Music CDs will not play under OSX 13.4

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Level 1

103 points

Music CDs will not play under OSX 13.4

External USB CD/DVD player/burner: If I load a disk, it shows on the desktop and in Music/iTunes, but it will not play. The cuts will copy to the computer but the play button does nothing. This is true on both a 2020 iMac and a month-old MacBook Pro, both running Ventura. The same CDs played perfectly on the iMac before I updated the OS to 13, so clearly it's something about Ventura. If there's a setting or something that enables CD-play, I'm missing it. But, it seems, so is the OS.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 13.4

Posted on Jul 18, 2023 2:43 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Gregory Frost Author

Level 1

103 points

Sep 2, 2023 12:02 PM in response to gbol

Yup. I've tested this on a 2020 iMac and on a 2023 MacBook Pro, both running Ventura (the MacBook came with Ventura installed). On both machines, the external CD will not play so long as I'm trying to listen via Bluetooth, whether that's Apple Airpods or Jabra wireless headphones. That it replicates regardless of who manufactured the 'phones, on two machines running OS Ventura, says to me that it's the OS...because Catalina did not exhibit this flaw. Headphones and 'pods worked just peachy.

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Answer 2

Gregory Frost Author

Level 1

103 points

Oct 21, 2023 3:57 PM in response to Jazz Man

Unfortunately, this made no difference here. The situation remains: Wireless bluetooth headphones will stop a CD from playing, dead in its tracks. Wired-in 'phones or speakers work just fine and the CD plays. Go figure.

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

210,419 points

Jul 18, 2023 3:21 PM in response to Gregory Frost

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following;

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

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Answer 4

Gregory Frost Author

Level 1

103 points

Jul 19, 2023 7:03 AM in response to Old Toad

Booted up in Safe Mode. Loaded a CD into the external drive. The CD did not show up at all on the desktop. Booted into Safe Mode a second time just to make sure, and it was. So I rebooted the iMac normally. CD showed up on the desktop and in Music. And it plays...so long as I'm not trying to play it through Bluetooth 'phones. A playing CD, at the instant I switch to Bluetooth headphones or iPods, stops dead. So thanks, Old Toad, this is a significant improvement.

Now I have to figure out what's up with the Bluetooth settings. I deleted the headphones and reconnected them to Bluetooth, but with the same result--no sound and the CD stopped playing the instant I switched to them in the Devices list...

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Answer 5

gbol

Level 1

149 points

Sep 1, 2023 1:50 PM in response to Gregory Frost

Same thing here. If I use my Bluetooth connected speakers, the CD will not play, but if I use my Studio Display speakers, all works fine, so it must be Bluetooth related.

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Answer 6

Jazz Man

Level 2

272 points

Oct 11, 2023 5:27 PM in response to Old Toad

I'm having similar problems on external CD burner on Mac Mini (Late 2014) running 12.7. In Music App, I can import into Music from the CD, I can burn music on to a CD-R, I just can't put a commercial CD or a burned CD-R in the device and play it with Apple Music. It plays fine in QuickTime Player or in VLC, just not in Apple Music. Unfortunately, I don't know when this started since I generally only use the CD burner for importing or burning.

I tried the Standalone boot, and like others I couldn't see the Audio Disk when booting that way. Normal boot allows me to see the Audio Disk, just can't play it with the Music App. FWIW, I'm old school, wired speakers, usb CD burner, wired keyboard, Bluetooth turned off.

Any help appreciated.

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Answer 7

Jul 7, 2024 4:28 PM in response to Gregory Frost

I agree; I am running Sonoma 14.4; the Apple superdrive will not play music CDs when a speaker is blue-toothed to the Mac. I can play a playlist from my computer using a blue-toothed speaker. And, sometimes, I can play a CD with the speaker hard-wired. Def a OS issue. I hope Apple can fix next time around. Not happy.

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