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Discussion
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April 9, 2025 at 3:28 amIn my experience just about any brand (cheap or otherwise) of USB DVD drive will do the job. If you have an older Mac with an optical drive you could use Apple’s Remote Disc feature to wirelessly connect the M4 to the machine with the optical drive.
I have two physical DVD drives available: an Apple USB SuperDrive and a 5.25-in external drive enclosure fitted with a DL SuperDrive from a G5 PowerMac. This latter device connects via either USB 2.0 or FireWire 400.
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- earlfenstermachergmail-com
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April 9, 2025 at 9:22 am
The apple superdrive will connect through a usb to c adaptor but not an unpowered dock.
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- ward
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April 9, 2025 at 6:12 pm
I have found that if you have an apple Studio display, any one of the three USB-C ports on that constitute a hub that can connect to theApple SuperDrive fitted with a USB-A to USB-C inline adapter.
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April 10, 2025 at 4:58 pmPeter and Richard,
Thanks for your responses. When my drive was connected, it would spool up but not be recognized. The original connection cable came with two USB connecting plugs. I moved my adaptor from one plug to the other and it immediately worked. Both plugs look identical so there was no indication about functionality. I had thought that using both plugs speeded up the upload but I guess there is more functionality per plug.
Earl
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April 11, 2025 at 5:12 amWhen USB could only provide 500mA, having a data and an additional power connector allowed the mac to provide more power, using two USB ports. USB specifications have been upped and USB can deliver significant power, depending on the port.
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- earlfenstermachergmail-com
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April 11, 2025 at 2:01 pm
I used to have a 2011 15-in MacBook Pro, its USB 2.0 ports were nominally 500mA but when required by various Apple accessories, would supply an additional 600mA for a total of 1100mA.
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- earlfenstermachergmail-com
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April 15, 2025 at 4:10 am
Before the 2011 MacBook Pro I had a 2009 13-in macBook pro. Only one of its two USB 2.0 ports could charge my iPad 1, that was the port closest to the MiniDisplay port.
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- earlfenstermachergmail-com
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April 16, 2025 at 7:40 amWhen we replaced our 27-inch iMac with an M4 Mac mini I bought several USB A to C adapters and was careful to select 10Gbps, USB C 3.2 Gen 2 for speed reasons. I was pleasantly surprised to find our Apple Superdrive has worked with these adapters on every other machine I have tried. This includes an M3 iMac and Windows PCs that I encounter as a volunteer at my library’s makerspace.
Might some adapters be able to convey more power than others and if so, how would one know?
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April 16, 2025 at 7:49 amHi Chris
FWIW I randomly purchased adaptors for the same reason, simply choosing the best deal I could find on Amazon. I have a number of ancient peripherals and they all work fine using them.
Mike
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