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

I have to laugh... A firmware update for the noise that the drive makes during startup... thank god that pesky amount of 2 second long decibel noise was eradicated forever from this world. If i didnt have to replace my second (of three) drives due to the malfunction that is this threads topic, it could have helped that drive, since it was pretty noisy and annoying. baby steps i guess?

Somewhere in the 20's pages, i posted a link to the macbook feedback- for those that affected by this drive problem, give apple a message:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html

Happy holidays!

I have had this problem twice in the past year. I am now able to use my drive though. An apple tech at the store near me just reset the PRAM and it worked. I had to reset it again today, but my drive is working fine and I was able to once again burn a CD. Try this before you go and buy a whole new drive!!!!!

Resetting PRAM and NVRAM

1. Shut down the computer.

2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.

3. Turn on the computer.

4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.

5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.

6. Release the keys.

Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2260033&tstart=0

the most interesting part of the above thread is that the same disks mount in 10.5.8 but not 10.6.2

my imac 24" 2.8ghz has now stopped reading anything but the MAC OS10.5 install discs

not impressed Apple!

will there be a software fix?

yup. add me to this list too.

Drive won't play DVD's at all. No problem playing cd's and audio. just no DVD's.

so weird.

Add me to the list. Bought my Macbook 2 years ago, drive hasn't burnt or read DVD's for at least 6 months. I am going to try the cleaning disk and then will try cleaning the lense by taking it apart.
I have a wood stove and a dog, and it the Macbook sits most of the time in the same room with them. I am leaning towards a dirty lense.
I've tried all other methods that have been posted in these threads.

FYI. I work in IT for a midsize company. Optical drives are forever being replaced on our various equipment.

Paul

I've noticed it with mine but with CD media.

I have not tried DVD media but have the same issue with CD media. When I put it into my MBP (2-3 months old) it will periodically spit it out after attempting to read it.

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-868:

Firmware Revision: KB19
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: To show the available burn speeds, insert a disc and choose View > Refresh

I stumbled onto a fix for this maddening problem. I thought my superdrive was toast, so I went on an answer site, and was prepared to pay for an answer. I opened the System Profiler for specific info., and so forth. While waiting for a reply, I inserted a DVD to see if something would happen, and voila, it worked. The fix is too simple, so I futzed some more, and everything works! Cds, and DVDs do not work without 1. System Profiler open, and 2. the Matsushita drive selected in the ATA section in the Hardware section. Try it, and let me know if it works. I'm busily downloading CDs to iTunes. YAY!!!

Scratch that last post. I cannot recreate the easy fix I posted after I downloaded a CD to iTunes. I was able to view a DVD, and a CD, so the fix is definitely software related. It cannot be hardware, as some have suggested.

Add me to the list, and right now I am pretty furious. I have an older MBP from August '06 and am still running Tiger (10.4.11). I can't remember the last time I tried to mount a DVD but it's been many months if not years, so I have no idea how long this has been an issue.

Today I tried to install Snow Leopard and the disc spins up for a few seconds and then ejects. I have spent hours reading "solutions" online and have tried everything short of taking my MBP apart to clean it. I have reset the permissions, zapped the PRAM, stuck a cleaning cloth-covered plastic card inside the drive gently to try to clean the lens that way. I have tried to mount the DVD over and over again with no luck. CDs still mount and play perfectly fine.

To add insult to injury, I just got a brand new Airport Extreme Base Station to get my network out of the dark ages (my router is from 2005) and now I can't install that as my OS is too old - must have 10.5.7 or later, and how on earth do I get my OS updated when the DVD drive won't read the discs? I don't have another computer where I could try to do it remotely. I also don't have the money to replace the drive, and I don't really want to pay to replace the drive when the machine is 3.5 years old already. But I also can't afford a new machine.

Any suggestions? I feel hopeless right now.

Here are my specs for the drive:

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857:

Firmware Revision: HAEA
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
Media: No

Oh to add, I also tried the "voodoo" International system prefs fix (which I doubt is a fix) and it didn't work at all. I also considered flashing the drive with the terminal fix, but I'm not sure which firmware to try - the instructions I found seemed to say I should change it to the firmware I'm already currently using.

I feel your pain trellisaze - I'm in the same boat with an older 15" MBP bought April 07. My original drive crapped out after only a couple months, then the replacement died a month or two after I was out of warranty.

At least your drive will read/play/burn(?) CDs. Mine spits out everything. Like you I've tried all the solutions here except taking the machine apart and cleaning it. I may eventually replace the drive - for now my solution - and sounds like it may be your only option right now, was to buy an external drive. They're cheaper than an internal and can be used with any future machine you might buy.

Thanks for your reply, coyote. I have read this entire thread and read about your issues too. Do you have any recs for an external drive? I think you're right and that may be my cheapest and best solution at this point. I still need to try compressed air (need to go buy some) but I'm not holding out any hope for that either.

Suggestion? Not really. Here's a link to the one I bought for $65 - about half the price of the internal.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/optical-drives/

It works well but it is bulky - too bulky to travel with in my opinion. So I've docked it to share on my desktop between an iBook that has only a CD Rom and a iMac that had no optical drive. I'm still looking for a slimline external to mate with the MBP for travel.

Good luck with the compresed air - I tried it, but no luck. Hopefully it will work for you, it has for others here.

so much for quality builds...

I bought this one:
http://www.microcenter.com/singleproduct_results.phtml?productid=0301744

It seems fine; a bit noisy but it's small. It does require two usbs to power however.

I've often thought the answer is a ball peen hammer... haha.

best,
s.