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Drive won't read any dvd-ejects it automatically after spinning some time

The SuperDrive on my MBP has stopped recognizing/reading any blank DVD media (and many recorded DVDs, including movie discs). It spins for some time with a noise and then ejects it out. The same media works fine in my wife's Sony Vaio laptop.


There was a thread on this previously, but Apple has closed it:


http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1295681


I know Apple won't own up to the problem, so has anyone found a solution?


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Drive details:


HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N:


Model: HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N
Revision: AP09
Serial Number: K0***********928
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
Low Power Polling: Yes
Power Off: Yes


<Personal Information Edited by Host>

MacBook Pro - Intel Duo Core 2.4GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.6), null

Posted on Feb 24, 2009 8:14 PM

Reply
1,164 replies

Jan 30, 2017 7:25 AM in response to Gryff

Mine does the same! About 2 yrs old. Light use! I broke down and bought an LG reader/writer that works but when I went to do my taxes it wouldn't let me do updates because it told me I need to run the disc from a mac! Can you believe that? I bet you can! I can't sync the reader because the computer already has an optical reader! It would probably work if it was a macbook air or some other computer without an optical reader! I want to just pull out my hair now!

Jan 30, 2017 9:45 AM in response to Gryff

My old MacBook 2008 drive used to work with virtual box windows and under bootcamp windows but not with mac os. I think its software related. Found some repair by cleaning its lens by opening it, worked for sometimes, now i have removed it.

Be careful while cleaning its lens, it will give headache and eye strain as invisible uv comes out of it (ifixit). Better try dvd cleaner kit once and see whether it helps or not.

Mar 7, 2017 4:07 PM in response to Gryff

Yep, the canned air worked for me too! Had not used the drive for years lol. The air wouldn't work at first but I was only sticking the straw like an inch inside. Then I pushed the straw all the way in and hit it with air a few times, and it worked! I also tried the screen wipe wrapped around a card but I'm guessing it didn't work because it was only going in a couple of inches.

May 15, 2017 6:38 PM in response to w3bgrl

I did the same thing yesterday. I created another user account when on the phone with Applecare around a year ago. The drive still kicked out the CDs. But wait! There's more! My optical drive will not play commercial CDs! It plays CDRs just fine, but any commercial release I insert disc, silence, it spins one second, silence, spins again, silence, then it ejects it. Because it's not recognizing commercial CDs I'm fairly certain it has to do with permissions and all that that implies. There's something that's checked that should be unchecked & vice versa... Applecare means well, but I've had less than stellar experiences for the past 18 months [example: Apple care rep: "Is there a number where we can reach you?" Me: "The one I'm calling from."]. & spending 90 minutes on the phone with a rep who doesn't really know what they are talking about with the problem I called in about, can be a waste of time for me.

Oct 21, 2017 5:44 AM in response to Gryff

I don't know about MBP, but my iMac (1.) stopped reading burned discs (even discs burned on this iMac) (2.) started reading others as blank discs (3.) just basically freaking out. I have a Mid 2011 that I bought in 2012, and tried the whole "rag around the credit card trick" to clean the drive to no avail. So I thought to myself "I wonder how dusty this thing is inside." So I found a YouTube video on how to crack this thing open and was intrigued by what I found. Five years worth of dust. I went all out and broke out my air compressor. I took the screen out and got in there real good with the compressed air. I even took out the superdrive, broke it open and blew it out. Put it all back together, and voila, my superdrive works again.

Feb 24, 2009 8:43 PM in response to Gryff

I just noticed the same problem with my MacBook Pro tonight. Help on this 'Apple Guys' would be nice.

Drive Details:

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-875:

Firmware Revision: DA09
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
Media: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.6 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP41.00C1.B03
SMC Version: 1.28f1
Serial Number: W883901DYP4
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

Feb 25, 2009 5:05 PM in response to Vauha27

Ya same thing here. I was reading on another post about a similar issue and they said to start up your laptop with the original Mac OS X disc to fix the issue, but mine was ejected after spinning for a few seconds. Can Someone from Apple please post to this thread and Help Us address this issue. I have used a Mac since 1994, but lately nothing but problems. My iPod Touch broke after 7 months and even though apple said it had a 1 year war. they would not fix it. Now my BRAND NEW laptop is having issues. I called the 1-800 number and they would not talk to me unless I paid them, and my laptop is not even 6 months old!!!! I was even supposed to get a free iPod touch with my laptop, which I did not, and they wont even help me with that! Im starting to think I should sell this thing and go buy an HP.

Feb 26, 2009 5:16 AM in response to Gryff

Got exactly the same problem a few days ago (still there, las time I checked):

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1914325&tstart=0

Dunno why, but I think this has something to do with the Security Update 2009-001 Apple posted on its download platform a few days ago. Must have wrecked my SuperDrive somehow--and maybe yours, too--and I agree with Ryan when he says Apple hasn't been up to its reputation, lately. Maybe the market pressure got too much, and they started buying cheaper components...

Makes me wonder; imagine, you buy the brand new MacBook/MacBook Pro, with its encased battery and other fancy stuff, and something breaks down in the beast's belly. What do you do, then, bring it back to that some so-called Genius tells you to send it in to AppleCare.

Naughty, naughty, Apple...

Feb 26, 2009 2:33 PM in response to Gryff

i have been having this problem for nearly 5 months. At the moment i have the entire MPB taken apart (and still typing on it :P) and i dont see any damage to the disc drive.


Disclaimer I would not recommend taking your mac book pro apart. it is a very sophisticated and technical machine. Plus the disc drive is a pain in the *** to pull out and the screws are made of aluminum 😟. My tools are made of steel=rounding out screws

Feb 27, 2009 6:42 AM in response to Vetolio17

If your optical drive is kicking out disks in this fashion, you need to have the computer repaired - typically the optical drive needs to be replaced. If the computer is under warranty Apple will do it for free. If not, you may have to pay for the repair.

Apple does not typically respond to threads in Apple Discussions. You are just talking to other users here.

Regarding the user who "Apple would not talk to unless he paid $50" if your issue turns out to be a hardware problem that is covered by the warranty, the fee is never charged to your credit card.

Feb 27, 2009 11:14 AM in response to laundry bleach

You're right. But when it is a problem that is exhibited by numerous people, there should be a more responsive effort from Apple than "send it in for repair." My computer is 15 months old, so it is out of warranty. In situations like this, I don't believe that I should have to pay for a new SuperDrive because it is more than a simple and random failure of a component.

Drive won't read any dvd-ejects it automatically after spinning some time

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