iMac scratching my disc?

Patricia, pulling gently toward you will cause the opposite end of the disc to come in contact with the aluminum. Pull straight. To start off, try looking at the disc slot as you pull in one straight motion. In a little time, you will see that very few discs scratch.

An optical disc drive is not supposed to scratch discs. I'm happy for those users who have not had the experience of badly scratched discs.
Being as careful as I can possibly be while inserting or retrieving an ejected disc there are still scratches on the disc, sometimes they are negligible other times they are quite severe.
Why should the consumer have to be super careful while handling discs? What if every DVD player in every home entertainment center, every CD player in every dashboard in every vehicle and every optical drive slot in every computer had been faultily designed to inflict scratches on every CD and DVD used in those devices?
Why is it OK for Apple to tell its customers to use care above and beyond what is normally exercised while inserting or removing a disc from their optical drive slots?

The series of scratches are from contact with the aluminum housing on the data side of the DVD. They look different because if you pull a DVD out in a rolling fashion, then the scratches will look curved. Trust me, I have been through all this. Most slot drives have that fabric guide all the way to the outside edge and the edge is smooth. In the beginning I was horrified that I scratched some loved DVDs. As I studied the situation, I saw that the disc sits EXACTLY in the center of the optical drive slot as it exits but is far more likely to make contact on the data side because the drive will flex a little more in that direction. It is upsetting but there's nothing wrong with the drive, it's the aluminum slot. I scratch very few CDs or DVDs now. You have to pull smooth and straight. I can do it from a sitting position now with my hand holding onto the back of the iMac for guidance but I prefer to actually be looking at the slot as I pull it out. I'm not sure why Apple didn't have the velour (or whatever it is) extend right onto the edge of the slot. I ruined about 10 blank DVDs and a few movies before I "got" it. The Apple Store staff does tend to give me incredulous looks when I mention something like this. So, anyhow, it's not a big deal once you pull the discs out straight. There is very little margin of error allowed, though.

pug1334

There's no doubt where the damage occurs. That aluminum edge is very sharp.
But I disagree that it is not a big deal.
I love my iMac just as much as anyone, but a design flaw like this should not force users to risk damaging their discs.
Ten ruined discs is 10 too many. The process of inserting and removing discs should "just work" without having to examine everyone of them to see if you've finally "got" the angle just right so as not to scrape the case.

I agree but I love my iMac in spite of this. What were they thinking? If Apple could figure out how to get an entire computer behind the i27 screen, why couldn't they see this? But just the same, I was glad the optical drive was OK. Are we all sending feedback to Apple? I did.

Who knows if feedback is acted upon or is even read?

But here's one address to use if you choose to vent.

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

I returned my iMac for this and some mild yellowing in the lower right quadrant. The Genius associate took me around to try other iMacs. The first disc he inserted into a demo scratched. So did mine. It was determined, however, that most of this issue is "within" specs. Sounds silly but you do have to avoid pulling out a disc on an angle that would make contact with the aluminum housing. Well, I went for an exchange anyway and was told that the replacement unit could not be exchanged for this reason but if it had any other issues, it could be swapped. OK. I only tried a few discs. the optical drive seems to take the discs in smoother and maybe it was my practice on the first unit but no scratches thus far. Still, being careful is what you need to do unfortunately. Why was it designed this way? Who knows. My car CD player and my PS3 never ever scratch. It was, I guess, form over function. But the good news is that the screen is as perfect as can be. No yellow...excellent uniformity.

Message was edited by: pug1334

pug1334 is correct in identifying the problem and linking it to the SHARP edges. In fact they are so sharp, I tried cleaning it the edges and it cut through my cloth.

That being confirmed, I think this is a serious FAULT with the computer design. I tried, over and over again, while being as careful as I possibly could, avoiding the edges. While this improved but it did not stop from all CDs being scratched.

What will apple do about this? Iike all you wonderful people, I have spent a large amount of money on this computer and willingly paid a premium for Apple (hardware and OS). Will I have still done ahead if I knew of the this major flaw - well, probably not.

Prince123, you are experiencing exactly what some posters have chosen to live with.

The sharp edges are definitely a design flaw, a design focused on aesthetics and elegance instead of practicality and functionality.
Apple store employees will offer no solutions other than to provide feedback to Apple.

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

Has anyone got to the bottom of this and been able to resolve this yet?

I got in touch with Apple tech team this morning and it is really surprising that this is NOT A KNOWN issue! I will be calling my apple store today, but am not too optimistic.

This is typical of any brand (historically speaking). Great prods, great service, great profits leading to pride and arrogance to ultimately loss of market share and customer satisfaction. Apple needs to respond to legitimate issues.

UPDATE - SOLUTION - FIX

I was really upset and worried, having read all the posts on this forum about "iMac scratching my disc" and thought give you an update to my fix.

As it turns out, there were a small batch of imacs that had this issue. I took my back to Apple store, and they changed it immediately with a new one. I have tried and test the CD drive and it has NOT scratched the disks. The new one looks identical to the older one, but I was told that it is possible that the alignment of the optic disk was off balance.

Anyways, I all good now and hope this helps you. I suggest, if you have this problem, to take it back to Apple, don't do a quick fix by putting tape etc on edges. Although edges are sharp, but are not the cause of the problem.

Prince123
I don't suppose you know the build date of the first iMac, the one that scratched discs?

The 21.5" iMac I have was built during week 42 in October 09 and I am curious if your old one was of the same vintage. Do you know if there is an official list of build dates that are known to have this issue?

The Apple store genius that examined my computer had never heard of scratched discs and duplicated the problem with one of his own on the sales floor. Made no offer to replace mine with a nondefective machine.

Can you elaborate on how the technician made his diagnosis? Did he actually open it up or is the misalignment obvious from the exterior?

I am not sure of the batch or dates. Apple DO NOT state this as a known issue. Officially, they said this is not a known issue.

After researching, this what I thought the problem was. When I was been dropped off to my car by an apple employee, he'd asked what the problem was and when I told him, he said at once, a few have come back with the same problem and this was an issue for a number of computers belonging to the same batch.

The genius bar test: I took the computer in, set it up and the lady let my demonstrate and recreate the problem and at once said she had never seen it so bad. Again, this was 'officially' not a known issue. She than offered an exchange.

To tell you the truth, I was happier to know that this was a faulty kit rather then it being a faulty design.

I think that it comes down to who you speak to. I was lucky to have been speaking with a really cool person who was very very helpful and understanding.

prince123

yes, you were very lucky indeed.
Next step for me is to drop in again at my Apple store to find out what they know and how they are handling this now.
I didn't get very far last time.