Apple computers without a built-in optical drive can connect an external Apple USB SuperDrive or MacBook Air SuperDrive to read optical media such as CDs and DVDs. The Apple USB SuperDrive has a slightly longer (340mm) cable compared to the cable on the MacBook Air SuperDrive (250mm). Both SuperDrives are functionally equivalent.
Older models of the MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac mini computers have a built-in SuperDrive. The SuperDrive uses a slot-loading mechanism which pulls the disc directly in rather than first placing the disc onto a loading tray. Older Mac Pro models use a loading tray.
1: Edit your preferences Open the Finder. Click on Finder in the menu at the top of your screen. Choose Preferences General and make sure that there is a tick beside External Drives.
Apple computers without a built-in optical drive can connect an external Apple USB SuperDrive or MacBook Air SuperDrive to read optical media such as CDs and DVDs. The Apple USB SuperDrive has a slightly longer (340mm) cable compared to the cable on the MacBook Air SuperDrive (250mm). Both SuperDrives are functionally equivalent.
Older models of the MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac mini computers have a built-in SuperDrive. The SuperDrive uses a slot-loading mechanism which pulls the disc directly in rather than first placing the disc onto a loading tray. Older Mac Pro models use a loading tray.
1: Edit your preferences Open the Finder. Click on Finder in the menu at the top of your screen. Choose Preferences General and make sure that there is a tick beside External Drives.
First steps
I'm having this problem that my Seagate external hard drive suddenly turned to read-only this morning when I connected it to Mac. I could only read and view saved data on the drive. But get no access to use the data on my external hard drive. If you have any clues to get permissions to access the read-only external hard drive on Mac, please. Applies to: Fix disk shows as 'New Volume' with no drive letter that causes external hard drive not responding. Go to Disk Management and right-click on your external hard drive. Go and select a new drive letter by clicking 'Change', and click 'OK' to confirm. Then not responding external hard drive can be read and detected now.
- Make sure the Apple USB SuperDrive is lying flat on a surface with the silver top facing upward (shown below). If the Superdrive is oriented upside down it will not read discs.
Correct:Aluminum enclosure is facing up
Incorrect: Apple logo should be facing down
Because the USB port on external displays may not be powered at startup, connect the drive directly to the USB ports on your Apple computer when you need to use the Superdrive as a startup device. Reconnect the Superdrive directly to the display when you no longer need to start the computer from the SuperDrive.
- The Apple USB SuperDrive and MacBook Air SuperDrive are designed exclusively for use with Mac computers that do not have a built-in optical drive. Plug in the SuperDrive directly to the computer's USB port. Don't use a USB hub.
- You can also connect the SuperDrive to the USB ports on the back of the Apple LED Cinema Display (24-inch, Late 2008), Apple LED Cinema Display (27-inch), or Apple Thunderbolt Display.
- Be sure not to put the drive underneath anything heavy, underneath your computer, or on top of your computer.
- If you have trouble using a SuperDrive with Microsoft Windows, try starting the computer with the SuperDrive already plugged in.
Check your disc
Before troubleshooting, first confirm the discs you are using will work with your computer. Inserting a non-standard sized or shaped disc into a drive that is not designed to accommodate it may damage the drive. Use of such discs is not supported and any damage caused will not be covered under your Apple warranty or applicable extended service contract. The slot loading drives used in Apple computers work with only standard 120 mm round discs.
Standard 120 mm round disc:
Example nonstandard sized or shaped discs that are not supported:
Specific troubleshooting
Below are several possible symptoms you may see. Follow the steps for the appropriate symptom to figure out whether the issue stems from the drive or the media. Be sure to inspect discs before use to ensure they are not cracked, scratched, or otherwise damaged. Inspection should include the inner ring of the disc which should be smooth and burr free. A disc with physical defects may become stuck in or cause damage to the drive.
Doesn't accept discs
- Be sure to check your disc to make sure it is flat. You can check this by putting the disc upside-down on a flat surface. If the disc is bowed up on any side or in the center, do not use the disc because it might get stuck in the drive. Do not use discs that have anything attached to them or dangling from them (such as 'sweeper' or cleaning discs).
- If the drive struggles when you put in a disc or stops part-way, carefully look at the disc for labels that may be interfering. If there aren't any raised labels then try putting the disc in a few more times.
- Try another disc to see if the issue is being caused by a specific disc.
- Make sure you insert the disc far enough for the drive mechanism to activate. You need to insert discs nearly all the way before the drive will activate and pull them in. If you don't completely insert a disc, the drive will reverse and push the disc back out.
- Allow the drive one or two seconds to accept the disc while it is fully inserted.
- Reset the System Management Controller (SMC).
- If the drive repeatedly does not accept discs, contact Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or make an appointment with an Apple Retail Store.
Macbook Pro Not Reading My External Hard Drive Backup
Accepts discs but they don't mount or are automatically ejected
- Make sure the drive is not placed upside down. The aluminum enclosure should be facing up as shown in section 1.
- Check the disc's surface for scratches and dirt, since these things can prevent the disc from appearing on the desktop.
- Connect the MacBook Air SuperDrive directly to the computer's USB port instead a USB hub.
- Reset the System Management Controller (SMC).
- Ensure your drive can read the specific type of disc being used. The System Profiler or System Information may provide additional information regarding what media your computer supports.
- OS X Snow Leopard v10.6 or earlier: Open Apple System Profiler by choosing 'About this Mac' from the Apple () menu. Then, click More Info.
- OS X Lion v10.7 and later: Click the Apple () menu and then hold down the Option key. Choose System Information from the menu.
- If the disc continues to not be recognized, contact Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or make an appointment with an Apple Retail Store.
Doesn't eject discs or discs eject slowly
- If the drive ejects discs slowly or appears to be struggling, insert and eject a single disc several times. Check the disc to see if it has a label or other material stuck to the disc that increases the thickness. Remove the label if possible.
- If the disc will not eject, try pressing the eject key on the keyboard. Some older keyboards may use the F12 key to eject discs.
- If the disc will not eject, try dragging the disc icon to the trash.
- If the disc will still not eject, try holding down the trackpad or mouse button after restarting the computer. The Superdrive should attempt to eject the disc.
- If the disc continues not to eject, reset the System Management Controller (SMC) and try steps 1-4 again.
- If the disc still does not eject, contact Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or make an appointment with an Apple Retail Store for additional assistance.
Noisy or vibrating drive
- Note that due to the way optical drives function by rotating the disc rapidly, some noise and vibration is expected.
- If you think the drive is making noise beyond what's expected when you insert or eject discs, try inserting and ejecting a disc several times to correct the issue.
- Try other discs to see if the issue can be isolated to a single disc, or type of disc, as opposed to the drive itself. If a disc is weighted unevenly, such as discs that have a labels or stickers, it can cause additional noise and vibration when spinning up in the drive.
- Reset the System Management Controller (SMC).
- Vibrations due to the optical drive being in use may be exacerbated by using the system on a surface that is not hard and level. Make sure all the plastic feet on your notebook computer are present as this could create an uneven surface.
- Be aware that the drive should only operate horizontally, and noise may increase if you try to use it at an angle. Picking up or moving the machine while a disc is being read may result in the disc becoming unbalanced. Any damage sustained to the drive or the disc as a result of operating it in this manner is not covered by the products warranty.
- While a certain amount of noise and vibration is expected, if you believe the noise or the vibrations being generated by the drive are not normal, please contact Apple, contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or make an appointment with an Apple Retail Store for additional troubleshooting, evaluation, or service options.
Scratched discs
If media is getting scratched after being used in the drive, contact Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or make an appointment with an Apple Retail Store for additional troubleshooting, evaluation, or service.
Learn more
- You can use a SuperDrive with Mac mini (late 2009) and later, MacBook Pro with Retina Display, MacBook Air, iMac (Late 2012) and later, and Mac Pro (Late 2013) computers. Note that there is no eject button on these models to eject a disc. In order to eject you can Control-click or right-click the disc icon and choose Eject from the menu that appears. You can also drag the disc icon to the trash.
- For computers that did not ship with an optical drive and do not have the Apple USB SuperDrive, you can use CD or DVD sharing to access a CD or DVD in another computer's optical drive.
See the compatibility list for Mac computers and the Apple USB SuperDrive or the MacBook Air SuperDrive.
The internal storage of your MacBook Pro may not be sufficient enough that is why you need an external storage. So what offers extra storage for your workings? The best device to go for is external hard drive. These devices also act as a back up of your data files. Be smart and get one for yourself, but before that I need to give you the best external hard drive for Macbook Pro. Besides, I will also tell you how to recover files from external hard drive for Macbook Pro, helping you avoiding data loss.
Part 1. How to Recover Files from Macbook External Hard Drives
Despite the sleek features that these external hard drives for MacBook's Pro have, you can still lose data in them. One of the major causes that have been noted is when upgrading the system to Mavericks. In some occasion you can accidentally delete data that you have stored in it which calls for a data software recovery such Recoverit (IS) for Mac.
This program enables you restore all your file formats such as documents, videos, audios, photos emails from Apple devices including MacBook Pro. It also recovers data from digital cameras, media players, memory cards etc. You only require three steps to recover data using this software. Moreover you can preview what you want to recover.
Steps to Recover Deleted Photos and Videos from Macbook External Hard Drive
Step 1: First connect the external hard drive to your MacBook Pro. When you install and open the program you will see several file types on the main window. Please select the one you hope to recover and hit 'Next' to continue.
Step 2: On the next window click on your external drive. Click 'Scan' to let the program starts searching lost data for you.
Step 3: You will preview the files when the scanning process is complete. Then mark them and click on 'Recover'. Choose a destination and save them. But if you don't find you lost data after the scanning process, you are supposed to select the 'Deep Scan' mode and let the software to scan deep on your drive. In this way you will get more recovered data.
With Recoverit (IS) you can easily and securely recover data from any kind of your external hard drive for MacBook Pro.
Part 2. The 5 Best External Hard Drives for MacBook Pro
In order to get the best hard drive for your MacBook pro they are a lot of factors to consider. Despite going for big brands you should also look at the affordability in relation to capacity. Also look at the reliability of the HDD, get something that is USB powered so that you don't need to carry the charger wherever you go. Also look at the write and read speed of the hard drive. Do not compromise the warranty because you may need to replace these gadgets. With that in mind let's choose the best portable external hard drive or Macbook Pro.
1. LaCie 5Big
This external hard drive is one of the fastest hard drives that you can have. Install apple apps on pc. It boasts of a write speed of 677 MB/s and read speed of 645MB/s. Its massive storage will blow your mind. Within a single raid it has a capacity storage of 20TB. LaCie 5Big goes for about $2000. If you are that kind of person who needs a crazy storage to edit your videos then this hard drive to go for. Moreover, LaCie 5Big derives its name from the five big drives that it has.
Pros:
● It has dual thunderbolt ports.
● Has whisper quiet fan.
● It has five drives.
● Easy thunderbolt interface
Cons:
● It is expensive as compared to other external drives.
● It lacks 3.0 USB connectivity and eSATA.
● It requires external power supply.
2. Apricorn Aegis Padlock
This 3.68-ounce hard drive is taking the world of hard drives to another level with it lock buttons. It has a ten-digit keypad that enables your lock your data. This security is also applicable in its rugged drives. Its connectivity is USB 3.0. a 480GB of this Apricon Aegis Padlock goes for $799 which is relatively expensive for external drives despite its amicable speed.
Pros:
● It is fast in performance and easy to use.
● It has a security keypad.
● It has a rugged framework.
Cons:
● It only has the USB 3.0 connectivity.
● It is costly.
3. Seagate Backup Plus Fast
Seagate Backup Plus is also the best companion for your MacBook Pro. It is a portable hard drive with USB3.o connectivity that also powers this hard drive. It has a write speed of 212MB/S and 235MB/S Read speed. A 4TB of Seagate Backup Plus will only cost you $270.
Pros:
● It is speedy.
● It is cheap.
Cons:
● High risk of failure due to its RAID 0.
● It is heavier as compared to other Drives.
4. Promise Pegasus R4
Macbook Pro Not Reading My External Hard Drive Western Digital
If you looking for a hard drive that comes with HFS + format then settle for Promise Pegasus R4. It is compatible with your MacBook hence no need of formatting. It speed rates of525MB/S read and 630MB/S write also comes in handy to its excellent performance. It has four drives each with 1TB.
Macbook Pro Not Reading External Hard Drive
Photoshop 7 software, free download. Pros:
● It supports multiple RAIDS that is 50, 6, 5,1.
● It has two speedy thunderbolt.
● It has an internal power supply.
Macbook Pro Not Reading My External Hard Drives
Theme macbook for windows 10. Cons:
● It lacks USB 3.0 and eSATA connectivity.
● Its capacity is limited as compare to other brands.
5. Western Digital My Passport Pro 4TB
Although western Digital My cloud work with both Mac and windows, it is best when use it with mac such as MacBook Pro. This kind of hard drive comes with a huge capacity of 4TB at $430. Its speed rates range at about 640MB/S thus records a good performance. It has both thunderbolt and USB 3.0 connection.
Pros:
● It has a bus power supply. ● It offers a large storage. ● It is fast.
Cons:
● It is heavy and bulk. ● It has a noisy cooling.
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