Superdrive stops working until reboot

I have a Late 2012 Mac mini (OS X El Capitan) with a Superdrive attached directly to the computer. I am able to insert and play and rip CDs with iTunes until after a random number of CDs the Superdrive stops working. I will insert a CD into the Superdrive, which will accept the CD but not mount the CD so I can see it in iTunes. Also, when this happens, if I go into Disk Utility I just get the spinning wheel and Disk Utility never actually loads. If I reboot the Mini, the Superdrive returns, reads the CD and all is well again. Until its not.

If I unplug the Superdrive without turning off the Mac, and then plug the drive back in, there is no change - I still can not see the drive on the Mac, in Disk Utility or in iTunes.

I have run fist aid on the SSD and the HD. Not much was wrong with either.

I don't think this is a problem with the Superdrive because it works just fine after I reboot the Mac. Seems more like a problem with the Mac software or - gasp - hardware.

Any ideas?