External devices

[Saldawop]

Can any external HD or DVD writer be used on a Mac . Looking at a particular DVD it only mentioned Windows BUT it came with a copy of Nero, so Im not sure if it meant the actual writer or just the software that is Windows only .Also are these external devices powered by the USB/Firewire connection or do they have to plugged into the mains as well ?

 

[terryxpress]

NO !!
Be sure the external is Mac compatible - that is, comes with the Mac software to load on your hard drive to run the external burner.
Also, if you have a Firewire port, definitely buy a burner with Firewire capability, even if you have to buy a Firewire hub to increase your number of Firewire ports. You're dealing with transfering 4.33 GB of data to and from, and even 8.6 if you burn a dual-layer disc! - you'll drastically increase burning and reading time if you only have USB.

 

[muzzi]

i bought a LG external DVD writer when i was using an ibook with just a combo-drive. Didn't have to load up any software as the drivers were just there on the mac.

Make sure that the DVD RW is mac compatible (most are even when they don't mention it) and you'll be fine. Having one with a fire connection is a good idea as stated.

You have to plug them into the mains.

 

[alanrob]

I got a cheap USB to IDE cable from Ebay and every bit of hardware that I've used on it (DVD/CD/HD) has worked 100% on the Mac.

I can't for the life of me see why any external device that uses either USB or Firewire wouldn't work.

I got a Western Digital firewire external HD enclosure that doesn't mention anything about the Mac in the spec and it works great.

 

[agoodey]

As long as the drive is FireWire (400 or 800) or USB 2 it should work fine with third party applications such as Toast - There isn't much difference in speed between FireWire 400 and USB 2, although FireWire doesn't have as much software overhead...

To support burning from the Finder or iDVD needs a 'compatible' drive - any drive that says it 'supports OS X' should be compatible and many that don't say they 'support OS X' are compatible - it is a bit of 'hit and miss' although recently I haven't come across any incompatible drives.

The best thing to do is state when you are purchasing a drive that it is for use with a Mac running OS X - if it then fails to work properly, you should be in a better position to get a refund.

 

[Tenex]

Can any external HD or DVD writer be used on a Mac . Looking at a particular DVD it only mentioned Windows BUT it came with a copy of Nero, so Im not sure if it meant the actual writer or just the software that is Windows only .Also are these external devices powered by the USB/Firewire connection or do they have to plugged into the mains as well ?

There are some incompatibilities with various makes - I have a superb fast silent Samsung external DVD writer and its incompatible. So choose a model and then search a few sites to see if anyone's using it before buying.

 

[tomson]

xlr8yourmac.com has a useful drive compatibility database:
http://forums.xlr8yourmac.com/drivedb/search.drivedb.lasso