hozepipe

Q: Superdrive not recognised in MP 5.1

Just recently my superdrive is intermittently failing to be recognised by my system, a MacPro 5.1 running 10.9.5. If I reboot it will be there as normal but after some time like the next morning it'll disappear (maybe after the mac sleeps, I'm not sure). If I check under disc burning in system report it says "No disc burning device was found. If the device is external, make sure it’s connected and turned on." as if it's been disconnected. I can manually open the drive by  opening the MP, sliding out the drive caddy and pressing the button on the front so it has power just the system can't see it.

 

Do you think its my superdrive, a system software corruption or (I hope not) a motherboard problem?

Posted on Nov 3, 2014 12:46 AM

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Q: Superdrive not recognised in MP 5.1

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  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Nov 3, 2014 7:49 AM in response to hozepipe
    Level 9 (61,073 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 3, 2014 7:49 AM in response to hozepipe

    These sorts of problems are most often caused by aftermarket SuperDrives that do not properly sleep.

  • by hozepipe,

    hozepipe hozepipe Nov 3, 2014 8:50 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 3, 2014 8:50 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

    Its not an aftermarket superdrive.

  • by Johnb-one,

    Johnb-one Johnb-one Nov 3, 2014 3:35 PM in response to hozepipe
    Level 4 (1,896 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 3, 2014 3:35 PM in response to hozepipe

    well, thanks for the info, hozepipe. Check the power and data connections on the back of the superdrive. Shut your mac down, wait a bit, take off the side door, and slide the drive out (it's at the top, and just needs a pull-going it, it has to be re-aligned with 2 pins on the bottom. I think the data cable (the black one) has to be connected to the first connector, not the 2nd--I might be a wee bit wrong on that, though.) IF both data and power connections are okay-dokay, then on to step 2, put the sled back with the drive in it, making sure that the cables aren't pinched (there's a little band around both cables which is hard to see), put the side door back on and reboot. try running disk utility and verifying permissions. Also, one of those cd-cleaning brushes or a good blast of compressed air might help you. IF none of those have worked, then the drive is going bad. You can get an e-Sata dvd burning drive with a bridge so that it'll work with ATAPI connectors, or you can try to find the e-Sata connectors on the motherboard, and then just get an e-Sata dvd burning drive. Don't worry too much about Mac compatibility. I've pulled a dvd burning drive from a pc, put it into my Mac pro and it worked just fine until it died--of course, the pc it came from was pretty old too. macsales.com might give you some idea of what's out there, for a start, anyways. this is something you can do yourself. the only tool you'll need is a #1 Phillips screwdriver. there are guides online in case you're stuck, too.

     

    good luck

    John b

  • by hozepipe,Solvedanswer

    hozepipe hozepipe Nov 4, 2014 3:40 AM in response to hozepipe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 4, 2014 3:40 AM in response to hozepipe

    I zapped the PRAM and it seems to have solved the issue for the time being. Drive still recognised after a night's sleep. Its about the only time the four finger salute has actually done something useful.

  • by hozepipe,

    hozepipe hozepipe Nov 8, 2014 2:58 AM in response to hozepipe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 8, 2014 2:58 AM in response to hozepipe

    I was premature marking this as fixed. A few days on and it has disappeared again. I noticed something odd though, last night the main display on my machine did not sleep, it remained on all night. Could be coincidental.

     

    I'm also getting my menubar freezing due to systemuiserver crashing. Again unsure if related but it seems something is awry. Have junked com.apple.systemuiserver.plist will see what happens.