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DVD/CD drive does not work - 2009/01/30 08:00Can I use an external dvd/cd drive on my flat panel iMac? the one with the sphere shaped body?
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harryb
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Posts: 534
Re:DVD/CD drive does not work - 2009/01/30 14:01Yes however if you want it to be bootable must be a Firewire connection as PPC machines do not boot from USB, even USB2.], as it is much too slow.
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krowmagnum
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Posts: 948
Re:DVD/CD drive does not work - 2009/01/30 14:44Yes, most any USB or Firewire external drive will work. Keep in mind that many are not supported using the Mac OS burning feature or iTunes & iDVD, etc.
Most will work fine using third party burning software like Roxio's Toast and many can be patched to be supported in the iApps using PatchBurn:
If you are unsure about the brand/model you are considering you should check the patchburn site and the Xlr8yourmac's drive compatibility database for user reports:
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krowmagnum
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Re:DVD/CD drive does not work - 2009/01/30 14:55harryb wrote: Yes however if you want it to be bootable must be a Firewire connection as PPC machines do not boot from USB, even USB2.], as it is much too slow.
harry,
Generally PPC Macs cannot boot from USB but it's not due to the lack of speed but the lack of hardware support. USB 1.1 will boot anything supported but will be slower to boot and run than USB 2.0.
Some slot load iMacs and iBooks can be booted from USB. I'm not sure why that happened or why it didn't continue. Only Apple knows why.
I have successfully booted 400MHz slot load CRT iMacs and a Clamshell iBook from an external USB drive. And there is a hack also but I've never tried it.
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