One of the things I missed the most when I replaced my late 2012 MacBook Pro with my is the optical drive. I didn't really use it that often, but I did use it, and I knew I'd miss it. Yes, an external works just fine and iCloud (as well as other cloud-based services) have made it easy to transfer files digitally. But in a pinch, you might just want to access files from a disc on another computer.

Feb 20, 2014  Some external drives can work with both Windows and Mac while some can only work with either Mac or windows only. Go google, type your DVD Drive model name in followed by 'Windows compatibility or compatible with windows' and read the results. You should get an answer there.

This is where Remote Disc comes in. It's a Mac feature that lets you view and access files on a Mac or PC with an optical drive from a Mac that doesn't have one. Here's how to set up and use it.

Best collage maker for mac. The minimum requirements Most importantly, the Mac you are trying to access a Remote Disc from can't have a built-in optical drive. If it does, you just won't see Remote Disc as an option in Finder.

The disc you are trying to access must also support Remote Disc. Remote Disc does not support certain types of media, mainly copy-protected media like movies and music.

You can't access audio CDs, Blu-ray or DVD movies, copy-protected games, recordable CDs or DVDs that you want to burn or erase, and Microsoft installation discs. How to set up Remote Sharing on Mac From one Mac to another, Remote Disc is just about as simple as can be. It's just a matter of ticking a box in your System Preferences. • On the Mac with an optical drive, click on the Apple Menu icon.

• Launch System Preferences. • Click on Sharing. • Tick the box for DVD or CD Sharing. • To protect your content, tick the box for Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD Drive. When DVD or CD sharing is on, a green light will appear on the Sharing page. How to set up Remote Sharing on Windows PC Sharing your CD or DVD drive from a PC is not any harder than sharing from a Mac, but you do have to install some additional software first.

• Download and install Apple's onto the PC. • Open your PC's Control Panel. • Click on Hardware and Sound. • Click on DVD or SD Sharing Options. • Tick the box for DVD or CD Sharing. • To protect your content, tick the box for Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD Drive.

If your PC has firewall software in place, add ODSAgent and RemoteInstallMacOSX to the programs that your firewall will allow. How to access files from a Remote Disc on your Mac Once you've enabled Remote Disc on either a Mac or a PC with an optical drive, you can access it in Finder on your Mac. • Open a Finder window on the Mac without an optical drive.