Mac Mini :: 2009 - Recycle Superdrive As External Usb Drive?
Mar 21, 2009
I am going to remove the Superdrive from my 2009 mini and replace it with a second HD as detailed by ifixit [URL] I will then run OS X from the X-25M SSD and the second drive will be a 320Gb Scorpio Black which I will run XP in boot camp from ( have to use additional internal drive to boot XP from since the X25-M currently will not work with XP and I cant get XP to boot from an external drive...). This leaves my setup without a way to work with optical media so I was looking to get an external usb drive and plug it in whenever I would need to install something from a dvd, or burn a cd etcetera.
Instead of throwing away the removed superdrive though and buy another drive, how about recycling it as an external usb superdrive? I would connect it via usb with a Deltaco sata to usb adapter I have. Anyone see a reason why this would not work? Has this been done before?
One of the drives in our 2009 mac mini server 2009 has died. I have taken apart many minis so have no problem taking it apart to replace, but does anyone know which drive is the primary, "Server HD" drive? Would it be the top drive (first drive you come across during disassembly) or the bottom drive closer to the logic board with the two pads stuck on? Just wondering if anyone knows for sure so I can avoid removing the drive that's still working fine.
Also, to keep the server running in the mean time, I am booting to the second drive which is working fine. Just curious, once the dead primary drive is replaced , can I simply use carbon copy clone to copy back from the 2nd drive, or will I need to install snow leopard server back onto the new drive?
I have just brought back an external superdrive to my local Apple Store because it wouldn't physically swallow any disc. So I got a new one and back home ... same problem. I plugged it to my mac mini, my MacBook Pro, my 1st portable PC, my tower pc ... nothing. I made sure the second time that I didn't plug it to the same mac first (in case I had a faulty USB port which could destroy the superdrive). Plus it ejects CDs and DVDs fine if I insert one 3/4 into it. So the mechanism is working, but no matter what I do, it won't swallow any disc.
Has anyone used a SSD as their internal HD, I am sure it would make the Mini boot faster, but what is the other performance like because I am thinking of getting an SSD for internal Boot Disk.
Also has anyone been able to boot from an external hard drive using FW800 because with the 3.5" drives being faster I have an external that I might consider booting from, but I am not sure you can install and OSX boot partition on an external and boot from it.
Now that I have a New Mac Mini, What is the best internal hard disk to upgrade it with. I'm thinking dependability first and one that's quiet. Now that the Seagate 500gb 7200rpm drive is at v.4 it seems the way to go, just want to make sure. The Hitachi TravelStar 7K320 320gb is a cheaper option if its just as good or better for dependability and silent/cool operation. And on reading some reviews of the Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500gb 5400 it seems a very good drive too and maybe just as fast as the higher priced and faster spinning Seagate.
I want to replace the Combo drive that's in my 1.83GHz Core2Duo Mini with a Superdrive - has anyone got any suggestions for a UK store that sells one for less than ?40? All I can find are SATA ones, and I think I need a (P)ATA one?
Just got done loading 8gb of ram and my OCZ vertex 2 ssd 40gb. Load Time of apps is amazing. My one question is boot time went from 48 seconds to 33. Should I be getting better. I used carbon copy to clone drve and I'm only using 14 gb of the 40 that's there. I domhave to say these setup screams at certain jobs.
I'm looking to purchase an external hard drive for my 2009 Macbook os x 10.6.8 (the heavier, white laptop). It looks like most hard drives are compatible for Macbook Pro and newer.
I'm in the process of backing up my DVD collection as so far has worked fine, now i have got to my "Friends" boxset it will not read them. It has read them before now it just wont. If i put another show or movie DVD in it will read it just seems to be the "Friends" DVD's.
Have a new Mac Mini, using an external drive but I can't get it to show up in finder. It's a Lacie 1TB Porsche design HDD, using a USB connection directly into the mini. I tried it at first by connecting to an open usb on my cinema display..no good. Also no good when connected directly into the mini.
With a sharp fingernail I seem to have damages the internal ribbon cable that connects the audio card in my 2009 Mac Mini, and am looking to source a replacement, preferably in the EU. I'm currently in the UK.The part number is 922-8809.
A Google search reveals a few parts suppliers in Europeland, but they are all charging silly prices for the cable, and US suppliers impose ridiculously high postage charges.
Have a MDD that always needs the surge protector shut off then back on to start it.I had installed a Western Digital 750GB drive in it.It has Tiger on it with all of my docs and pictures etc.Have been scared of using the MDD and bought an Early 2009 Mini to replace it.The mini only has a 120GB drive (and 4GB RAM) and I don't want it to get filled up.It had Leopard and I upgraded it to Snow Leopard.Some of my Tiger software can't be upgraded to SL, so I'd need to use the MDD drive to access it.Can the HD be used as an external drive and booted from the Mini with Firewire in order to use Tiger? Currently, I'm using a USB drive with the Mini to save docs and pics on, but it's getting to be a pain because some stuff isn't on it and have to change USB drives.
As others have said, the Mini blows the doors off the MDD!I maxed out the MDD to 2GB of RAM and thought it was fast. The Mini's runs circles around it!
I have a new Mac Mini with 2 external drives inuse. One I have no problem writing to or copying files to, the other (TUMI Data Vault - 00 GB) won't allow it....any ideas why? Do I have to format it?
Just got the WD MyBook 2TB. It's not the one specifically for Mac. It says it is compatible, needs to reformat. How easy is it to reformat? It is for Time Machine.
We have a Mac Mini which is our media player. I have all the actual media on an external USB drive. The previous drive was failing, so I've now copied everything over to the new drive. The new drive has the same name as the old drive: Media Drive. As far as the Mac Mini itself goes, all is well.
However, we also access the media drive through filesharing from our other Macs. Now with the new drive, it doesn't appear in filesharing. So I went into filesharing. I removed the old Media Drive (it said it couldn't locate it, because of course it's gone). Then I added the new Media Drive. Still it doesn't appear in filesharing.
the superdrive in my mini has been malfunctioning. Won't read a DVD or CD on the first try, and when it finally reads it, it's after a long time of spinning.
i know that the superdrive cannot be connected to the mini Via USB, which is a pain, but what if i were to buy the superdrive, take it apart and hook it up to my mini, replacing the Combo Drive already in there, Would that work i'm as assuming that it would all be compatible.
Just curious if its my mini or all slot loaded SuperDrive are extremely loud. I hear a loud fan and clicking when watching movies, or putting in cds. Is this normal?
I've just installed a new harddrive into my Mac Mini (the 250gb drive out of my MacBook Pro) as well as 2gb of ram to max out the little thing, however I now need to install Mac OS on it as the harddrive is empty. Can I use the Mini in Target Disk mode and use my MacBook Pro to install Mac OS?
The Apple party line seems to be that the Mac Book Air Superdrive only works with the Mac Book Air and the new Mac Mini Server. Is this because of hardware, firmware, software or marketing? Is there an actual hardware difference regarding the power rating of the USB interfaces on the server version of the Mini Server compared with the standard Minis? Is there something special in the boot ROM of the Mini Server that allows it to use this drive? The boot ROM version on my server is MM31.00AD.B00, is this the same on the other Mini models? I'm guessing I'd still be able to continue using the drive if I loaded the Mini Server with Snow Leopard Client.
I bought a 1.5GHz G4 Mini with Combo Drive. Ordered a Superdrive via eBay and fitted it (2 minute job - done it many times previously). Panasonic Model UJ-846-B march 2008. On this occasion, the drive fails to work. I can insert a disc and eject it (using the button on the front of the drive) but the drive isn't "seen" by the Mini. [URL] I received a second drive from the seller and it has the same problem. I assume that it doesn't have the correct "driver" firmware installed.
I own a Mac Mini and am considering a LaCie 1TB external drive, model number 301304U. It's the one designed by Neil Poulton, is a sleek black box with a blue light on the bottom. It has a USB 2.0 input and an on/off switch in the back. I'd like to know which manufacturer really made the drive inside the LaCie box. I know LaCie uses different manufacturers, but I can't find out any information anywhere about which manufacturer's drive is inside this model, or other LaCie models in general. I guess the same can be said for many other hard drive companies. Heck, even Apple uses Hitachi. That's what came inside the Mac Mini (a 120GB drive), though I now have a 320GB drive inside.
