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Q: Cd Drive will not open on imac g5


Good Morning Team,

 

  I have an imac g5 no OS but I cant get the CD Drive Open so I can put in my Install disk..

 

Any help would be great thank you...

 

All the best from Alan

iMac

Posted on Apr 12, 2016 3:11 AM

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Q: Cd Drive will not open on imac g5

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  • by Mike Sombrio,

    Mike Sombrio Mike Sombrio Apr 12, 2016 3:28 AM in response to finelock
    Level 6 (17,194 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 12, 2016 3:28 AM in response to finelock

    The G5 iMac had a slot loading drive on the right side. I don't understand what you mean by "I can't get it open".

  • by finelock,

    finelock finelock Apr 12, 2016 5:19 AM in response to Mike Sombrio
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 12, 2016 5:19 AM in response to Mike Sombrio

    Hi Mike, the CD goes in the side of the imac, but I assume there is a bar going across, stopping me from inserting the CD

     

    All the best from Alan

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Apr 12, 2016 7:35 AM in response to finelock
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Apr 12, 2016 7:35 AM in response to finelock

    There is no bar. Is there a CD/DVD already in the drive?

  • by Allan Jones,Apple recommended

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Apr 12, 2016 8:29 AM in response to finelock
    Level 8 (35,022 points)
    iPad
    Apr 12, 2016 8:29 AM in response to finelock

    Some slot-loading optical drives used by Apple during that period did have a "bar." Should the drive fail, a blocking device would move across the slots to prevent insertion of disks that could not be later removed. However, I agree with Duane--check for a stuck disk first.

     

    If you can see a disk in the drive, restart the computer and hold down the mouse button while it restarts. That may eject the stuck disk.

     

    If you shine a light in the slot and can see a bar, then you know the drive has failed and need replacing. Given the difficulty in finding compatible older-style drives and the cost of labor, a used external optical drive--preferably with FireWire connectivity--could be the cheaper option.

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Apr 12, 2016 8:45 AM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Apr 12, 2016 8:45 AM in response to Allan Jones

    That is news to me. I have taken apart many CD/DVD drives and haven't seen a bar to block non-drawer drives.

  • by finelock,

    finelock finelock Apr 12, 2016 12:07 PM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 12, 2016 12:07 PM in response to Allan Jones

    Hi Allen,

     

       Thank you for the info, I will go and try that, learning all the time

     

    All the best from Alan

  • by finelock,

    finelock finelock Apr 12, 2016 12:08 PM in response to Duane
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 12, 2016 12:08 PM in response to Duane

    Hi Duane,

     

       A  bar is what it feels like, you try and put in a disk, and it is block before going into the driver, within an 1/8th of the drive..

     

    All the best from Alan

  • by Mike Sombrio,

    Mike Sombrio Mike Sombrio Apr 12, 2016 6:37 PM in response to finelock
    Level 6 (17,194 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 12, 2016 6:37 PM in response to finelock

    Try this. Open Terminal, it's in your Utilities folder, type drutil eject and press return. This should cycle the drive mechanically and hopefully get it working again. If it doesn't it's likely that the drive has failed.

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Apr 14, 2016 5:55 PM in response to Duane
    Level 8 (35,022 points)
    iPad
    Apr 14, 2016 5:55 PM in response to Duane
    That is news to me. I have taken apart many CD/DVD drives and haven't seen a bar to block non-drawer drives.

     

    Dear Duane,

     

    Sorry to be late in returning. T'was a busy couple of days.

     

    Back when the G5 iMac was hot stuff around here there were a number of posts where people said they thought a disk was stuck in the drive but, on shining a light in the slot, saw a metal piece in the way  instead of a disk.

     

    There is mention of a safety arm and its possible malfunctions in this iFixit Q&A:

     

    https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/3762/my+cd+is+blocked+in+optical+drive+%21+i +can%27t+unlock

     

    A similar question, same site, different responder:

     

    https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/92125/Repair+%22blocked%22+optical+drive

     

    Here's an old ASC MacBook Pro discussion where the OP says something is blocking the slot without any disk inserted:

     

    MacBook Pro Optical Drive blocked! Drive is empty

     

    Another similar question with answer on a site I never heard of before Googling "blocked optical drive":

     

    http://earthwithsun.com/questions/194613/macbook-optical-drive-blocked

     

    This "arm" is apparently integral with the drive unit, not part of the mounting bracket as I once thought. Its purpose was to prevent insertion of a second disk but it sometimes deployed before a disk was inserted. I found this picture of a Mac slot drive opened up and, from posters' description of the "block" being to the right of center, I believe the part I've indicated with the red arrow is the "safety" arm, or at least part of it:

    slot-loading opt drive open.jpg

     

    Anyway, respectfully offered for your consideration!

     

    Allan

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Apr 15, 2016 1:01 PM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Apr 15, 2016 1:01 PM in response to Allan Jones

    Thanks Allan!

     

    I wonder if this blocking action is completely unintentional and really just a failure of the mechanics of the drive.

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Apr 15, 2016 5:22 PM in response to Duane
    Level 8 (35,022 points)
    iPad
    Apr 15, 2016 5:22 PM in response to Duane

    Duane,

    I wonder if this blocking action is completely unintentional and really just a failure of the mechanics of the drive.

     

    From my reads it appears the primary purpose of the device is to prevent us from inserting a disk when one was already there. I bet you remember some of the old "I have two disks jammed in my slot-load drive!" posts in the AD days. I remember them from the CRT iMac forums.

     

    However, I also get the impression that there are two malfunction modes, one possible intentional:

     

    1) When it is time to eject a disk the arm fails to drop out of the way, trapping a disk in the slot. One of those articles I linked has a youtube video showing this problem. The person in the video suggests the problem can be either "one off" or repeating.

     

    2) The "maybe intentional" one: should the drive fail, the arm deploys to prevent insertion of a disk into a non-working drive. Hard to tell if this is a variant of mode #1 or a proative design feature.

     

    I have a non-working 2007 MBP (a victim of the infamous nVidea Curse) staring at me. Maybe I need to extract its optical drive and study it from the inside!

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Apr 16, 2016 12:57 PM in response to finelock
    Level 6 (14,244 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 16, 2016 12:57 PM in response to finelock

    If yours is an earlier iMac G5 (of a few shown to be able to use this replacement) a suitable

    replacement optical superdrive from OWC appears on this page; and there are others...

     

    • Mercury Super-MultiDrive -- compatible with iMac G5, and iBook G4, etc:

    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MIBG4SD8XDL/

     

    Not sure the level of difficulty required to replace an optical drive in iMac G5; there are a

    few repair guides at iFixit.com to gather some visual information; also OWC has videos.

     

    Good luck & happy computing!