IBook G4 Combo Drive Does Not Read CD's - But Reads DVD's

Since about a week ago, my combo drive has not been able to read any audio or data CD's. However, it remains able to read and play DVD's. When I insert a CD into the drive, it would either automatically eject itself, or remain in the drive without being recognized by the system. After inserting a CD, I can hear the drive making noises indicating that it's trying to read the disk.
If anyone has encountered this problem, how can it be resolved?
Thanks.

I had 8 CD-RW disks backing up iTunes and wanted to update them so I erased them to start over. Afterwards when I tried to use them each and every one was useless-my iBook was telling me they were unreadable. I Googled this problem for quite some time without finding a solution. People were actually replacing their optical drives. Anyway I found my own solution, figuring that the combo-drive was ok since it was reading all my DVDs and other CD-RWs. I opened BurnX, popped in the unreadable CD, but before the warning box came up I clicked on erase to erase the already erased CD. This prevented the warning box from coming up and the CD ejecting. Next I burned a small file onto the CD-just any old file-actually a short TextEdit document, then I erased that. Also I made sure that the CD was not apendable. It worked! I then did the same with all the other CDs that were unreadable after having erased the iTunes backup from them and was ready. I began the backup procedure and was afraid that it was going to tell me what I had forgotten to mention earlier, that the disk was not blank when I knew it was, but it didn't and they all worked fine. The backup was a success and I had found the answer to a problem that apparently many people have had over the years. Hope this helps.

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IBook G4 Combo drive does not read

My brother has an iBook G4 with a Combo Drive and I just need to know if there is any way I can clean it or just check to see if it is bad. I need to know if I have to replace it or what. Are there any steps I can take before I replace?

There are a couple of things to try:
First, open Disk Utility (in the Applications folder) and click on the hard drive by brand name and then on the first aid tab. Verify permissions and repair if necessary. Repair until there is nothing left to repair. Sometimes permissions get messed up and cause problems.
I believe you can try cleaning the drive with one of the kits specially made for cleaning optical drives.
Also, try a variety of discs--see if the problem is with all of them or just some of them.
Good luck!

Ibook g3 hard drive does not show up after new installation

I have an older ibook g3. I purchased a 20gb hard drive to replace the dead 10gb hard drive that came with the computer when I bought it new. The installation was fairly easy. After the hard drive was installed and everything was put back together I turned on the computer and loaded the install disk into the cd tray. The new hard drive does not show up in order to install the operating system. What do I need to do in order to get the hard drive to show up?
Scott

Hey Scott,
The new hard drive does not show up in order to install the operating system. What do I need to do in order to get the hard drive to show up?
When you're in the installer go up to the top menu bar under utilities? or tools? and start up disk utilities. See if you see the hard drive there. If so it might not be formatted correctly so erase it and format it for your install (usually Mac OS Extended (Journaled). That should make it show up.
Richard

External Drive does not mount with Firewire but is ok with USB !

Since 10.4.4 my external drive is no more recognized using firewire, but it mounts perfectly with USB
Using FW request me to reinitialize the disk, but then, the apple disk utility it is unable to reformat!
then I unplug FW , sets USB and everything is ok!
I connected the drive to my old IMac G4 700 and evrything is fine, FW and USB, using the same drive, using the same cable. I did repeat the test many times it is always ok with the old mac and it never mounts with FW on my newer Ibook.
I did reset the openfirmware but that was not successfull!
Then I brought both iBook and the faulty Drive to a friend (he owns a powerbook and also an external drive)
we verified that my drive does not mount on his powerbook G4 12" using FW and is ok with USB.
Then he tried his external drive and was very surprised to find the same fault with his drive and his PB using FW. (as for me everything is ok with USB!)
We are both very puzzled, our drives did work well before, (before 10.4.4 , and 10.4.5 did not improve!)
and now, with firewire,disks never mounts..
In addition I tried with the same cable to alternatively start, using the target mode, the ibook and the imac. For each test they were both recognized as external drives as they should..
So to try to sum up
- Disk mount ok with USB (1 or 2)
- Disk is no more recoknized with FW (but it was before with the exact same hadrware)
- FW Cable seems to be ok as targuet mode works properly
has anybody any idee?
It would be very munch appreciated..
thanks a lot for having read this long post..
External hard drive P/N:
the western digit disk 160G is in an enclosure referenced
Prolific PL3507 Combo Device
I tried to exchange the disk of this box with an old maxtor with the same bad result!
IbookG4 1.2 & IMac G4 700 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Hi Andre, I can't remember except to say that it was mounting fine with tiger and I was able to copy files to it for backup purposes.
I just hooked it up to a PC and windows tells me the drive is not formatted. That's not a good sign, and this was stupid: I think I had the drive hooked up to my Mac Pro during the upgrade.
Idiotic, granted. But this was an upgrade, not a full install and I maybe was trusting in Apple's ability not to do extraneous stuff during an install like windows does. Oh well...
I appreciate any further ideas. Many Thanks, Frank.

Combo drive does not accept any disc anymore

Hello,
I tried to read a normal DVD with my ComboDrive on my 12" G4. The G4 keeps the disc for about 3 - 4 seconds, then it ecjects all discs again. It is not able to mount them, but it also does not seem that the drive does very much. Any idea what the problem could be? The drive worked just fine a couple of days ago.
Regards

Is it related to a few specific CD's? Some CDs are burned incorrectly or in a way the Mac PB cannot read. They may spin really fast in the drive and make all sorts of strange noises before they eject.
Sometimes taking the same disc and just pushing a bit harder when inserting it will make it work. Sometimes not.
Probably not much you can do but a Genious appointment is always a good place to start, just to be sure.

IBook G3 Combo Drive Issue

I picked up a used iBook G3 600, with Combo drive, and it works OK, however the Combo Drive does not eject. It can be done manually, and some sort of beep eminates from the computer when trying to either eject the drive, or if you eject it manually. Is this beep some sort of failure signal, does it merely mean that the drive has failed in some way and probably needs to be replaced? If you've seen this behavior and can provide some details, that would be great. When you get discs in it, seems to work OK.. Thanks for any feedback...

Hi, Norm. Welcome to Apple Discussions.
It is my guess (and that's all that it is, so don't automatically assume I'm correct) that maybe there is a mounting screw missing from the drive assembly.
If the drive had truly failed, it wouldn't be working for you. But it may be encountering a physical problem which inhibits its eject mechanism. The instructions for reinstalling an optical drive can be found here:
http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/50.15.0.html
It's not a procedure for the faint-hearted. But I'm afraid if you continue to use it the way it is, the problem may turn into a total failure of the drive.
Where do you live?
DT & T Computer Services in Fremont, California offer free diagnostics, and if all it requires is a mounting screw, I'm sure they would be very reasonable.
If you're on the other Coast, Small Dog Electronics in Waitsfield, Vermont come highly recommended.
Good luck.

Tecra M5: DVD drive does not read these mini DVDs

I have canon dvd handycam, and mini dvd works on it. One month back i recorded movie and pictures on mini dvd using handycam and ran mini dvd on my tecra M5 dvd drive, it worked very fine.
Now after 1 month i have 5 mini dvds with movies and pictures which i took on 1 month vacation in diffierent countries, i tried my best but tecra dvd drive does not read these mini dvd, cd drive label appears instead dvd drive when i put mini dvd in it.
All other standard size dvds, cds working fine on it.Its complicated and as well as irritating.
Any suggestions?
Why its messedup?

Seems the lens cannot read this miniDVDs. Possibly the drive lens cannot calibrate and therefore the miniDVDs are nonreadable.
Try the solution from sascha. Maybe youre a lucky man and it works.
If not, try to remove the drive physically from the notebook. Reboot the notebook without the drive. The Windows and BIOS shouldnt recognize the drive.
Then shuts down again, put the drive into the notebook and boot up the unit.
The notebook should recognize the drive and should indicate the firmware again.
Im not sure if this will help you but its attemptable

My external Iomega DVD drive does not read DVDs. Why?

My external Iomega DVD drive does not read DVDs. Why?

what does this question have to do with a mac? post in the Iomega fourms.

Dvd drive does not read dvd but reads cd only.

my hp compaq 420 core2 duo dvd drive does not read the dvds but only reads the cds. How can i solve this problem, please help me with the correct answer.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

It will likely require replacement of the drive. There is more than one laser in there: one for each function. One can go bad without the other going bad.
608141-001
Above is the part number for the DVD burner drive. I could not find one on eBay. Here is one online:
http://www.mydvddrives.com/replacement-for-hp-compaq-608141-001-sata-cd-dvdrw-dvd-ram-drive-burner-l...
Replacement is easy. Remove a single screw on the bottom and slide the old drive out and replace with the new drive.

SD-L622A CD/DVD drive does not read some CD's - Satellite L300-144

Drive TOSHIBA SD-L622A.
The drive does not see boot CD with Windows XP Service Pack 3, some of boot CDs with diagnostic utilities (IMHO 2CD format).
Also these CD does not seen by drive even under Windows XP, Vista.
To My wife has bought Toshiba L300, but another modification. There there is drive Matsu****a (Panasonic).
Problems with the same disks has not arisen.
PS Sorry for a terrible English. My native language is Russian :)

In the first topic I wrote
..+The drive does not see boot CD with Windows XP Service Pack 3+..
I have taken other disk from my friend - the situation has not changed.
Installation Windows XP SP3 has a success only after copying the distribution kit on removable HDD and manual install Windows from command prompt
But I think its abnormal.
I think, the theme can be closed because this question should be addressed to Toshiba's fimware developers
+If you cannot use “some CDs with diagnostic utilities” maybe are the problem those CDs. For me it is not so dramatic issue. if you can use all “commercial” medias everything must be OK.+
May be.....but I have bought two notebooks Toshiba in a day for Me & My wife.
On my wives notebook all the above-stated disks playing normally, but it has another drive by Panasonic (Matsu****a)

My cd/dvd drive does not accept any cds/dvds

I know this has been posted before, but I have tried many methods posted on this site and others, and either I have done them wrong or they haven't worked.
I have a three year old macbook pro running 10.6.8. I also have Windows 7 Ultimate running on Bootcamp, and my disc drive does not work on that OS either.
The weird thing is that two weeks ago, I installed a videogame using a DVD-R and it was working perfectly. I ejected it when I was done. I am 100% certain there is no disc stuck in the drive, and I have looked in Disc Utility to be sure of that.
I tried resetting the SMC by restarting the computer holding down SHIFT+CONTROL+OPTION and the startup button, and that didn't work. I tried restarting holding down the trackpad button, which would eject any stuck disc, among some other methods.
Maybe someone can point me in the direction of re-installing drivers for the disc drive or something? I really hope this is a software issue because I am in another country for the next year and going to an apple store would be out of my budget and very difficult. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
My last resort (I would rather get my computer fixed) is using a Macbook Air superdrive, however it is incompatible with my macbook pro (for some reason they only made it compatible with the Air, which I don't have). I heard there is a risky way of editing some "code" to get it to run with a macbook. But I must stress again, I would much rather fix the problem at hand than jerry-rig an external drive as a solution.
Thanks so much for your help.
-David
edit: as was mentioned in other posts, when I put a disc in the drive, it feels like something in the upper right hand corner is blocking the entry. The computer is completely unresponsive to the disc. Thanks for reading!

it feels like something in the upper right hand corner is blocking the entry.
Appears your optical drive is "broke" = hardware issue.
For DIY instructions check out the following:
iFixit
YouTube’s “How To” tutorials.
AS are not the only places that fixes Macs.
International AASP’s & Other Services
AASP's Outside of the USA
How to find your nearest Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP)

I want to replace the SSD in an HP mini 1010nr. i have 30gb Hitatchi 1.8" drive. does not work.

the drive connects using the cable from the SSD, however; the BIOS does not detect the drive and the drive does not power. Did i waste my time and money buying a hard drive to repalce the SSD?

Hi,
Have you watched this ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWadcb6yDv8
Hope this helps.
BH
**Click the KUDOS thumb up on the left to say 'Thanks'**
Make it easier for other people to find solutions by marking a Reply 'Accept as Solution' if it solves your problem.

Instant Client on 64-bit Windows 7: Driver does not appear in System DSN

Instant Client on 64-bit Windows 7: Driver does not appear in System DSN tab when creating a new Data source.
What I did so far:
I downloaded the basic and odbc zips for Window 64-bit.
Unzipped the basic zip.
Unzipped the odbc zip to the same directory.
Added the dir path to the System Environment Variable called Path.
Double-clicked on the odbc_install.exe to run it from Windows Explorer.
Then I tried to add the driver to create a new data source but it does not appear in the list of drivers.
From a cmd window, I navigated to the instant client directory and tried to run odbc_install again.
I got the message: Oracle ODBC Driver with same name already exists.
What am I missing?

hello, I did it like that you say,but the result also is "oracle odbc driver with same name already exists". I don't kown what can I do it ,Thank you!

My cd/dvd drive does not recognize/load cds

iMac 10.6.8 snow leopard with iTunes 11.0, purchased in 2008.
The cd will be accepted into the drive which will begin to turn/mount the disk followed by a few clicks after which the drive stops, tries again, tries a 3rd time and then ejects the cd. Dvds do load but I have been experiencing "skipping over damaged area" msgs when there is no damage. Resetting the SMC alleviates that problem for dvds but not the cd loading problem. Cds that have been accepted in the past do no load, even brand new cds.
I do play dvds and cds frequently but before I conclude that my drive is failing due to wear and tear, I wanted to know if there's a way to clean the drive, if that's the problem. The drive does not accept a dvd/cd drive cleaning disk.
Any suggestions for further at-home diagnosis/refurbishing before I contact my local authorized repair person or buy a Superdrive to substitute for the malfunctioning drive?

None of the information you have provided answered my question regarding a way to clean/refurbish a drive which will not accept a dvd/cd cleaning disk.
You finally advised me to do what I had already done prior to posting.
Perhaps you have a reading comprehension problem. Although the internal drives are generically referred to as superdrives, I only employed that term in my initial post when referring to purchasing an external drive to potentially be shared with a laptop. So, the confusion is yours.
The link below gives simple yet comprehensive coverage of when, why and how to reset SCM/PRAM, which does not include my CD mounting issue, although it resolved the "skipping over damaged areas" problem I had prior to my original post regarding alternative ways to clean the internal drive.
http://thenextweb.com/lifehacks/2010/12/04/how-when-why-to-reset-the-pram-smc-on -your-mac/
The link below contains a discussion of failing dvd/cd drives for iMacs of the same vintage as mine with the similar mounting issues. I had no success mounting a CD via a virtual XP environment, so it's more likely a hardware issue.
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-1337712.html
Here's a link discussing pros and cons for buying a USB Superdrive (external Superdrive as I mentioned).
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/it-worth-buying-apple-usb-superdrive-3491736/

Re: CD/DVD drive does not seem to start DVDs in Satellite P750

My CD/DVD drive does not seem to start DVDs, it would turn and turn and the only way I can start a DVD (i.e. a movie) is by using Windows Media Centre, while software to be installed needs to be activated from Windows Explorer.
Anybody?
Please help.
Thanks!

Thanks, Xaver, tried this, still won't autoplay, it will just turn the dvd around for a while and then stop. Though when I open Windows Medi Centre and choos 'play DVD', it does the trick. The only way to install software, though si through Windows Exp[lorer and searching relevant file. Cheers,
Havoc.

IBook G4 Combo Drive Does Not Read CD's - But Reads DVD's

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