Combo Drive Problem - Won't Accept Disks

My combo drive has recently developed a problem where it will not accept any disks that I insert into it. Instead of pulling the disk in, it just sits there. If I push it in a little further, it kind of springs back out. I have not had problems before. Any ideas? Is there a diagnostic program that could check the drive?
Thanks in advance!
John Mc

John,
I agree with JeremyP, it sounds like your combo drive has serious problems & needs to be replaced. My guess is misaligned laser. If you live near an Apple Store, take it there to have one of the geniuses look at it. I had to have mine replaced when it rejected more DVDs than it accepted. It's refusal to accept CDs was probably not far off.
Peggy

Similar Messages

My disk drive won't accept disks at all, not even a little to spit them out.

My disk drive will not accept disks at all...there is no disk stuck in there, but nothing happens when I try to insert a disk into my disk drive.
The disk won't even go in the drive a little bit...it's like something is blocking the drive, but I know nothing is in there.
Any ideas on what this may be or what to do to correct it?

It sounds like the lens on your optical drive is dirty. Use a cleaning DVD or wrap a microfiber cloth around a credit card and carefully slide it in and out a few times.

DVD drive won't accept disks since Snow Leopard upgrade

I just upgraded my Macbook to Snow Leopard, and now I can't insert disks into my optical drive. It just won't accept them. Help!
Thanks in advance!

Try this:
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
No guarantee this will work but it's a start.

Combo Drive Problem: Not Accepting Discs

Recently, I swapped out a broken Matshita drive.
The new slot-loading optical drive will not accept discs.
What confounds me is that the drive (seems to) show up in the System Profiler:
MATSHITA CD-RW CW-8124:
Firmware Revision: DZ13
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw
Media: No
If it is a power connection issue, would the device appear in the System Profiler?
Anyone have a theory?
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

John,
I agree with JeremyP, it sounds like your combo drive has serious problems & needs to be replaced. My guess is misaligned laser. If you live near an Apple Store, take it there to have one of the geniuses look at it. I had to have mine replaced when it rejected more DVDs than it accepted. It's refusal to accept CDs was probably not far off.
Peggy

Combo drive suddenly won't stay closed, how do I fix this?

Hello,
today, my combo drive suddenly came open and won't stay closed anymore. If I push the close button it closes, and then just opens again. I have tried repairing my disk and reinstalling OSX, I even tried a different keyboard in case the eject key was sticking. I can't figure out what is wrong. Is the drive bad? Can I get a replacement drive that I can install myself if this is the problem?
Thanks for you help.
Flat Panel iMac 700 MHz CD-R/DVD-ROM Combo Drive Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Had the same problem (as have a LOT of others).
Took the following action which (knock on wood) seems to have solved it!
Plug in iPhone; when Sync starts, click on "iPhone" under Devices; click on "Summary" page; under Options at the bottom of the page, uncheck "Sync wiyh this iPhone over ..."; click apply; exit after sync is complete......my problem disappeared!
Note: if the box is already unchecked, try checking it; apply; uncheck; apply
Good luck!

Combo drive problem on Pismo

My Pismo has a Sony CRX820E combo drive, and quite often, while the computer is up and running, the drive decides not to open and won't work until I restart the machine. This can be a pain if I get something done and want to burn it to disc - to put the disc in and get the drive to respond I need to restart.
Of course, I can `open' the drawer with a paperclip, but the drive won't work until I restart. When it works, it's all fine!
Is it just a matter of resetting something?
I've checked for possible drive driver updates but I think everything is in order there.

Alex,
Welcome to the Discussions.
If this behavior is intermittent, I would think it is a hardware problem.
Can you return functionality to the drive by removing the optical drive, then reinserting it while the 'book is running? These media bay devices are hot-swappable.
Or can you return functionality by sleeping the 'book, then waking?
I cannot recall if the 820E needs the "solder-fix" for full functionality. Will the drive boot a CD by pressing the 'c' key? Does the powerbook freeze when waking from sleep? These are two symptoms of an optical drive that is set to slave or cable-select.

CDRW/DVDR Combo Drive Problem ... ... ...

I'm currently visiting my sister in France. She has a Flat Panel iMac (800mhz/256 mb ram) running 10.3.9 which is used each day mainly for web surfing and some general multimedia tasks. The machine recently adopted some odd behaviour. It was spitting out all discs. This seemed to be irrespective of the type of content. Although some CDR with pdfs and an occasional music CDR would be recognised. The machine has been kept in a fairly dusty environment.
Here what I have done so far to remedy the problem:
Cleaned the drawer with a dry air spray
Cleaned the laser lens several times with a lens cleaning disc
Ensured that all relevant updates have been loaded
Run "Pilot" in Cocktail at the default setting which includes Cronscripts and repairing disk permissions.
The machine now accepts and recognises discs, however, there is a problem still with blank CDRs. When inserting a 800mb CDR, it is recognised but only with a capacity of just under 38mb! This allows a track or two to be burnt but tht is all. Any ideas or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
iMac 15 G4 + 5G 30gb iPod Mac OS X (10.3.9)

As this sounds like a Drive problem, and this is the Importing & Burning in iTunes for Mac forum, you'll probably be better answered in:
Using DVDs and CDs with your iMac (Flat Panel)
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=869

Combo Drive Problems

I just installed the IDE CDRW/DVD combo drive and the PowerDVD software that came with it. Unfortunately I cannot seem to get my DVDs to play correctly. After about 10 minutes the playback goes buggy on me. It sort of crashes. By that I mean the DVD will go start over at the beginning (the studio logo part). I played the disc on two other players and it works fine. I also tried using another disc, and I experienced the same problem. The thing kind of resets. Further attempts have resulted in crashes and lock ups. I attempted playing the disc with PowerDVD and Windows Media Player. I made sure the drive was set to DMA and I did flash the drive BIOS. The hardware manager for the OS says the device is functioning properly. Anybody have any suggestions? Is this a hardware or a software issue?

Okay, I reinstalled the OS, installed WinDVD 4 and tested the discs. So I concluded that the problem was solved by reinstalling the OS. I assumed it would be safe to install PowerDVD 5. I did that and tested the disc and look what happens. Same old problem. I uninstalled it but still have the same problem! All that hassle of backing up my old data, reinstalling the OS...and the suffering. Oh the suffering.
At this point I think I'll just roll over and play dead. Fine...I can't watch Underworld on my deskbox past chapter 3...strangely, Matrix used to skip backward too, but that problem seems to have gone away.
I saw Wonkanoby's post about the new Nforce drivers...I picked those up...no help. I've pretty much done everything I can think about. At one point I've even taken the drive back and exchanged it for a new one. All updated drivers...DirectX 9...WinUpdated all current...really, nothing I can think of short of getting a new drive. But...it works fine for some discs?!
I think I'm going insane...man...look at this thread...I must be insane...I've spent a great majority of it talking to myself...

Combo Drive problem

I installed Leopard the hard way, using firewire target disc mode, but it's on. The reason is the original combo drive wouldn't recognize the Leopard install disc. It has trouble recognizing any DVD. CD's are fine for the most part. Now the weird part, Disc util and the system profiler always recognize the drive. Even with media in the drive, the software will recognize it, but might not recognize the media in the drive. I've read plenty of posts here with similar symptoms, what gives? I realize 10.5 is the last roundup for the Power PC processor, but other software besides system software is installed using optical media. Should I replace the drive? Is there a software solution I'm missing? Totally confused.
OSX 10.5.6, 1.25GB RAM
PHILIPS CDD5301:
Firmware Revision: Z1.4
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 8192 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-Raw
Media: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

I'm curious why there are so many messages here with MDD Macs and the super/combo drives appear to be conking out.
Besides being old and outdated, they're really isn't a mystery as to why "so many" posts are made.
The drives have reached end of service.... they're worn out. Drives are not meant to last forever.
That, combined with the fact that media has improved in speed, quality, and changed in construction, makes for a drive, based on old standards of media, that cannot handle the newer media.
And, the majority of those posts are most quickly resolved with the new replacement drive.
In some cases, the problem is resolved by simply cleaning the lens (with a $15+ kit), or by locating a problem in the OS, which can be tested in a new user account. With complete troubleshooting, a small % are found to be OS problems. Many of these, however, require OS reinstall. Kind of hard to do with a drive that isn't working well with the system (or vice-versa).
Bottom line, is, there isn't much to be gained buy keeping an old 4x drive, when a new 20x drive, that has better media compatibility and is so much faster, is so cheap.
And, as you said, a functioning optical drive is necessary. So, which path- troubleshooting, or, replacement?
Factors that affect writing to or reading from optical media
Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver), (Mirrored Drive Doors): CD-RW, DVD and SuperDrive Specifications and Usage Information
The second article linked describes, what to me, are severe limitations with old combo drives, especially in consideration of the new media standards.
DVD Technology: Overview
Video Media Guides

Slightly different combo drive problem

My problem is a little different from the others I've read about here. Audio CDs and DVDs go in the drive, the drive spins, the drive stops spinning, the disc is not ejected it just doesn't play. Data discs work fine, I just loaded the new iLife and iWork using this drive without any problems.
The drive shows up on the profiler just fine and I've checked all the settings to ensure there are commands for what to do with CDs and DVDs. I ran the disc utility and the drive shows up, I repaired the permissions. I did everything I could find to do.
So, do I have a bad drive like everyone else or could it be something different?
TIA

It probably reverts back to the statement you made. ( I burned some DVD's on another computer).
What other computer?
What software was used to burn?
What Format Disc's were used to do the burn?
All or any one of these can affect your ability to read burned media.
If your combo drive is only capable of reading DVD-R Media then if you put in + or RW Media then there is your problem.
If you burned the DVD on a PC and the software was set to PC only, there is your problem.
Many of the Software on the market give the options to burn and be for PC only, Mac only, or PC & Mac compatible.
I realize that in a perfect world you just put in any media, and it will read and write it. Sorry it isn't the case.
Try to use DVD-R Media, it is the most widely recognised.
http://www.videohelp.com/dvd
Don

Optical/Combo Drive Problem (firmware?)

I've got a 1.6/Core duo machine that used to read DVD (I installed Snow Leopard directly) but now only reads CD. If I insert a DVD there's a slight noise then out it comes again.
Does anyone know
1) whether I can reinstall the firmware for the drive (where do I get firmware from?); or,
2) what the system profiler entries for the combo drive should be, so that I see if everything's there/anything's missing?
Thanks

Fine, if you won't listen to advice, there is nothing I or anyone else can do to help you. But remember this is a troubleshooting user to user forum. As such you'll primarily get the posts of people in a hospital ward. You will rarely get successful machines with no trouble at all. It is a survey of the lemons. Opinions like "These drives are junk" are based purely on hearsay. Instead of pasting opinions, let's deal with the facts, and try and find out what really is going on that is wrong. You may have gotten a bad optical drive, but we need to eliminate causes that could elicit the same symptoms first before saying there is no doubt this is the case. Have you replaced the PRAM battery or not in the last 4 years?

Combo Drive Problem - External Replacement - iDVD Help

Recently the Combo Drive on my flat panel iMac went bad. It no longer does anything. I see that this is a common senerio.
I just purchased an external CD/DVD multi recorder (HP 940 - USB). It works great went burning CD's (from iTunes) and Burn folders. However, whenever I try to burn from iDVD the computer doesn't seem to know that it is plugged in. It just ejects my internal combo drive drawer which doesn't work. Does anyone know how to get the iMac to recognize an external burner when burning from iDVD?
Thanks.
iMac Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hello and Welcome to Apple Discussions.
The Patchburn (link) driver might help but iDVD isn't the best for working with any old 3rd party burner.
It could also be a USB thing. Most iMac G4 have USB1.1 which is really too slow for proper DVD burning. If it has it connect the device via the much faster Firewire connection.
Let us know how you get on.
mrtotes

Combo drive problem, similar to one below

I have a similar situation to the gentleman below, where i have two optical drives installed in my MDD, and the top one is a Pioneer 109 i replaced a couple of years ago, but the bottom one is the original Phillips combo drive that came with the machine.
Well, it used to be that every now and then, the combo drive would just disappear from the eject menu, and then some time later it would show back up. I was unable briefly to burn cds from the superdrive, but that's back. i zapped the pram a few times, disconnected/reconnected all of the cables and even reset the pmu for good measure.
still no combo drive. did the drive just suddenly fail? this was the error list in console for the previous Pioneer error:
Finder: Burn started, Mon Jun 4 07:52:03 2007
Finder: Burning to CD-R media with SAO strategy in PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-109 1.58 via ATAPI.
Finder: Requested burn speed was 32x, actual burn speed is 32x.
Finder: Burn underrun protection is supported, and enabled.
Finder: Burn finished, Mon Jun 4 07:53:14 2007
Finder: Verify started, Mon Jun 4 07:53:14 2007
Finder: Discrepancy in block 17 at byte 8.
Finder: Source data: 0243 4430 3031 0100 0041 0050 0050 004C
Finder: Burned data: 0243 4430 3031 0100 0141 0050 0050 004C
Finder: Verify failed, Mon Jun 4 07:53:15 2007
Finder: Burn started, Mon Jun 4 07:54:13 2007
Finder: Burning to CD-R media with SAO strategy in PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-109 1.58 via ATAPI.
Finder: Requested burn speed was 32x, actual burn speed is 32x.
Finder: Burn underrun protection is supported, and enabled.
Finder: Burn finished, Mon Jun 4 07:55:25 2007
Finder: Verify started, Mon Jun 4 07:55:25 2007
Finder: Discrepancy in block 17 at byte 8.
Finder: Source data: 0243 4430 3031 0100 0041 0050 0050 004C
Finder: Burned data: 0243 4430 3031 0100 0141 0050 0050 004C
Finder: Verify failed, Mon Jun 4 07:55:25 2007
Finder: Burn started, Mon Jun 11 19:15:01 2007
Finder: Burning to CD-R media with SAO strategy in PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-109 1.58 via ATAPI.
Finder: Requested burn speed was 32x, actual burn speed is 32x.
Finder: Burn underrun protection is supported, and enabled.
Finder: Burn finished, Mon Jun 11 19:15:37 2007
Finder: Verify started, Mon Jun 11 19:15:37 2007
Finder: Verify finished, Mon Jun 11 19:15:39 2007
As you can see, it finally worked tonight. But like I said, still not combo drive.
Any ideas? Thanks so much in advance!

Dave,
I was just wondering that if it came down to replacing the ribbon cable itself, if I needed to pick a particular type. I've got an external enclosure I can test the drive in to confirm it's dead, but if the drive powers up and mounts as well as burns a disc, then the only other possibility I can think -- other than what you said about a cable being pinched -- is that the ATA cable itself cracked or one of the wires has a short that worsened over time. I mean, it's an older machine so I was just wondering if I needed to be on the lookout for another cable.
Thanks!

DVD drive won't accept disks

Today I tried to put in a DVD R to burn files and I realized that my Disk drive seems to be completely dead. It won't suck in DVDs. I hadn't used it for a while and I just noticed this today. The only noise it makes when starting the computer but otherwise it seems completely dead. Is there any diagnostic tool that I can run since I can't even put a Disk in the drive ?
It's a 2011 13 inch MacBook Pro running OSX Lion.
Thanks

Have you inserted the disc far enough for the motor to suck it in? It needs to be pushed in pretty far.
Otherwise your drive has died. At least the motor used to draw the disk in has.

CD/DVD drive won't accept disks

I have an iMac G5, 1.8 GHz, which is about 2 years old. Just today I have discovered that I cannot insert a CD or DVD into the drive. When I try to insert a disk, it doesn't get "grabbed" and just sits there in the slot inertly. Anyone ever have this problem and know what can be done about it?
I have burned many a CD on this computer and have never encountered this problem.

To Apple Discussions!
You are buried in an "answered" post.
Strongly suggest that you start your own topic so that your post gets more attention and/or you can do a search on your issue as same has been posted many times. You may find an answer.

Combo Drive Problem - Won't Accept Disks

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for