Ive put a mini CD into my slot loading G5 iMac before without any issues.. the mac drive pulled it in and mounted it properly, and then proceeded to eject it properly too. Haven't tried it on my intel iMac thought

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My G4 Cube (vintage 2000) has never had trouble with a mini CD. It accepts and ejects them just fine. The Apple Support article (referenced by xcgr below) says "Some slot-loading drives may be able to accomodate 80 mm round discs, but their use is not supported." I can imagine the hardware for a slot-loading drive in a portable Mac is quite different.

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I believe the welcome booklet that came with my MacBook discusses this issue.

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This is something that Apple has warned against since day one of slot loading Macs. It's never a good idea to even try to play one in a slot loader on any machine on any platform. Use a tray loading machine (they even have a little groove in the tray for ones of this size). If you don't have a tray loader, it's best to find someone who does and have them burn it onto a standard sized CD.

Also of note, it's not a good idea to load a CD with a sticker type label into a slot load MacBook Pro (and probably other slot type machines as well) because you may not (easily) get the disc out.

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You shouldn't put them in upside down either, or put in floppy disks. But then, that should be obvious too.

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See also: Using nonstandard discs in optical drives [Apple Support]

Basically, you need a tray-loading drive if you want to use certain unusually-shaped discs. Slot-loading drives only handle normal 120 mm round discs.

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Apple has changed that support page more than once. It was originally created in 2000 when the iMac was the only Mac Apple shipped with a slot-loading optical drive. From memory it warned not to use non-round CDs, but stated that the smaller 80 mm CDs were supported. As new slot-loading Macs came out (white iBook, PowerBook G4) the page was updated. Unfortunately some of the later drives didn't work with small discs. Even worse, some Macs have shipped with drives from more than one supplier, so there is no guarantee that any specific model will have a drive that works.

Eventually Apple changed the page so that it now says 'Some slot-loading drives may be able to accomodate 80 mm round discs, but their use is not supported and any damage caused will not be covered under your Apple warranty or applicable extended service contract.'

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The solution to reading and burning these types of discs would be to buy a 5.25" external firewire enclosure for under $30 and put in one of those nice dual layer lightscribe drives that are on sale. Then install PatchBurn on your mac so it will work in iTunes or wherever. If you have a laptop you will end up with a faster burner than what is inside your machine, which is a bonus. If the internal drive ever fails you have this as backup too, which is nice.

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I'm not trying to upset anybody, but in my humble opinion the hints quality has gone somewhat down the hill lately... :-(

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My tray-load DVD on a G4 works for reading mini DVDs.

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I don't know if this is new technology or not, but it now is possible to make slot-loading drives that can accept the mini CDs. The Wii accepts the smaller Gamecube CDs and handles them just fine.

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Live and Direct, only from
Network 23

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I don't doubt this at all -- as I've always been told the same thing. And yet . . . Nintendo's "Wii" console is a slot-loading drive, and they encourage you to play Gamecube games on them -- which have mini-CD sized discs. Is there something new about the Wii's slot-loading drive that isn't true for Apple's drives?

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--DrH

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Yes, in fact, there is. The Wii drive handles mini-CDs, while no other slot-load drive I've seen has been able to manage that feat. It has a special drive mechanism that centers and pulls the disc in, but I believe that it adds extra thickness that precludes Apple from using such a design in portables.

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Thanks for the info, I had always wondered that.

As far as the thickness is concerned -- I'd give up a bit of the thickness to be able to advertise "Play mini CDs!" Then again, I'm not Apple :)

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--DrH

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If for some reason you need to use Mini cds, samsung just launched a portable, slot-loading drive that CAN read mini cds... it has lightscribe too!

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I've loaded and unloaded, and ripped music from, mini CDs on my TiBook. Maybe I got lucky...

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This hint should probably be filed under "common sense!" ha

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Some of the best hints can be!

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Jason Snell, Editor, Macworld

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I've tried this product in my iMac, MacBook, and MacBook Pro and it seems to work just fine. It doesn't cost much. You can pick them up at a CompUSA, if your local one still exists. Or you can just get it from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Adapter-Drives-Player-Cartridge/dp/B000067VBS

if you can find it.

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Is this really a hint? I thought it was more common knowledge ( and in the operating manual of any slot loading drive) not to put mini CDs/DVDs in the drive. At least you got it out...

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