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Nov 12, 2012 6:06 PM in response to ckaiserjr61by David Blank2,I know that having problems like this is frustrating, but I don't believe iMacs are overpriced. Mine that I am currently using has lasted me 8 years and i have had very little problems in that time frame and I can't say the same about any PC that i've used. I've had far more problems with PCs, so the little rants are not really helpful.
Obviously, some people take better care of their systems than others.
But bottom line, these DVD drives are not made by Apple and Windows users have basically the same types of problems and many of those mfg use the exact same model Matsushita UJ-856 drives. I did find a place that sells them for $75, which is the cheapest I've found and some people have the tools and knoweldge on how to safely replace them and some don't.
personally, I buy AppleCare for the first year and I enjoy the speed at which they have helped solve problems. Sometimes they are easy to solve and sometimes not.Other than my drive getting flaky after about 7 to 8 years, I've had no problems with my iMac and I'm ready to get a new one just because it's time and I've been waiting for the right time to buy a new one and I think the ones they just released will do the trick.
Apple is a name brand, just like HP, and er um, Dell. but I've had better luck with Apple products over the years than any other brand and my background is VERY extensive as far as the industry, so I have horror stories about other brands that make this look trivial.
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Nov 14, 2012 12:58 PM in response to David Blank2by Frostyglitch,Add me to the list. Mid 2010 27in iMac. Won't boot DVD's but plays CD's fine. Haven't been able to use the drive in months, and of course it's out of warranty. It's one thing to charge a premium for the Mac. But you'd think they would at least give us a deal on fixing these things, especially when the issue is so widely known. If this many people were having issues on a BMW, there would be a recall no questions asked. But in the case of a car, you might get killed. Where with computers you're just getting ripped off.
Unfortuately the issues with these Macs doesn't stop with the drives. There is another known issue of these getting too hot which causes scortch marks to appear on the inside of the monitor cover. But that's another topic and another recall issue.
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Nov 14, 2012 2:02 PM in response to Frostyglitchby David Blank2,Here's what I think is the REAL problem, or a MAJOR reason why people have problems with these DVD drives. I'm still doing some research, but I have a friend that knows more about this stuff than I and he's out of town right now.
The DVD laser and the CD laser inside these drives are on whether you are playing a CD or DVD. The DVD laser, form what I remember, has a shorter lifespan than the CD. This is what actually happened on a $1000 Sony DVD player I bought back when these things first came out. I ended up playing CDs just fine, but couldn't get the DVD to play anymore. This happened after a year or so of use and I was playing CDs all of the time, so as a result, I had to replace a rather expensive high end Sony DVD player after less than 2 years and I keep my home theater equipment in brand new shape.
So if you play CDs a LOT, or have transferred a LOT of CDs over the past couple of years, maybe the CD laser is fine, but the DVD laser is just burnt out. If you can replace the DVD yourself, go out and find a UJ-846 and I think they are $75 if you can find the right source for those units. That's about the cheapest I've found a replacement unit.
This is what I think the problem really is for many of us. Sometimes, it's a driver that might be corrupted, that can be fixed with Disk Warrior, because that DID happen to me eariler this year, or it might be fixed by some other means, maybe cleaning the lens with a lens cleaner CD, etc.
Some of us can simply get an external USB Superdrive and that's $80. Some can get a new replacement since it's still under AppleCare warranty. Some can't. If it's out of warranty, try the lens cleaner, if that works, then that's the solution. If not, then get an external drive to use. These DVDs are in products other than Apple and they have the same issues as we do.
With the heat issue, That's a new one. I would talk to Apple directly about that. How did you find out it was scortching the inside? Did you crack open the unit yourself? That'll void the warrnaty for sure.
I guess your only recourse is to contact Apple directly. Maybe send them photos of it. Be nice and explain the situation and ask if there is any recall issue or something that they will fix or replace.
I had an issue with a known problem before and Apple took care of it and in the process they replaced other things that didn't need to get replaced and even though the unit was the same serial number, it felt like a brand new laptop as the screen looked pristine as did the keyboard and the issue was actually an intermittent headphone jack because of a known and limited motherboard issue. I was happy as a clam when i got the laptop back and it's been reliable ever since.
Sometimes Apple surrprises you. One never knows.
Best of luck in getting the problem(s) resolved.
For me, I'm looking forward to the new iMac and know to use an external DVD drive and they are cheap and simple to replace should the laser burn out.
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Nov 14, 2012 2:20 PM in response to David Blank2by Frostyglitch,Yeah I'm all for quick fixes for sure. Unfortunately you can't use an external drive to install Windows with bootcamp, this was the first thing I tried. I've also contacted Apple a couple of times regarding this issue, but once they found out I'm out of warranty with no apple care...I'm treated like a dog with mange.
As for the scorch marks, they are plainly visible when the iMac is turned off. Depending on what I have on the screen, they can still be seen when it's turned on. Far from a new issue that's for sure -
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Nov 14, 2012 10:04 PM in response to Frostyglitchby David Blank2,I wish I was in charge of Apple, but unfortunately I'm not. I would maybe send a very polite letter with photos of the problem as well as an accounting of your conversations (leave out the "I'm treated like a dog with mange" sentence and maybe re-phrase it with I was treated rudely or not in a polite manner. And that you feel you weren't at fault and would like to know what Apple can do to rectify the situation.
Sometimes using Honey to attract attention might be better.. Maybe Tim will step up to the plate.
I know I would get to the bottom of the problem and get it rectified.
Having a scortched screen seems to be one of those things that should be covered regardless of AppleCare and might be a deeper problem.
I know that the insides of these boxes can get a little overheated, especially if there is a LOT of dust inside clogging up the air vents. The only that one can really do is keep the room clean with a good air purification system, vacuum the vents somehow, not have any smoke, dog/cat/animal hair in the room, etc. or bring the unit in every year for a cleaning.Best of luck to you. I hope that Apple does something to resolve this situation. I'm not saying they will, but I know I would not treat it like a trivial problem and I would get the product manager involved ASAP and figure out the cause and solution to the problem and do something to those that were affected and make some public announcement to those with units that it affects.
The Optical drive issue I think is just a "replace" the unit and I think this is why Apple is getting rid of internal Optical drives. I haven't heard about the Windows install from an external DVD not working. I would think it doesn't matter which Optical drive is used.
Yeah, cars is a different issue because there are serious ramifications of a serious engine problem, etc.
Well, all I can say is write a very clear and concise letter with photos and send it directly to Tim Cook and ask him for his personal assurance on helping with this situation, and maybe you'll get someone to respond.
Again, best of luck to you. -
Nov 14, 2012 10:24 PM in response to Frostyglitchby David Blank2,My iMac was overheating and i noticed the vents were clogged because my room had carpet and I live by a freeway and the air quality isn't exactly that great and over the course of many years, dust build up is created and clogs up the air ventilation and needs to be vacuumed. Luckily it didn't burn the case or the screen, but I guess you might be experiencing a similar issue from what it sounds like.
For me, I buy AppleCare and if use the system longer than 3 years, anything past that timeframe I feel lucky since computer systems are what they are and to get longer than 3 years of useful life is basically is what it is. Sometimes we luck out and get more than 5 or 6 years of trouble free operation, but I think people may not relaize how much dirt, hair, carpet fibers, etc builds up inside and needs to be vacuumed periodically.
I used to repair systems a LONG time ago and would see very dirty computers from time to time, but these days the processors, etc. run MUCH hotter than they used to and proper cooling can affect the system.
I also have iStat Pro giving me an indication as to the tempurature of the processor to see if my system is running abnormally hotter than usual.
But I can't stress the importance of proper air purification in a room, proper cleaning from time to time and the best way to do that is by cracking the case open and vacuuming it properly. Obviously, best done by an Apple Certified Technician for best results.
I hope this helps.
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Nov 25, 2012 2:02 PM in response to pjensen4by cloughicus,Add me to the list of disgruntled Apple customers with a drive that won't accept CDs or DVDs. Did accept a blank DVD though and tried to write to it, which was unexpected, but failed to write to it, which was expected. Expect I'll get the usual "not an Apple problem" response, much like when the power lead failed on my MacBook, and don't even get me started on the poor longevity of iPod/iPhone cables.
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Nov 26, 2012 11:19 PM in response to SamGrayby sansuu,Brilliant!! Thank you, immediately after typing "drutil eject" and hitting 'return' I heard the disk drive eject an imagineable object within it, and can now load discs. Good work!!
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Nov 30, 2012 8:24 AM in response to pjensen4by George Smith4,Add me to the list of failed super drives. I know my macbook pro is a little dated (late '08), but I have kept up with all updates, et.cetera, and every thing works well...except the drive. It will not accept any blank DVD. It spins for about 30 seconds and rejects them.
Could any of the latest updates have anything to do with this?
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Nov 30, 2012 12:12 PM in response to George Smith4by MHCJ,Add me to the list, too. Imac won't recognise, play dvd's, and the drive isn't even showing up in system profile. Sometimes idvd won't launch, saying there is nodrive and I oftenget a error 70012 msg. Have used it only a hundred times, or so. mj
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Dec 2, 2012 2:52 PM in response to pjensen4by corelle,I had the same problem. I bought my iMac in Oct. 2009.
I did what someone on this thread suggested... insert the CD in the slot, then turn the iMac sideway so that the left side of the iMac is parallel to the top of the desk, wait for a few seconds and you will hear that crunching sound and it will recognize the CD. At least it worked for me!
Just be careful you don't drop the iMac, it's heavy!
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Dec 10, 2012 11:46 AM in response to corelleby EdC2,Thanks corelle - Unbelievable, bizarre and hilarious ... it did work. Just put my iMac diagonal on it's left bottom corner - did the trick, at least for now.
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Dec 25, 2012 1:58 AM in response to ckaiserjr61by riri67,Thank you ckaiserjr61! You have made my Christmas Day! It worked perfectly!
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Dec 25, 2012 9:59 PM in response to pjensen4by Chanlandia,I bought an LG GE24 DVD writer at the largest online vendor for $34, and have had it for 3 months now.
All of my problems with CDs do not take place with the LG. My iMac Super Drive would not recognize some CDs and recordings were skipping. The problem was getting worse, and my time with Apple Care was over a year ago. I guess that means I've had the iMac for 4 years.
At one time I had a CD stuck in the machine, but that finally ejected. I didn't know about the solution where the iMac is tilted on it's side or stood on it's head. The disc finally came out when I restarted and held down some keys (I forget which ones). I had tried this solution 5 or 6 times before, and decided to just try it one more time.
Standing the iMac on it's head borders on not being a solution. I wonder what has become of Apple products when we have to stand a computer on it's head to fix a problem. I am told that slinging a dead cat by it's tail at the moon at midnight while chanting the iMac's serial number and Steve Jobs' name also works.
I was ready to try Disc Warrior for the problem, but the Genius Bar person said that wouldn't work. He stated that Disc Warror repairs discs and recovers lost data, but the Super Drive problem according the GB person is not a problem that Disc Warrior effects. Genius Bar said that the problem is that the Super Drive itself is a piece of crud. Apple was ready to get out of the internal disc drive business, so it didn't pay much attention to the Super Drive. I wish I had been wearing a wire for that conversation. I don't know about that sort of thing, but I figured a $34 solution was worth a try. It worked for me.
I note that the problems were earlier blamed on dirty conditions around iMacs. My iMac was in a clean place. It was not near a window or a source of heat or an air vent or in direct sunlight. The window in the room did open onto a street or traffic. I don't own pets and I do not smoke. I was the only one to use the machine. The environment around my iMac was hardly a "clean room", but it was pretty clean.
The LG seems to be a solidly built unit, and it immediately connected with the iMac with no problems. It accepted and recognized discs that the iMac Super Drive either rejected or failed to recognize. It runs smoothly, and I am satisfied with the drive. I don't work for LG or have financial interest in LG or any vendor that sells computer products.