IMac plays commercial DVD/CDs, but not DVD-Rs

My iMac has been exuding random acts of weirdness over the last couple of months.
Today I find that my Superdrive won't accept DVD-Rs, blank or otherwise. Yes, I have the Matshita UJ-846 and I tried the usual fixes (safeboot, reset PRAM, changed DVD/CD settings to ignore, reset PMU, ran the diagnostic cd and even repaired the HD permissions.)
Anyone got any ideas?

I don't think this has anything to do with brand. I could see a few disks not working, but dozens?
But to test your theory I tried some movies burned on Fujifilm and Maxell DVD-Rs and none of them worked.

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My mini plays cds but not dvds. Wouldn't this indicate a software, not hardware problem?

Jeffrey Tashman wrote:
Wouldn't this indicate a software, not hardware problem?
Not necessarily, the drive uses a different laser to read DVDs.
1. Reset your Mac's PRAM > Resetting your Mac's PRAM
2. Clean the drive with a DVD lens cleaner?
Example > Amazon.com: Memtek 32020029479 CD and DVD Lens Cleaning Kit: Electronics

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I tried to update the firmware but ran into some strange issues. First of all according to google, the drive is manufactured by Panasonic. Toshiba doesn't make their own drives? For this reason I wonder if it is improperly detecting the drive make/model.
Anyways I downloaded the firmware update for it, version 1.03. It is a MAT**bleep**A UJDA760 (going from memory, model may be slightly diff like UDJA). When I run the firmware update it doesn't detect the drive at all and says it is for a THINKPAD?? Weird...
Also, if you have a link to a guide for removing this drive I would appreciate it. I want to verify that windows is detecting the model/maker correctly. It is not one of the simple hotswap types, it looks like I have to remove at least the entire bottom of the laptop.
I am working on this for a client, I do tech repair on craigslist but my laptop hardware expertise is limited most of my experience is with desktops.

joe7dust wrote:
I tried to update the firmware but ran into some strange issues. First of all according to google, the drive is manufactured by Panasonic. Toshiba doesn't make their own drives? For this reason I wonder if it is improperly detecting the drive make/model.
Anyways I downloaded the firmware update for it, version 1.03. It is a MAT**bleep**A UJDA760 (going from memory, model may be slightly diff like UDJA). When I run the firmware update it doesn't detect the drive at all and says it is for a THINKPAD?? Weird...
Also, if you have a link to a guide for removing this drive I would appreciate it. I want to verify that windows is detecting the model/maker correctly. It is not one of the simple hotswap types, it looks like I have to remove at least the entire bottom of the laptop.
I am working on this for a client, I do tech repair on craigslist but my laptop hardware expertise is limited most of my experience is with desktops.
Typically if the optical drive can read CDs but not DVDs (or vice versa), there has been a hardware failure of the DVD or CD circuitry. Drivers/firmware aren't going to solve the problem, only replacement of the drive.
Find the correct drive at http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/
Find unofficial disassembly instructions at http://www.irisvista.com/

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Do the DVD spit out right away? (indicates a bad loader mech)
OR do the DVD spit out after several seconds (indicates a dirty laser diode lens) ?

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Hi,
Sounds like hardware problem, not software. Please clean the lens first, please try:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzpHtTU1S7U
Regards.
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.

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The ONLY THING it won't do is play COMMERCIAL DVDs. I pop in a video DVD, it spins up, tries to read it, then spits it back out. Now, I know the not playing DVDs problem is not a unique one, but in reading on these forums, that seems to always be a symptom of the DVD laser diode having gone bad, which is certainly NOT the case here (as it's merrily burning away).
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I FIXED IT!!!!!!
I read somewhere else on this forum about someone having a similar problem to mine. He took the iMac to a service depot, but when he got it there, they couldn't replicate the problem. He took it home, and HE couldn't replicate the problem. As in, it was now fixed. Turns out that just unplugging the unit gave the Superdrive a chance to "reset."
So I unplug my iMac to test this out, as well as to see if I can unscrew the access panel to determine how easy it'd be to upgrade its RAM. Well, I could only get one of the screws out, but when I plugged it back in, turned it back on and popped in the collector's edition of "2001: A Space Odyssey," DVD Player came up and began playing the disc! Never has "Thus Sprach Zarathustra" sounded so amazing!
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