IMac not reading DVDs (but will read CDs)

Hi all,
I am currently using the 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 20" iMac, about 4 months ago i had a problem with the superdrive on the imac and it would not eject a DVD i was using. It repeatedly tried to spit the DVD out every 30 seconds or so without any luck. After about 2 days it eventually spat the DVD out.
I was then hesitant to stick anything back in the drive in case the problem occured again. I then bought an external DVD drive and had no problems for the last 2/3 months or so with it until yesterday afternoon. I was trying to install the optional installs from the software that came with the iMac and it got half way through and said the disc was unreadable (which i thought was strange as its the first time the media had been out of the plastic wallet). I then thought nothing of it until early this morning when i tried to play a DVD on the external drive and it spins for about a minute and then spits the DVD out. This happens with any DVD i have tried films, to backup dvds to games and everything and nothing will read. I tried a CD this reads no problems at all.
I then tried the superdrive on the iMac and it also spits out DVDs after about a minute but will read a CD no problems at all but just not a DVD.
Does anyone have any clues to what has happened since yesterday as i used to be able to play every DVD i had on the external drive no problem. I have not installed any new software and there are no new updates to install on the OS and no firmware has been installed (all firmware is up to date).
The drives i am using are:
Matshita DVD-R UJ 85J (supedrive in the iMac)
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GP08 LU10 (external drive - its an LG GP08 drive)
Any help is greatly appreciated
Regards
Christian

Hi Albos, This is a known problem. These superdrives die after a while. See the various threads on this site and the internet. I have the same problem with my Imac 20" 2.16 ghz. Just wants to burn and read cd's. Its has to do with the laser. For DVD an CD are two different laser and the one for DVD's has probably died in yours (as it did in mine). I bought an external LG burner and problem solved. (And a lot cheaper than replacing the superdrive)
Hope this helps you.
Robert

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Model Identifier: MacBookPro2,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.33 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
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