[Sourismom]

I have a G4 iMac, running 10.3.9, and the Superdrive in it has gone kaput -- of course, six weeks after my AppleCare ran out. According to the fellow I spoke to at the nearest Apple store, it would cost more to replace an internal one than just get an external one. I'm kind of leery to replace it myself, for fear I could do something horribly wrong and kill my iMac.

So I need some advice on getting an external DVD/CD burner. I'd want one that's firewire, since all my USB slots are filled with other peripherals. Are there any that are particularly good (or bad, for that matter)? Will ANY external DVD drive with firewire work on a Mac? About how much should this cost?

I am grateful for any feedback!

[Dr. DDS]

i think you can buy any external DVD and put it into a firewire enclosure. I used an LG DVD writer in an borrowed FW enclosure and worked just fine. I did just to test the speed because i think the superdrive in my ibook is slow...

[mduell]

Start with the Pioneer DVR-111D drive. It's pretty much the fastest most capable drive on the market and it's dirt cheap. Black for $32 or beige for $33.

As for the enclosure, it's largely a matter of personal taste. I'd recommend any of these:

$50

$50

$35

$50

$39

$50

They all have USB and Firewire and are highly rated by other customers.

Assembly takes a phillips screwdriver and about 5 minutes.

[Sourismom]

Thanks, Mark! That was super-helpful! I'm impressed that it even contained pictures.

[jjlannoo]

Hi, the pioneer you mention can it be modified for use behind the factory drive cover of a Gigabit PM G4? or is that not easy to do?

[mduell]

I think so. Check xlr8yourmac.com

[jjlannoo]

Originally Posted by mduell 

I think so. Check xlr8yourmac.com

Thanks the site had what I needed to know

[Sourismom]

Mark,

Just wanted to let you know that I ordered the DVD burner and enclosure #3 -- hooked it up yesterday, and it was really easy. Works great so far. Thank you so much again!