My iMac won't write CD's to the hard drive and Apple Support tell me it's too old (2010) for them to fix it!!?

The 2009 models, like mine, are designated "obsolete" and the stores don't service them any longer. Maybe your's is a 2009 model that you bought in 2010? Anyway you should be able to take it to an AASP for repair https://locate.apple.com/

The first thing to do when an optical drive stops working is to obtain and use a drive cleaning disk. They are usually US$5 to $15 and most computer stores, home entertainment centers, and office supply stores carry them.

When the lenses in a drive get dirty they can fail to read data disks. That is what the cleaning disks are for. I've see many Macs where a cleaning disks restored full operation to an optical drive that an Apple tech had declared dead and in need of replacement.

Head over to OWC look at the videos on removing the screen and accessing the inner working. I was apprehensive at first. They have the tools and suction cup but you can get them at harbor freight. My suggestion is remove the cd/dvd drive get the cage 30$usd and pick up two sata drives. You might as well replace the original drive and add a second drive inside the cd/dvd spot. Depending on the os the latest offers TRIM support so a ssd for the main and a mechanical drive in the other. Do a search after the ssd is set up and move the users directory to the mechanical drive as thats the one with the most read writes. The apps will be super fast. While at it max out the ram and replace the battery. Get a usb drive like LG around 25$usd.

Basically what I did with my 2012 macbook pro refurb but bought an external cage for the cd/dvd drive. I have 15 sec boot time!

Lou Cioccio