DVD Initialization Error

Our new Mac Mini will not play DVDs. When you insert a DVD, a message comes up that says "There was an initialization error. A valid video device could not be found for playback. [-70017]"
Before I haul it down to the Apple Store to get it fixed, I was wondering if anyone knows of any quick fixes that might solve this problem.

Hi Paul,
Any luck at the Apple Store? I'm having the same issue, but my mac-mini is several years old. I noticed that this is a widespread problem reported on many threads on this site.
See this: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11306625&#11306625

Similar Messages

  • DVD Initialization Error (-70002)

    Had a LONG day and just want to chill out, but when I try to play a movie I watched yesterday just fine, my default DVD player says, "There was an error initializing the playback framework. It may already be in use by another application." I've restarted the computer and don't have any applications running, but it still won't start. Can anyone help me?

    Solved the problem... it was Semulov, the Menu Bar eject program I was running at startup which was causing the initialization error. Seems that the program was grabbing at the DVD drive first or something... uninstalled, and problem cleaned up. It is worth examining your startup items, as that is quite possibly where your problem is, even if you are not running Semulov like I was...
    Feel free to drop me an e-mail if you need some help, though I am hardly a Mac Wizard. jorin_green at yahoo.com

  • Dvd initialization error OSX10.7.4

    I cannot play a dvd on my iMac21" anymore. Does this have to do with OSX10.7.4? I get the 17007 error code.

    petedown wrote:
    Thank you for your reply.
    However am I right in believing that I am not able to install Rosetta on Lion ?
    Thanks again
    Snow Leopard (with Rosetta) can be installed into Parallels 7 and run concurrently with Lion:
                        [click on image to enlarge]
    Full Snow Leopard installation instructions:
    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1365439

  • Macbook pro external DVD drive initialization error 70012

    This is an answer to my own question and a comment about finding answers to questions on Apple forums.
    The situation
    I have a Macbook Pro, late-2009 model. In 2013, the internal DVD or optical drive died. I purchased an Apple external DVD drive to be able to read DVD disks, listen to audio, and watch video content. Because the computer I own was built to read only the internal DVD drive, it did not recognize this new external drive. When I plugged it in, I received an error: A valid DVD drive could not be found [-70012]. Or , or DVD could not be found, initialization error[- 70012].
    The question
    Given this situation, my question was, how do I solve DVD initialization error 70012?
    The answer
    Since my Apple Care plan had long since expired, before spending time and money at the Apple store to solve this, I decided to look online. After searching general sites and more and more specific sites, I found several posts on forums about my problem. The most helpful of these, with respect to an external DVD drive, was posted on CNET, by Topher Kessler (June 10, 2011 2:24 PM PDT):
    http://www.cnet.com/news/addressing-dvd-player-error-70012-when-using-external-d rives-in-os-x/
    The key to his advice was twofold:
    1. Hardware: The Macbook Pro was programmed to recognize the internal DVD/optical drive alone.
    2. Software: The preferences in the Macbook Pro were set to open Apple's DVD Player when a disc is inserted into the drive.
    To play audio or video discs on an external drive, the computer needed to be instructed to recognize the external drive, plus appropriate software needed to be opened. Mr. Kessler's advice went from hardware (i.e., get a new internal drive), to software (i.e., use different audio or video software), to operating system (i.e., alter the code in the operating system). Like with Goldie Locks, the first was too expensive, the last was too invasive, but the middle option was just right.
    I searched for free software to display audio and video on my external drive and found two that could do the job quite nicely. There are others, but these seemed to be the most recognized and highly rated:
    1. MPlayerX (http://mplayerx.org/download.html)
    2. VLC Media Player (http://download.cnet.com/mac/media-players/?rpp=30)
    So, I didn't have to buy an internal DVD drive and I didn't have to alter the code of the operating system. I just needed to download free software, install, and play.
    The points to learn
    1. Computers involve both hardware and software, therefore solutions to computer problems can require fixes to one, the other, or both.
    2. The simplest solution, and the least expensive, is to be preferred over the more complex.
    3. What went wrong for someone else is not necessarily what happened to your computer or software.
    4. What solved someone else's problem may not solve your problem.
    5. Just because nobody has posted information on how to solve your problem doesn't mean there isn't a solution to it.

    Hi Duane,
    Thanks for the info! That's some catch-22 for DVD Player... but useful info. I guess I'll just pick up a generic DVD-ROM to replace the drive with.
    As to the external drive, do not USB 2.0 cases run at the same speeds at Firewire 400 cases? (the same drive has no issues on other machines for playing dvds... just the lampshade iMac)

  • I can't get dvds to play "There was an initialization error. A valid video device could not be found for playback. [-70017]  Anybody know how to resolve this?

    I can't get dvds to play and, instead, get "There was an initialization error.  A valid video device could not be found for playback. [-70017]"  I went in for a Genius appt Friday and it played for the tech...but now I'm back home (one and a half hours from the store) and I'm getting the error message again when I try to load a dvd.  Any recommendations?

    Hello, try this...
    Bootup holding CMD+r, or the Option/alt key to boot from the Restore partition & use Disk Utility from there to Repair the Disk, then Repair Permissions.
    Reboot... any change?

  • DVD Player Gives initialization Error

    Please forgive me if this problem has been presented before, but a quick search for a definitive fix came up empty...
    Haven't plugged a DVD in lately and today, when I inserted a DVD and DVD Player (v4.6.5) launched, I got the following message:
    There was an initialization error.
    A valid video device could not be found for playback. [-70017].
    I tried re-installing and got the same message
    Can anyone prescribe a fix?
    Thanks in advance?
    billywa
    Mini   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  
    Mini   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  
    Mini   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    Hi, billywa. Welcome to the Discussions.
    DVD Player error code -70017 also has the description "A graphics device is not available." This could imply some issue with either the graphics card or the display. Is your display connected properly? Are you trying to use the Mac Mini in a home theater?
    Good luck!
    Dr. Smoke
    Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

  • "Track initialization error" when burning DVD

    This message keeps coming up when I try to burn a DVD in iDVD from my G4 laptop. Movie is 28 minutes long. ANY help would be very gratefully appreciated. THANKS

    Rob,
    Thanks for posting!
    I was at the point of starting a new discussion as I was afraid nobody was watching this one any more. To make things easy for everyone, I'll use the quoting method in order to answer to each and every question I have an answer for. So let's just go for it...
    "If i understand correctly...you shot new footage and used a different computer and it still did the same thing!"
    Nope. I've always used the same hardware/software for importing/editing my footage(s). Hardware: Power Mac G5 DP 1.8GHz / Software: iMovie v5.0.2 and iDVD v5.0.1
    "Can you down load the video to the Mac Mini and try it from there rather than transferring the project?"
    As you can imagine, it would be such a big hassle to import/edit the movie in the Mac mini, executing precisely the same steps I did when using the Power Mac G5.
    "Delete your audio track and try it again."
    Been there, done that. No way Jose!
    "Without any chapter markers."
    Didn't try that, though I've removed the chapter markers from 'risky' points, like transitions, etc.
    "What is on your audio track and where did it come from?"
    My audio tracks consist of the sound contained by the movie itself, plus two AAC (m4a) songs bit rated at 192kbps using iTunes v5.0 (also tried with .mp3 format but the result was the same). The tracks have a 30 to 40 seconds gap between them, so no sound mix between these 2 songs.
    "As well how did you shoot the footage and with what type of camera....just wondering."
    No special procedures here, Rob. I'm no professional, so I usually turn camera ON and start recording straight away. My camera is a JVC Mini DV GR-DX77E perfectly recognised by the Apple iMovie software.
    "Have you successfully burned any DVD's before? What method are you burning it in Best quality or Performance? How do you transfer the project to DVD?"
    Yes. My first tape was imported using iMovie v5.0.2, using the 'Best Quality' preference, edited there and exporting to iDVD, and there (in iDVD) is where trouble starts. So I googled for troubleshooting and stopped here for a carefull reading:
    http://dvd.kentidwell.com/?page_id=65
    I ran OnyX v1.5.2 for Panther and able to burn my project into a DVD without glitches. One thing I noticed (and honestly this can make the difference here), is that before I ran OnyX, everytime iDVD finished the assets task, it started encoding audio and here's where the error took place. After the OnyX intervention, it started encoding video and then audio successfully.
    "I know it is a pain to do these things but we will probably find out it is something simple blocking the burn. Try it also with a different Menu theme. Get a real simple one."
    I've tried the 'real simple' menus, like the ones bundled with iDVD. Sorry, but it makes no difference.
    "What photos are you putting in the menu theme?"
    No photos in the projects. Just the movie and audio tracks (preferable all AAC).
    "You could also try to burn it as a disc image to disc utilities and see if that works."
    Burn as disc image gives exactly the same error at exactly the same point: Track initialization error.
    "Start from the very beginning and dellete anything to do with iMovie or iDVD. In the libraries and in Documents"
    I've deleted the .plist docs for iMovie and iDVD software, but it didn't solve.
    "I know you used Onyx but I have Onyx too and it never worked for me."
    Carefull to see if you're using the correct version for your operating system, as there are different ones for Jaguar, Panther and Tiger.
    "It didn't delete or clean anything."
    It does for me. You have to use the 'cleanning' option in the application's toolbar.
    "I am going to toss it and try and down load it again."
    http://www.titanium.free.fr/pgs/english.html
    "Now everytime I use it it comes up with an error message...so delete what you can yourself."
    I suppose OnyX comes with an uninstaller, so give it a try.
    (see next post)

  • Dvd error - initialization error: -108 since upgrade

    hiya - i am got rid of some old (very old, five years and more) unused apps, updated my apple software (software update) and now i get
    initialization error error: -108
    (MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-825:
    Firmware Revision: DBN7
    Interconnect: ATAPI
    Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
    Cache: 2048 KB
    Reads DVD: Yes
    CD-Write: -R, -RW
    DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
    Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
    Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
    Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
    Media: No)
    when i try to launch the DVD player, i have tried the usual - disk utility, restarting etc
    though the dvd can burn cds and dvds in toast and itunes...
    can anyone help - it's driving me potty!
    dc/uk

    hiya - i am got rid of some old (very old, five years and more) unused apps, updated my apple software (software update) and now i get
    initialization error error: -108
    (MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-825:
    Firmware Revision: DBN7
    Interconnect: ATAPI
    Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
    Cache: 2048 KB
    Reads DVD: Yes
    CD-Write: -R, -RW
    DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
    Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
    Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
    Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
    Media: No)
    when i try to launch the DVD player, i have tried the usual - disk utility, restarting etc
    though the dvd can burn cds and dvds in toast and itunes...
    can anyone help - it's driving me potty!
    dc/uk

  • DVD player initialization error 70017

    I just noticed that when I inserted a DVD into my mac mini (running OS. 10.4.11) it brought up an error that said: "There was an initialization error. A valid video device could not be found for playback. Error-70017"
    I haven't noticed this in the past (I last played a DVD two weeks ago) and in the meantime, the only change I can remember is a software update that I ran a few days ago.
    Any suggestions are much appreciated!

    Hi Nayika, and a warm welcome to the forums!
    Could be many things, we should start with this...
    "Try Disk Utility
    1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
    2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
    Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
    3. Click the First Aid tab.
    4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
    5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
    6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
    Then Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot.
    The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
    Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
    If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows!
    If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates again, or even do an A&I if you have enough free disk space.
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120

  • DVD Player initialization error -43

    DVD player stopped working since I ran a program called MacKeeper to cleanse unwanted files.
    Now: I start DVD player and it puts out the message
    There was an initialization error.
    Error: -43
    However, Front Row still works for this DVD and CDs will play ....

    I use Time Machine to backup my Imac to an external drive.
    I put in the Snow Leopard system disc as if I were going to re-install.
    You start the computer while pressing the C key and this makes it start from the system disc.
    The install routine starts and then there are menu options that appear at the top.
    Restore the system from backup is one of these. The Time Machine backup gives you a spacey looking timeline and you can choose the day and time that you want to go back to.
    Took about 5 hours because I have a USB connection instead of the Firewire, but it ran overnight and all was well in the morning.
    It is possible to re-install from the system disc just the software while preserving your data in a safe part of the disc - but it would be best to look this up.

  • DVD Player initialization error: DVD won't play, (-70017)

    I am trying to play a DVD with music and no video on my Mac Mini and I'm getting this message:
    There was an initialization error.
    A valid video device could not be found for playback (-70017)
    The DVD shows up on the desktop just fine, but DVD Player won't start up because of this error. The Mac Mini plays CDs just fine and it has played this DVD many times before just fine.
    What's going on? Thank you for your help.

    I'm not sure if you've found your answer. I had the same problem for quite a while on my Mac mini and couldn't find any answers on the Internet. But I did finally stumble on the answer in an Apple developer page somewhere which listed all of the possible Apple DVD Player return codes. -70017 is an error which suggests the DVD Player couldn't find a suitable display on which to send the picture output. In my case, I had removed my television from the computer and had been using VNC to remotely connect. Anytime I attempted to put a DVD in the drive, I'd get the error. The error is produced because I do not have a monitor or display attached to the computer. I hope this helps!

  • DVD Problem " There was an initialization error

    Hey,
    There was an initialization error A valid video device could not be found for playback (-70017) I get this ever time I place a dvd in the mac mini, now the dvd mounts on the desktop you can open dvd but can't play it using the DVD software that comes with the OS 10.4.x
    I'm using DVD software 4.6, Does anyone else have a problem, oh yeah I did wipe my system clean it work, but then i updated the OS getting all the new updates and it just stop working.

    Has anyone figured out a solution to this problem? I receive the exact same error message and I have yet to see a solution anywhere on the net despite numerous searches. please help!

  • Initialization error [-70012] in Mavericks

    Have a MBP 15”, Early 2011 with a 2 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3, 1 TB 72000 rpm HD fused with a 120 GB SSD, running OS X 10.9.1 (12B42) the original CD/DVD SuperDrive is removed for the SSD, but installed into an USB case and connected external via USB.
    After installing the SSD and fuse it with the HD, the original, now the external CD/DVD SuperDrive, via USB connected, worked fine under Mountain Lion but now, since upgraded to Mavericks, OS X 10.0.1, it works only with CD’s and even opens DVD’s but the DVD Player does not work at all (initialization error [-70012]) and prevents to watch any DVD movie.
    I researched the Apple discussions boards and others but found not any helpful solution. There are not any DVD or iDVD files on my system. Checked visible as well as invisible files and documents. The Terminal also indicates that there is no such CD or DVD (iDVD) “No such file or directory”.
    However, the System Profiler shows clearly that there is a MATSHITA DVD-R   UJ-8A8: connected with “ Firmware Revision:          HB14 / Interconnect:          USB / Burn Support:          Yes (Apple Shipping Drive) / Cache:          1024 KB / Reads DVD:          Yes / CD-Write:          -R, -RW/ DVD-Write:          -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW / Write Strategies:          CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO.”
    Resetting NVRAM/PRAM did not resolve the issue either. Tried to use 0xED Editor but the command at the “DVDPlayback.framework: /System/Library/Frameworks/DVDPlayback.framework/Versions/A”, brought no indicators of “Internal” or the equivalent hex code. Any smart individual out there, which can help, step by step to get the DVD Player working?
    Thank you.

    Logical or not, and that is your opinion, it is how it works and doesn't work. Sorry but the built in DVD Player App only works with the Superdrive installed inside the system.
    Maybe you applied the HACK in Mt Lion, and don't recall you did it, and when you upgraded to Mavericks is got overwritten.
    Been like that for years with many different versions of OS X and DVD Player App.
    If the Superdriove is installed inside the system you can use the DVD Player App with another DVD drive connected by USB but the Superdrive must be installed inside the case, and or connected to the secondary SATA connector.

  • Apple DVD PLAYER ERROR

    After installing 10.5, opening Dvd player i received this error
    There was an initialization error
    A valid video device could not be found for playback [-70017]
    I've searched all over the forums with no solutions.
    i know its not a big problem with leopard but any workarounds would be apprec.
    The apple dvd player is version 5.0

    now I do not know if this is just me but I have had issues with the DVD player
    I played a DVD from a one on the older iDVD software (before iLife 08)
    the DVD would work in Tiger fine
    I downloaded Leopard, now i get a message if i select "play from beginning of the disk" "skipping over damaged areas"
    this also caused the DVD player to not play on my mac and the DVD player locked up
    I then tried selecting "begin from last time played and everything worked fine"
    the DVD player did not lock up
    this is definitely I feel a bug but i wonder if anyone else has had the similar issue
    Message was edited by: jcomp
    Message was edited by: jcomp

  • DVD player error

    I have a new 15" PowerBook.
    The DVD player is not working.
    I get the following message pop up:
    There was an initialization error
    Error: -43
    Apple support say it is a software error and that I should wipe everything and reload.
    I don't really want to go through all that and was just checking to see if anyone else had experienced this and maybe had a quick fix.

    Im having problems with DVD player 4.6.5 on a Powerbook g4 1.5ghz 750 ram, os10.4.4
    dvds start to play with a black screen and then freeze the whole system - even alt-apple-escape to force quit out of dvd player
    takes ages to respond
    I went from os 10.3.3 to 10.4.0 (after a total disk erase, zeroed data) and did the update online straight after to 10.4.4
    I also have 10.4.4 on a dual 450 g4 which I recently updated and it has none of the same problems
    Im amazed that a solution to this is not easier to find on apples site - its obvious that it is happening to several people
    Has anyone found a solution???
    Toast still seems to work fine so I think perhaps its something to do with the way the new os/dvd player decodes the video off the dvd - perhaps there is some incompatibility between hardware and software in this area?
    I wonder from what version of DVD player this started happening - I had version 4.0 working fine when I was running os10.3.3
    Does anyone know if quicktime is involved at all in the playing of dvds?? and if that might be causing a problem. I noticed a quicktime installer that goes a few versions backwards from 7.0.3 or 4 (never a good sign) but no explanation to say why on the download page
    Powerbook g4 1.5ghz 750 ram (and while Im thinking of ram..... Im really annoyed at Apple for putting 2 x 256 ram chips in the powerbook g4. When I ordered a 512 ram chip along with the laptop I assumed it would take me up to 1gig but no - when I got the machine and opened it up I found out instead of apple putting one 512 chip inside that I would have to take one of the two 256 chips out in order to get the 512 one in!!!!! so I only got an extra 256meg for the price of 512 - and a 1gig chip costs 300euro!!! )

Maybe you are looking for