I can't believe how many issues Apple has with these drives and they are mute about it. I bought my MacBook Pro in 2006, and to date I have been through 5 batteries, and a dozen sessions in a store or online to fix various problems. Now, about 8 months ago, I started having problems with the drive not reading, fumbling with, and ejecting every single disk i put in, except for a few store-bought DVD movies. I did read in one of the 3,500 comments about this problem (the few comments I found, I'm sure there's more...) that if you follow a simple PRAM reset, it will fix the problem. For me, I tried and it didn't fix it, though I could get one or two more of my manufactured DVD's to work than before the reset.
I decided to fiddle with the prescribed solution. The recipe for PRAM reset as prescribed by Apple Care is:
1.) Turn off your compooter.
2.) Press Option, Command and R simultaneously. Hold until the process requires release of all keys.
3.) Press the power button to turn on your compooter, and immediately press and hold the P button. Now, you have 4 keys pressed...
4.) Wait for the chime to sound twice, then release the 4 keys.
5.) Wait for reboot, and insert your DVD. It should work.
In theory (Apple Care's fix-all infinite source of hypothetical knowledge) this will fix the entire problem, lickety split. Hmm.
When it doesn't work as prescribed, on the numerous attempts over the last 7 or 8 months, I decided to try something else earlier tonight. I held those 4 keys down until it chimed 5 times, then let go. The very next DVD I put in worked like the day I bought it. The next time I put another DVD in, it didn't work again. I repeated my new method AGAIN. It has worked seamlessly, without problem ever since. Every single DVD that i put in, whether burned or manufactured, CD or DVD, ROM, RAM, Rheem RUM... doesn't matter. It works.
Questiion is, Why does it work when nothing else worked?