LG DVD Rewriter (Internal) and a iMac

Basically I have this good in my view anyway, a internal LG DVD Drive that I wish to use on my Mac when I'm using Windows via either Boot Camp or Parallels.

So I'm wondering if anyone can help me out, on these main topics.

• Connecting the LG Drive to my iMac via USB or Firewire?
  
• Will I need a Special External Case similar to those for Hard Drives
  
• Will it need a separate Power Supply?
  
• Can you set Parallels to use a Separate Drive than the inbuilt iMac drive?
  
• How much RAM would you suggest I would need to Run Parallels and OSX simultaneously, more effectively?
  
• Is there any special drivers, installations packs, etc I might need when I connect the drive?

Thanks, It doesn't matter if you can't answer all of them. Any little bit of help will do. Also if you have any past experience doing this that would be even better.

Thanks Alot
BIG D 04

I can only help you with the hardware questions. I have done a similar setup with my laptop (windows) using the usb connection and an external case which had its own power supply. this works very well. I do not have much experience with i-mac as I have only just bought one. I understand that to run parallels at least 1g of ram is needed. hope this helps.

Hi Big D 04 - I bought myself an external enclosure off ebay for £20 (inc postage). It came with a USB cable and its own power supply. XP just picked it straight up as a DVD drive like it was connected using IDE in my PC. Not tested it in OS X yet but in XP I ripped a 7GB dual layer DVD with no problems.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HIGH-SPEED-US...ryZ86758QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[*]Connecting the LG Drive to my iMac via USB or Firewire?

I think that FireWire offers the best transfer rate

[*]Will I need a Special External Case similar to those for Hard Drives

I think that the external case will protect your drive in the best way but don't think it's totally necessary.

[*]Will it need a separate Power Supply?

If you choose FireWire I don't think the power supply will be essential, but I could be wrong on that.

Hope this helps, Damien.