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A lot of laptops are coming without DVD drives these days, like the super-thin ultrabooks or Apple's new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. If you're worried about getting by, don't: with these tips, you'll never even realize it's gone.
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Ultra-thin laptops are great. They're light, super portable, and can handle almost any modern task you throw at them. They don't come with DVD drives inside, but the fact of the matter is that most of us rarely use disc drives these days, since online stores like iTunes, Amazon, and Netflix provide us with most of our media. That said, there are still a few situations in which they can come in handy—like when you're ripping one of your own CDs, or when you want to watch a movie on your laptop. Here are the best ways to do those things without an internal disc drive.
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Step One: Buy an External DVD Drive—They're Cheap!
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Okay, this may seem a little obvious, but the first thing you'll need is an external DVD drive. Even if you have a Mac, don't waste your money on Apple's $80 model—you can get one for as cheap as $30 or $40 on Amazon (I personally love this one from Amazon Basics). Just plug it into your USB drive, pop in whatever CD or DVD you need, and you're good to go. You can rip CDs to iTunes, play DVDs in your favorite DVD player, and even boot from the drive if you need to run Linux or reinstall Windows.
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Step Two: Learn How to Rip DVDs to Your Computer
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Everyone I know that's nervous about getting an ultrabook or MacBook Air is worried about one thing: watching movies while on-the-go, since no one wants to lug around an external drive with them. Luckily, you have a much better option: ripping those DVDs to your hard drive as movie files. It's very easy to do, and when you're done, you'll be able to watch your movies on a plane, in a coffee shop, or wherever you go. Not only will you be able to buy that ultra-thin laptop (which is easier to travel with), but watching a movie file will save your laptop's battery, too.
You have a few options when it comes to ripping DVDs. We recommend the Handbrake method, which works on both Windows and OS X. It takes a bit of initial setup and a longer time to rip, but you'll be able to play the movies on anything, even your smartphone or tablet, and they won't take up a ton of space. Alternatively, you can use a program called MakeMKV, which is much faster and easier to use, but the files will take up much more space, and you'll need a program like VLC to play them. If you have the space to spare, though, MakeMKV is a fantastic, easy option.
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How to Rip a DVD to Your Computer
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Read more ReadStep Three (Optional): Invest in a Flash Drive
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Lastly, if you don't already have one, you may want to get yourself a flash drive. It's the perfect way to share media with your friends, store one or two of those movies you just ripped for the plane ride, or even boot into Linux, if you ever need to. If you find you're burning CDs often, a flash drive will likely do a much better job of storing that data for you, so it's worth spending a couple bucks on one.
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Portable Cd Reader For Mac Book Pro Does Not Detect
It may take some getting used to at first, but you might be surprised at how easy it is to survive without a DVD drive in your computer—plus, you'll then be able to enjoy all the other benefits of a light, ultra-thin laptop. Got any other tips for living without a disc drive? Share them with us in the comments.
Emailable Tech Support is a series of easy-to-share guides for the less tech savvy people in your life. Got a beginner tech support question you constantly answer? Let us know at tips@lifehacker.com. Remember, when you're just starting out computing, there's very little that's too basic to learn.
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The lack of an SD card slot on the 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro is an inconvenience for photographers of all stripes who shoot with cameras other than the iPhone. The answer—as with everything else that needs to connect to the USB-C–only MacBook Pro—is an external USB-C SD card reader.
But which one? As you would expect, third parties have rushed to create adapters for everything, including memory card readers. And to no one’s surprise, the quality, specifications, and prices are all over the map.
We tested six adapters that stood out among the field based on online reviews, word of mouth, and design. All of the adapters read and write to SD cards, and we tested one model—the IOGEAR USB-C 3-Slot Card Reader/Writer—that also accepts larger CompactFlash (CF) cards still used by some high-end cameras. Choosing which reader is best for you depends a lot on what you need and how much you’re willing to spend. For most people, that could turn out to be one of the least expensive of the bunch.
Before you view the picks, you may want to consult our SD Card explainer to understand the stew of acronyms and jargon the industry uses to describe memory card storage and speed.
Portable Cd Reader For Mac Book Pro Does Not Recognize External
Best card reader for speed
The SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II USB-C Reader is pricey ($49 on Amazon, and unlike the other adapters we tested, it has just a single SD card slot—no microSD, CF, or USB-A ports to extend its versatility.
But it’s fast.
On one hand, the speed is due to its UHS-II compatibility, transferring up to a theoretical 312 MBps from UHS-II memory cards that include a second row of contacts from which to read data. In our real-world tests, we recorded an average throughput of 195.45 MBps for photos and 267.67 MBps for video; the latter’s increase is due to the reduced amount of overhead needed to copy nine files versus 684 files.
That said, even when copying from more common UHS-I cards, which top out at a theoretical speed of 104 MBps, the SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II USB-C Reader bested the other adapters we tested. It copied our suite of photos at a rate of 86.68 MBps and video at 101 MBps.
We also liked the fairly compact design, with its bendy neck and minimal footprint, although the angle of the case where you insert the SD card makes extracting a card less elegant than needed.
But if you’re shooting with a camera that works with UHS-II cards and you need the fastest copy turnaround, the cost is worth it.
Best value for UHS-II cards
If you’re willing to give up a few seconds and don’t want to pay a premium for speed, the Verbatim USB-C Pocket Card Reader is nearly as fast as the SanDisk Extreme Pro when copying from UHS-II cards and costs just $17 on Amazon.
In our testing, we found an average throughput of 179.36 MBps for photos and 221.89 MBps when transferring video files. The Verbatim reader is a little more bulky, and sports a short cable for the USB-C plug, but it also features slots for SD and Micro SD cards.
Best combination of price and performance
What if, like most current photographers, you’re not yet capturing to UHS-II cards? For an adapter that has a great combination of price and performance, we like the Cable Matters USB 3.1 Type-C Dual Slot Card Reader ($12 on Amazon).
We expected to run into tradeoffs at this price, but the Cable Matters adapter was almost as fast as the SanDisk adapter. Our photos transferred at 82.17 MBps, while videos zipped along at 95.6 MBps.
The adapter has dedicated SD and microSD card slots that can be used simultaneously, and a discrete LED to indicate the adapter is getting power. With dimensions of just 2.8 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches and a 6-inch cable, it doesn’t add bulk to any bag.
If you don’t need UHS-II compatibility, the Cable Matters USB 3.1 Type-C Dual Slot Card Reader is the one to get.
How we tested
We copied two sets of photos and videos from a SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC card rated at 95 megabytes per second (MBps). For photos, we timed three transfers of 12.9GB of JPEG and raw images (684 files) and averaged the results. For video transfer, we copied 31GB (9 files) from the same card.
We also copied the same files using a SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-II card rated at 280 MBps to test the difference that UHS II compatibility affords. And for the CF reader, we used a SanDisk Extreme CF card rated at 120 MBps (UDMA 7) to copy 7.7GB of JPEGS (402 files), since that card’s capacity maxed out at 16GB.
All of the testing was done on a 2016 MacBook Pro with TouchBar equipped with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. We used the Image Capture utility to facilitate the transfer of photos, and copied the video files using the Finder.
Bottom line
If you really need the top speeds afforded by UHS-II cards and devices that read them, we recommend the SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II USB-C Reader. For everyone else, however, our favorite USB-C memory card reader is the Cable Matters USB 3.1 Type-C Dual Slot Card Reader. It’s fast, small, and inexpensive—the attributes you want so you can spend your time and money on capturing photos.
E-reader For Mac
To read the full reviews of each product we tested, click the product name in the list below, and then click the “Read the full review” link that appears.