Click the “Remote Disc” option under Devices in the sidebar and you’ll see any Mac or Windows PC sharing a disc on your network. Once you’ve enable the remote disc sharing on either a Mac or Windows computer, you can open the Finder on your Mac without a disc drive. After you have, open the Control Panel, click Hardware and Sound, and then click DVD or CD Sharing Options. Check the “Enable DVD or CD Sharing” box here.

If it’s a Windows PC, you’ll need to download and install the DVD & CD Sharing Update for Windows from Apple’s website. (This option will only be visible if your Mac has an optical drive.) Activate the “DVD and CD Sharing” option in the Sharing list. Assuming the computer with a disc drive you want to share is a Mac, click the Apple menu, click System Preferences, and click the Sharing icon. You’ll need an external drive to do anything else.įirst, you’ll need to set up the server on a remote computer with a disc drive. In other words, this feature only allows you to access the files on a data disc over a network from within Mac OS X. This includes DVD movies, audio CDs, copy-protected discs, operating system installation discs, and blank discs you want to burn to. Important Note: Apple notes that many types of discs won’t work with the Remote Disc feature. As long as you have another computer with an optical drive on your network, you can use its optical drive from your Mac. Apple also provides free remote disc server software for Windows PCs.

The appropriate server software is included on a Mac, so you’ll just have to enable it. A Mac or Windows PC on your network can function as a server, and your Mac can access discs inserted into that server. Luckily, it’s possible to use discs without buying an external drive thanks to the built-in Remote Disc feature. If you have multiple Macs, such an external drive will allow you to plug it into any Mac you’re using, getting the benefits of optical disc support when you actually need it. Apple’s isn’t the only option - you can also buy third-party ones, and you’ll find many of them on Amazon and elsewhere. It doesn’t have Blu-Ray support, so you’ll need to find another external drive if you care about that. It plugs into a Mac via a USB cable and allows you to both read and write CDs and DVDs. Apple offers their own external drive known as the Apple USB SuperDrive.

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