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Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Does not work with other Macs

Written by MH from Bratislava

Feb 8, 2009

The SuperDrive only works with its own MacBook Air. If you would plug it to another MacBook (not Air) it simply does not work. The same it does not work when its connected by USB hub to the MBA. I think the next time apple makes a wonderful
drive like this, they could add some more features.

But still it is pretty cool but useless.
I Have a MBA and i used tis 2 times when installing the MBA and when installing printer drivers and I now have it half a year.

170 of 189 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Rubbish

Written by DO from Galway

Jan 29, 2009

discs get stuck, discs are not recognised - and this is with a 1 month old drive? rubbish

100 of 134 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Could've been better.

Written by JS from Portland

Jan 12, 2009

As a one-and-only drive, it works well. But like the rest of us—who don't mind the MBA's limitations—wonder why the SuperDrive wouldn't have an additional port or two, given its exclusivity. Bad design. As some have said, you may be better off with a networked DVD drive.

Think: you have an external drive with mountains of data… how do you back it up? Not with this.

77 of 91 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

STUCK, STUCK, STUCK!

Written by LW from Oakland Gardens

Jan 2, 2009

I've had this for a year. I dread using it because I always have problems retrieving the discs! I have to hold it on its side for just a 1/4 of an inch of the disc to show. I have to use the tips of my fingers to quickly grab the disc. If I miss....I have to try again! It sometimes takes 8 to 10 tries! Please, put an ejection button on the outside of the superdrive or a hole (to eject with a paper clip) like on the big Mac machines!

85 of 100 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Fast and works perfect

Written by JW from Elkridge

Dec 13, 2008

I use these all the time for installs in my business and they work great. Others have posted that they seem slow, but thy are not. the programs they mentioned are HUGE installs. It is definitely faster than the CD/DVD network share. I wish it worked with other Mac computers, but I do understand it needs the upped power of the MacBook Air's unique USB Bus.

59 of 77 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Good but slow

Written by GM from richmond

Nov 12, 2008

I have a new 1.86 MBA with 128gb SSD. I installed Logic Pro 8 (8 dvd's) and it took 17 hours to complete. I wiped MBA clean and reinstalled the OS - and used the remote cd feature from my iMac and the 8 dvd's installed in 3 hours and 30 minutes to the MBA. So the drive works fine - but is very slow. Other programs like Photoshop CS3 also take a very, very long time to install from the drive.

62 of 79 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Great peripheral

Written by CJ from Knivsta

Nov 6, 2008

I'll start by stating that I'm not part of the "USB-junkie" mob. The Air has a built-in trackpad and keyboard, and my Airport Extreme + USB-hub can provide unlimited ports for external disks and printers. Simply put, the Macbook Air Superdrive is the only thing that occasionally puts my sole USB-port to use, and performance-wise it's indiscernable from a built-in Superdrive. I'm very pleased and content with my purchase, and so will anyone be as long as they put the Macbook Airs wireless capabilities to good use.

51 of 67 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Macbook air only- for a good reason.

Written by NG from Los Altos

Oct 15, 2008

For all those people who are pointing out that it doesn't work with a USB hub, there's a fairly good reason for that. The fact is that modern CD and DVD drive technology consumes more power than is possible to put through a USB port due to industry standards. In order to make a disk drive that doesn't require a wall plug, Apple actually put in a nonstandard USB port designed to output more power than is normally possible.

While this lets you watch DVDs on the fly (literally), it also HAS to be used with the Air's sole USB port. While I don't contest that the air could use more ports, it's the best solution for the current situation. So, if you want to use it on more than one computer, get a 3rd party drive that has an external AC adapter. If you only have an Air, though, this is a great solution requiring no extra cords or wall plugs.

211 of 226 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Good unless you plan on using it with something other then your macbook air

Written by BJ from Murray

Sep 21, 2008

I bought this planning on using it with both my macbook air and iMac so much for that idea. I was hoping to interchange the drive between my two computers since I copy cd's and dvd's all the time on my iMac I thought I would kill two birds with one stone by buying this, because I occasionally need to use a CD on the road and I like to just copy CD/DVD's on the fly then it turned out that I couldn't use it with my iMac. I should have done more research into the product but if you are planning on using it on your other computers go with another 3rd party drive.

147 of 173 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

What's the point really?

Written by JG from Auckland

Sep 12, 2008

Why would you have more than 1 'almost' (depending on your working style obviously) necessary external gear when the MBA has only got 1 USB port. For me this means, either read something of a DVD OR use the internet at work. So what's the point of a drive that blocks all other (except WLan) means of communication when in use?? Please Apple, use your brain and apply some common sense. Yes, the MBA is for
'on the go' but should that really make it unusable for anything else?

70 of 110 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Techno Viking could not get it to work with a USB hub, nor can I!.

Written by PB from ODEM

Aug 27, 2008

Good luck with the SuperDrive. While it does a GREAT job of reading and writing, it DOES NOT work with a USB hub! You've gotta be kidding me. Fix this problem now!

I have one USB connection on my MacBook Air, and I have an external hard drive, camera, iPhone and a SuperDrive hooked up to it via a hub. Everything works but the SuperDrive!

Come on Steve Jobs, call Chuck Norris, maybe he can help you with this glitch. Send your engineers back to Truck Driving School, and get this situation resolved.

Remember, test, Test and TEST AGAIN.

125 of 156 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Reality of using the MacBook SuperDrive

Written by GJ from Cordova

Aug 17, 2008

OK, you're a college student that enjoys the small form factor and light weight of the MacBook Air. IT IS GREAT! However, when you are at your desk and you have multiple devices that has to be connected to your MacBook Air the logical route is to use a usb hub. One problem here, if you need to use the superdrive you are going to have to unplug the usb hub every time because the superdrive simply doesn't work on a hub. Now you have created another problem, in my case when I unplug my hub I lose my printer/scanner, ipod, usb speakers and my EyeTV connection.
Yes I own it but it is not the ideal situation for me, got to be better way. Advise, think this through before spending the money. Don't just consider how well it works for traveling with it but also consider how you will use it at your workstation.

124 of 137 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

One Trick Drive

Written by CK from Chicago

Jul 8, 2008

As an owner of a MacBook Air SuperDrive I have to say it is a good external drive, but it is a bad investment. If you only own a MacBook Air, then this is the device for you. However, if you're like me and have access to a few other Macs, this drive is a dud.

But why?

Well, it only works with the Air. I can't use the drive with any other machine: MacBook, nope. iMac, nope. PowerMac G5, nope. Just the Air. Why would you care about my hardware problems? Well, here's my real-world example: the DVD drive died on my personal MacBook so I tried to use the Air SuperDrive instead. Useless. Wouldn't inject the disk. Yes, there's a lot of technical reasons for this, but the fact of the matter is that the drive shouldn't be dedicated to a single machine. Let's face it: in two years when you drop the machine and have to replace it, you'll discover that the drive won't work with the machine you've replaced it with. The MacBook Air hardware will change and render your external drive instantly obsolete.

If you only own an Air and need a battery-powered drive for watching movies on a plane (then again, if you have an Air, you probably have an iPhone and watch movies that way, but I digress...), I'd recommend this drive. However, for the rest of you out there, buy a third party USB drive that plugs into AC power and gain a whole lot of flexibility down the road. At least when you decide to change machines, you won't be stuck with a piece of hardware you can't use such as the myriad monitor adapters over the years (ADC, mini-DVI and now micro-DVI) and the Apple SCSI dock for the PowerBook Duo 210 (okay, I'm really, really old when it comes to Apple notebooks and have seen this many times before -- and never learned).

1838 of 1984 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Works as advertises at a good price

Written by RZ from Pittsburgh

Jun 19, 2008

This drive works as expected as a "SuperDrive", a DVD-burner at a great price; many would complain about the lack of additional functionality, or incompatibility with hubs, but remember this is advertised to just a DVD/CD drive at a very good price; many other companies charged 3-4x more for the same peripheral; Apple's nice on this one if you ask me. As with compatibility, this USB device's power requirements are out of spec, which means this devices draws more power than the standard USB protocol can allow. Even though hubs can be powered, the physical ports can't deliver more power than the spec! All those other drives have big bulky AC bricks--this one has just 1 USB connection--you can thank Apple for that!

This products works as it should, at an affordable price to most people, and delivers it with the ease and elegance expected from Apple.

99 of 134 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Perfect for Macbook Air

Written by GG from Selinsgrove

Jun 15, 2008

Apple got this just right. Perfect small and sleek compact design. Works flawlessly. I have no problems with no more than one USB port on the Mac Air. I just plug this in for a CD installation or to burn some CDs/DVDs.

90 of 136 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

It it worked from a USB hub, it would be perfect.

Written by JS from Niceville

Jun 11, 2008

It's slim and nicely matches the MacBook Air, but if you have to use it, forget about using other USB devices. It must be directly connected to your MBA. This could be a major flaw if you rely on a few other USB devices in your setup. If not, it's a winner!

72 of 105 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

super???

Written by AW

Jun 11, 2008

ok i'm not gonna lie... the superdrive is VERY convenient cuz it is small, light weight, and just plugs right in. but i am having trouble with it...i plug it in and i put a cd in and 2 minutes later...the cd just comes out without warning. when i put the cd in nothing comes up on the screen that says click here to install iWork '08 cuz that is what cd i put in there and as great as apple is...i was expecting a lot more. i need an email explaining to me what is wrong with it or what i am doing wrong or what i am supposed to do or something.

40 of 74 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

does not work with mini disk

Written by BM

Jun 7, 2008

The size is nice but one would think that small devices would work with small media. This drive however will not take a mini dvd, the type of media used my mini dvd video cameras. I have recently switched over from a windows laptop to 2 macbook air and now depend on a external drive to get my media from video camera to computer for editing and playback.

37 of 59 people found this useful