Burner - device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media.

Before you order any hardware or take your MacBook Pro for service, you must try the compressed air blast. I am amazed at how simple and effective of a solution this was, as well as inexpensive!

THANK YOU, my father used to say. Cleanliness is next to godliness, lol so true. Compressed air worked for me too.

I tried the compressed air, lens cleaning cloth w/ a credit card, cleaning disc, language thing... nothing worked for my issue burning a CD-R.

What DID work was lowering the write speed to 16x. My iMac is only 4 months old. Looks like I'll be taking it to an Apple Store with another issue added to the list.

I haven't had any problems yet burning DVD-R discs.

First off, I'm on an iMac, not a PowerBook, but I don't think that should matter (Snow Leopard 10.6.8; Matshita UJ-85J drive; FCQA firmware).

My issue is the same. When I try to burn data to a DVD via the Finder or any third-party software, whether the disk is Sony or Memorex, -R or +R, 1x or 8x speed, it eventually ejects the disk with the error, "The disc can’t be burned, because the device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media." Keep in mind that I can read DVDs just fine. And I can read AND write CDs.

The first time I tried to burn a DVD after I got the computer (which had been a demo model at an Apple Store), it was hit and miss--some burned, most didn't. I just thought I had gotten a bad batch of disks and returned them. I haven't had a need to burn to a DVD since, a year and a half later, and here I am with that error message.

I've tried everything suggested--reset the PRAM, ran a cleaning disk (several times), shot compressed air full blast (several times, up and down), swiped with a cleaning cloth-wrapped credit card (several times, my personal favorite for creativity!), and what people refer to as "the language thing." So far, No good.

Any NEW ideas out there re: this problem?

(I can't believe this thread has been running since 2008!)

I'm having the exact same problem. I have a brand new MacBook Pro (less than a month old) and although I've been able to play CDs no problem, I tried to burn some data to a CD-R tonight using Finder and I'm getting this error message. Really very frustrating. Also I cant believe this thread has been running for 3 years and Apple hasn't come up with a permanent fix. I don't have any compressed air or Drive Cleaner but I tried the credit card & cloth trick to no avail. I'm going to buy some compressed air tomorrow and give that a shot and if that doesn't work I will be heading to the genius bar. As a brand new Mac user, I'm not very impressed that I'm already experiencing issues 3 weeks in.

Compressed air worked for me! Thanks!

MacBook Pro

15 Inch

2.33 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo

Lion 10.7.2

I don't have compressed air, but I do have a bulb-type blower-thingy for getting dust of camera lenses (I think they are known as "hurricane blowers"). Anyhow, a few good blows with one of those in the optical-drive slot sorted this for me. (I also noticed that it looks pretty dirty in there, so wouldn't be suprised if dust had obscured the lens.) Many thanks to all.

For those of you who, like me, don't have compressed air handy...I just blew into the drive a few times and it worked like a charm.

Clever!!

BLOWING AIR WORKED FOR ME BUT...my MacBook Pro doesn't recognize I have a PLEXTOR PX-708UF...it used to work...my MBP doesn't seem to see it...suggestions why?

thx

How can you say ‘blowing air worked for me’ if you cannot test this as long as the optical drive is not seen any more by the system?? I do not understand.

Thanks, parkerpress, for the tip about compressed air. It worked for me too!