It connects to your MacBook Pro with Retina display*, MacBook Air, iMac, or Mac mini with a single USB Type-A cable that's built into the SuperDrive. There's no separate power adapter, and it works whether your Mac is plugged in or running on battery power. Apple USB SuperDrive lets you install software on your Mac and play & burn both CDs and DVDs. Get fast, free shipping when you shop online. Everything you need in an optical drive. Answer now (does the apple usb super drive work with the 2018 macbook air) No answers yet.
Advertisement The MacBook Air is one of the thinnest and lightest computers available today; thin as your finger, and so light every computer after will feel like you’re hauling a sack of potatoes. In fact, ever since Apple set the trend with its MacBook Air, the ultrabook genre has been gaining ground in the Windows scene. But you don’t get a laptop as thin and light as the MacBook Air without making compromises. Instead of a regular hard drive disk, the MacBook Air has a (moderately more expensive) SSD drive, and the optical CD/DVD drive has been removed entirely.
Labeling the optical drive as redundant might be seen as a bold move from Apple. After all, CD’s and DVD’s has become the de-facto standard for software distribution, and although its importance is waning by the day, it’s still heavily used. Luckily, with Internet speeds and bandwidth ever increasing, and other portable media becoming more economical, it’s perfectly possible to live without a built-in optical drive these days.
Use An External Disc Drive Perhaps the easiest solution would be to get an external optical drive, which you can plug into your computer’s USB port whenever you’re handed one of those archaic silver discs. The Apple Store provides you with a shiny contraption that looks like it belongs next to your MacBook Air, but you can find much cheaper models on eBay, Amazon, or even your local hardware store that provide exactly the same functionality. Just search for ‘ external DVD drive‘ or ‘ USB DVD drive‘ to see your options. Use a Virtual DVD Drive If you only use optical media once in a blue moon, buying an external DVD drive might be overdoing it a bit. If you have more than one Mac lying around, and one of them still has an optical drive, you can use Apple’s very own DVD or CD sharing functionality, which lets you use another Mac’s optical drive over a local network.
To enable DVD or CD sharing, open the Sharing preferences pane in System Preferences using the optical drive-equipped Mac computer and tick off the checkbox next to ‘DVD or CD Sharing‘. Making sure your two computers reside on the same local network, open the Finder application on your MacBook Air. In the left sidebar, under Devices, you’ll see an entry called Remote Disc which you can use to access the CD or DVD that’s inserted into the other computer’s drive.
Mind you, not all media will work this way. You won’t be able to play media or copy-protected discs, but you can use this option to copy (part of) a disc’s contents to a folder on your computer. Download Media From The Internet While this option doesn’t ensure compatiblity with older media, content producers are ever more using the Internet to distribute their content. You can download videos and music from Netflix or iTunes instead of buying that same content in a store. Likewise, you can use Steam, or the producer’s own services to download games to your computer.
Even if you’ve already bought software or games on physical media, the chances are you’ll be able to use the accompanying serial code to activate the products online, and download an installation file. In fact, a software trial downloaded from the website can often be registered and activated using your physically purchased serial code. Make a Virtual Copy Of The Disc If you often have the need for a certain CD or DVD, and you’re reluctant to make any financial promises, you can always make a virtual copy of the disc using a computer that’s equipped with an optical drive. To do this on another Mac OS X computer, insert the CD or DVD and open the Disk Utility application from Applications - Utilities.
Select the optical media in the left hand sidebar and choose File - New - Disk Image From discname. From the Image Format dropdown menu select DVD/CD Master, select a location and press Save. Finally, copy the image file to your MacBook Air over the local network or using a portable drive, and double-click it to mount it on your computer. Do you have a MacBook Air? What do you do to circumvent the need for an optical drive? Let us know in the comments section below the article!
Apple computers without a built-in optical drive can connect an external Apple USB SuperDrive or MacBook Air SuperDrive to read optical media such as CDs and DVDs. The Apple USB SuperDrive has a slightly longer (340mm) cable compared to the cable on the MacBook Air SuperDrive (250mm). Both SuperDrives are functionally equivalent.
Older models of the MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac mini computers have a built-in SuperDrive. The SuperDrive uses a slot-loading mechanism which pulls the disc directly in rather than first placing the disc onto a loading tray. Older Mac Pro models use a loading tray. Make sure the Apple USB SuperDrive is lying flat on a surface with the silver top facing upward (shown below).
If the Superdrive is oriented upside down it will not read discs. Correct: Aluminum enclosure is facing up Incorrect: Apple logo should be facing down Because the USB port on external displays may not be powered at startup, connect the drive directly to the USB ports on your Apple computer when you need to use the Superdrive as a startup device.
Reconnect the Superdrive directly to the display when you no longer need to start the computer from the SuperDrive. The Apple USB SuperDrive and MacBook Air SuperDrive are designed exclusively for use with Mac computers that do not have a built-in optical drive.
Plug in the SuperDrive directly to the computer's USB port. Don't use a USB hub.
You can also connect the SuperDrive to the USB ports on the back of the Apple LED Cinema Display (24-inch, Late 2008), Apple LED Cinema Display (27-inch), or Apple Thunderbolt Display. Be sure not to put the drive underneath anything heavy, underneath your computer, or on top of your computer.
If you have trouble using a SuperDrive with Microsoft Windows, try starting the computer with the SuperDrive already plugged in. Be sure to check your disc to make sure it is flat. You can check this by putting the disc upside-down on a flat surface. If the disc is bowed up on any side or in the center, do not use the disc because it might get stuck in the drive. Do not use discs that have anything attached to them or dangling from them (such as 'sweeper' or cleaning discs). If the drive struggles when you put in a disc or stops part-way, carefully look at the disc for labels that may be interfering.
If there aren't any raised labels then try putting the disc in a few more times. Try another disc to see if the issue is being caused by a specific disc. Make sure you insert the disc far enough for the drive mechanism to activate. You need to insert discs nearly all the way before the drive will activate and pull them in. If you don't completely insert a disc, the drive will reverse and push the disc back out.
Allow the drive one or two seconds to accept the disc while it is fully inserted. If the drive repeatedly does not accept discs, or an, or make an appointment with an. Make sure the drive is not placed upside down. The aluminum enclosure should be facing up as shown in section 1. Check the disc's surface for scratches and dirt, since these things can prevent the disc from appearing on the desktop. Connect the MacBook Air SuperDrive directly to the computer's USB port instead a USB hub. Ensure your drive can read the specific type of disc being used.
The System Profiler or System Information may provide additional information regarding what media your computer supports. OS X Snow Leopard v10.6 or earlier: Open Apple System Profiler by choosing 'About this Mac' from the Apple () menu. Then, click More Info. OS X Lion v10.7 and later: Click the Apple () menu and then hold down the Option key.
Choose System Information from the menu. If the disc continues to not be recognized, or an, or make an appointment with an. If the drive ejects discs slowly or appears to be struggling, insert and eject a single disc several times.
Check the disc to see if it has a label or other material stuck to the disc that increases the thickness. Remove the label if possible.
If the disc will not eject, try pressing the eject key on the keyboard. Some older keyboards may use the F12 key to eject discs. If the disc will not eject, try dragging the disc icon to the trash. If the disc will still not eject, try holding down the trackpad or mouse button after restarting the computer.
The Superdrive should attempt to eject the disc. If the disc continues not to eject, reset the and try steps 1-4 again. If the disc still does not eject, or an, or make an appointment with an for additional assistance. Note that due to the way optical drives function by rotating the disc rapidly, some noise and vibration is expected.
If you think the drive is making noise beyond what's expected when you insert or eject discs, try inserting and ejecting a disc several times to correct the issue. Try other discs to see if the issue can be isolated to a single disc, or type of disc, as opposed to the drive itself. If a disc is weighted unevenly, such as discs that have a labels or stickers, it can cause additional noise and vibration when spinning up in the drive. Vibrations due to the optical drive being in use may be exacerbated by using the system on a surface that is not hard and level. Make sure all the plastic feet on your notebook computer are present as this could create an uneven surface. Be aware that the drive should only operate horizontally, and noise may increase if you try to use it at an angle.
Picking up or moving the machine while a disc is being read may result in the disc becoming unbalanced. Any damage sustained to the drive or the disc as a result of operating it in this manner is not covered by the products warranty.
While a certain amount of noise and vibration is expected, if you believe the noise or the vibrations being generated by the drive are not normal, please, contact an, or make an appointment with an for additional troubleshooting, evaluation, or service options. You can use a SuperDrive with Mac mini (late 2009) and later, MacBook Pro with Retina Display, MacBook Air, iMac (Late 2012) and later, and Mac Pro (Late 2013) computers. Note that there is no eject button on these models to eject a disc. In order to eject you can Control-click or right-click the disc icon and choose Eject from the menu that appears. You can also drag the disc icon to the trash. For computers that did not ship with an optical drive and do not have the Apple USB SuperDrive, you can use to access a CD or DVD in another computer's optical drive. See the for Mac computers and the Apple USB SuperDrive or the MacBook Air SuperDrive.