CD-ROM will not accept writable CDs and DVDs

Open a terminal window and type
drutil info

Is your drive correctly recognized?

You also might try to delete those files mentioned here: http://discussions.apple.com/click.jspa?searchID=-1&messageID=581490

Hello,

Sorry I didn't respond earlier. I've been out a lot the last couple of days. I'll be out again most of today.

As Kay said, the Combo Update for OS 10.4.x is at:

Combo Updater at :
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate104
3combo.html

Applying it might be really good idea.

But, if you are running OS 10.3.x (the older OS version), then you would want to obtain the following update:

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxcombinedupdate1039.html

This update would bring any version of OS 10.3 to version 10.3.9. It (like the combo update for 10.4) would also replace almost all of the system files for your OS.

Hope this helps.

I have observed this problem with my old rev. A (original version) iMac G5 system.

It was very particular about which disks it would work with. I threw away a ton of disks that it didn't like.

Most of the time, it would fail part way into burning the disk, but if the quality of the disk media is low enough it might reject them immediately.

If you have an original version iMac G5, then I think the SuperDrive was only designed to recognize 4x and lower media.

So, if you insert media of a higher rating, it may not recognize the identification byte on the media and think it is either unsupported or consider it a 1x disk.

For CD's, it could be just about anything.

But, I would try repairing permissions:

For Mac OS X 10.2 or later, open Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities/). Select your Mac OS X startup volume in the column on the left of the Disk Utility window, then click the First Aid tab. Click the Repair Disk Permissions button.

And, try a couple different brands of media. It could be that you have a bad batch of media.

I found that my iMac G5 really disliked generic disks, Wal-Mart Disks (DuraBrand), and Maxell.

I found that it really liked Memorex and Verbatim.

Of course, you could just have a software glitch or even a hardware problem.

I wish I could help further. But, this is the extent of my ideas at the moment. I wish you luck.

Susan,

what about the disks that are now ejected immediately - any type that will work?
Pressed DataDisks?
Pressed AudioCDs?
Burned DataDisks?
Burned AudioCDs?
and the same with DVDs - any type of optical media that will stay in?

It's not likely to fix it, but you might try resetting the PRAM.

I had a weird CD-ROM problem with my Wife's Mac Mini about a week ago. It was having a lot of trouble reading CD's. And, then it started having startup problems as well.

So, in desperation, I reset the PRAM, and everything went back to working perfectly.

To reset the PRAM, turn off the computer. Then, restart it. Immediately after turning it on, press and hold down the following keys together:

Option - Command (The Apple Key) - P - R

Hold down all these keys together (not the "-" key, that's just to separate the keys listed above).

Hold them all down until you have heard the startup "chime" 3 times.

Then, see what happens.

You might get lucky and have this fix your problem.

It is also possible that you might have a CD-ROM drive problem. For example, it could be a dirty lens. In that case, you could try inserting and using a cleaning CD. These are special CD's with tiny brushes on them for cleaning the lens.

Some companies say not to use such a disk, but I have used them over the years with good success. But, I admit that I have never used one in an Apple computer or a computer with a vertically mounted drive (like the ones in the iMac G5).

Hello Susan,

It could very well be the result of a damaged CD-ROM drive.

One more thing I would do to rule out a defective drive:

Try inserting the factory original DVD restore disks. These are bootable, and can be used to start up the computer.

First, I would try inserting them with the computer already booted, sitting at the main screen. Then, see if they are automatically ejected.

If they work, then you know it is some strange glitch.

If they are ejected, then try booting the computer from them, by doing the following:

Turn off the computer

Insert the restore disk labeled "Disk 1" as far as it will go without much pressure. This will leave half the disk sitting outside the computer. It should just be resting there.

Turn on the computer

Immediately press and hold the letter "C" on the keyboard.

Then, immediately try to insert the restore disk. If the drive resists, don't force it. Wait a few seconds and try again. Keep holding down the letter "C" while you try.

Once the disk has been inserted, keep holding down the letter "C" until the computer shows the familiar "Mac OS" box with the blue progress bar.

Then release the letter C, and let the computer finish booting up.

By holding down the letter "C" at startup, you are telling the computer that you only want to boot from a CD or DVD. If no disk is present, it will usually keep looking for one as long as you are holding down the key. That's why I suggest holding the key down as long as it takes to get the drive to accept the CD. Sometimes the drive will not accept the CD immediately, it needs a few seconds to become ready.

Anyway, if the computer boots from the CD-ROM drive, then I would suspect the drive is fine and you have some other problem with your software installation. This might warrant re-installing your OS from the CD (using the same steps mentioned above to boot, but then do a restore from the disk).

Alternatively, if you determine that a re-install is needed, you might just download and install the latest OS X 10.4.3 "Combo" update. This may replace enough of the system files to correct whatever your problem is. Be sure to get the "Combo" update as it contains the most complete copy of the OS.

If you are running OS 10.3.x, then I would download the 10.3.9 "Combo" update instead.

The advantage of re-installing the updates is that they restore a good number of your system files to "clean" versions without requiring you to re-install everything on your computer. This would minimize the risk of losing data (especially since you cannot save anything to CD at the moment).

Let me know how this goes.

Do you think the best and easiest solution is to format the computer?

Before doing that, I would try re-installing the latest combo update for the OS as mentioned in my last post.

This has the benefit of replacing almost all of your system files, but keeping all your data and programs in-tact.

It will also keep your preferences in-tact in most cases. So, that may be a reason for it not to work. But, it's definitely worth a try before you redo everything.

i have to say i am experiencing the same problem on my brothers brand new imac g5 isight. it worked fine for about a day and a half and then it start to eject disks. it won't read any time of media, not even the system disks that came with it.

it happened right after he tried to install a hp printer. after ejecting that disc, it no longer would read anything.

tried to use a different user, but that didn't work.

it might be a bad drive, but i find it hard to believe it would be bad already. anything else you can think of before taking it to a service center?

Did you try to delete these files:

com.apple.dvd.plists
com.apple.finder.plists
com.apple.cdhub.plists
com.apple.digihub.plists
com.apple.sidebarlists.plists

?

Resetting PRAM/NVRAM/PowerManager with be useful, too.

searched for these files and they are not found by spotlight

com.apple.dvd.plists
com.apple.finder.plists
com.apple.cdhub.plists
com.apple.digihub.plists
com.apple.sidebarlists.plists

searched for these files and they are not found by spotlight

Some are in:

Hard Drive --> Library --> Preferences

Others are in:

Hard Drive --> "You User Name" --> Library --> Preferences