No DVD drive in new iMac ???

PlotinusVeritas wrote:

I bought a few cheap Imac this way because they were claimed to have "dead superdrive", was just a dirty lens.

the Qtip fixed that.

Using a Q-tip is not a good way to try to clean the lens (or any other part) of an optical drive, particularly by poking it into the slot of a slot loading drive. I very strongly urge other users not to try this!

Not only do you risk damaging delicate parts, Q-tips are likely to snag on edges & leave cotton fibers inside the drive that can cause an otherwise OK drive to become unreliable.

Likewise, please resist the urge to soak a Q-tip in alcohol to clean these parts. Technicians that know what they are doing use special sponge-tip applicators that won't leave anything behind to foul the mechanism & sparse amounts of special solvents designed not to attack any of the plastics & adhesives used in electronic equipment, or to thin lubricants used on some moving surfaces.

Q-tips & alcohol is a very amateurish approach, OK I guess if you have nothing to lose if they do more harm than good, but otherwise something to avoid if longevity & reliability are important to you.

Considering my business revolves around making quality DVDs with attractive menus, iDVD is a must. FCPX and Toast don't cut it: I have both.

R C-R wrote:

particularly by poking it into the slot of a slot loading drive

Q-tips & alcohol is a very amateurish approach, OK I guess if you have nothing to lose if they do more harm than good, but otherwise something to avoid if longevity & reliability are important to you.

LoL, well, I wasnt referring to Qtips thru the the slot itself,

rather when I remove the Superdrive itself and unscrew its casing lid and expose the superdrive mech. and laser assy.

(No I do not recommend this to anybody that hasnt got skills in computer repair)

I never worried about the longevity of a superdrive, a new one is only $40

I worked with monopolymer injection and nickel molds for years in creating plastic lenses and worked in 4 camera stores selling Leica and $40,000 Hasselblads, I know how to take care of coated lenses. 😉

Superdrive

Since Imac and Macbooks fans all draw in air from any and all ports etc, keeping a "clean" environment inside a superdrive is tough stuff.

Its like trying to keep a clean room as a collection bag on the end of a vacuum cleaner.

All the Imac macbook etc (any laptop / notebook) fans just turn any notebook into a tiny vacuum cleaner of the air.

Very bad. I will buy a refurbished Steve Jobs-era Mac.

data is pointless in optical discs because the amount of time it takes to access them and search through them is astronomically different when compared to HDDs. (see what i did there?)

Get a RAID 10.

There are lots of Pro Users against the iMac, and that's fine, but iMacs aren't designed for you, get a Mac Pro and attach W.E. you want to it.

macdaddy

data is pointless in optical discs

100% incorrect.

US govt, military, the EU, large business and wisdom does not agree with that personal and incorrect opinion.

Long Term Data archives is a multi multi million dollar buss. for a reason.

HD data life 6- 8 years

Professional DVD archival media 60-100+ years

< that is extremely important to a LOT of people.

People that need data protection know that

You are confusing SPEED of data access with LIFE / SECURITY/ PROTECTION of data.

macdaddy

Get a RAID 10.

Recently WD digital HD MyBook RAID drives experienced CATASTROPHIC DATA LOSS

http://community.wd.com/t5/External-Drives-for-Mac/External-Drives-for-Mac-Exper iencing-Data-Loss-with-Maverick-OS/td-p/613775

That same data would have been safe on DVD

slow and SECURE beats FAST and corrupt every single day 😊

PlotinusVeritas wrote:

LoL, well, I wasnt referring to Qtips thru the the slot itself,

rather when I remove the Superdrive itself and unscrew its casing lid and expose the superdrive mech. and laser assy.

Nevertheless, it is a very bad idea to use a Q-tip on the interior of the drive for the reason already mentioned. And there is a lot more to opening the drive than removing a few screws. For instance, the article that you got the Superdrive picture from explains the steps needed to remove & open the pictured drive, which is from a 2007 MacBook, not an iMac. (BTW, the author of that article advises others who try this to avoid any contact with the laser lens. I agree with that, since it is easy to scratch it.)

Since we seem to agree about the difficulties involved in doing this disassembly & that users can't do much about contaminants being drawn into the drive, I'm mystified why you disagreed with my earlier suggestion about getting an Apple certified refurb with a 3 year Applecare agreement.

RAID 10, not prebuilt raid. get a mobo and build your own Hackintosh + Raid 10 + FreeNAS

iMacs arn't designed for the US Millitary or the EU or people saving data for Doomsday, iMacs are designed for people who actually want to look at their data once in a while. Stop judging a fish by it's ability to climb a tree.

The Apple Refurbishes are really the way to go if the current lot of Apple products.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

R C-R wrote:

2007 MacBook, not an iMac.

And there is a lot more to opening the drive than removing a few screws.

I'm mystified why you disagreed with my earlier suggestion about getting an Apple certified refurb with a 3 year Applecare agreement.

that users can't do much about contaminants being drawn into the drive

A: Ive cracked up quite a lot of superdrives, there are tiny screws around the casing, and the sheet metal itself has indent snaps holding the top and bottom together; its a bit of a pain to pry one open. I know exactly what Im doing on the superdrive. Its a $40 superdrive, not the processor, winks 😉

(again do not recommend any everyday user do this)

You can see a Qtip being used on same here:

http://muzso.hu/2008/08/17/how-to-clean-the-lens-of-a-slot-loading-optical-drive -a-macbook-pros-superdrive

Though the guy is using benzine I dont recommend, the better way is a slightly damp one (water),.. then a dry one,.. then a third dry one.

As any optician will tell you, you want to remove dust/ debris gently BEFORE wiping it down with a dry (anything). Using a dry wipe of any kind on a dirty lens drags debris across the lens scratching it AND the coating. (same reason you should rinse your glasses if dirty before wiping them off).

Contrary to what some people feel, the Panasonic made superdrive (formerly made by Hitachi) is a very robust and well made slot loading burner/player, but its rather mechanical and prone to dust and fuzz, and misuse etc.

B: I personally dont buy or worry about 'certified' refurb, I used to fix computers and I know how to eyeball them in purchase, and can fix anything myself, and as for insurance: There is a much cheaper option, its a TYPE of insurance called "inland marine insurance" $40 a year roughly gets 0$ deductible, against theft, accident, spill, any damage at all, even on a desktop unit that just dies out of the blue. Perfect for portable notebooks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inland_marine_insurance

been using that TYPE of insurance for 20 years almost.

yes, a certified refurb is a good option for the everyday user.

C: "contaminants being drawn into the drive".... Actually you can do something about this, in removing the superdrive (just myself), I have taped all around the two halves of the superdrive where the top and bottom joints meet to make a seal from air being drawn thru the superdrive chassis itself.

macdaddy

iMacs arn't designed for the US Millitary or the EU

I did not mention any such thing about the Imac...., rather long term OPTICAL storage has had endless millions dropped into same by the EU, Military, and governments. 😊

"iMacs are designed for people who actually want to look at their data once in a while."

This is a hilarious statement to me... not so much to my friend who works in a title company. His iMac hard drive crashed with no backup. It was either pay the $1,600 for the data recovery or shutter his business. To bad... the money he spent on data recovery could have purchased a whole other computer for the business.

maybe buy a time capsule next time.

I dont wanna argue whether optical discs are relevant in the entirety of world today, I just don't think they are relevant in the scope of the target market of iMacs.

Agreed pacobell73. So is my business. Almost 80 hr. of h.264 video archived on 6 bluray discs (at a material cost of only $5) this week for customers... And I'm laughing all the way to the bank at those who say optical is dead.