Comments on: Pull Apart: External USB MacBook Air SuperDrive

By: LouieJM

LouieJM — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:11:03 +0000

So i ordered the part drive reads everything good. Now for the burning i cant burn anything on this drive … Any suggestions?

By: Doug

Doug — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:23:51 +0000

Thanks for this, but as of 12/10, Apple appears to have taken steps to prevent those of us with torx drives of our own from owning anything bought from Apple. Specifically, they have changed the interface on the back of this superdrive so that it is HARD SOLDERED to the USB wires. They spent extra to make sure we can’t do it ourselves. I am SO pissed at Apple right now, I could shoplift…

By: Air Superdrive e blu-ray

Air Superdrive e blu-ray — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 09:59:08 +0000

[...] [...]

By: adam

adam — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:42:49 +0000

cheers for this, my air died and I was stuck with a disc in the superdrive. Was VERY annoyed, but you solved it ^_^

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:20:10 +0000

It may be there are cheaper drives in the states but not in the UK, they’re all around that price. So this with the free bit of junk aluminium is the best way to get a replacement drive for a MacbookPro or, to answer the question above, the Mac Mini

I am so pissed with Apple.

Can anyone come up with a reason, good or not, why this drive is disabled with all other macs?

By: Alexandre

Alexandre — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:18:59 +0000

Thanks! Good to know!
Do you think it can fit in a Mac Mini? I know it can’t fit in the latest Mac Mini (2009) because of the Sata connection but what about earlier Minis?
It could be a really cheap upgrade for my Mac Mini G4 since i got that 45$ off from Apple Store (thanks to Canadians Settlement for ipod dwindling battery life!)
What do you think?

By: Jeff G.

Jeff G. — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:59:37 +0000

Thanks for publishing this pull-apart. I was able to dismantle my drive after I dropped it from a significant height and it stopped working.

Upon inspection, I discovered that the plastic piece that connects the read “head” to the drive spindle had been destroyed (obviously it was designed to break first instead of anything else inside the drive; however, I doubt that I can buy that replacement plastic piece. This will become my “spare parts” drive I guess, since dropping the drive isn’t covered by the warranty.

Anyone know where to get replacement parts for a “Sony NEC Opticarc, Inc model AD-5630A drive? Yeah, now that you’ve stopped laughing — anyway. Don’t drop your Macbook Air Superdrive!!! Duh.

By: jacob

jacob — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:09:04 +0000

Apple does offer universal hardware support now, but not necessarily driver support. Many of the drives on NewEgg will need PatchBurn – however the Pioneer DVR-K06 will definitely work with 10.5 since it’s basically the same drive Apple re-brands. There have been mixed reports on whether it works with 10.4 out of the box, and it definitely does not work with 10.3 or earlier (sans PatchBurn).

By: Ooops.

Ooops. — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:02:54 +0000

Or…..
You can buy the Pioneer DVR-K06 from Meritline for 74.99 (free shipping).
If you don’t believe me, here is the link:

http://www.meritline.com/pioneer-dvr-k106-dual-layer-slim-dvd-burner.html

By: What Yousay?

What Yousay? — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:50:38 +0000

Take a look at NewEgg.com.
They have DVD burners for laptops for less than $50.
Apple has had universal Optical drive support for a while now.

Get real folks.