So like me, you have a MacBook Air SuperDrive… It’s affordable, it’s functional, it’s sexy. If only it was usable with other Macs and PCs!
Well rejoice :) I have successfully hacked my MBA SuperDrive to work with other Macs and PCs. All you need is a $9 part (shipping extra) and a bit of soldering and you too can do this mod.
First, take a look at pictures of this mod and a video where I connect my hacked SuperDrive to my Mac mini and my HP Mini-Note running Windows XP.
Now here’s a bit of background. The MBA SuperDrive is designed to work only with the Apple MacBook Air. How is that possible?
Some people have speculated that perhaps the MBA SuperDrive draws more than 500 mA and that the MacBook Air provides more than 500 mA via its USB port. This is not the problem. My attempt at connecting the SuperDrive to several PCs and Macs while injecting additional current using a special cable was unsuccessful…
What about drivers? I (and others) have scoured the MacBook Air system folder for additional and modified .kext files (kernel extensions) by comparing them with the ones available on other Macs – nothing.
Other people have suggested that perhaps the optical drive within the MBA SuperDrive uses special firmware. This is not the problem either. After taking apart the SuperDrive and mounting the optical drive directly into a PCs removable bay, it was recognized just fine.
This leaves the IDE to USB bridge. It’s a small circuit board that allows an IDE device like the optical drive within the MBA SuperDrive to work as a USB device. It uses firmware too – and Apple appears to have designed custom firmware for it!
There appears to be some sort of handshake happening between the MacBook Air and the IDE to USB bridge within the MBA SuperDrive. I looked into re-flashing the controller (which is a standard part) with generic firmware, but after several hours I was getting nowhere.
The alternative was of course to replace the IDE to USB bridge with another one, which is exactly what I ended up doing. The trick was to find a small enough circuit board. I was about to give up on this mod when I stumbled upon the aforementioned $9 part on a series of tubes.
The part is small enough to fit within the MBA SuperDrive, but requires removal of the daughter-board (containing a power connector, a USB connector, and several capacitors), as well as the non-ideal relocation of the 12 MHz crystal.
And the rest is history – you can figure it out from the pictures :)
June 24, 2008 at 6:03 am |
[...] to pull this off with a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all. source __________________ psp ver: 3.90m33-3/brick/3.90m33-3 [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:41 am |
Amazing… Congratulations!
June 24, 2008 at 6:43 am |
[...] Diggin’ in the Crates Just another WordPress.com weblog « What is Good Tequila? Modifying the Macbook Air Superdrive June 24, 2008 All it takes is a $9 part, some soldering, and you can use your MBA Superdrive with any computer. (link) [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:45 am |
Has any functionality been lost?
Is there something special about the IDE/USB bridge that comes with the drive?
I find the fact that they would purposely cripple a device like this a little… “offensive” I think is the word I’m looking for…
June 24, 2008 at 6:50 am |
[...] a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all immediately. Er, please?Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:50 am |
[...] a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all immediately. Er, please?Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:50 am |
[...] a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all immediately. Er, please?Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:51 am |
[...] a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all immediately. Er, please?Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:52 am |
[...] a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all immediately. Er, please?Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:53 am |
[...] a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all immediately. Er, please?Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:55 am |
[...] a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all immediately. Er, please?Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:59 am |
[...] a regular part, and we demand Apple start selling $108 SuperDrives-for-all immediately. Er, please?Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 7:03 am |
[...] on the MBA. Replace the bridge with a generic one and *boom* – works on any computer More info: MacBook Air SuperDrive for all tnkgrl Mobile __________________ Talk to me on iChat! | MacTalk Micro | MacTalk Podcast | MacTalk Shop | Hey [...]
June 24, 2008 at 7:14 am |
I have always been told that I am to keep the crystal as close as possible to the IC so that the wires don’t start acting like an antenna. Have you noticed any problems with moving it? Would it be possible to replace the crystal with a different smaller one instead so that it does fit?
June 24, 2008 at 7:19 am |
[...] More information [Engadget] [...]
June 24, 2008 at 7:40 am |
Can you still burn CD and DVD’s with that new board? That would be the deciding factor, else I would just pickup something un-sexy like this (http://usbgeek.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=0663) and use it.
Thanks, Tim
June 24, 2008 at 7:45 am |
Blogged! Awesome job, grl!
June 24, 2008 at 7:46 am |
any chance this would work with the AppleTV??
June 24, 2008 at 8:06 am |
I’ve read that the MBA Superdrive only works when connected directly to the MBA (i.e. it won’t work with a USB hub). Does your mod solve this problem too? Can you use your modded MBA Superdrive on a USB Hub connected to your MBA?
June 24, 2008 at 8:09 am |
your computer is named garlic?
June 24, 2008 at 8:20 am |
Tnkgrl,
I love you!
Must. Buy. Air. Superdrive!!
June 24, 2008 at 8:46 am |
Can you still boot off this drive to reinstall windows or OS X?
June 24, 2008 at 9:07 am |
Nice Work tnkgrl!
I was thinking around a hack for the MBA SD myself, as I wanted to attempt to hook it up to an ATV to play DVDs (weird project, but it was a random thought of “what if?”)
I guess now I have to go out a buy an ATV, MBA SD, and the $9 part and take a crack at it.
June 24, 2008 at 9:17 am |
[...] tnkgrl’s full article on the MacBook Air SuperDrive for all. PermalinkTags: Hack, IDE, MacBook Air, Modifications, SuperDrive, USB. Leave a Comment [...]
June 24, 2008 at 10:03 am |
[...] Air SuperDrive only works externally with the MacBook Air (possibly due to the USB adapter? Update: confirmed.), the internal drive component is interchangeable with the internal 12.5mm 17″ Macbook Pro [...]
June 24, 2008 at 10:05 am |
[...] Air SuperDrive and you’ve been hankering to use it with other computers (Mac or PC), tnkgrl over at tnkgrl Mobile has a solution. With a $9 part and some intestinal fortitude, you too can make your MBA Superdrive [...]
June 24, 2008 at 10:06 am |
[...] SuperDrive and you’ve been hankering to use it with other computers (Mac or PC), tnkgrl by at tnkgrl Mobile has a solution. With a $9 part and some intestinal fortitude, you too can prepare your MBA [...]
June 24, 2008 at 10:08 am |
I have pull apart instructions at my blog. I used a screwdriver, but a credit card would work too.
Thanks for confirming the USB piece!
June 24, 2008 at 10:13 am |
It had already been reported that the MBA superdrive did a custom handshake with the parent device to see if the parent device was a MBA, i.e. that it would supply sufficient current. Just running it off a 2-usb-port cable would not reliably supply sufficient current, because a to-spec USB host will not supply full current to a device unless it negotiates it first, and I don’t believe it would be possible for a device to do this over a 2 -> 1 cable, as I presume such cables merely leave one pair of signal connectors NC. It would probably have been possible if the device had two USB B connectors and you used two cables (or one custom cable that was the equivalent), but connecting two USB connectors to the host is ugly, and not something I think Apple would ever have gone for.
To be honest, I’m surprised they didn’t go for firewire for this, but I guess the size restrictions of the MBA made that a no-go.
June 24, 2008 at 10:17 am |
You could forgo the use of the “can” SMD crystal for a rectangle ceramic that would fit in the allotted space on that pc board. If you wanted to. Of course that adds $0.75 + shipping from Mouser. If my estimation from seeing the pictures is correct. The upside being no wires, or finding a place to stick it.
As for making the device proprietary. They probably don’t want to get into the business of making a peripheral drive. And are probably only making so many. So by doing this they limit the likelihood of everybody buying one. Because it supposed to be an accessory for the MBA. Not for every Harry Hardluck, and Sally Sobstory who wants an external drive.
June 24, 2008 at 10:19 am |
@Andy, no, it’s not a current issue… I though so too at first, and perhaps the MBA SuperDrive draws more than 500 mA, but ultimately, it’s an IDE to USB bridge issue as described in my post!
June 24, 2008 at 10:19 am |
Nice deductive work!
June 24, 2008 at 10:24 am |
[...] power-wise; turns out, it’s actually down to some custom firmware in the IDE to USB bridge. tnkgrl set out testing the drive and finally hacking it with a replacement bridge; she now has a slick [...]
June 24, 2008 at 10:26 am |
[...] SuperDrive and you’ve been hankering to use it with other computers (Mac or PC), tnkgrl by at tnkgrl Mobile has a solution. With a $9 part and some intestinal fortitude, you too can invent your MBA [...]
June 24, 2008 at 10:32 am |
Anyone doing this for a fee, yet? Has anyone hacked the Macbook Air so you can use any outside drive?
June 24, 2008 at 10:33 am |
@Bert JW Regeer, my EE background also tells me it’s not a good idea to move a crystal away from its board… But sometimes you have to bend the rules! It’s called hacking for a reason.:) What’s important is that it works and it’s a nice mod, right?
June 24, 2008 at 10:42 am |
[...] hacker consigue cambiar el SuperDrive de la MacBook Air para que se pueda usar con otras computadoras, [...]
June 24, 2008 at 10:47 am |
@Timmy O, that’s the whole point of this mod… No loss of functionality! Of course you can still boot with the SuperDrive, and you can still burn media :)
June 24, 2008 at 10:49 am |
@getgreq, have you even read my post?
June 24, 2008 at 10:50 am |
@Cajaks2, all my computers are named after herbs/spices, except for my MacBook Air which is called “thinair” :)
June 24, 2008 at 10:51 am |
@Edward, yes, you can still boot with the SuperDrive, and you can still burn media.
June 24, 2008 at 10:57 am |
@Alex, great idea about using an SMD crystal! It crossed my mind, but I wanted this mod to get published without picking up additional parts… It’s something to look into for sure. Thanks for your feedback :)
June 24, 2008 at 10:59 am |
@Mike Kaufmann, you can already use any bus-powered or AC-adapter powered external optical drive with the MacBook Air.
June 24, 2008 at 11:11 am |
[...] and you’ve been hankering to use it with other computers (Mac or PC), tnkgrl over at tnkgrl Mobile has a solution. With a $9 part and some intestinal fortitude, you too can make your MBA Superdrive [...]
June 24, 2008 at 11:21 am |
That’s HOT!
June 24, 2008 at 11:29 am |
What just occured to me though is that it would be nice if one could stack that witht he AppleTV and play DVD’s thru that interface.
June 24, 2008 at 11:42 am |
Any idea which ceramic SMC crystal to use?
June 24, 2008 at 11:53 am |
Congrats on getting this hack done and making the frontpage of engadget.
June 24, 2008 at 11:55 am |
[...] las ramas y lance una versión apta para todo el mundo. Tienes todas las instrucciones en el blog personal de tnkgrl.[Artículo en inglés]Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 11:58 am |
[...] las ramas y lance una versión apta para todo el mundo. Tienes todas las instrucciones en el blog personal de tnkgrl.[Artículo en inglés]Read | Permalink | Email [...]
June 24, 2008 at 1:15 pm |
Actually it does still take over 500mAh to function. the spec of the Optiarc drives are 800mAh for read up to 1A or greater for other activities. USB spec is 500mA however it can be stretched. This will not work on all USB ports as some are very strict to this standard.
June 24, 2008 at 1:18 pm |
I actually just heard a geeksquad employee tell an old lady that the drive will work on both mac/pc machines out of the box. I just cringed.
June 24, 2008 at 1:46 pm |
@MuDogg, this mod’s been OK with all the USB ports I’ve tried so far (including ones on battery powered laptops). For the rest, there’s always this special cable: http://www.addonics.com/products/power_adapter/usb_power_cable.asp
June 24, 2008 at 1:58 pm |
Can you confirm that this drive actually burns dvd’s or cd’s with the single USB connection? This pretty much leverages the whole hack if I can’t burn.
June 24, 2008 at 2:05 pm |
@Ryan, I made this mod late (early?) into the night and I’m working today, so I have yet to try burning DVDs. I expect results to vary case-by-case since different USB ports provide different amounts of current… I expect the MacBook Air to continue to work fine – I plan to try different USB ports and let you know! Keep an eye on this post for updates.
June 24, 2008 at 2:54 pm |
@Josh Schnell: I’d certainly raise my voice in that case, and point out just how horrible and misleading their advice was. I personally think it’s everyone’s duty to point out just how horrible GeekSquad is, at every possible opportunity.
Back on subject: This would certainly be a “sexier” approach for an external SuperDrive, but does anyone know how the specs compare to other versions which are available? Are any other external DVD-R drives – hopefully bus-powered (e.g. Plextor) – compatible with the Mac?
June 24, 2008 at 3:02 pm |
[...] MacBook Air SuperDrive for all Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Computers | Digg this! Source: MAKE Magazine [...]
June 24, 2008 at 3:27 pm |
Since it is only 12Mhz the extending of the crystal legs shouldn’t be of any serious concern.
June 24, 2008 at 4:05 pm |
Awesome. As a old school mac-head (System 7 till 10.4.11… 15+ years) I am very disappointed in Apple for purposefully locking the drive like this. That being said, this is an incredible (And very damn logical) hack.
Another thing you can do is, if you have the Dev Tools installed, use the USB Prober application to see what is actually going on (Compare it on the MBA and on another mac [Or a PC with a usb analyzer running]).
Also, as a second hardware mod, it looks like there is just enough room above that one spot of the drive to fit a super slim usb hub.
June 24, 2008 at 4:21 pm |
[...] blog tnkgrl Mobile publican un post en el que se explica cómo modificar una unidad Superdrive del MacBook Air para [...]
June 24, 2008 at 4:26 pm |
Lacie make a USB DVD drive and burner that does work on a MacBook Air via a single USB cable with no need for a power brick (got one and tried it).
Its a rather disgusting brown plastic colour though.
See http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=10986
I agree someone needs to start selling an ‘upgrade kit’ for the Apple drive.
June 24, 2008 at 4:51 pm |
So wait, wait, -you have to solder the power wire AND the ground wire onto the same connection? (as apparently indicated by the Flickr album)
I plan on doing this mod (I already have the replacement IDE USB board), and I just want to make sure about all of this before I start.
Thanks
June 24, 2008 at 4:56 pm |
@David, hmmm… There are a total of 5 wires and 4 solder points. Both black wires are ground (and are connected together), the red wire is +5V, the green and white wires are the USB data pair – pretty standard stuff! I used a multimeter to figure out which solder points on the replacement IDE to USB bridge match up with the MBA SuperDrive cable – if you can’t figure this out I suggest you don’t try it.
June 24, 2008 at 5:16 pm |
@tnkgrl
oh ok, thanks! i just wasn’t sure what that 5th cable was;(I havnt done a lot of modding) but now that i know what all the wires are, i think this will end up being pretty simple. :)
thanks
June 24, 2008 at 5:31 pm |
[...] out the Tnkgrl Blog and her Flickr series for more information about how this works. [Tnkgrl via Make] digg_skin = [...]
June 24, 2008 at 6:20 pm |
[...] λεβέντης εδώ έκανε λοιπόν τις δοκιμές, χειρούργησε το SuperDrive και [...]
June 24, 2008 at 7:08 pm |
@flatface If you look in the pictures my coment has a clickable link to the page in the mouser catalog that has what you would need. 12Mhz is what she said it was.
CS10 SERIES CERAMIC SMD CRYSTALS 3.3 X 6 Are what I was looking at. http://www.mouser.com/catalog/634/883.pdf
June 24, 2008 at 7:52 pm |
What a fine hack. Thank you for sharing what you discovered.
I wonder if iTunes can use this drive to rip lossless, error-corrected CDs? Only official Apple drives have supported that in the past as far as I’ve been able to determine…
June 24, 2008 at 8:08 pm |
@Alex
Thanks. I guess I was skimming too fast. Thanks for the repost on my behalf.
June 24, 2008 at 9:19 pm |
[...] Hack the Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive to work with any computer — PC or Mac. All it takes is a bit of solder and a $9 part — and a willingness to void the drive’s warranty. [...]
June 24, 2008 at 9:53 pm |
[...] solved the problem of why MacBook Air super drives only work with MBAs and she explains how to get one working with [...]
June 24, 2008 at 11:42 pm |
@royewest this is an Apple shipped/supported drive, so ripping lossless with error correction should work fine – just look at my screenshots on Flickr.
June 25, 2008 at 12:31 am |
[...] Tnkgrl Mobile se han trabajado una modificación de la unidad externa Superdrive de los Macbook Air de tal forma que estas funcionen en cualquier tipo de equipo. Como sabeis, estas necesitan un voltaje especial (un poco más alta) para funcionar, algo que los Macbook Air hacen. [...]
June 25, 2008 at 2:00 am |
Love the hack. And it seems to be working fine (so far, just tested it once).
But wouldn’t it be easier to hack a driver to do the custom handshake ?
June 25, 2008 at 2:49 am |
[...] Link to tnkgrl MBA SuperDrive Hack. Do it at your own risk (as she mentioned there are some risks involved (source) [...]
June 25, 2008 at 4:03 am |
Can you use it to write a disc? If I’m correct, your clip just proves that it can mount a CD.
As I see from many optical drives specs. They will use more current when writing.
June 25, 2008 at 5:30 am |
Apple is probably breaking even or taking a loss on the drives alone but that is offset by the margins of the MacBook Air which is why they don’t want to get into the business of selling the drive without the guarantee of somebody purchasing an Air.
June 25, 2008 at 6:59 am |
[...] has hacked a MacBook Air SuperDrive to work with other computers. The trick was to replace the CD-to-USB board, since that is what [...]
June 25, 2008 at 7:19 am |
[...] Brief comes to you from a hotel room that looks like a grandma’s house. Tnkgrl solved the problem of why MacBook Air super drives only work with MBAs and she explains how to get one working with [...]
June 25, 2008 at 8:33 am |
[...] με τον γνωστό τρόπο Step By Step (όχι από New Kids On The Block), στο blog της [...]
June 25, 2008 at 9:45 am |
Sad that they don’t market this mainstream. I had a MacBook combo model and looked forward to buying this item until I found out it worked on Airs only. Another example of Apple’s short-sighted paranoia that keeps them from seeing a bigger picture. With Apple finally driving Safari and iTunes to Windows, you’d think they could see the potential in mass-marketing the Air Superdrive.
cafepress.com/klickink
June 25, 2008 at 11:06 am |
@handsomesimtty why didn’t you just get a MacBook with the SuperDrive? you could just have it upgraded. Or upgrade it yourself.
And perhaps it’s not short sighted, they probably do know the “potential” in “mass-marketing” the drive. Which is probably why they aren’t doing it. Not to mention what is the real plus to making heaps of junk hardware. They make their offering simple, and easy to choose from. Adding an external drive that can be used on anything would complicate their offerings. Not to mention the support you have to add, to manage end user problems with this new hardware. A new item is a huge investment, on their part as well. They probably would rather be helping people manage their computers, and phones, than an accessory. an be used on anything would complicate their offerings. Not to mention the support you have to add, to manage end user problems with this new hardware. A new item is a huge investment, on their part as well. They probably would rather be helping people manage and use their primary devices, than an accessory. This also removes the question from the consumers mind, as to weather they need one, because only one device can use it, which helps eliminate confusion (for those who read before they buy). Not to mention Apple really kind of got out of making accessories, and peripherals that they didn’t need to make back in the 90’s. Now they just make the parts that have to do with the computing it self, the display, keyboard, mouse, and computer. And now the iPhone and iPod, which really aren’t accessories to the computer, but primary devices, like the computer.
Not to mention their aim here, for those who can see the real market trend here. Is there is no future in making a drive that uses yesterdays media, in a world that is increasingly moving away from the use of physical portable media to store things i.e. CDs and DVDs. The idea here, especially with the MBA is that we are moving away from physical media, and into an age where everything is available digital, over a network, and the need for a portable means of copying, or selling that information by physical media is over. By-by CDs by-by DVDs. So why invest so heavily in a secondary (accessory) device that has little to do with the direction the market is going?
It’s just good business sense.
Meanwhile they made it so that the few who want to try, can tinker with it, and not need to be a programmer. Which is fun for us.
Sorry for the long post tnkgrl, but people keep saying the same thing about Apple not making it for all machines.
June 25, 2008 at 2:14 pm |
[...] but the Macbook Air. While, I wish that wasn’t the case, there is nothing that can be done about it (well there is, but it’s not for the faint of heart). So please do me a favor, take the Geek Squad’s comments with a grain of salt. They often [...]
June 25, 2008 at 7:09 pm |
Surely there has to be a software solution to resolve this eventually .
June 26, 2008 at 1:00 am |
[...] Całą sprawę opisuje na swoim blogu tnkgrl. [...]
June 26, 2008 at 4:52 am |
Great pictures.. I love them
June 26, 2008 at 6:17 am |
i honestly dont see what all the fuss is about with this macbook air thing.
June 26, 2008 at 9:56 am |
Hi! Great work!
Is that a 12,7mm or a 9,5mm drive?
June 26, 2008 at 10:16 am |
@alex, it’s a 12.7 mm drive.
June 26, 2008 at 10:34 am |
@DD, so far I’ve only tested CD burning and that works. I’ll report once I try DVD burning.
June 26, 2008 at 10:37 am |
@anti, the problem with hacking a custom driver is that you would have to do it for multiple OS’s… I wanted a solution that would just work, no matter the computer or the OS!
June 26, 2008 at 3:11 pm |
[...] SuperDrive and you’ve been hankering to use it with other personal (Mac or PC), tnkgrl over at tnkgrl Mobile has a solution. With a $9 part and some intestinal fortitude, you too can make your MBA Superdrive [...]
June 26, 2008 at 7:10 pm |
[...] Aquí tenéis detallado todo el proceso. A pesar de qye el coste del chip no llega a los 10 dólares, el proceso decimos que es tal vez peligroso puesto que la operación implica urgar las tripas de la unidad con un soldador. [...]
June 27, 2008 at 3:08 am |
[...] Link: oryginalna strona ze sposobem przeróbki napędu Air SuperDrive [...]
June 27, 2008 at 5:22 am |
http://aniwood.wordpress.com/
June 27, 2008 at 2:10 pm |
tnkgrl…..it was mentioned by someone that a rectangular ceramic might fit to help out the rather inferior placement of the SMD crystal. Is it possible you could measure the slot for it and give us all a clue about which one to buy from Mouser? What’s the freq for those who haven’t ripped their drives apart yet? Is it stamped on top as it usually is?
Way to go girl!
June 27, 2008 at 6:04 pm |
I have tried DVD burning and can’t seem to get it to work through iDVD. I know the list of iDVD compatible 3rd party drives is pretty short.
David M.
June 28, 2008 at 12:30 am |
Hi tnkgrl – great hack. I have a slightly unrelated question that you might be able to help with, since you’ve had the superdrive apart. Is the drive inside the kind that is usable as a replacement inside a macbook pro? I have a dying superdrive and need a new one, this would be a cheap way to go about it. The model number is UJ-857-C I believe? I’d be really grateful if you can figure this out!
Thanks,
Craig
June 28, 2008 at 3:35 am |
tnkgrl – maybe there is a nice side business here for you =) I’ll buy a modified one.
June 28, 2008 at 7:04 am |
[...] Air Superdrive! Got a Macbook Air Superdrive? Here’s how to get it to work on other systems: MacBook Air SuperDrive for all tnkgrl Mobile It takes technical know-how and a $9 part, but very cool to have it usable on any other Mac or [...]
June 29, 2008 at 12:03 am |
[...] MacBook Air SuperDrive for all « tnkgrl Mobile [...]
June 30, 2008 at 5:42 am |
Hi tnkgrl, great mod (finally!), have you had a chance to confirm that you are able to burn DVD-Rs? I would also like to know if it will work with DVD-DL if anyone actually burns DVD-DL yet.
June 30, 2008 at 11:30 am |
I can confirm that this mod doesn’t work with DVD burning from iDVD or Toast, not movies or data. As soon as a fix is worked out I’ll be much more excited.
David M.
June 30, 2008 at 3:54 pm |
great hack! Do you think there is any reasonable chance that someone could write something to simplify this to a software mod by re-flashing the firmware as you mentioned, or even debugging the usb and creating a new driver for the device?
I’d be willing to throw a few bucks toward whoever could do it.
July 1, 2008 at 12:26 am |
I have a question about the CY7C68016A you said that was on Apple’s original circuit board. From the datasheet it seems that it is only an USB controller for devices, there should be another chip that handles the ATAPI (interface for optical drives) to USB conversion.
Can you provide clearer shots of the chips on the original circuit board? Are there any other chips from Cypress on the circuit board? According to some forums in China (I’m a Chinese), many users of external USB optical drives made with Cypress’ CY7C68300B controller is able to download an EEPROM programming tool from Cypress and update its EEPROM to boost performace from 7MB/s to 22MB/s. If Apple’s original circuit board uses the same CY7C68300B controller, maybe we can use the tool to replace the MacBookAir-only EEPROM with a free-for-all EEPROM.
Forum thread from pcshow.net (in Simplified Chinese, from China)
http://itbbs.pcshow.net/viewthread.php?tid=350786497
CY4615B Design Kit from Cypress (which includes an EEPROM programming tool)
http://app.cypress.com/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=285&PageID=552&shortlink=DA_629638&ref=sch
July 1, 2008 at 12:35 am |
@Jason, the CY7C68016A is the only IC o the board, along with an 8-pin 4128BWP (I2C EEPROM). There’s also a 3.3V regulator, a solid-state switch, a 24 MHz crystal, and a whole bunch of passive components. That’s it :)
If you look at the pictures on my Flickr account and click on “All Sizes” for each picture, you have access to the full 5 megapixel originals.
July 1, 2008 at 12:37 am |
@David RPM, I’ve yet to test DVD burning – sorry, but I’m busy with other things.
July 1, 2008 at 12:42 am |
@Craig, the optical drive inside the MBA SuperDrive is a 12.7 mm drive – it will work in the iBook G4, PowerBook G4, 17″ MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac G5, Intel iMac.
It will not work in the MacBook and 15″ MacBook Pro – both require 8.5 mm drives.
July 1, 2008 at 12:47 am |
@David Story, sorry I don’t really want to take apart my MBA SuperDrive right now… From what I remember, there’s definitely enough space for a standard (5×3x1 mm) SMD crystal!
July 1, 2008 at 8:55 pm |
[...] tip to TUAW apparently, Tnkgrl has figured out how to open up a Superdrive, replace a part and thus make it universally compatible [...]
July 2, 2008 at 9:04 am |
Hello all, and a big thank you to tnkgirl for finding this out. My ‘Slim Line CD to USB Adapter’ has arrived as well as my Superdrive today. Later this evening I will get everything working and report in on DVD burning, because I will want to test this out ASAP. Luckily, I don’t burn *too* many DVDs, I’m just hoping it will play/rip DVDs. Not to hijack the blog, but I’ll keep everyone posted later this evening.
July 3, 2008 at 9:59 am |
DVD playing/writting/ripping yet anyone. I couldn’t get my mod to even recognize a DVD movie or a blank DVD.
David
July 3, 2008 at 10:24 am |
@David RPM, I finally managed to do more testing… I can read/write CDs and reading DVDs works fine, but writing DVDs is hit and miss :/
It’s not the because of lack of current or the hardware changes I made to the replacement IDE to USB bridge (another identical virgin bridge is behaving the same when powered from an external supply). It’s because of the crappy Genesys Logic GL811E controller used on this bridge.
Bummer. I’m looking into another solution – expect an update as soon as I can find another bridge that’s small enough :)
July 4, 2008 at 2:48 pm |
Why dont you make a video that shows how to do it and post it on youtube with the video that shows how it works?
July 4, 2008 at 4:29 pm |
Two nights ago I finished this modification to the MBA Superdrive. Reading and burning both CDs and DVDs was a success. I burned both types of media in iTunes, and burned data onto the DVD using OSX 10.5.4 Leopard and lastly, burned a full-length feature film using VisualHub.
All of the testing above was on my 2.0 Core Duo (black) Macbook with 2GB of RAM.
My only complaint is that when I connected the drive to my girlfriend’s iBook G4, the unit would accept a CD or DVD, but seemingly didn’t have enough power to spin the media up in order to read it. Probably a lower power USB bus.
July 6, 2008 at 2:22 pm |
Is it possible that OS 10.5 has some advantage over my 10.4 as far as DVD burning with the modded MBA drive?? I noticed that Chris X is using 10.5.
David M.
July 10, 2008 at 12:26 pm |
Just did it. Acutally, I listed it on ebay for 2. 100% tested, it will work on any type of PCs. check it out if you interesting
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180262523431&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=008
Description (revised) Seller assumes all responsibility for listing this item.
Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive Works on any PC/MAC
The sleek, compact SuperDrive for Any Mac or PC.
Now you can use USB Hub with this SuperDrive* on MacBook Air. It will work with a USB Hub,
you can use other USB devices at the same time and have some spare USB ports.
You will need a powered USB Hub to use it with any Mac other than MacBook Air.
So far I have tested it with MacBook and Mac Mini, both needed a Powered USB Hub to work.
You can connect it directly to PC, most likely it will work without connecting through a Powered
USB Hub. Tested and worked(only needed 1 USB connection) on Thinkpad T42, Asus Eee PC,
AMD and Intel Desktop PCs. If an external USB 2.5 inch HDD works on your PC, it should work.
July 11, 2008 at 2:57 am |
@ David RPM: Maybe you can upgrade to 10.5 also and test if dvd burning with idvd and toast then really works or not? You would help me alot because i would definitely buy a MBA-superdrive if so!!
July 15, 2008 at 2:46 am |
[...] W końcu udało mi się samodzielnie zmodyfikować napęd Air SuperDrive. Oparłem się o opis i fotki ze strony z oryginalnym opisem modyfikacji napędu Air SuperDrive. [...]
July 17, 2008 at 5:15 pm |
would i be able to disregard the bridge and install the bare optical drive in my powerbook?
July 17, 2008 at 11:46 pm |
[...] You’ll find it all in splendid detail at tnkgrl Mobile [...]
July 19, 2008 at 12:42 pm |
I do this mod. Drive read CD and some DVD, but not write any CD and DVD. I plane buy external USB hub with additional power supply.
I’ve tested 2 USB A -> 1 USB A – is not work. I don’t now why? The drive simply don’t respond. Any ideas?
July 22, 2008 at 5:26 am |
Tnkgrl, is there any update on a possible replacement for the Genesys Logic GL811E controller used on the bridge that would eliminate some of the problems of not being able to burn DVD’s?
and thanks for your awesome work!
July 22, 2008 at 11:53 am |
@deek, yes you can install the optical drive from the MBA SuperDrive in any iBook G4, PowerBook G4 aluminum, Mac mini, iMac G5/Intel, and 17″ MacBook Pro… It’s too thick fro the MacBook and the 15″ MacBook Pro!
July 22, 2008 at 11:54 am |
@Scroller, please see my comment here: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/macbook-air-superdrive-for-all/#comment-9683
July 22, 2008 at 11:57 am |
@Mco, no luck yet. You can’t just replace the controller chip, you have to replace the entire bridge. So far I’ve been unable to find a bridge that uses another controller chip and that fits in the small MBA SuperDrive enclisure:/
July 30, 2008 at 8:59 am |
[...] and you’ve been hankering to use it with other computers (Mac or PC), tnkgrl over at tnkgrl Mobile has a solution. With a $9 part and some intestinal fortitude, you too can make your MBA Superdrive [...]
July 30, 2008 at 8:02 pm |
I made this mod today. Read CD/DVD works fine but the drive won’t recognize a blank DVD or DVD-DL (both I tried are +R). The drive shows up as a OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5630A and states it can write -R, +R and DL. When I put in a blank DVD or DVD-DL it starts spinning and then slows down before making a burp noise.
Anyone else seeing this issue??? Totally pissed off because I need to burn some disks before I do a reformat and I can’t reformat without a DL burner!!
July 30, 2008 at 8:04 pm |
@rhuber, please see my comment here: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/macbook-air-superdrive-for-all/#comment-9683
July 30, 2008 at 8:09 pm |
Now I’m really pissed! The blank media that won’t work in OS X works fine in Windows. WTF Apple! I inserted a blank CD and get the same issue with blank DVDs.
August 18, 2008 at 2:49 pm |
Any update on this guys??? Also, has anyone tried replacing the drive in a Macbook Pro with the drive inside the Macbook Air Superdrive enclosure? This sounds like an easy hack which leads me to believe it won’t fit/work correctly.
August 20, 2008 at 10:40 pm |
Instead of moving the crystal, why not just move the location of the hole for the usb cable? I know it will leave a hole exposed, but wouldn’t that solve any problems in moving the crystal away from the board?
August 22, 2008 at 1:26 pm |
Recently found your blog/videos/etc when I was looking up info about the Acer Aspire One. First off, great work with that netbook. I’ll be getting the XP version w/ 120gb and the bluetooth will work great for tethering.
As for this mod and all the mods you do, where can someone get that tape you use? and the wire? I have purchased some wire from ratshack but its huge in comparison to your wire. I’m sure that stuff can be had, I just dont know the size of your stuff. Also, are there any other soldering tips you want to bestoy upon the less skilled? Like type of solder, etc. I was going to build a headphone amp at one point and it called for liquid flux, but again, ratshack didnt have it. I’ve not search online for it though.
August 28, 2008 at 8:14 pm |
I am getting an error after the mod that says:
“a USB device has malfunctioned or Exceeded the power limits of it’s hub port you should disconnect”
August 28, 2008 at 8:15 pm |
any idea what the problem could be, Im using windows xp on HP mediacenter pc
August 29, 2008 at 10:00 pm |
I fixed it, My ground wiers wer’nt solderd good. Burns DvD’s, and CD’s. Thank you for the mod, youre the best.
August 30, 2008 at 2:14 pm |
This is a great resource…. I took the mod a step further and have done it without the need to move the clock chip. You can see for yourself at http://www.dr-frankenmac.com.
I’ve also verified that there are some issues with the GL811 chipset just as tnkgrl has stated. So this is pretty much a mod for PC users. I still need to test it out on my mac running XP. I’m guessing it will work fine. I’ve tested it on a PC with the following systems… XP, Vista, Linux. Everything from burning to ripping to playing works great. On the mac side, mounting is 100%. Burning is hit and miss on both CD and DVD media. I can only get it to burn in Disk Utility. Dual Layer DVD burning as been a bust over the 20 tests I’ve tried. There is no functionality within the iLife apps such as iMovie and iDVD. Also, DVD Player does not recognize the drive as a valid DVD drive so no movie watching : (
That said, it’s a great mod for PC users and as soon as there is a better chipset in the PWB form factor that is needed, I’ll be on it!!!
September 14, 2008 at 3:57 pm |
You go girl. I’m just plain proud.
September 22, 2008 at 5:44 pm |
Hey GREAT NEWS! I just finished the hack to the MacBook Air Superdrive about 14 minutes ago. It works perfectly, No loss of functionality, and its really easy to do. The pics that Tnkgrl provided is all that is needed. I bought a 5 dollar solder iron from Wal-Mart, and some rosin core solder, some cheap wire and electrical tape totaling about $15. It was my first time soldering, and I did it perfectly, and it works on Leopard, Vista, and Linux Ubuntu & Yellow Dog. Its really quiet and it works with Toast Titanium 9, and all my other burning and converting software.
Thanks Tnkgrl for the hack… You’re the shit! lol
September 22, 2008 at 5:48 pm |
Honestly bigbadmac… on my end, everything is working so far, even in DvdPlayer. I tested it on that program first. I need to burn a DL dvd soon, will do it in Toast, and will post results shortly after.
September 22, 2008 at 7:01 pm |
I tried, but it can’t only burn CD and can not even read DVD. At first I was suspect the SuperDrive on MacBook Air is DVDRW Dual Layer like found on most today’s mac, but it turn out to be DVDRW only (made by Sony NEC Optiarc *new optical alliance?).
What’s wrong? Not enough power to power up the drive? Or is it the converter? I found it on local shop and it should be no different between the CDROM converter or DVDROM converter rite?
Any suggestions is highly appreciated.
Adinoto at http://adinoto.org
September 22, 2008 at 7:02 pm |
Opss I meant it can only burn CD and can not READ/WRITE DVD at all.
September 22, 2008 at 7:07 pm |
DrakeShin Says:
September 22, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Honestly bigbadmac… on my end, everything is working so far, even in DvdPlayer. I tested it on that program first. I need to burn a DL dvd soon, will do it in Toast, and will post results shortly after.
=> DrakeShin, too bad the SuperDrive for MacBook Air is not a Dual Layer :( …
September 26, 2008 at 3:09 pm |
The hack works perfectly on MacBook and PC.
Posted comments @ MacRumors Forums
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=6200271#post6200271
September 26, 2008 at 3:55 pm |
I also posted System Profiler Info pictures @ MacRumors Forums
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=6310066#post6310066
September 30, 2008 at 9:02 pm |
Kudos to tnkgrl.
Why are most Apple people so afraid of doing things like this? (I am an Apple user by the way…not an anti-Apple PC person) Apple’s “save the consumer from thyself” really gets ingrained in most of their customers minds.
October 4, 2008 at 6:06 am |
Hi.. Nice Information.. I love Apple Products.. Nice Information.. Thanks
October 6, 2008 at 7:09 am |
[...] l’énergie nécessaire, mais rien n’y fait… J’ai trouvé la solution sur le blog de tnkgrl Mobile. La seule difficulté est de découper proprement le circuit imprimé de remplacement. Et une fois [...]
October 8, 2008 at 5:26 am |
Thanks for your job !
I have a question, can a software or firmware repair this problem without needing a special part ?
It should be the case.. Please geeks try to sold it out !
October 10, 2008 at 2:13 pm |
Do you know if the drive could be fitted into a MBP 15″.
My internal is broken and is much more exp. than the external one. Do you know if the drive is the same??
Best regards..
Kjell Brandes
October 21, 2008 at 2:18 am |
Hello can anybody pleasy tell me why after this mod xp doesnt “see” the device?
Which driver i must use so win xp can regognise this drive?
October 22, 2008 at 2:45 pm |
FYI for those attempting this mod and aren’t big modders (by the way thanks again tnkgrl esp for the high res pics, really helped when I was troubleshooting what turned out be a dodge USB cable (I bought a superdrive off ebay with damaged USB cable)).
1. credit card bit – the drive I received was far too tight to wedge even a credit card in (even with it sanded down to get a good edge on it!). Try a swiss army knife blade and inserted at the relevant ‘latch points’ as depicted in the exposed drive pics by tnkgrl.
2. Couldn’t find that PCB bridge in the UK anywhere, and shipping from the US site wasn’t cost effective. Alternative/work around is to order an external CD drive enclosure off ebay with the same bridge (£9.50 incl shipping!) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220287124144&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:UK:11
Oh and gus, I hate to say this, but XP should just recognise it out of the box I think (I’ve tried it on XP SP3), and if it doesn’t I’d probably have said are you sure it mod’ed it correctly? It’s just that when I had my dodge USB cable and trying to troubleshoot it, I noticed XP would start the recognition process but not properly let it come up properly, which was due to dodge cabling.
Thanks again tnkgrl!
October 27, 2008 at 10:33 pm |
Hello, just one idia. Can’t order the parts in Russia. Posebly I can conect SuperDrive too IDE on my PC. How a can made this?
October 28, 2008 at 1:57 pm |
Adinoto>>>> Actually it is a DL burner… as a matter of fact I burned several recently.
October 29, 2008 at 9:38 pm |
Another slim bridge-board ( $15 ) is here :
http://www.idotpc.com/thestore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=13&idproduct=484
Same GL811E chipset, but the crystal is already a surface mount component – also, no need to remove any power supply daughter-board with this one.
I have tried both bridge-boards – tnkgrl’s and this one – had the same experience with each one : CD reading and writing worked, DVD reading worked, but DVD writing did not.
November 1, 2008 at 12:12 pm |
Would anyone be willing to perform this mod for me? I’m happy to pay someone. I have the superdrive and the usb/ide bridge that tnkgrl recommended — i’m just too chicken to get into the soldering and all that. if anyone is willing to do it i will send the superdrive and usb/ide bridge and a prepaid return shpping label and whatever reasonable fee would make it worthwhile for someone to do it. you can contact me at chrisa5 at my mac.com address. thanks!!!!
November 4, 2008 at 10:08 am |
I use to have a Fluke 87-III which had an outstanding quality. So, just based on this previous model I can be sure that this will be oK.
November 6, 2008 at 8:08 pm |
whitehead의 생각…
MacBook Air SuperDrive를 일반 PC에서 사용할 수 있는 방법은 (아직까지는) 물리적인 방법 밖에 없는 듯 합니다….
November 13, 2008 at 7:33 am |
Superb tnkgrl! Any luck with a new Adapter slim ide to usb yet?
plz keep the threat updated, im really looking forward to solving that problem
November 13, 2008 at 7:05 pm |
So I did this hack a while back and the drive would not recognize any recordable media, CD or DVD. I was playing around just now and decided to plug the drive into a USB hub to use in Parallels; I had previously only plugged the unit directly into my Macbook Pro. When I plugged the drive into the USB hub it worked! I’m burning a DL DVD right now to see if it works, appears to be. Disk has burned so far and the session is closing now. For those of you having problems it might be worth your time to try and drive with a USB hub.
November 13, 2008 at 7:19 pm |
The DL DVD burn worked great! Made a copy of my OS X install disc. Great hack!
November 17, 2008 at 3:37 pm |
This is an awesome post.
I need to get my hands on one of those superdrives for my Macbook.
:D
November 26, 2008 at 4:24 pm |
Such a nice piece of work. I looked at this drive when I had the opportunity to get one cheap and never figured out the issue. You are Uber-geek Certified TnkGrl. Very nice work indeed. 8-D
November 28, 2008 at 8:48 pm |
I was using this with my eee 1000h, and burning DVDs would complete succesfully however when I verified the disc, I’d get all sorts of errors. I finally figured out the drive wasn’t getting enough power. I was already using that dual USB cable tnkgrl posted a link to, but even with that it wasn’t getting enough power. To get it to work I created one of those VGA to USB power cables that was posted on Engadget recently. Now it works great.
December 11, 2008 at 10:06 am |
Just did it and im so exciting! not just cuz it works but I didnt mess anything up. this was a great find Tnkgrl and dummy proof pictures. THANKS!!!!!
December 12, 2008 at 5:39 am |
[...] MacBook Air. The added power drain prevents it from working on other systems (well, without some serious hacking). Apple offers standard shipping on this [...]
December 30, 2008 at 8:24 am |
All Of that i JUst Want to Say that it was MindBlowing
January 5, 2009 at 1:04 am |
[...] Resulta que este aparato está limitado por hardware y en el puente IDE a USB realiza un handshake c…. Pese a que es hardware, y USB, con lo que debería de funcionar (controladoras soft a parte) con cualquier ordenador con ese puerto. [...]
January 7, 2009 at 10:17 pm |
thank you for your report
January 13, 2009 at 9:35 am |
[...] Instead, I’m probably going to buy a Mac Book Air Superdrive and hack it. [...]
February 5, 2009 at 11:40 am |
The MBA SuperDrive has now been enabled on linux in software – check the wired Tnkgrl article comments.
February 7, 2009 at 4:05 am |
[...] MacBook Air SuperDrive for all « tnkgrl Mobile (tags: hack superdrive macosx) [...]
March 10, 2009 at 1:31 pm |
Hello,
thanks for this perfect help, it was verry easy to fix it. Your pictures helps more than many words.
Hans
March 15, 2009 at 3:24 pm |
Hey, thanks for the post on this hack! I tried it and everything works just awesome. I even hacked my AppleTV with NitoTV and got it to play DVDs with the Air SuperDrive! Thanks so much!
March 17, 2009 at 7:05 am |
See http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/06/hacker-fixes-ma.html
for the magic to turn on the MBA superdrive WITHOUT modifying the hardware ! ( It’s in the user comments – tested and working ! )
April 7, 2009 at 12:18 pm |
@Ma Bell
Have you tested the code given in the wired article, or are you just saying that “Anonymous Hacker” has tested it and shown it working?
If you personally got it working, do you have any tips to help an average person getting it to work? Some of the info was left out initially.
April 7, 2009 at 12:20 pm |
Couple of points.
The blog software has stripped all the includes – work out what you need.
Also should make a small change which will speed the program up
IO_hdr.dxfer_direction = SG_DXFER_TO_DEV;
Enjoy.
A. Random Hacker.
April 8, 2009 at 8:21 pm |
Can this part be sourced from any other product? I live in New Zealand, and its going to be a bit of a challenge to try and find this part to do the switch over.
April 18, 2009 at 2:15 am |
“Can this part be sourced from any other product? I live in New Zealand, and its going to be a bit of a challenge to try and find this part to do the switch over.”
Don’t why they wouldn’t ship to NZ
April 18, 2009 at 2:16 am |
Anyway, i’m gonna stick a blu ray drive in with this & see what happens
April 20, 2009 at 12:47 pm |
I compiled the code and used it on Ubuntu.
Works! The only “difficult” part is finding the drives id.
April 22, 2009 at 1:23 am |
[...] I read that macs other than the MBA don’t provide enough power to run the Superdrive. MacBook Air SuperDrive for all tnkgrl Mobile With a bit of hardware hackery you can, although say goodbye to any warranty. [...]
April 22, 2009 at 7:11 pm |
Hi, thank you so much for the guides and flickr photos. I’m very new at modifying parts. How do you extend the 12mhz crystal part? What kind of wire do you use?
April 26, 2009 at 5:48 am |
I did the mod WITHOUT moving the crystal. Instead I removed the RIGHT HALF of the internal soft plastic which keeps the cable in.
(The white plastic retainer has two “wings” that stick out right and left, and I removed the right “wing.” Keep in mind that it’s the right-hand-side when the BACK of the open upside-down unit is facing you, i.e., the cable exits the upside down unit in your direction.)
Then I very carefully routed the cable wires around (actually above) the crystal. I used a piece of insulating plastic (duct-tape or electrical tape will work fine) to keep the cable from touching the crystal, but I’m just very careful.
It reassembled just fine. The cable is unaffected otherwise (i.e., isn’t loose). Success!
April 26, 2009 at 5:49 am |
One more [tiny] tip… I used small fingernail scissors to gently cut away the soft internal plastic I mentioned.
April 28, 2009 at 10:01 am |
No need for hardware hacks like this any more – just use the latest Boot Camp drivers. The MBA superdrive works just fine on my Win XP PC using those drivers… Probably on any PC!?
June 19, 2009 at 10:14 am |
@Fred. I am having trouble finding the MBA superdrive driver in Boot Camp. Can you tell me where the driver is located? Thanks.
May 11, 2009 at 2:56 am |
I used A Random Hacker’s code posted on blog.wired.com and it WORKS! I figured out the missing includes and modified the code to take the device name as a command-line parameter. It couldn’t be simpler:
- Copy the code below and paste it into a file “mba_powerup.c”. When I did this, the “s and x’s were pasted as funny web versions of those characters. You may need to convert them back to standard ascii character.
- Build the code using the command line noted in the comments.
- Run the code using the command line noted in the comments.
- Copy mba_powerup to /usr/bin and/or add to your favorite startup script
/*
*
* A Random Hacker – MacBook Air SuperDrive enabler
* No guarantee
* The MBA SuperDrive needs 1100mA supply from the host USB Port
* No promises if you ignore this.
*
* This is a first attempt – I don’t think the enabler packet is optimal
* It could probably be improved – but hey I just wanted to prove a point.
*
* BTW – the firmware on the ATA->USB bridge board can be rewritten
* You would then be able to have this fix applied permanently.
* Hint – vend_ax , also Cy4611B is useful here ( processCBW )
*
* This code is for Linux – I’m sure the same could be performed under windows
* gcc -o mba_powerup mba_powerup.c
*/
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
void mba_powerup (const char *device)
{
int fd;
sg_io_hdr_t IO_hdr;
// The magic incantation
unsigned char magic[] = {0xea,0×00,0×00,0×00,0×00,0×00,0×01};
unsigned char sbuf[32];
unsigned char dxfp[32];
fd = open(device, O_RDWR|O_NONBLOCK);
if (fd < 0) {
fprintf(stderr, “Error opening device \”%s\”.\n”, device);
return;
}
else {
memset(&IO_hdr, 0, sizeof(sg_io_hdr_t));
IO_hdr.interface_id = ‘S’;
IO_hdr.cmd_len = sizeof(magic);
IO_hdr.mx_sb_len = sizeof(sbuf);
IO_hdr.dxfer_direction = SG_DXFER_TO_DEV;
IO_hdr.dxfer_len = sizeof(dxfp);
IO_hdr.dxferp = dxfp;
IO_hdr.cmdp = magic;
IO_hdr.sbp = sbuf;
IO_hdr.timeout = 1000;
if ( ioctl(fd, SG_IO, &IO_hdr)< 0) {
fprintf(stderr, “Error powering MBA SuperDrive.\n”);
return;
}
close(fd);
}
}
// Usage: “mba_powerup /dev/dvd” (obviously change this to the appropriate device for your system)
int main(int argc,char **argv)
{
mba_powerup(argv[1]);
return 0;
}
May 11, 2009 at 3:08 am |
Well, the includes were munged by the blog software. Here’s another attempt using a different syntax.
#include “fcntl.h”
#include “sys/ioctl.h”
#include “scsi/sg.h”
#include “stdio.h”
#include “string.h”
May 11, 2009 at 3:12 am |
One last comment. You will need to plug the drive directly into a USB port or powered hub so it has enough current to power-up. On my first attempt the drive was plugged into an unpowered USB hub and it ignored the power-up command.
June 14, 2009 at 12:40 pm |
@will not sure if you’re watching follow ups, but in case you are, you wouldn’t know how far device level programming differs from linux to os x? This would be to make the drive work on a (powered) usb hub, while on os x. I feel fairly confident attempting this, I have compiled lots of linux software on os x before, but apart form grub2 nothing so low to the metal. so if you know anything plz reply.
June 19, 2009 at 10:11 am
@flo I just copied the code from “A Random Hacker” and made a few mods. I don’t know the differences between OS X and linux device level stuff. I did try building the code in OS X recently. There is no sg.h file in the OS X headers, so I copied the file from my linux box. After that I was able to build the code and run it. But I couldn’t find the device file for the superdrive in the /dev directory. In linux, it shows up as /dev/dvd. But in OS X no device shows up in the /dev directory when I plug in the superdrive. Any thoughts?
June 22, 2009 at 10:20 am |
hey, replying to this comment because it seems to the latest I can’t reply.
About the osx/linux device level stuff:
Yes, I know there is no scsi/sg.h in os x, but I kind of thought that just copying sg.h won’t work. I found an article about writing a scsi-passthrough usb driver for osx, which might give some valuable information, I looked at it, but think I’m not qualified enough port the code.
I would like the drive to run on a (powered) hub and in System Profiler when I attach the drive, it even shows up among the USB device and lists that enough power is available. (500 mA) However it doesn’t spin up or respond to eject request, so I’m confident the power up command is exactly what it wants.
It doesn’t show up in /dev when on the hub, but when connected directly it shows up as /dev/disk1 and /dev/rdisk1 (every disk has an r* version, maybe it’s for raw access or something, I’m not sure)
link: http://tinyco.de/2009/02/04/writing-a-mac-osx-usb-device-driver-with-scsi-pass-through.html
As I understand it no full driver would be necessary obviously, but one just has to extract the right commands to send the “magic” bits. However, so far I wasn’t successful matching up os x docs with linux code. Let me know if this helps or if you made any progress … cheers.
May 14, 2009 at 9:43 am |
[...] Apple dat dit natuurlijk niet gaat. Ma bon, er bestaat wel een oplossing. __________________ Late ‘08 Macbook Pro: 2,4 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 7200 rpm 250 GB hdd, [...]
May 16, 2009 at 1:59 am |
I followed the guides…the mod went well and when i inserted a dvd, it sucked in and make spinning sound! But…my laptop (mbP)doesnt respond to it. Now i cant get the dvd out, nor read the dvd :( Anyone had this problem b4? Thanks guys.
May 25, 2009 at 10:17 am |
Thanks for the info and pics!!
i have just hacked myself up a drive and it works very well!!
I managed to find some of the same adaptor boards on ebay here in the uk!
many thanks, looks very nice attached to my MBP, altho caused come confusion in the glasgow apple store!!!
June 10, 2009 at 1:54 am |
Hi mate it would be real kind of you if you can let me know the seller on eBay UK you got the part from !! regards
Omar
omaragra@me.com
June 17, 2009 at 9:12 am |
[...] [...]
June 19, 2009 at 2:15 am |
so…is there somthing new i have the macbook air superdrive and i don’t know what to do if to buy the 9$ part or to wait for somthing better but i have now not working superdrive that i can only look at
i am from israel and i will have to pay for this part 39$ i don’t care i got my superdrive for free
buy i don’t realy understand how to do it…i see the photos but i realy hope someone can upload something to youtube
thanks