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cd towers for mac?

W

Wheelchair

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 1, 2006
22
0
Well first off I'm disabled and love playing games. As many games require CD/DVD in the machine to play it, one needs to take cd's in and out to change games.Thats impossible for me to do.

So I was thinking to find a 4 or 5 tray cd drive to load at least that many of my favorite cd based games. But haven't found anything like that. Am I barking up a wrong tree?
 
CD images as an alternative

Hello. You can use disk utility to make disc images of CDs. Maybe that is an option.
 
durruti said:
Hello. You can use disk utility to make disc images of CDs. Maybe that is an option.
Click to expand...

really?... so game only require a desktop images of the cd? Don't the games draw information from the game cd to run the game?
 
A disk image is nearly identical to the cd-image (when the CD is inserted) except the computer knows it's not coming from the cd tray. I've used this method a lot to install software (that has multiple disks) and even a few games. This may work for most games, just open disk utility then choose File-> New -> Image from (SELECT DEVICE - CD DRIVE).


Should also mention, the disk image has to be mounted (opened) for the game/software to detect it.
 
OS X makes this issue even easier. Because Unix mounts images and uses the mount not looking directly at the CD it usually works just fine when trying to load from images.
 
well I did a image utility copy of Age of Empire III and mounted it on desktop... ejected the factory copy... and tried to run the game... still asked for disk. Unless I missed something, thats not a solution. :eek:
 
Actually, disk images almost never work for any games made in the last several years, so unfortunately you're pretty much out of luck there. This is because the games poll the actual hardware instead of just checking for files. There are some signs that some companies are finally starting to move away from that, especially as more games go digital. You might want to write to the companies that make the games you have and explain how their policies are negatively affecting people in your position, who are legitimate customers.

--Eric
 
Eric5h5 said:
Actually, disk images almost never work for any games made in the last several years, so unfortunately you're pretty much out of luck there. This is because the games poll the actual hardware instead of just checking for files. There are some signs that some companies are finally starting to move away from that, especially as more games go digital. You might want to write to the companies that make the games you have and explain how their policies are negatively affecting people in your position, who are legitimate customers.

--Eric
Click to expand...

Toast mounts it like a real CD/DVD, this is how a lot of gamers get past the issue of CD Images, even if you create a CD image in disk utility, mount it with Toast and voila it'll work. I did it with War Craft 3. Although you have to buy Toast for like $70 I think it is.
 
Sorry, but not even Toast emulates hardware. You're right that it's somewhat more effective than Disk Utility, but it generally doesn't work with recent copy-protected games at all. Warcraft 3 is many years old, and you don't need Toast to make a usable disk image for that; Disk Utility works fine.

--Eric
 
Eric5h5 said:
Sorry, but not even Toast emulates hardware. You're right that it's somewhat more effective than Disk Utility, but it generally doesn't work with recent copy-protected games at all. Warcraft 3 is many years old, and you don't need Toast to make a usable disk image for that; Disk Utility works fine.

--Eric
Click to expand...
ok now with that verified... does anyone know where I can find a multiple try cd rom player (not duplicating tower)? For Mac, that is.
 
The OS will not be able to create an image that the game will see, but Toast does. This is a legitimate way of doing it so you do not need the disc to be in the drive.
 
Hmm I dunno where to get a multiple cd tray for the mac, but maybe you could buy a binder that can fit a bunch of CDs, and leave it on your desk near your mac. Then when you want to play a game you can pull out the proper CD and pop it in.
 
You could buy a bunch of external cd drives, put a disk in each one and hook them all up to your computer using a usb hub. That would be a simple, brute force method.
 
klaxamazoo said:
You could buy a bunch of external cd drives, put a disk in each one and hook them all up to your computer using a usb hub. That would be a simple, brute force method.
Click to expand...

absolutely would... and expensive... not to mention a crowded desk... Ah life's problems :eek:
 
Conceivably, you could get a PCI SCSI card and then a SCSI tower. Old-fashioned, but cheap!
 
kondspi said:
Conceivably, you could get a PCI SCSI card and then a SCSI tower. Old-fashioned, but cheap!
Click to expand...

SCSI drives most likely will cost a lot more than IDE CD drives.

Is it THAT much work to eject the disk and put a new one in? It takes 10 seconds.

Also, external cd bays are LOUD, because all have a little noisy fan(s).
 
Consultant said:
SCSI drives most likely will cost a lot more than IDE CD drives.

Is it THAT much work to eject the disk and put a new one in? It takes 10 seconds.

Also, external cd bays are LOUD, because all have a little noisy fan(s).
Click to expand...
if you have read my first post... I stated my disability prohibits me doing just that... :cool: my question for help
 
Hiya,

I also have problems with access as I'm deaf. (Does that make me disabled? ... ehhh :) )

That said, as one fellow crip to another, I have no compunction about saying the following :

Get a no-cd crack for your games. Most games have no-cd cracks, and you can find them on p2p or bitorrent. Try the Pirate Bay.

You may need to download a full copy of the game, some are pre-modded, some come with instructions. sometimes you only need to download the crack. Toast works on other games.

To be within the law, buy a proper copy as well.

One problem with torrents or p2p is that when downloading, you are also distributing. Try turning off uploads so that you are not distributing illegally. To keep your share ratio up, put legal files eg Linux isos, Acrobat Reader, Firefox, etc in your share folder.

notice - I haven't played any non-flash non-web game for about 2 years, and not used bittorrent in about a year - too busy working now :)
 
SOLUTION 1

Usually a combination of Toast / Disk Utility works. There are ways to crack the game without the original disks in the computer.


SOLUTION 2

If you want all in one external CD drives, it'll cost you about $60 per cd bay for an all in one device.

For all in one solution:
- PC case with 5.25 drive bays (as cheap as $20)
- Power Supply (?)
- IDE to Firewire card ($60 each, with 2 IDE ports)
- Firewire cables (about $5 each, need multiple)
- DVD burner internal drives ($20 on sale, almost same price as DVD or CD drives)


SOLUTION 3

Otherwise, have a stack of External cd drives. Still costs about $60 per cd bay.
external 5.25 enclosure IDE to firewire $20-$30 + shipping
DVD burner $20 on sale
These are typically pretty loud, and really not for constant on, permanent use.
 
I did some googling and came across this for you. This sounds like something that could work for you. I have no idea how much it might cost though...

Merry Christmas!
 
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