
- Best external hard drives for mac cnet how to#
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Now, on the Mac without the optical drive open a Finder window.Note the name in the Computer Name field.Go to System Preferences on the Mac with the optical drive.To access the CD or DVD on the other Mac follow these steps: Remote Disc lets you use files stored on a CD or DVD hosted from another computer, you can read about it here. To access the CD or DVD in the other computer you need to use Apple's Remote Disc feature. If you have an old Mac with a DVD drive you can actually use that and get your current Mac to connect to it over the network. If you have a CD you are desperate to import into iTunes, or a DVD you would really like to watch, you don't need to have a SuperDrive attached to the Mac you wish to import the tracks, or watch the DVD on. Are there any other ways to add an optical drive to your Mac? 1. Why you don't need a SuperDriveĪt £79/$79 the SuperDrive is a pretty expensive option.
This could be an issue in time, as currently only a 2010 Mac models (and a few 2009 models) are currently compatible with High Sierra, Apple's current Mac operating system, and this could suggest that in a year or even less the 2012 model may not be compatible.Įven if you aren't planning to run the latest operating system, there are many MacBooks from 20 that are listed as discontinued or obsolete by Apple, meaning that you may not be able to ontain service or parts from Apple or Apple service providers.
Best external hard drives for mac cnet pro#
We review the last model of the MacBook Pro to offer a DVD drive here.īeware that if the model you find doesn't offer the specs listed above it may be even older than 2012. If you are desperate to get your hands on a Mac with an optical drive, you might be able to find this MacBook Pro model on eBay or a similar site.
2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor. It lacked the Retina display and offered the following specs: The last MacBook Pro with DVD drive was on sale from 2012 to 2016. Should I buy the last MacBook Pro with CD Drive? You can find the SuperDrive on the Apple Store here, it costs £79/$79. While it's probably preferable to use Time Machine or another app to keep your Mac backed up, you could use rewritable CDs or DVDs and keep up to date copies of your data on them. Best external hard drives for mac cnet how to#
Read how to burn a CD or DVD on a Mac here.
Best external hard drives for mac cnet archive#
Burn a DVD, perhaps to archive photos, or family videos. Burn a music CD, to play in the car, for example. We have this tutorial about How to import DVDs to play on your iPad. Once you have copied your CD collection to your Mac you can play it via iTunes, and play it on your iPhone, iPad, or HomePod once you have synced up your devices. You can copy the music from your CDs onto your Mac Best external hard drives for mac cnet install#
Sure most apps these days can be downloaded via the Internet - you can easily shop for apps on the Mac App Store - but if you have old software on CD/DVD you will need an optical drive install it.
Install optical based software on your Mac. There are still plenty of reasons why you might find a DVD drive useful on your Mac: Attaching a Apple USB SuperDrive to the Mac allows it to do the things that other computers with a DVD drive can do. In the age of lightning fast broadband internet connection, USB Type-C, Thunderbolt 3, and lightning-fast flash drives, the optical drive does seem a little archaic.Īlthough DVD technology is starting to be phased out from the computer market on the whole, it is still a standard addition to many computers. We have a selection of the best USB-C adaptors here. You would need an adaptor to use the SuperDrive with a MacBook. Some Macs sold today - such as the MacBook - don't even have a USB-A port. It’s a little slower than using a Mac with a built-in DVD drive. It's called the USB SuperDrive, and it plugs into a USB-A port. What is the SuperDrive?Īpple sells an external optical drive that reads and writes CDs and DVDs. Read on to find out whether it is worth buying the Apple SuperDrive. Apple still sells the SuperDrive, which is its combined DVD and CD drive that you can plug into the USB port on your Mac. However, that doesn't mean that you can't get a CD or DVD drive to use with your Mac. Since that date Apple has not sold any Macs with optical drives. The last Apple Mac to ship with an optical CD or DVD drive was a 13in MacBook Pro, originally released in June 2012, but on sale until October 2016, when Apple discontinued that model, more information about the last Mac to ship with a SuperDrive below.