You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
I have a 2010 mac-mini that won't read or recognize CD's DVD's I burned on a windows
machine years ago... videos and music CD's. Will a new Superdrive work any better on
a 2020 Macbook Air?
Mac mini
Yes, as long as it’s plugged directly into your Mac or into a dock that is powered, as it uses 5 volts or more( on occasion) to work… 2.5 or 3 volts won’t work, it has to be 5 volts plus… technically any external dvd drive/burner should work as long as it says “works with Mac and Windows”… I presume you’ve already tried to use a cd/dvd cleaning disc in your 2010 Mac Mini’s optical ( cd+ dvd drive) … I’ve used the ones with brushes built in successfully) … if you did, and it didn’t fix/solve your problem,eg won’t read/recognize Burned cd’s and dvd’s whether burned on a windows machine or a Mac… then either the laser lens in the drive is very dirty, or the optical drive itself is toast/done…could be that the cd’s/dvd’s you burned have failed, i dunno… anyways, your official options would be to take it in for evaluation, lens cleaning and/or replacement of the optical drive as required/needed , at either an AASP ( apple authorized service provider) or Apple Store with Genius Bar… or just use an external cd+ dvd /dvd reader+ burning drive that works with Mac + Windows… so that’s it.. the 2020 MacBook Air doesn’t have an optical ( cd/dvd ) drive built in at all…so you’d have to buy an external drive anyways if you wanted to use cd’s and dvd’s with it, period.,
John B
Yes, as long as it’s plugged directly into your Mac or into a dock that is powered, as it uses 5 volts or more( on occasion) to work… 2.5 or 3 volts won’t work, it has to be 5 volts plus… technically any external dvd drive/burner should work as long as it says “works with Mac and Windows”… I presume you’ve already tried to use a cd/dvd cleaning disc in your 2010 Mac Mini’s optical ( cd+ dvd drive) … I’ve used the ones with brushes built in successfully) … if you did, and it didn’t fix/solve your problem,eg won’t read/recognize Burned cd’s and dvd’s whether burned on a windows machine or a Mac… then either the laser lens in the drive is very dirty, or the optical drive itself is toast/done…could be that the cd’s/dvd’s you burned have failed, i dunno… anyways, your official options would be to take it in for evaluation, lens cleaning and/or replacement of the optical drive as required/needed , at either an AASP ( apple authorized service provider) or Apple Store with Genius Bar… or just use an external cd+ dvd /dvd reader+ burning drive that works with Mac + Windows… so that’s it.. the 2020 MacBook Air doesn’t have an optical ( cd/dvd ) drive built in at all…so you’d have to buy an external drive anyways if you wanted to use cd’s and dvd’s with it, period.,
John B
Yes, cleaning the drive on the old mini is a great suggestion. I can read a store bought CD, but not one burned on a Windows machine, and even ones burned with iTunes music on the mini. I'll do the cleaning and give it another go. Thanks.
will superdrive read CD burn on a Windows computer?
