Optiarc dvd rw ad-5680h

[donjo]

my OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H does not work it scratches discs when i put them in ive tried external cd rom drive from apple but comp does not reconise it is there anything i can do

 

[pigoo3]

Need more info.

- Is this Optiarc an external or internal drive?
- What exact model Mac are you using?
- What OS version is it running?
- What Apple external optical drive are you using?

* Nick

 

[harryb2448]

Ahh Nick you do need to invest a few bucks in that crystal ball!

 

[chscag]

The Optiarc DVD RW drive he's referring to is an external optical drive. Sold by Amazon and many other on line re-sellers. Probably damaged or defective if it's scratching the disks.

To the OP: Take the Optiarc back to where you purchased it and get a refund. If your Mac does not recognize the Apple external optical drive, try another brand.

 

[pigoo3]

The Optiarc DVD RW drive he's referring to is an external optical drive.

I sort of figured it was an external...just wanted OP to verify (along with the other requested info).

If your Mac does not recognize the Apple external optical drive, try another brand.

My thought/guess here is...OP may be using the "newer" slim Apple external optical drive...which is not compatible with many older Mac models. This slim external optical drive is specifically designed to be used with newer Mac models that don't have a built-in optical drive (a firmware thing I believe).

Apple USB Superdrive – A cautionary tale ? The Nifty Tech Blog

I wanted to purchase one of these via my local Craig's List (good price) to use with one of my older laptops & iMac with a busted optical drive. Then found out these Apple slim aluminum optical drives only work with specific newer Mac models (models without builtin optical drives). Bummer

- Nick

 

[johnodd4]

Wrong!!!!

the external mac book air cd rom drive works on all macs just on older macs you have to have a powered usb hub because there is not enough voltage to handle the drive

 

[pigoo3]

Wrong!!!!

the external mac book air cd rom drive works on all macs just on older macs you have to have a powered usb hub because there is not enough voltage to handle the drive

Before you start yelling "wrong"...read the link in my post friend!

To the best of my knowledge...the slim aluminum external Apple optical drive does not work on all Mac's.

- Nick

 

[chscag]

To the best of my knowledge...the slim aluminum external Apple optical drive does not work on all Mac's.

Hey Nick, thanks for that article. I almost bought one of those drives at the Navy Exchange but I thought it was too expensive for just occasional use. It would have worked with my iMac but I bought a cheap LG drive instead. Really dumb move on Apple's part to use special firmware so it only works on a few models. What the heck were they thinking?

 

[pigoo3]

I thought that they were pretty cool looking (the slim aluminum housing)…and on my local CL used…they were selling for the same (or less) as the new tray-loading drives from OWC. But then I read how they were not compatible with all Mac models. So I was disappointed.

- Nick