External DVD drive not recognised

[cslogg]

I have an ageing iMac from 2010 running High Sierra.I do not use the internal dvd/cd drive very often but when I do it is very slow and when inserting a disc it grinds away and sounds as if it chewing up the disc before finally bringing up the disc menu.
I decided to invest(not much)in an external dvd drive but the iMac does not "see"it when plugged into a usb port.The drive light comes on and there is some wirring of the disc inside but then nothing.There is no icon on my home screen or any indication of the presence of an external drive anywhere.I Googled the problem and someone suggested I alter one of the files called "com.apple.Boot.plist".Coud not edit it as I was informed by the Mac that I did not own it but could edit and save a duplicate which is what I did.
At that point I thought I would stop and seek more expert advice from the forum to see if I am on the right track.The external drive is advertised as mac compatible.I am as far from a Mac expert as you can get so if there is an idiots guide to getting it working that would be great.

[MacInWin]

The iMac doesn't recognize the drive, it only recognizes the disk in the drive. I couldn't tell from the description if you had put a disk in or not.

Also, in Finder/Preferences, make sure "External Disks" is checked to be visible.

As for editing the plist, I also could not tell what you actually did. You seemed to say that you edited the file and then saved it with some other name. If that is what you did, you didn't change the actual plist that the software reads, you created one it ignores.

[cslogg]

I tried with and without disc.
External disks in Finder is checked.
I could not edit the original file because when i tried a caption came up telling me I could not as I did not own it but I could edit a duplicate file.This I did and saved it elsewhere in the hope I could use it later.I am hoping someone could tell me how to edit and save the original if this is the best way to get the drive recognised.

[MacInWin]

What edits did this article suggest? Can you provide a link to this suggestion? Normally, plists are not meant to be edited at all. The system creates them as it needs. "Plist" is a form of shorthand for "preferences list," and denotes files that tell the system the preferred way to use items.

[MacInWin]

Also, what are you using to "see" this disk? If the disk is a movie, then no external drive can be used because your iMac has an internal drive for DVDs. There is a much more complicated way to have iDVD, for example, look for external drives instead of internal, but if you are as much a novice as you say, that change would be pretty technical to try.

[cslogg]

How to use an external dvd drive with a Mac laptop that has an internal DVD drive | Jonny Elwyn - Film Editor
Above is the suggestionon what to do.

[pm-r]

Did you actually purchase and is it an Apple Superdrive (external DVD drive) model that you have connected???

They are not compatible for use with a Mac that already has as an internal Apple Superdrive CD/DVD installed.

That fileyou read about and did the mod to is no doubt a hack to try and get it to work.

If that is your situation, I would suggest buying a non-apple external CD/DVD drive and using it and disconnect the external Apple superdrive.

You should be able to pick up a new non-apple brand external optical drive for about $35.00 and save yourself a lot of hassles. They usually also work better than Apple's models as well and are sure a hell of a lot cheaper!!!


- Patrick
======

[Rod]

Yes I second that. This was a known issue about 5 years back when people started replacing their failed internal SuperDrives especially MacBooks with the Apple External version. Nobody told them it would not work with a Mac that came with an internal DVD/CD drive.
For that very reason I purchased a USB Sony DVD/CD reader/writer which still works perfectly well today.

[cslogg]

The external drive I bought is non Apple and advertised to work with PCs and Macs.
I have connected it to a PC and that did not see it either so it maybe faulty.

[IWT]

The external drive I bought is non Apple and advertised to work with PCs and Macs.
I have connected it to a PC and that did not see it either so it maybe faulty.

It may be faulty, but may I raise a few points which have nothing to do with that?

1. A CD/DVD Reader/Writer will not usually be "seen" by the Mac until a Disc is inserted - blank or playable.

2. It will then be visible on the Desktop (if Finder Preferences are set up to do so) and in Finder (again if you have preferences allowing it to be seen in Finder's Sidebar.)

3. Therefore, I suggest that you make sure that Finder > Preferences are set up to allow one or both means of seeing the Drive AND that you insert a Disc.

4. Here, I am being a little cheeky; but it happened to me, so it can happen to anyone. Are you sure it is both a CD and DVD Reader/Writer and not just a DVD Reader/Writer. I have the latter in front of me just now to remind me how simple mistakes are made. I couldn't get the blasted thing to work or be recognised because I was always inserting CDs. My bad!

BTW, my first three points almost certainly apply to Windows' PCs although I don't have one to verify that. So the Reader/Writer may be faulty..... or not.

Ian

[cslogg]

In Finders Prefs. I have Ext.Disks and CDs,DVDs +ipods ticked.
I have tried all combinations of disks,blank dvds and cds as well as some containing films,music etc.
The drive seems to access the disks but nothing appears on my screen and the drive does not show up when I go into Disk Utility.

[IWT]

Thank you for your prompt and helpful response.

In that case, you may well be correct; and if bought from eBay, should be returnable?

Ian

[Slydude]

You've probably checked these things but I mention them as possibilities because with the exception of possibility #4 all of them have happened to me:

1. If the drive has a connector to attach a power lead try using one with it. I only see one USB lead in that picture and those drives often have a separate power lead.

2. If the drive is designed to use a cable with two USB connections try that. Many drives with no connection for a power lead rely on the power from two USB ports to power the drive.

3. Make sure the USB cable is firmly connected. If that USB lead can be connected/disconnected from the back of the drive make sure that end is connected as well. If it isn't well-connected, that can cause issues like you're describing. Earlier this week I ran into this issue when I upgraded to Catalina. After the upgrade I put a CD into the drive, the drive spun up, and nothing else happened. Re-attach the cable and everything's fine now.

4. It looks like that drive is designed for the UK. Could that be an issue for you?

[chscag]

Great suggestion from Slydude. Many inexpensive external USB drives need more power and require a double connection. I have one that I use which requires two USB connections to properly work at times. And I have an iMac which supplies adequate power via its USB ports.

@Sly: He lives in the UK which is why he purchased the drive from eBay UK.

[Slydude]

I figured as much but hadn't checked that when I posted. Region differences don't normally cause the symptoms he's experiencing but I thought I'd mention it as a possibility.

I saw only one USB connection in the picture for that drive. That's what made me mention that issue. I have a drive that uses two USB ports but also has an electrical connection. It can be flaky when I try to use only one USB connection--even with the electrical power applied.