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The only real fly in the ointment

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  • #1

    The only real fly in the ointment

    My new Mac Mini does not play CDs/DVDs ... (WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I CAN'T WATCH STAR WARS OR HARRY POTTER??? )

    Apparently this is the new thing.

    My options seem to be buying a cheap external disc drive that plays them the old-fashioned way, or converting them to digital format.

    Any suggestions/preferences/recommendations?
    Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
    ~ Mr Hero
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  • #2
    Use an external one, as you mentioned, if it's supported. Of course, what they want you to do is pay to rent/buy the media (that you already own) again from their store >_<
    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
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    • #3
      Quoth EricKei View Post
      Use an external one, as you mentioned, if it's supported. Of course, what they want you to do is pay to rent/buy the media (that you already own) again from their store >_<
      IT'S A TRAP!!

      Yeah, not gonna happen. Thanks, EricKei.
      Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
      ~ Mr Hero

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      • #4
        If your old Mini still works, you can always link it to the new one and use the drive as if it was part of the new system. Plenty of ways to get digital copies too, at various levels of legality... They all play back more or less the same regardless.
        This was one of those times where my mouth says "have a nice day" but my brain says "go step on a Lego". - RegisterAce
        I can't make something magically appear to fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Believe me, if I could I'd be the first person I'd help. - Trixie

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        • #5
          Quoth RealUnimportant View Post
          If your old Mini still works, you can always link it to the new one and use the drive ...

          Aaaaand the first thing I thought of was this:



          MINI towing Mini....
          “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
          One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
          The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

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          • #6
            Quoth Nunavut Pants View Post
            Aaaaand the first thing I thought of was this:



            MINI towing Mini....
            That's hilarious!

            Thanks for the suggestion, RealUnimportant, I will look into that. I can foresee employees of the store I usually go to for electronics (rhymes with 'maples') all running for cover when I walk into the store ... "SHE'S BAAAACK!!!"
            Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
            ~ Mr Hero

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            • #7
              There are several companies that have decided that cd/dvd/bluray are obsolete. We can just download them. This is why almost no new computers have a drive for them. Even Micro$oft is moving away from them (good luck trying to find instructions on how to make a DVD install disk. They give you instructions on using a USB stick.) Much of this comes from the HDDVD/Bluray war. They don't want to pay Sony for the codex to be able to read the Bluray format. It's just easier to say that disks are obsolete and push people to download.

              Your best bet is to find a Mac compatible external drive. You may also need to find software to play the movies because what you have may not be able to read it from disks. You wont know if that is the case until you try though. I know that has been an issue for me with both Win7 and Win10.

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              • #8
                BlueRay was always a problem, afaik you have to buy software to decode it AND pay at least 75 € for a drive.

                There is plenty of open-source-software that plays flawlessly DVD without additional costs beside the drive. They are below 20 € here around.

                There are several companies that have decided that cd/dvd/bluray are obsolete. We can just download them. This is why almost no new computers have a drive for them. Even Micro$oft is moving away from them (good luck trying to find instructions on how to make a DVD install disk. They give you instructions on using a USB stick.) Much of this comes from the HDDVD/Bluray war. They don't want to pay Sony for the codex to be able to read the Bluray format. It's just easier to say that disks are obsolete and push people to download.
                You can use the offical downloader, it creates at wish a iso, you can burn the iso with any DVD-Burning program.
                But Why should you? You can put it one time to a pen drive, install, and re-use the pen-drive for whatever you will. No need to throw a plastic-dvd away after the install.
                Native German, so my writing might be a bit ... special. I try my best to get better

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                • #9
                  Quoth Zeddi View Post
                  You can use the offical downloader, it creates at wish a iso, you can burn the iso with any DVD-Burning program.
                  But Why should you? You can put it one time to a pen drive, install, and re-use the pen-drive for whatever you will. No need to throw a plastic-dvd away after the install.
                  They do have a downloader, but only if you have a retail key. If you want a copy for your computer that came from someone like Dell, M$ wont help you. They tell you to talk to Dell.
                  As for why someone would want a DVD copy... See above. You can use a full version with an OEM key, they just wont let you download it from them. With the number of computers I'm always rebuilding, and I don't want to spend a day removing bloatware. Having a copy that someone can't erase is very handy. I have a CD folder on my shelf that has every copy of Window from Win98 to Win10.

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                  • #10
                    Hmm, maybe it's someting special here in Germany, but i doubt it.

                    You can go to

                    https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/soft...load/windows10

                    and get the Downloader. It won't ask for any key. It will just download a Windows Installer. Either it creates an iso file, or an thumb drive. I normally go with the iso to save it for later use. Than i use "rufus" to create the thumb drive. You mustn't even run 10, the 10-Downloader even Works on Windows 7 or 8.

                    During the install it may ask for the key but modern laptops and "Brand" Computers store the key in the UEFI Firmware, so no manual entering. The Keys work as well, of course.You can even install without the key and legally for around 30 days.

                    It is even possible to use Windows 7 Keys.

                    Done that more than 100 times since the 10 release.

                    With the number of computers I'm always rebuilding, and I don't want to spend a day removing bloatware.
                    I'm also doing this. Always. There so much cr*** preinstalled, sometines nearly unremoveable. I usually blank the first few hundred MBs of the drive to get a really "clean" install.
                    Native German, so my writing might be a bit ... special. I try my best to get better

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                    • #11
                      Quoth Zeddi View Post
                      BlueRay was always a problem, afaik you have to buy software to decode it AND pay at least 75 € for a drive.

                      There is plenty of open-source-software that plays flawlessly DVD without additional costs beside the drive. They are below 20 € here around..

                      I've always recommended VLC for DVDs, never seen it not be able to play anything. On the plus side it will also completely bypass region encoding on PCs - not sure on OS as they really locked it down when optical media was a thing for them

                      For Windows, sorry Pixelated, Leawo is quirky but free. Frankly I've had far less trouble with this than the paid for options.
                      Lady, people aren't chocolates. D'you know what they are mostly? Bastards. Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling. Dr Cox - Scrubs

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