Imac will not accept DVD's or CD's

Hi All

I just want to share with you what has happen to me, just after updating to 10.8.5this evening. (IMAC 2008 Model, Intel 2.4 GHZ Core 2 duo).DVD drive got locked - it was spitting up all DVD's and nothing was working:-(. Finally i decided to close Itunes.... and this has worked!

Hello everyone. (Waves)

I am also having problems with my optical drive.

You probably think horrible of me but i am kind of happy i am not the only one with this problem.

I currently own a late 2010 imac 27" .. I am not that shocked to be honest. I have always been a Windows person and never thought about owning a mac. I dont know about other years, but when this came out i read countless forums about how most people had to send theirs back (there was a huge recall) because the screen went yellow or black.

Just a quick disgust... I have no idea how to use mac OS's so i partitioned the drive to accommodate Windows 7 home premium when i bought it. Not sure how much it costs now... but at the time the windows CD was 107gbp (cant do the pound sign). Now yes i got to partition the drive but at the same time the Mac scratched the **** out of the CD and was unable to use it again.

Back to the matter at hand... Obviously my Apple Care has ran out. Ive been trying recently to Burn a dvd to a blank cd. It worked in the past but not now.

The CD drive does take the disk (any format disk) makes a bit of a noise, then spits it out after about 15 seconds or so .. As i read on here i have tried tilting the screen back as far as it will go and still nothing. (It just keeps the cd in a little longer)

From what i have read on here i will try the compressed air trick as it is only cheap but if all else fails i will just have to buy a seperate optical drive. No biggie but a little frustrating.

Message was edited by: Danny.V May sound a bit silly.. for instance if it is something as simple as dust covering the lens, but, has anyone tried uninstalling and then re-installing the drivers for the CD/DVD Drive?

im gong through the same son and dance with them right now! i get told different things by different tech support agents, then get told different things from the same tech support agents! ???????????????????????

Well, if your computer was covered by warranty or AppleCare, then they would just replace it. But it if isn't, they can try to do things to MAYBE get them to work, but a lot of times they just can't without replacing it. Probably one of the reasons Apple is getting away from Optical. Too much headaches with them. I had a problem with them on my last computer and I got it work by running Disk Warrior, but that fix didn't last long and I had to end up replacing it myself as I got the tools and replacement unit and it worked from there on out, but my computer was a VERY old iMac. I've replaced that unit with a new iMac and external Superdrive and I think that's a lot better in the long run.

Optical drives pose various types of problems and sometimes it's hard to diagnose what the real problem is. It could be that's out of alignment (which can't be fixed so easily and it's better and cheaper to replace), or it actually might need to have th lens cleaned, or it might have a corupted driver file that might be fixed by using Disk Warrior, but you would have to have Disk Warrior installed on an external HDD that's bootable. It's one of those things to always have.

In iMacs, I've heard form several people that since they are oriented vertically that it puts stress on the mechanism. Some have told me that the DVD portion of the units go bad before the CD portion (don't know if this is true, but I had that happen on a Sony DVD player where it was a known issue), or it could be that the lens is coated with whatever crap you might have that floats in the air if the machine is in a smokey or bad air quality environment (cat/dog hair could also be a problem for some), so it's sometimes hard to diagnose and fix.

Some have gotten to work by CD cleaning, fixing using DIsk Warrior, or just simply replacing them.

If you feel gutsy enough and have or get the tools and get a replacement drive on line that's cheaper than an Apple spare part, that might the best way to go. It's unfortunate, but it's kind of the inherent problems with optical. The tools to do the job aren't that expensive and handy to have around, but depending on the model unit it can be a little frustrating to do if you're not the type of person that feels comfortable cracking open computers and fixing them. Some people love doing that others don't. Getting good directions is VERY important and it's harder on some models than others.

I'm glad I don't have to rely on it like I did before, so I really don't miss having it as an internal drive. I think it's better keeping as an external unit for all practical purposes.

I hope you get it fixed somehow, but unfortunately, it's costly if it's not covered under warranty or AppleCare.

Good luck to you. I hope you get the issue resolved. if there's any consolation, call Apple's 800 number, explain your frustration to a manager and maybe they can help. If your computer has been in for service or you've had previous calls, they can track that in their system.

I wish I knew more about the sequence of events in your particular case to offer any other advice, but I really hope it gets taken care of to your satisfaction.

If I had an iMac with a faulty DVD and out of warrenty then I'd look at getting an external one then putting an SSD in its place. This would give you a much faster iMac and you'd still have DVD if you need it.

I had the problem with the side slit of the iMac , it is not smooth quite sharp if you run your finger down the edge of the opening and when inserting the DVD at the wrong angle ( it must be flush to the angle of the opening then it scratches it and the also inside something was scratching the DVD I had my superdrive replaced twice.

I tried tilting the iMac on its back and tying a strap around the stand and suspending it from the ceiling LOL ( anyway I strap my iMac to the wall because it fell over and crashed on top of the MBP during the earthquacke in Sendai)

And inserting the 3rd replacement install DVD out of ACPP and when it did finally get it in it starts shuffling and takes a few goes I inspected the DVD by holding it at cetain angles to show the surface of the scratches and they are in different areas of the edge and centre some are in lines and rows I have several Snow Leopard retail DVDs but I do not want to scratch them, but we need the AHT DVD Does it diagnose Superdrive? this may have been the cause of my latest install the Partition map was broken ,maybe some Data is missing and can not be read.

I talked to Apple and it needs a new superdrive I hardly use the them beforeI was once told that when CDs came out the palyers were very easy to get out of line if the machine was not Horizontaliy perfect.

Then I heard that if it is scratched it does not matter because the data is under the surface and is caught by laser light,but a scratch would throw that prism off wouldnt it ?

I finally got to the Ersasing the HD and there is not a peep fron the DVD I can understand why apple are not making Superdrives anymore and using sticks and flash and internet

I also stuck some tape over the edge of the slit there is a grey felt like material just inside to stop dust and clean the DVD.

My iMac 27" which I bought summer of 2009 cannot read any CDs. I have nit tried doing this for several years so I did not notice it until now. I am also starting to see teh color on my iMAC screen start to fade again at the upper right corner. I had it taken in a year after purchasing to fix it and now teh problem is back again. GEEZE Apple is looking bad.

Hey, I also have not tried burning an audio CD for quite some time - but suddently discovered that my drive rejects all CD-Rs and CD-RWs. My iMac was purchased in March 2010 and is likely a 2009 model. It will recognize a blank DVD-Rs but since I can't play a DVD in my car CD player, I'd really rather just solve the problem and burn a CD.

From all the various discussions I've read in several threads, while dust or diry optical readers, scratched CDs, and alignment problems may exist for some users, many of the problems seem to have sprung up with operating system upgrades and I'm inclined to think we are dealing with a firmware issue. If there is no firmware fix the options apear to be bringing your iMac in for repairs, which may be a costly replacement of the optical drive (possibly costing around $150), purchasing a Mac external superdrive, ($80) or purchasing a 3rd party capitable external DVD writer (which also writes CDs) there's one made by ASUS selling for about $40.It i

It is frustrating that there is not a firmware fix for this, at least no one has mentioned it. That problems with the optical drive rejecting CDs and DVDs has been ongoing for 3 years now is, however, not a very good sign that Apple is committed to fixing this problem. Perhaps they'd rather you updgraded your computer or at least purcheased a new $80 external drive. :/

Same problem here on a mid-2010 21.5" iMac. Will read CDs and 1 out of 100 DVDs (1 kids' DVD, weird) but generally nothing in DVD format.

I tried all the solves listed (change prefs, reset EMC and both PRAMs, boot from internet disks, even an Endust cleaning CD). Nada. I then set up a Joint Venture call and they diagnosed the drive as faulty after repeating all of the above. They say it's very possible that dying Superdrives can read CDs and even burn disks but not read DVDs. They said it'd be about $150 to replace the drive at a Genius Bar.

Here's where I try to be helpful.

If you're found this thread and you're not under warranty, don't waste ANY time testing it or trying to fix. Certainly don't roll back to previous software versions -- wasting hours of time and eliminating software features you may like or introducing incompatibilities. Just hop on over to Amazon and buy a $30 (not kidding) Amazon Basics external DVD drive. I ordered one w/ my cleaning disk knowing I'd prob need it and prob wouldn't want to pay Apple to fix my 3-year old machine. Works like an absolute charm for me. Faster ripping CDs than the Superdrive, plays DVDs through DVD Player, VLC, or XBMC instantly.

So my advice (ignore it if you like, it's worth what you paid for it) is to ignore any conspiracy theories about whether Apple planned this. IMHO, it doesn't matter for $30. Your time is worth more than $30. Just buy an external and get on with your life. You can even use it with your drive-less Air when you get one, if you don't have one already. How often can you solve a complex computer problem instantly, and be better off in the end, for $30? Just do it. 🙂 End of advice.

HTH.

A e i o u.

I also have a 2010 imac i7 model and had not used the disc drive in some time. It also does not read DVD's and certain CD's. Very frustrating that something so expensive and now out of warrenty is not working like it should.

PreBigBanger wrote:

It was dust. THANK THE MAC GODS !

Thats because 9 times out of 10, ......its dust. pure and simple.

Ive "fixed" at least 20 Superdrives this way on used machines Ive had pass thru.

The slot for the superdrive draws in air when the fans are going, so dust is pulled thru not only the air vents, but also the superdrive slot.

this is why you dont stick in dusty disks (many do this) or use it in a dusty place (many do this)

Superdrive

Well I guess I'm a 10. I tried using an air blast and a few other dust removal procedures. Those actions did not fix my drive. I believe this is due to a mechanical flaw, plain and simple.

Yes, in which case its the loader mech. (in such an instance) .

These Panasonic mfg. Superdrive are very hearty and reliable, outside of dust on the lens, theyre very maintenance free in general.

This is the trick I just used to get my iMac to mount cd's. So far it's loading them fine without having to tilt again but I don't know how long this will last