ianch

hi
i have an imac g5 with i sight and over the last few weeks i have noticed that the superdrive seems to be on its way out and i want to back up my photos and music on i tunes.
i want to know if there is anyway i can replace the superdrive myself as i don't really fancy paying apple prices,or would i be able to use an external drive instead of messing about trying to get inside.

any suggestions of suitable products or advice is much appreciated

thanks ian

RichB

I would just get an external USB DVD writer, I got a dual layer LG one a couple of years back for about £30-40.
Must admit the drive in my old G5 tower was never right and my MBP plays up, I've never been impressed by the drives in Macs...
I think if they get reasonable use they are fine but I rarely use mine.

Markus

If I recall the G5 iMacs are a similar design to the current range, ie; they are flat panel ones, rather than the lampshade type design. I've found two Apple documents on replacing the CD/DVD drives on G5 iMacs, have a look here and here/ Note that the links are to PDF files, the page that came from is here

It should be pretty simple to do. The key thing and probably key expense is finding a drive that will work. Have a read of this thread for mention of a drive that should work.

As mentioned by Rich, an external drive might be a far easier and cheaper solution.

ianch

yeah i was leaning towards the idea of an external dvd drive myself just because of the fact it would be easier as im no computer expert and i wouldnt want to do more damage than good.
are most of the the external dvd drives mac/pc compatiable or do i need to get something specific to work?

thanks for the advice

ian

RichB

Unlikely to find something that isn't compatible to be honest.
Go for a known brand and you should be ok.
Depends what you want to burn to disc though, built in software is ok but you might want to look for something that comes with Toast or something else so finding something that mentioned Mac burning software would be an advantage.