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Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Wrong, wrong, wrong

Written by MD from Clonskeagh

Jul 16, 2009

Everybody is gone wrong here. Set up the Drive using system preferences. Don't put a disk in until it is fully recognized then put in a disk that you probably will never use again. It will run the disk or say that "Disk not Recognized." Now press the eject button. If it doesn't respond put the cursor over the disk icon on your page and press and drag the disk where the bin usually is. Instead there is an eject icon. Drag the disk icon into it and it will eject. It worked for me but i can see many problems have occurred; so I give it +5* for look, -4* for the problems that have happened to other people and +3* because everyone who had problems should have contacted the apple helpline, gone to and apple store or even if they just had read the manual. So thats why I give it 4*

34 of 45 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.

210 of 225 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.

39 of 73 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

USB port hogging is definitely a drawback

Written by MG from Menlo Park

Mar 24, 2008

Excellent peripheral aside from that. I guess I knew when I bought it, but it's truly an inconvenience. With any luck, Apple will eventually sell a hub with one port that can take the SuperDrive, plus 4 or more normal ports.

In the meanwhile, it's not impossible to install software that requires that another USB device (e.g., printer) be connected at the same time. What I've done is make a copy of the CD-ROM (or DVD-ROM) in question on my disk and run the installation from that while the necessary device is plugged in. Fairly inconvenient, especially since 80GB isn't a huge disk and you might need to keep a couple GB spare for such purposes. Then there's always the approach recommended by Apple: just pop your installation media into some other machine on your wireless net and do the install WiFi. Not nearly as fast, but it works. Good luck to you if you don't have another optical drive somewhere on your LAN.

So yes, there are inconveniences, but so far (knock on wood), none of them have been showstoppers for me. I honestly have to admit I'm starting to think a 2.4GHz MacBook would've been a better choice, but hey, the Air is gorgeous, isn't it?

87 of 144 people found this useful

Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive

Not the best....

Written by HL

Feb 23, 2008

This product did what it was supposed to do and nothing more. But the way it burned CDs was amazing. It didn't make any noise either, but it still would have been even better if it worked for more than just the macbook air. it definately was really amazing but could have been better.

50 of 69 people found this useful