Superdrive incompatibility with Macs running Sequoia 15.2 and Big Sur 11.7.10

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Level 2

417 points

Superdrive incompatibility with Macs running Sequoia 15.2 and Big Sur 11.7.10

I connected my old Apple USB-A Superdrive to two different Macs: 2019 iMac 5k Retina 27" running Sequoia 15.2, and and a Mid-2013 MacBook Air running Big Sur 11.7.10. In either case I plug it directly into the Mac, not through a hub, and insert a disk. Disk accepted for 3 seconds and then eject, it does not spin up. I tried 2 personal CD's and one commercial movie DVD. Same results. I go to System Report to ensure that it's registering and talking. It only shows under USB on the iMac, not under disc burning. On the MacBook Air it shows under disc burning and USB. I've tried rebooting, safe booting, plugging it in before and after startup. Also attempted different USB ports. Same results.

Could it be my superdrive has a hardware problem?

Or could it be a firmware problem?

Is it just too old and these Macs are no longer compatible due to OS?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac 27″, macOS 15.2

Posted on Jan 14, 2025 9:30 PM

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Answer 1

jsunem Author

Level 2

417 points

Jan 14, 2025 10:07 PM in response to jsunem

Update: Apple Support helped me try a variety of things but the one that worked was recovery mode. Somehow that made the Superdrive work. After rebooting it worked again. Plugged it into the other Mac and worked fine there too! I don't know why recovery mode did it? I am curious to understand why, but mostly just grateful!

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