Macbook Pro won't read SOME commercial DVD's

Question

Macbook Pro won't read SOME commercial DVD's

I found some people with similar issues, but no one with my exact problem, so I thought I would post it here.

I have a MacBook Pro that I got in November of 2007. Recently I noticed my drive stopped playing certain discs. I did some test and determined that it will play/write pretty much anything you throw at it except for some commercial DVD's. I actually brought it to the apple store and foolisly grabbed some dvd's at random, assuming that NONE would work. The one's I brought mounted just fine. Since I couldn't replicate the issue, I couldn't get much help. He said to try logging into a different user, I guess to determine if there was an issue with my Library. I tried that, it does the same thing regardless of the user.

Basically, some discs spin, and spin like the computer is struggling to read it, then it spits it out. Young Frankenstein and X-Men: The Last Stand, work fine. Children of Men doesn't (it used to work just fine).

I initially noticed the issue when trying to install the digital copies that came with my Back to the Future Trilogy boxed set. Back to the Future's digital copy disc mounts fine. The discs for Part II and Part III don't.

I doubt the drive is busted since so many discs work fine and it isn't ALL commercial discs that won't mount. Only some. My theory is that it's software related. Maybe something with reading certain encoding.

This is the second time I had this problem. The first time I read that verifying and repairing disc permissions would fix it, and it did....but now that doesn't do the trick.

It is consistent though. The same discs either work or don't work EVERY time. I thought maybe the lens needs cleaning. I read conflicting things about using lens cleaning discs in slot load drives so that's a last resort. But I imagine it wouldn't be so consistent if it was a dirty lens. Also, other players I've had with dirty lenses just skipped or had a disc read error of some sort. I don't get any errors. I also ran the Hardware Test on my OSX Install disc, which found no errors/issues. I wonder if it would have detected my drive as an error if it indeed was a hardware issue? Makes sense to me, but I'm not sure what the Hardware Test tests exactly, if the drive is included in that.

Any suggestions? I saw a thread from 2006 where someone suggested that deleting (Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist) helped him, but I am really hesitant to delete an item from my Library. That just seems like asking for trouble and I'm not sure what my finder preferences have to do with my DVD's not mounting. Next I will probably try resetting my SMC. I'm not sure how that could help either, but it's a suggestions I've seen floating about and it's easy enough to do.

Here are some of my specs:

Macbook Pro, Intel Core2 Duo, 2.4 ghz

4gb Ram

Boot ROM Version: MBP31.0070.B07

SMC Version (system): 1.16f11

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857E:

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, DVD-DAO

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

Thanks. Sorry for the long and overly thurough post, but I thoguht that might help get me better help. Any input is greatly appreciated as it may save me the hour long trip back to the apple store.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jun 29, 2011 6:21 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Joe 2792

Level 1

25 points

Jun 29, 2011 7:34 AM in response to mega_chachzilla

Hi!

I understand your frustration! I've seen this problem many times before. As you hinted, it usually turns out to be a combination of the particular optical drive you are using AND the particular disk you are trying to play. The only way to know for sure is to replace the optical drive and see if it still fails. If it does, I have had great success in dismantling the drive and cleaning the lenses.

Why would a dirty lens cause this problem? The surface of the disks that don't work might be scratched or just dirty enough that a dirty lens, in combination, makes them unreadable while others will work fine. You said that "commercial" disks don't work, but ones you make do -- that could be because your disks are new and not scratched or dirty. It could also be that the electronics in your drive have started to fail and the drive is unable to correct certain errors. Replacing the drive and retesting would give the answer. AHT won't detect this sort of problem.

You can also try cleaning cleaning the disks with alcohol and a camera lens cleaning cloth or microfibre cloth.

-Joseph Kouyoumjian

MicroReplay

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Answer 2

Jun 29, 2011 8:46 AM in response to Joe 2792

Thanks for the input. My issue definitely has nothing to do with the cleanliness of the discs. The Back to the Future discs that wouldn't work went straight from the package into my drive, never before used/handled. Other discs (ones I have burned, Young Frankenstein) I've had for almost 10 years and they worked fine.

You seem to mention swapping out the drive pretty casually. Is it really that easy to do? Any idea how much that costs to have someone else do all that/buy a replacement?

Thanks again for the feedback.

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Answer 3

Joe 2792

Level 1

25 points

Jun 29, 2011 8:56 AM in response to mega_chachzilla

Yeah - swapping the drive is the only real way to tell. Replacing the optical drive is not really a DIY thing. You have to open the case and remove it, which is not something that Apple reccomends. You would also have to find a replacement drive to try.

The Genius Bar or an outside repair shop should be able to do it.

-Joseph Kouyoumjian

MicroReplay

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Answer 4

al2020

Level 1

5 points

Jun 29, 2011 5:23 PM in response to mega_chachzilla

I'm also having the same exact issues with some commercial DVDs and music CDs. It continues to read DVD-RWs but around two days ago it stopped reading commercially bought discs.

I've tested with brand new DVDs today (out of shrink wrap in pristine condition) all of which have the same region and have been tested on a DVD player, PS3, and another laptop without any glitches but only some of them played on my Macbook and the others would either spin for a bit and then ejected or it would read them as blank discs where the 'You inserted a blank DVD' message comes up.

I also tried testing older DVDs that used to play fine on my Macbook but only some of them mounted.

I then tried the following cleaning methods:

- Laser Lens Cleaner

- Compressed air

- Credit card with iPhone cleaning cloth

All of which failed to fix the problem so it's safe to assume this isn't a dust issue, the driver have also been very lightly used as I have only watched a handful of DVDs on it and written less than 10 DVD-RWs since I first purchased it in 2009.

My warranty has expired and replacing the drive would cost over $250 which I currently can't afford, therefore I plan to buy a cheaper external DVD burner but that is only a temporary workaround and I still hope for a solution other than replacing the driver.

Here's my info:

MacBook, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GHz

2 GB RAM

Boot ROM Version: MB52.0088.B05

SMC Version (system): 1.38f5

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ867A:

Firmware Revision: KK08

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: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

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Answer 5

Jun 29, 2011 7:36 PM in response to al2020

Please do keep me up to speed and let me know if you make any real progress/figure out what this issue is all about. I'll do the same.

The external drive is a good temporary fix. I think that may also tell us if our issue is hardware or software related. If it is software related, we may have the same issue even with an external optical drive (unless it's the drive's firmware I suppose). I too am hesitant to plunnk down the cash on a replacement. From what I've read, that might not even solve the problem. I also barely use my drive to watch dvd's these days (since I've gotten a very large TV). I use it mostly for importing and archiving files.

I'll probably be making another trip to apple with many, many DVD's in tow sometime later next week. I'll let you know how that goes.

I think reinstalling the OS is another suggestion I've heard. That's also one I'm hesitant to do, particularly if that involves formatting my drive/erasing everything. I've got back-ups, but I still don't want to deal with that loss If I can avoid it.

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Answer 6

al2020

Level 1

5 points

Jun 30, 2011 8:35 AM in response to mega_chachzilla

Same here, I dread formatting the drive as it would be time consuming for me to reinstall all my applications and I almost always end up losing something important in situations like this, plus there's no guarantee that it would fix this issue and it would be terrible to go through all that hassle only to discover the problem remains persistent

I just bought an LG external drive and tried playing some of the same discs that my macbook refused to read and they worked perfectly. However I still have a strong feeling that this is a firmware problem as I tried playing a DVD boxset on my internal drive and it would play disc 1 but not disc 2 which you have also experienced, I'd imagine if it was a hardware issue then it would simply refuse all similar media but this is clearly not the case.

So far using the external drive is not really practical for me as I tend to constantly carry around my macbook. I will keep an eye on this thread and will continue to search for a solution, and of course will definitely inform you if I ever come across anything helpful.

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Answer 7

Jun 30, 2011 1:06 PM in response to al2020

Thanks for the update. I was actually about to purchase an external myself today, but I decided to wait until I go back to the Apple Store next week since It isn't too urgent for me. It just makes me anxious knowing my once perfect mac is not so perfect at the moment.

Hopefully we'll figure something out soon.

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Answer 8

Jul 8, 2011 6:23 PM in response to mega_chachzilla

So here is another update.

I got to the Apple store today. Didn't have particularly good news. For one, I hate how they do things there. I had one guy splitting his time between myself and 2 other people. I never felt like he was actually putting any effort into my situation.

Anyway, one thing he did try was booting OSX off of an external drive that he had. Since the DVD issue still occured, that tells us that it is a hardware issue, not software.

He said it would be about $150 to fix, which isn't as bad as I expected. He then said "You probably don't want to do that since you could just put that toward a new computer." I laughed. Maybe if the computer only cost $300, but it actually cost $2500 and to suggest that a $2500 computer shouldn't last more than 4 years ( I actually got it november 2007, so it's really three and a half) is complete garbage.

He said that drives do weird things when they start to die, including what mine is doing and what some other people are having. He seemed insistant that it will get worse, something about the laser being out of alignment.

I'm going to get a second opinion from a authorized mac repair shop in town too, but I'll probably hold off on the repairs for a bit. It really isn't a major inconvenience at the moment. Recording DVD's and reading ones I've burned is my main concern.

The only thing that scares me, is that if I wait 2 years to do the repair there may be a chance that a superdrive for my machine might not be available. Then I'd be really screwed. We'll see. I may also pick up one of those external drives in the meantime too.

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Answer 9

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,654 points

Jul 8, 2011 6:31 PM in response to mega_chachzilla

I don't see that you responded to Joe's question about a dirty lens. That means the lens in the drive itself. For US$5-15, you can buy a LENS CLEANING DISK at most office superstores or electronics shops. I bought mine from a friend who sells high-end AV equipment.

A friend had similar symptoms as you, and was quoted the same US$150 to replace the drive by the local AASP (our town is too small to have an Apple Store.) I loaned him my cleaning disk and all his problems went away after teh first pass. A cleaning disk is a cheap option to exercise before going for a replacement drive.

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Answer 10

Jul 8, 2011 10:54 PM in response to Allan Jones

Thanks for the tip Allan. I will absolutely try that before I plunk down $150 on a new drive. I am a bit hesitant though.

I actually have a lens cleaning disc I bought for an old DVD player I had. It says not to use it on slot load machines or computers. I was looking at a disc the other day in my local Best Buy and that disc said "take special care when using with slot load players." I don't even know what that means. There is only one way to use the thing...I can't be any more careful than that. Apple's manual that I have also says not to use lens cleaning discs (though I suppose that could be a ploy to get you to pay $150 for a new drive when it gets a bit dirty).

So I am on the fence. I have read it could do more damage than good. Something about how slot load drives have a lot less space between the lens and the disc. So the brush can actually harm the lens.

That said, I have read posts from many people like yoruself on various boards claiming to have success with these discs. I will give it a shot, but until I find one that says "works on apple superdrive" I'll probably wait until I'm just about ready to replace the drive.

Do you know what brand the disc you have is? I have one from Philips and I was looking into Memorex's Opti Disc. I also noticed that Clean Dr (the makers of the Skip Dr. DVD cleaning system) have a lens cleaning disc that is made specifically for computers. I've been looking into that one quite a bit. Their website has one "testimonial" from someone claiming to have used the disc on their macbook pro.

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Answer 11

alexphui

Level 1

0 points

May 1, 2014 3:41 PM in response to mega_chachzilla

I have this similar problem too. Can i have your help to solve my problem?

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Answer 12

alexphui

Level 1

0 points

May 2, 2014 3:18 PM in response to alexphui

hi everyone, good day.
I have a MacBook Pro that I got in 2011. Recently I noticed my drive stopped playing certain discs. Anyone here can help to solve it?

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