Dec 01, 2016 Copy/Paste to a thumb drive the file AppleODDInstaller.exe located at Boot CampDriversApple if you have Windows 32 bit or Boot CampDriversApplex64 if you have the 64 bit version. Run that file from the thumb drive on the PC you want to use your Apple MacBook Air Superdrive. You are done.
Learning has never been so easy!
Compared to many How-To articles, this one is pretty simple, but it saved me from buying another USB DVD drive just for one little task.
The problem: I have both Macs and Windows PCs, and needed to install Microsoft Office from DVD media on an ultrabook laptop that had no internal optical drive.
1 Steps total
Step 1: Download BootCamp from the Apple Support Site
The MacBook Air SuperDrive has unique firmware which prevents it from being properly recognized as a plug and play optical USB drive by Windows. Fortunately, Apple provides the drivers for running Windows on a Mac, as part of its BootCamp software.
If you download the latest release of BootCamp from Apple's support site, you will have a zip file wherein the path bootcampdriversApple contains the file 'AppleODDInstaller64.exe'.
Simply execute this file to install the Apple Optical Disk Driver for 64 bit Windows, and presto! You can then use the MacBook Air SuperDrive with your Windows PC.
15 Comments
- TabascoFelloWizard Aug 14, 2015 at 03:03pmFinally, something I can use. Thanks this is helpful on many levels.
- CayenneJeremyGove Aug 14, 2015 at 05:50pmLong live BootCamp! Great post! Thanks for putting this up.
- CayenneInevitableCheese Aug 14, 2015 at 05:53pmMakes you wonder why in the world they wouldn't just make it available.
- MaceCurtis3363 Aug 14, 2015 at 06:16pmAwesome, I just got this drive for a friend and it won't work on his older Mac, so I'll give him mine and use his.
- SerranoNHCSAdmin Aug 14, 2015 at 06:20pmAwesome! Been to busy to figure out how to use it on another computer! Thanks for the write up!
- Thai PepperBlair Groves Aug 14, 2015 at 06:23pmThank you for your comments everyone! I'm glad this was helpful to you!
- ChipotleColdDeck Aug 14, 2015 at 08:19pmThat's a useful bit of info right there. Thanks for posting!
- Datillhatsynot Aug 14, 2015 at 09:10pmVery nice and I didn't know it wouldn't work. My wife has a Mac with one of these drives and I have an Ultrabook so this will come in handy.
- ChipotleJames1765 Aug 14, 2015 at 10:55pmI should be shocked that Apple would break a long standing standard like this without any apparent advantage, but this is Apple we're talking about.
- Thai PepperBlair Groves Aug 14, 2015 at 11:23pmFor every one item that Apple has put up a dead end, they've both innovated and perfected dozens of things that have influences our world in general. They've succeeded in creating a very nice ecosystem for people who are prepared to pay the price of admission, and there is much more to come, as long as Apple remains attentive.
- CayenneBryan9095 Aug 15, 2015 at 12:05amThis is a much easier method. Connect the SuperDrive and a USB flash drive to a Mac. Copy the contents of the Office DVD to the flash drive. Then plug the flash drive into the ultrabook. Run the setup. The benefit of this method is not having to do anything special to get the SuperDrive to work with the ultrabook and the installation of Office will be faster.
- Thai PepperSteve_Belmont Aug 15, 2015 at 02:58amGood Thinking! great job, and you get to save a few
- Macebbigford Aug 15, 2015 at 04:45amNice write up on repurposing. I'm guessing nobody would actually buy an Apple optical drive for Windows intentionally. At least it isn't a total loss if you're stuck with it and don't want to pay $30 for a new external.
- DatilAshleyLewisMS Aug 16, 2015 at 02:30pmThanks for the guide. I gotta say, I've used a generic Samsung external DVD drive on an iMAC before and it works a treat.
- DatilRusty Platter Aug 17, 2015 at 10:19amFor the reverse situation, I've used a Dell USB DVD drive without issues on a Mac.
Posted by4 years ago
Archived
I have a new rig coming in 2 weeks and an original Windows OS installer. I ony have a friend's Apple Superdrive which apparently, needs some additional drivers to be downloaded to work on a Windows PC.
But since, this is a first-time install and no Windows OS present. Superdrive might not work. My queston is; If I load the Windows Bios on my rig, will the Apple Superdrive appear as a bootable device?
I have a USB and I can make a Windows ISO as a last resort but it would be mighty convenient if the Apple Superdrive is detected as a bootable device in the Windows PC Bios.
Does anyone know? Can't find out as my PC's GPU, Mobo and RAM will arrive in 2-3 weeks. Thank you.
8 comments