How to upgrade aluminum mac mini hard drives or ssds. The best solution, especially for those using a portable mac, is an external hard drive. Buy rinbers bottom hard disc drive flex cable for apple mac mini a47 server ssd hdd upgrade kit 8211500a 201120 with tools. How to make a bootable macos installer on an external drive. Sep, 2010 how to use mini or other nonstandard optical discs on your mac. If your mac has a cddvd drive built in, theres a very. Soon after i put a cd or dvd in the drive, it spits it back out. Make sure youve entered a name that you can easily recognize in the computer name field. All the hardware needed to a second hard drive to your 2011 or 2012 mac mini. How are you going to get the videoaudio from the macmini to the tv and audio player. Insert the bluray disc to the bd drive and then click the load disc button to have bluray movies uploaded to easefab losslesscopy.
Apr 14, 2020 why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. The best thunderbolt 3 ssd and hard drives for your macbook pro, macbook air, mac mini, or imac. The remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device.
The best external dvd and cd drives are compact and lightweight, so they wont take much space in your bag but will be a great bonus for your 2in1 laptop or gaming pc how to choose the best external dvd drive. Most optical discs are a standard 12cm in diameter, are round, and besides some potential manufacturing incompatibilities with. Press the left mouse key while you restart the mac or as alternative press f12 while the mac is restarted. Quit all other applications on the mac, especially those that may be trying to access the external drive e. How to start up your mac from a bootable cddvd, usb thumb. Youll never have to worry about lost cables with the apple usb superdrive.
This mac external cd drive is designed for the owners of macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac starting from 2012, mac mini starting from 2009, mac pro starting from 20. What to do if cd dvd drive on my mac keeps ejecting every cd dvd 1. Since there is no builtin disc drive in your mac, you can get an external dvd drive for dvd playback on mac. You can also import dvd files, bd dvd iso files, ifo files or bluray dvd. Before starting any troubleshooting, i would recommend you to repair disk permissions as it solves hundreds of problems. My mac mini does not have a drive for these, this works and solves the. If you want to make use of your mac s thunderbolt port, then this is the best external hard drive for macs.
How to upgrade the hard disc drive in your mac mini. Get the best external hard drives for macs in 2020, and expand your mac s storage without paying a premium. When apple first started removing optical drives from its machines, it created an external drive. The following options work with a pc keayboard and mouse. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wi. Click the sharing icon in the system preferences window. Note that you can buy any cd or dvd with maximum data storage capacity and then transfer your data from one computer to another. Now you can with a kit from the great guys and gals at ifixit. Finding an audio decoder that can handle dtsma soundtracks on a mac is a real problem. If not, you can attempt to take it apart so you can get to the drive and figure out whats holding the disc in.
You can also share discs from the optical drive of another mac, or from a windows computer. Its perfect when you want to watch a dvd movie, install software, create backup discs, and more. Right now, our top pick for best external hard drive is the western digital my passport 4tb, which is a mechanical hard drive. I searched in the usual obvious places but was unable to find it.
Compare portable, usb and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online. To put it simply, if you want to share external hard drive between mac and pc, you need to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. For your mac, lg brings an ultraslim dvd external drive. With the apple usb superdrive md564lla you will be able to watch movies on dvd, install software, create backup copies, and perform many other tasks. Shop for external hard drives for mac mini at best buy. It connects to your macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac, or mac mini with a single usb typea cable thats built into the superdrive. Does anyone know if there is an emergency release mechanism anywhere. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Aug 23, 2011 want to add a second hard drive to your mac mini. For smooth, hasslefree, fast, and secure transmission of your data, external cd dvd drive is the best solution for your mac. How to give your 2012 or 2014 mac mini a performance boost.
Mac mini 2018 and later mac mini late 2014 more mac compatibility less. Discover the world of external hard drives for mac. Mac mini all models imac all models imac pro all models mac pro all models this means that the mac models you cant upgrade the hard drive in are. The best thunderbolt 3 ssd and hard drives for your macbook. You can connect this superdrive with your macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac, or mac mini with a single usb type a cable. So, even in 2019, there are still situations when you need an external optical drive. Is it possible to upgrade the hard drive in the 2018 mac mini. In order to upgrade the hard drive, of the mac mini, i am going to remove the lid of the machine and then remove the internal frame holding various components including the superdrive so that i can gain access to the hard drive. Click the erase button or tab, then complete these fields.
The last apple mac to ship with an optical cd or dvd drive was a in macbook pro, originally released in june 2012, but on sale until october. For most reasons to erase, you should erase the disk, which also erases all volumes on that disk. If you think youll need an external drive mostly for bluray discs, most of them will also play dvds and cds but are not readablewritable. Replacing the logic board requires removal of the logic board along with most other components in your. Mac mini model a47 optical drive replacement ifixit.
Anyone who uses a mac computer knows that the included internal hard drive tends to fill up quickly. Both still work more or less with my older mac pro vintage 2008. Best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc image credit. My drive was working normal earlier today, then it went crazy. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your mac. While its still possible to create an exact copy a clone of any drive connected directly to your mac, changes to disk utility have created extra steps when you use disk utilitys restore function to clone your startup drive. While you can connect an external cd dvd drive to your mac and boot from standard linux live cds and usbs, simply connecting a linux live usb drive created by standard tools like universal usb installer.
Mac mini cd drive not accepting any cddvd apple community. While it is possible to replace the hard drive on any mac not listed above, how difficult it is varies wildly with the model. Upgrade your mac mini to up to 8x more capacity and 92x faster speeds than with the apple factory drive. This kit contains everything you need to add a second hard drive to your 2011 mac mini. External dvd drive is a great solution if you own a netbook or your pc has a broken builtin dvd drive. You may use disk utility application to perform hard drive partitionrelated tasks on mac operating system, such as to format, repair, erase or create hard drive partitions and end up with an erased hard drive. Nov 21, 2018 mac mini hard drive or ssd purchase options.
While apple has been phasing out cd dvd drives since the introduction of the macbook air in january 2008, the shift has been slow and gradual. How to give your 2012 or 2014 mac mini a performance boost by. Actually, it is possible to boot mac from external drive or a hard drive, but there are a few specific requirements needed for your mac to become eligible for that process. Apple and the incredible vanishing cd drive macworld. Nov 30, 2019 disk utility is free and included with every copy of the mac os. Your plan is to play the bluray disk directly from the external bluray drive attached to the mini. The mac pro is designed to have its hard drive replaced. Heres the cheapest 8gb mini pc thats actually usable. One standard, not bluray will allow me to play and extract a standard audio cd.
How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Apr 12, 2017 the remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. Ive got this model mac mini and the optical drive has a disc stuck in it. My mac mini does not have a drive for these, this works and solves the problem, and. The best thunderbolt 3 ssd and hard drives for your. How to open an external drive thats not showing on mac. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. If youve recently upgraded to a new imac or macbook pro, youre probably going to need an optical drive if you want to continue importing your movies and music to itunes, or just access the content on your discs. Use this guide to completely replace your optical drive.
The other bluray will not mount anything on the mini, neither a cd nor a dvd. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. However, it always is best to buy from a trusted company with mac knowledge for the most troublefree experience. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided. Gtechnology 1tb g drive mobile ssd rseries storage next gallery image. How to eject a cd on a mac mini with pc keyboard and mouse.
On the mac that has an optical drive, choose system preferences from the apple menu. A hard disk analysis tool like disk inventory x will scan your macs hard disk and display which folders and files are using up the most space. Choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled to format as a mac volume. Jan 15, 2020 learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. Shop for external cd dvd drive for mac at best buy. Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. Enter a name for the disk or volume, such as macintosh hd. Apple file system format or the older mac os extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you. If your mac doesnt have a builtin optical drive and you need to use a cd or dvd, you can connect an external drive like the apple usb superdrive. Apple still sells the superdrive, which is its combined dvd and cd drive that you can plug into the usb port.
How to give your 2012 or 2014 mac mini a performance boost by replacing the hard drive with an ssd. The mac pro is unique, as you can actually put a second optical drive in it, but apple has vowed to release a new pro desktop in 20 and who knows what its design will be. Since apple drops dvd drive for new macbook proair, we pick 20182020 best external dvd drive for mac to read, rip and burn dvd discs. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. Laptop replacement parts free delivery possible on eligible purchases. Linux os apple macrioddas external cd drive, usb 3. Does the mac mini have a cddvd drive in apple community. Aimed at multimedia professionals, the caldigit av pro 2 is a welldesigned, macformatted external drive that comes in ssd and spinning disk versions, and includes both a usb hub and thunderbolt. There are several options to eject a cd or dvd when the mac mini fails to boot, but most of them dont work if you do not have a mac keayboard at hand. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Aug 21, 2018 you just got a new mac and havent figured out where to access your hard drive. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. If your mac has a cd dvd drive built in, theres a very good chance that it can be.
In theory, just about any hard drive or ssd that meets the minimum requirements should work in the mac mini. Virtual cd rw imac dvd rom update apple combo drive update fwb cd rom toolkit remote update ligh. But there are some simple methods to sort this problem. How to check a macs free hard drive space wondering if your mac has enough storage space for that massive download. Find the best external cd drives for mac based on what customers said. Also check how to play dvd disc on mac computer without drive. In this article well run through the steps necessary to create a bootable installer of the mac operating system, whether its so you can install the latest version of the macos on multiple macs. During the style evolution, lgs optical drive has achieved a new status from slimmer to the slimmest.
However, that doesnt mean that you cant get a cd or dvd drive to use with your mac. Swap your imac, mac mini or macbook cddvd drive for a. Jan 22, 2011 try to not damage or scratch your macits a lot more valuable than a disc. You can then delete these space hogs to free up space. With its 8x dvdr writing speed, you can quickly transfer data from your dvd or cd to your macbook or imac. If the mac dvd hard drive not working for you, there are many other dvd drives available at cheap price. In finder, you can find your hard drive by selecting go computer or press command.
Optical drives went the way of the dodo bird a few years ago on mac computers due to most software, movies, and music all moving online, but sometimes you still need a good old fashioned cd drive. May 09, 2019 the best external hard drives for mac in 2020. How to create bootable usb drives and sd cards for every operating system apples made it difficult to boot non mac os x operating systems off of usb drives. Jun 19, 2018 to free up disk space, its helpful to know exactly what is using disk space on your mac. Theres no separate power adapter, and it works whether your mac is plugged in or running on battery power. Jan 08, 2015 sometimes a disc can get stuck inside your beautiful mac. Jan 02, 2020 best cd drives for mac mini imore 2020. To share discs from a mac that has a builtin or external optical drive, use these steps. Mac mini model a47 optical drive replacement ifixit repair. In order to play dvd on mac mini without optical drive, you can buy an external disc drive. Bootable optical media cd or dvd on macs equipped with apples super drive or a usb thumb drive formatted with a guid partition type and containing an os x installer or a usable operating system. Whether youre at the office or on the road, you can play and burn both cds and dvds with the apple usb superdrive.
If your mac is still under warranty, consider bringing it in or calling apple for service. And while the various cloning apps have a lot more features, if you dont have access to thirdparty apps, using disk utility will create a perfectly usable clone, although it may require a few more steps and lacks some nice features, such as automation and scheduling. Nov, 2011 this video shows the process of how to replace the hard drive in a mac mini mid 2011 5,1. This video also applies to the following mac minis. Apple usb superdrive is specially designed to burnplay dvd on mac without drive and fully compatible with mac mini late 2009 and later. Apple advises against booting from external storage containing a version of mac os x earlier than the one your mac shipped with.
Find the best external dvd drives for macs based on what customers said. Im trying to determine whether i will need to remove the entire optical drive or not. How to check a macs free hard drive space macworld. How to use mini or other nonstandard optical discs on your mac. This post will teach you three ways to get to your hard drive both internal and external hd with ease. We think it offers creatives the perfect balance of speed, reliability, portability and price for both mac and pc users. Internal superdrive duallayer for apple mac mini owc.
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