DVD Burner crapped out - what are my options

[HackerJL]

Can I just pick up a new SATA drive and move on? Does it need to be something FROM apple? I use toast, so im sure the compatibility wouldnt make a difference - I dont burn via finder. A local shop has em for like $20, so damn cheap. Thought I would throw it out here first to know what my options are.

Thanks

Its a 1.5 year old mac pro.

 

[keantan]

Can I just pick up a new SATA drive and move on? Does it need to be something FROM apple? I use toast, so im sure the compatibility wouldnt make a difference - I dont burn via finder. A local shop has em for like $20, so damn cheap. Thought I would throw it out here first to know what my options are.

Thanks

Its a 1.5 year old mac pro.

Any sata drive should be fine as long as the bezel on the end of the disk tray is removable.

 

[omvs]

I thought the Mac Pro does something weird with the opening -- doesn't just have a slot, but moves a piece of metal out of the way. So my guess would be a standard 5 1/4" drive might not necessarily work. (EDIT: For some reason I was thinking the MacPro used a slot drive, but its actually a tray drive as others mentioned. Probably more likely to work then)

Might check ebay for a compatible replacement. Thats what I did for my macbook optical drive that stopped reading DVD's

 

[ActionableMango]

It is possible to get one that is physically incompatible, but that would be really rare. The vast majority of newer 5.25" optical drives I've seen have the tray in the standard place. Many current PC cases, not just the mac pro, have drive covers in place nowadays.

However, if you want to be super safe, just order a drive from an Apple-friendly vendor such as http://eshop.macsales.com/

 

[JesterJJZ]

Do you have Applecare? 1.5 years is too soon for a DVD drive to go bad.