I'm really getting tired of this, so I decided to bit the bullet and try to get it fixed. (Note that I'm talking about a 2-year old G5 iMac.)
THE BAD NEWS:
Apple store genius bars see this error "a lot" (even just this week), and it's usually the optical drive that needs to be replaced.
THE GOOD NEWS:
In Apple's article
Do It Yourself iMac G5 parts you can install, they say, "iMac G5 computers are designed to make it easy for you to install replacement parts if you need to. These parts are known as Do It Yourself (DIY) parts." Listed among these parts is the optical drive. Apple even provides a
PDF manual describing the simple process of replacing the optical drive.
THE IRONY:
An Apple store
will NOT sell you this part, even at their high price of $221. They insist on doing the installation. And the price for this 10-minute procedure -- described in their online manual as sliding the drive into place and replacing the screws -- is an additional
$130 (and I'm guessing they won't do it while you wait). That seems to be a labor rate of around $780 per hour for a "Do It Yourself" replacement that they won't let you do yourself.
So Apple's $351 price to
(maybe) get an old G5 iMac burning CDs again is almost 1/3 of what a
brand new aluminum Core 2 Duo iMac costs.
THE UPSIDE:
Online third parties will sell you a "genuine Apple" super drive for around $145 (or a combo drive for $95) to install yourself. (Use Google to search for "imac g5 optical drive replacement cost.")