How to Put Mini CDs Into an iMac

Apple iMacs feature a slot-loading mechanism designed for conventionally sized DVD and CD discs. This mechanism will not engage when a a Mini CD disc is inserted. To use a Mini CD disc in an iMac, connect the iMac to a Mac that has a disc tray loading DVD drive, for example, the Mac Pro. The contents of the Mini CD can be accessed by the iMac through the Firewire “target disk mode” procedure that is built into the Mac’s OS X operating system.

Things You'll Need

• Mac Pro
• Firewire cable

Instructions

1. Place the iMac next to the Mac Pro. Press the “Eject” key on the Mac Pro’s keyboard to eject the disc tray. Place the Mini CD disc on the depression in the disc tray. Press the “Eject” key again to close the disc tray. Wait for the icon of the Mini CD disc to appear on the desktop.

2. Right-click on the desktop. Select “New folder” from the pop-up menu. Name the new folder “MiniCD."

3. Double-click on the icon of the Mini CD disc to open its window. Drag the contents out of the window and onto the “MiniCD” folder that is on the desktop.

4. Wait as a copy progress window appears, fills in from left to right and then disappears. Eject the Mini CD disc by dragging its icon to the Trash. Remove the Mini CD disc from the disc tray. Press the “Eject” key on the Mac Pro’s keyboard to close the disc tray.

5. Shut down the Mac Pro by selecting “Shut Down” from the “System Services” drop down menu beneath the “Apple” menu.

6. Plug one end of the Firewire cable into a Firewire port on the Mac Pro. Plug the other end of the Firewire cable into a Firewire port on the iMac.

7. Press and hold down the “T” key on the Mac Pro’s keyboard. Turn the Mac Pro on. Release the key when the Firewire logo appears on the screen.

8. Double-click on the icon of the Mac Pro’s hard drive that is now on the iMac’s desktop. Double-click on the “Users” folder inside of the window that appears. Double-click on the icon of the house that is inside of the window that appears. Double-click on the “Desktop” folder that is inside of the window that appears.

9. Scroll down to the “MiniCD” folder. Drag the “MiniCD” folder to the desktop to copy it to the iMac’s hard drive. Wait as a copy progress window appears, fills in from left to right and then disappears. Close the open windows by clicking on the red button in their upper left corners.

10. Press and hold down on the Mac Pro’s Power button until it turns off. Remove the Firewire cable from the Mac Pro and from the iMac.

Tips & Warnings

• You may need a FIrewire 400-to-Firewire 800 adapter if the Mac only has a Firewire 800 port.

References

• Appel Support:How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode

Resources

• lowendmac: Why the Slot Loading iMac Is a Good Choice for OS X