well, thanks for the info, hozepipe. Check the power and data connections on the back of the superdrive. Shut your mac down, wait a bit, take off the side door, and slide the drive out (it's at the top, and just needs a pull-going it, it has to be re-aligned with 2 pins on the bottom. I think the data cable (the black one) has to be connected to the first connector, not the 2nd--I might be a wee bit wrong on that, though.) IF both data and power connections are okay-dokay, then on to step 2, put the sled back with the drive in it, making sure that the cables aren't pinched (there's a little band around both cables which is hard to see), put the side door back on and reboot. try running disk utility and verifying permissions. Also, one of those cd-cleaning brushes or a good blast of compressed air might help you. IF none of those have worked, then the drive is going bad. You can get an e-Sata dvd burning drive with a bridge so that it'll work with ATAPI connectors, or you can try to find the e-Sata connectors on the motherboard, and then just get an e-Sata dvd burning drive. Don't worry too much about Mac compatibility. I've pulled a dvd burning drive from a pc, put it into my Mac pro and it worked just fine until it died--of course, the pc it came from was pretty old too. macsales.com might give you some idea of what's out there, for a start, anyways. this is something you can do yourself. the only tool you'll need is a #1 Phillips screwdriver. there are guides online in case you're stuck, too.
good luck
John b
