mac mini disk drive missing

Question

mac mini disk drive missing

My mac mini works fine except the disk drive is not recognised in finder. It accepts a disk when i pop one in and whirs for a couple of goes and then spits it out. The usual restarts, remove power cord and resets for PVRAM SRC etc have been completed but still no disk drive. DVD player check box to open when a disk is inserted is fine. Disk utility opened and first aid completed with a green tick all in order.

I'm running OSx El Capitan, have Mac Mini mid 2010 with 2GB ram and 320Gb storage.

I think its just not linking to or recognising the disk drive.

All forums trawled through but nowt helps.

Any ideas please?

iPhone 3G, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Feb 11, 2016 5:57 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Feb 11, 2016 6:14 AM in response to markfrombarry

Have you tried a cleaning disk?

Also try cleaning by

How to clean a DVD Superdrive using a credit card !

Also see:

Mac mini rejects all DVDs

Likely the optical drive went bad. The optical drive in my 2009 Mini had similar symptoms about three years ago. I replace the optical drive with another internal drive and purchased an external USB optical drive

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Answer 2

Feb 15, 2016 9:55 AM in response to lllaass

Superb. I cleaned the superdrive using the credit card wrapped in lint free cloth. For any others, cut a piece of cloth twice the length of the credit card and wrap it length ways holding the cloth tight over the card with finger and thumb.

Using a lens cleaner / glass cleaner etc wet the underside of the cloth.

Push the card into the dvd drive on the left side and back out a couple of times. The cloth will clean the optical lens and once free from dust the dvd disks will work again.

Make sure that the power is off and the computer fully shut down.

Don't use too much lens cleaner or you will have to wait a bit longer for it to fully evaporate in the disc drive before using.

Power up and the disks should work.

Thanks so much Illaass.... great response.

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Answer 3

forkings

Level 1

9 points

Apr 26, 2016 10:43 AM in response to lllaass

I have the same problem, same model Mac Mini, except mine has a CD stuck in the superdrive. I had been using an external optical drive for over a year with no problems. . Beginning a couple of months ago, the computer stopped “seeing” the external drive. If I restart, it works again, but after a short time the computer no longer “sees” the drive. My external drive is a Pioneer BDR XD05S. My Mac Mini is running OSX 10.11.4. I emailed Pioneer support, and they told me that they do not yet have firmware that supports OSX 10. I tried using the lens cleaning disk, as suggested, but this didn't change anything.

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Answer 4

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Apr 26, 2016 12:13 PM in response to forkings

I would try the drive on another computer. Maybe it just died.

Does it show in System Profiler under USB?

I would not expect El Captain would break being able to read from the disk, maybe write DVD yes, but not read

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Answer 5

forkings

Level 1

9 points

Apr 27, 2016 10:05 AM in response to lllaass

The ext. drive works on my Macbook Pro (mid-2012), also OS X 10.11.4. However, I haven't tried using it for extended periods of time, to see if it will "disappear". On the Mac Mini, it does show in Sys. Profiler under USB, even when I can't see it in Finder.

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Answer 6

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Apr 27, 2016 10:29 AM in response to forkings

What does system Profiler show about the drive?

Is it USB powered?

Maybe the Mini USB ports now do not provide enough power. Does the drive have an AUX connector for for and AC power adopter/plug?

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