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

Add me too. I started noticing problems with the super drive when I couldn't play cd's. My mac book is a little over 3 years old now but if I recall properly, the problem started after the install of Leopard. To make this short; I live in the Balkans for now. My sweet machine is running really slow lately so I decided it was time for a wipe and start over. It won't read my DVD Leopard install disc. I am buying an external drive for now so I can start over, but Mac has broken my heart. I will consider this for my next purchase which will be coming soon.
I can't believe I said that. It is a sad day...

count me to the list too!

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

My ROM drive had multiple errors when writing discs, would not read DVD-Rs and I would hear it spinning and then spit it out...

So I read through as many postings as I could and thought the best thing is knowing that sometimes my ROM reads discs and sometimes it doesnt, must be dust.

So I went to Walmart, picked up a Memorex drive cleaner, it had 6 small brushes affixed to the CD to clean the lens head...

To my astonishment, it reads every disc I throw in, even really scratched ones, it burns movies, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, ones that would drive me nuts ALL WORK!!!

A miracle I'd say...and the drive cleaner disc only cost me $10 CDN bucks!!!

Add me. The dvd lens cleaner worked for me (after trying pram).
But only temporarily and now the only dvd accepted is the lens cleaner dvd. I've also repaired disk permissions.
Now I do not know what to do?!?

(Moreover, I tried to repair the HDD and I was told it was corruped and I needed to reboot with the osx installation disk but I am in France for 6 months studying and I do not have the disc!)
Sigh...

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857:

Firmware Revision: HAEA
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO

Message was edited by: Master Dodd

Master Dodd,

If you don't have the necessary OS discs to undertake the repair (or can't use them because the drive won't read them) try a "Safe Boot". (Simply hold down the shift key while starting up the computer). This essentially runs the same directory repair routines that are used by Disk Utility. (It doesn't provide you with the same level of information about what problems have been found though). The start-up in safe mode may take quite a while if the directories are badly damaged , though.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417 provides further information and other approaches you can use involving "single user" mode in such situations.

What sorts of discs have you tried in the computer beyond the cleaning disc? Will it read an audio CD , for example?

Cheers

Rod

Another MBP with the same issue!!!
MBP 2.4Ghz 2GB ram

Model: HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N
Revision: ZA0E
Serial Number:
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
Low Power Polling: Yes

Firmware Revision: AP12
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, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO

My MacBook Pro has the same issue.

MacBook Pro (Late 2007) 2.6 GHz 4 GiB RAM

Model: MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857E
Revision: ZA0E
Serial Number:
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
Low Power Polling: Yes

Firmware Revision: ZA0E
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, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO

Hey,
Thanks for your speedy reply.
I just checked an audio disc (music CD) and it worked fine. The DVD's are now mostly rejected - with the infrequent occasion of actually working.
For example this morning - after no success yesterday - I was able to watch a West Wing DVD until it froze, then told me it was skipping over damaged part, and then rejected the disc saying it was not supportable. The DVD is new and flawless. (I have tried multiple different DVDs)
I will try a safe reboot.
Cheers again.

Master Dodd wrote:
Hey,
Thanks for your speedy reply.
I just checked an audio disc (music CD) and it worked fine. The DVD's are now mostly rejected - with the infrequent occasion of actually working.
For example this morning - after no success yesterday - I was able to watch a West Wing DVD until it froze, then told me it was skipping over damaged part, and then rejected the disc saying it was not supportable. The DVD is new and flawless. (I have tried multiple different DVDs)
I will try a safe reboot.
Cheers again.

Those are classic symptoms of a dirty lens master Dodd. DVDs are harder to read and write than CDs and accordingly tend to become problematic first. Unfortunately the "dust protector" on the slot of slot loading drives tends to act more as a 'dust trap" than a saviour, and can easily become the source of further contamination, even when you are using new discs.

Try your cleaning disc again.

Cheers

Rod

Well I've tried my dvd lens cleaner well over 20 times now and it isn't working. It is a T'nB DVD Lens Cleaner (it has a tiny patch of white bristles on the underside of the DVD). Are there possibly better lens cleaners I can get or other methods I can use?
Thanks again for your help Rod, its much appreciated.

Mmm. It is possible in that case that the laser itself has simply aged to the point where it can no longer "do the job", though sometimes a "film" on the lens won't respond to anything other than manual cleaning with isopropyl alcohol.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Model-A1150-Op tical-Drive-Replacement/489/1 provides instructions on how to remove the optical drive on your model, http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Jammed-Optical-Drives/772/1 provides instructions on opening it (your own drive may vary slightly, so proceed cautiously) and HERE you will find an excellent illustrated guide to the process with further valuable information and alternative approaches.

It is not a "cure-all", and is CERTAINLY NOT something to try if you have a computer under warranty or Applecare, or if you aren't happy working on small delicate electrical devices (reading the guides themselves will give you a good idea of what is involved before you decide), but it certainly works for many.

Cheers

Rod

Another MBP with the same issue.
15" MBP 2.4GHz 2GB RAM (Late 2008 model)

Bought the MBP today, tried 4 DVDs (2 of which were DL DVD) and one CD and only CD worked.

Model: HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N
Revision: ZA0E
Serial Number:
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
Low Power Polling: Yes

Firmware Revision: AP12
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, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO


Will try with the cleaning CD and post the results here.

Same DVD superdrive problem here !!!!

After upgrading to SL most CDs, DVDs and DVD-DLs (including the SL start-up DVD) will not mount most of the time. Superdrive takes the disk in and spins it for a while just to spit it out again. If I give it ten tries with the same disk at some point it will mount and I can work with it. This problem appeared occasionally before upgrading to SL but never this severe. That is to say the disk was generally mounted on the first or second try.

Obviously, this is a serious issue and happens to many Mac-Users, I really don't understand why Apple does not react. It is a pain if one cannot start the computer of a start-up disk. External drives do not help here. Apple is aware of the problem (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/09/28/appleinvestigating_alleged_issues_withsuperdrives.html).

I'm almost certain that this is not a hardware problem since it happens with drives of different makes and very often gets worse after upgrading to SL.

Anybody out there with a solution to this mess?

---------------------
Drive details:

HL-DT-ST DVDRW GWA4080MA:

Firmware Revision: AE39
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW

This worked for me. Thanks!

Same problem here too... I enter any type of disc media, it pulls it in and then spits it back out again. I've tried repairing disk permissions, resetting my PRAM, real lame APPLE.

HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N:

Firmware Revision: AP12
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, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: To show the available burn speeds, insert a disc and choose View > Refresh