laptop to desktop power cable. I believe you'd also need some new mounting brackets as the original optical drive in the iMac is far larger than the new type laptop drives. I did the same modification in my Cube (which uses the same drive as the iMac), so i know it does work, but takes some effort.
homerjward
macrumors 68030
assuming it's a standard desktop, slot-loading optical drive, (i dont know whether it is) plextor currently makes a slot-loading dvd burner. you wouldnt be able to do any dvd burning on a g3 though, but i see no reason dvd reading and cd burning wouldnt work. i'm sure there are older slot-loading combo and dvd-rom drives for cheaper.
the plextor is about $100 (after $50 rebate) from newegg, if you're in america
linkety to drive at newegg
the plextor is about $100 (after $50 rebate) from newegg, if you're in america
linkety to drive at newegg
Hmmm why would I need a slimline to IDE adaptor? Weren't the original drives in the iMac G3's slimline ones? Whenever I've seen one on ebay they have been?
CubeHacker
macrumors 65816
tomimacg5 said:
Yes they were. However, they were some funky (or very old) design, and the slimline IDE adapter on the original drive won't fit on the new optical drive (i'll be upside down and won't fit).
Would OSX have drivers for getting a different model then?
Also where does the CD drive get power from as there doesn't seem to be a power connector for it, I can only see one for the hard drive
Also where does the CD drive get power from as there doesn't seem to be a power connector for it, I can only see one for the hard drive
CubeHacker
macrumors 65816
tomimacg5 said:
It depends on the drive. OSX certainly does have built in drivers for the Pioneer DVR-K05. Anything other than that I can't say, and might require the installation of Handbrake to get it to work in iLife apps.
Any chance you could tell me a make and model of a CD-RW/DVD combo drive that OSX has native drivers for?