Sharing discs
If your Mac doesn't have a built-in optical drive and you need to use a CD or DVD, you can connect an external drive like the Apple USB SuperDrive. You can also share discs from the optical drive of another Mac, or from a Windows computer that has DVD or CD Sharing Setup installed. DVD or CD sharing allows you to access documents stored on these discs, and allows you to install some software.
DVD or CD sharing isn't designed for some kinds of optical media. Connect a compatible optical drive directly to your Mac if you need to use one of these discs:
- Audio CDs
- Blu-ray or DVD movies
- Copy protected discs (such as some game discs)
- Recordable CDs or DVDs that you want to burn or erase
- Microsoft Windows installation discs
The Best Free CD & DVD Drivers app downloads for Mac: Virtual CD RW iMac DVD-ROM Update Apple PowerCD Update Burnerz Adaptec Toast Deluxe Updater CD-R. Explore the best CD-ROM software for Mac. Browse our catalog of over 50 000 mac apps. MacUpdate is serving app downloads since 1997. .The Apple USB SuperDrive is compatible with Mac models from 2008 and later that don't have a built-in optical drive.MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models with USB-C ports require a USB-C to USB adapter (sold separately) to use Apple USB SuperDrive.
If you have a Microsoft Windows install disc that you want to use with Boot Camp, you can create a disc image of this disc and copy it to a USB flash drive for installation instead.
Setting up a Mac to share discs
To share discs from a Mac that has a built-in or external optical drive, use these steps:
- On the Mac that has an optical drive, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu.
- Click the Sharing icon in the System Preferences window.
- Make sure you've entered a name that you can easily recognize in the Computer Name field.
- Enable the checkbox for DVD or CD Sharing.
- You can also restrict who has access to your optical drive by selecting 'Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD drive.'
Setting up a Windows PC to share discs
To share discs from a Windows PC that has a built-in or external optical drive, use these steps:
- Download and install DVD or CD Sharing Update 1.0 for Windows.
- From Control Panel, open 'Hardware and Sound'
- Click 'DVD or CD Sharing Options.'
- Select the checkbox for DVD or CD Sharing.
- You can also restrict who has access to your optical drive by selecting 'Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD drive.'
If you're sharing discs from a Windows computer and your PC has firewall software enabled, be sure to allow access to the following programs from your firewall:
- ODSAgent
- RemoteInstallMacOSX
Use a shared DVD or CD
After you've enabled DVD or CD Sharing, you can use that computer's optical drive at any time. Insert a disc in the optical drive of the computer that's being shared. The disc should then be available on any Mac that's connected to the same network.
- On the Mac that doesn't have an optical drive, open a Finder window.
- Select Remote Disc in the Devices section of the sidebar. You should see the computer that has DVD or CD Sharing enabled.
- Double-click the computer's icon, then click Connect to see the contents of the CD or DVD available from that computer.
If you can't use a shared disc
If your Mac already has a built-in optical drive, or an external optical drive connected, you won't see the Remote Disc feature appear in the Finder or other apps.
If you're using a compatible disc and you don't see it from Remote Disc, make sure the sharing computer is turned on, is connected to the same network as your Mac, and has a compatible CD or DVD in its optical drive. If you've enabled the option to ask for permission before using the drive, click Accept on the computer that is sharing its optical drive.
If a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM disc drive in your computer is not reading discs correctly, the following tips and information may help you fix the problem.
Bad or dirty CD
![Driver Driver](/uploads/1/2/7/3/127358784/647213405.jpg)
Make sure you have tested more than one CD in the disc drive, as it may be one CD that is bad or dirty. If all but one or two discs fail, the disc drive is bad or dirty. For instructions on cleaning your CDs and disc drive, see the computer cleaning page.
If, after cleaning the drive and CDs, you still get errors, it's likely the disc drive is bad.
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Check Device Manager
- Open the Control Panel.
- Click or double-click the System icon.
- In Windows XP and earlier, click the Hardware tab and then the Device Manager button.
In Windows Vista and later, click the Device Manager link on the left side of the System window.
Within Device Manager, verify the CD-ROM has no exclamation marks or red X's. If listed with a yellow exclamation mark or red X, remove the CD-ROM by highlighting the drive and pressing the delete key. Reboot the computer to reinstall the CD-ROM drive.
NoteIf the CD-ROM drive is not in the Device Manager, the drive's cables may not be connected properly. It's also possible that the drive is bad and needs to be replaced.
For additional information on Device Manager, see our Device Manager page.
Corruption in Windows
Try testing the CD-ROM in Safe Mode. If the CD-ROM works in Safe Mode but not in normal Windows, a running program is causing the issue, or the drivers are corrupt. Open Device Manager, highlight and remove the CD-ROM by pressing the delete key. After deleting the CD-ROM, reboot the computer. Windows should then detect the CD-ROM and reinstall it.
NoteIf the CD-ROM drive is not in the Device Manager, the drive's cables may not be connected properly. It's also possible that the drive is bad and needs to be replaced.
Try booting a CD or bootable diskette
Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, and later users
If you attempted the recommendations above, boot from the Windows disc to see if the computer can detect and boot from the disc. If the computer can boot from the disc, you are encountering a Windows driver related issue. Try the above recommendations again.
Windows 98 users
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If you attempted the recommendations above, try booting from a Windows 98 diskette or another bootable diskette with CD-ROM drivers to see if the CD-ROM works from MS-DOS. If the CD-ROM does work from MS-DOS, this indicates there is a Windows corruption issue. However, if the CD-ROM does not work, refer to the next and final possibility. Additional information on bootable disks is on our boot disk page.
Verify computer running in 32-bit mode
If you are using Windows 98 or Windows 95, verify the computer is running in 32-bit mode by clicking Start, Settings, Control Panel, double-click System, and click the Performance tab. Under Performance by File System, verify it says '32-bit'.
CD-ROM cables connected improperly
If you have recently installed or moved your computer, verify that the CD-ROM cables are connected correctly.
NoteIf the disc drive is not opening when you press the eject button, verify the CD-ROM power cable is firmly connected.
Bad CD-ROM drive
If you tried all the steps above and you're still encountering errors with reading discs in the CD-ROM drive, the drive is bad. Wallpaper for mac desktop free. You can try replacing the drive and see if a new CD-ROM drive resolves the issue. Virtual dj for mac pro.
Additional information
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- See our CD-ROM, DVD, and Blu-ray definitions for further information.