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AppleCD was a line of CD-ROM optical drives marketed by Apple Computer. The drives were connected through a SCSI interface and typically set set to ID #3.[1] These were eventually superseded by IDE-based mechanisms and DVD-ROM drives in the late 1990s.

Models[]

  • AppleCD SC (1x speed, model M2850) — required a CD caddy. Introduced in 1988, the internal fan was found to be drawing dust into the CD mechanism which had no external door; it was deemed unnecessary and left out of units manufactured from early 1990.[2] Music playback was accomplished through the CD Remote desk accessory, later superseded by AppleCD Audio Player.[3]
  • AppleCD SC Plus (1x speed, model M3021) — required a CD caddy. Introduced in 1991, the new drive mechanism added a drive door to keep out dust and could read CDs with more data than the original Red Book standard, up to 750 MB.[4][5]
  • AppleCD 150 (1x speed, model M3022) — smaller enclosure, still required a CD caddy.[6]
  • AppleCD 300 (2x speed, model M3023) — same enclosure as AppleCD 150, still required a CD caddy.[7] Introduced in 1992.[8]
  • AppleCD 300 Plus (2x speed) — same enclosure as AppleCD 150, but introduced a built-in CD tray and no caddy needed.[9]
  • AppleCD 300e Plus (2x speed, M2918) — included a CD tray, revised enclosure.[10]
  • AppleCD 600e (4x speed, model M3958) — included a CD tray, same enclosure as AppleCD 300e Plus.

Internal mechanisms[]

12x and 4x Apple CD-ROM drives

Back of 12x (top) and 4x (bottom) Apple CD-ROM mechanisms using the SCSI interface.

  • Apple CR-503-C (2x speed CD-ROM), used in AppleCD 300 Plus.[9]
  • Apple CR-504-C/K (4x speed CD-ROM, a.k.a. AppleCD 600i)
  • Apple CR-504-L (4x speed CD-ROM), also used in Bandai's Pippin consoles.[1]
  • Apple CR-506-C (8x speed CD-ROM, a.k.a. AppleCD 1200i)[11]
  • Apple CR-507-C (12x speed CD-ROM, a.k.a. AppleCD 1800i)[11][12]
  • Apple CR-508-C (24x speed CD-ROM)[13]

Driver software[]

Classic Mac OS included an Apple CD-ROM extension, which at first only supported Apple-branded hardware. This forced users of drives from other manufactures to resort to using a range of 3rd-party drivers with varying degrees of compatibility. Apple started making its CD-ROM extension "universal" with version 5.3.1, which was included with Mac OS 7.6.[14]

The Apple CD-ROM extension was superseded by the Apple CD/DVD Driver included with Mac OS 8.1, which again limited compatibility to drives supplied by Apple. However, this could be hacked to support 3rd-party drives.[14]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Un lecteur CD plus rapide dans la Pippin (et un échec partiel) (French) by Pierre Dandumont, Le Journal du Lapin. 2016-09-03.
  2. AppleCD SC: Fan Deleted in 1990, Apple. 2012-02-18. Archived 2012-04-18.
  3. Installing the resources for the AppleCD SC Plus (PDF), AppleCD SC Plus Owner's Guide, Apple Computer. 1991.
  4. AppleCD, IT History Society. Accessed 2020-04-04.
  5. AppleCD SC Plus, Apple Rescue of Denver. Accessed 2020-04-03.
  6. AppleCD 150 External CD-ROM Drive, Apple Rescue of Denver. Accessed 2020-04-04.
  7. AppleCD 300 by Sameli Kujala, Flickr. 2010-06-29.
  8. AppleCD 300 by Adam Engst, TidBITS. 1992-10-12.
  9. 9.0 9.1 AppleCD 300 Plus CD-ROM Drive, Apple Rescue of Denver. Accessed 2020-04-04.
  10. AppleDesign Speakers II & AppleCD 300e Plus, AppleToTheCore. 2011-06-20.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Un lecteur CD plus rapide dans la Pippin (avec la ROM 1.3) (French) by Pierre Dandumont, Le Journal du Lapin. 2016-10-22.
  12. CDROM Drive 12x SCSI Apple CD 1800i (661-1415), PartSquad. Accessed 2020-04-04.
  13. Un lecteur CD (encore) plus rapide dans la Pippin (French) by Pierre Dandumont, Le Journal du Lapin. 2017-03-18.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Disk, CD-ROM Drivers, The Mac Driver Museum. Archived 2015-10-12.

See also[]

External links[]

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