New Macbook optical drive is...selective.

Hi there,
I was hoping you could help me out. I just got my new Macbook delivered to me a few days ago and it seems my optical drive is having issues.
It will read:
- burnt audio CD
- regular dvd (Nirvana Unplugged)
- burnt dvd (Data...House ep's)
It won't read:
- burnt data CD (with programs on it...)
- burnt data CD (with a video on it...)
Anyone else having this issue or know what could be up? It's really frustrating...
Many thanks for taking the time to read this.
Alisaan

Update - took the Macbook to the apple store and they agreed I had a wonky optical drive so they put my hard drive into a new Macbook.

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MacBook optical drive has started making noises at wake and restart

This MacBook is about 5 months old and the optical drive has just started making noises at wake from sleep, or at restart. There is no disc loaded in the drive, but the noise is as though a disc has been inserted in the drive and it is attempting to read it. This goes on for about 5 to 10 seconds, then stops.
The optical drive seems to work fine, reads CDs and DVDs no problem. This isn't a glaring issue, I'm just trying to determine if it is the precursor to a mechanical problem, or is possibly some sort of software glitch. Thanks for help if this rings a bell with anyone.

I posted this to a different thread earlier today. I will add that most of the experience I've had with this issue is in Tiger or Leopard. I don't think I've seen it yet with Snow Leopard. My instincts tell me it is more of a hardware issue than a software/OS issue. (Just my $0.02.)
I have seen this many times. (I support 100+ Mac Laptops, most are 13" MacBooks.)
Just to clarify, MacBook optical drives do normally make some quiet noises when waking from sleep.
When there is a CD or DVD in the drive, there are some soft sounds, and then you hear the disc spin up. When there is not a disc in the drive you hear a different sound. I assume it is relating to checking for a disc in the drive. To me, it sounds exactly the same as the quiet sounds you hear right before the "Good Chime" when you power up.
BUT, sometimes MacBooks make a much louder noise, that is similar the sound you hear when you insert or eject a CD or DVD, only sort of "doubled". Usually you hear it when waking from sleep, but I have also experienced it happen intermittently when the MacBook is turned on, under normal use, or not being used (but not sleeping or waking from sleep).
In the past, I have sometime cured it with a reset of the SMC and PRAM. This has not always worked. I have also seen it disappear after inserting a disc into the drive. Most of the time, the sound has returned some time later. I have called Apple on this issue several times, and sent the MacBook in for repair. My memory is that they have replaced the optical drive under AppleCare.
I will add that I have recently seen this Knowledge Base Article (below), with instructions for "resetting" the optical drive on a MacBook Pro, but it did work for me on a MacBook 13". Insert a disc halfway, take it back out, then put it in all the way.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2839
Past experience tells me not to be surprised if the noise resurfaces. My advice is call Apple if you have AppleCare, or if the MacBook is under one year old.
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My Macbook's optical drive won't accept CD's. It spits them back out. And for DVD's, it just makes a loud noise and vibrates and doesn't spit them out. So then I have to restart my computer and hold the eject button to get them out. Please help, I just got new CD's and movies for Christmas and am dying to play them. Thanks.

Here are Apple's troubleshooting steps......
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2801

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Superdrives, yes, fixed many of them (Panasonic made)
1. Disc ejects after several seconds its a dirty laser diode lens (7 times out of 10)
2. ejects immediately its a damaged loader (also usually makes nasty loader arm noises)
VERY ODD you have 2 not working at the same time....
Your indication is a dirty laser diode lens on one and a damaged loader on the other (possibly,....online diagnosis is less than perfect)
Fixing these is both fairly good news.
good news is a NEW one is only $40 if out of warranty (not including the cost of someone to install it for you)
Superdrive are a hair complex inside mechanically, .....fixing them is usually a "what for" for most part, since a new one is only $40
you have options for Apple to replace it or another if you are out of warranty (most likely)
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Superdrive

Problem installing Mac OSX on my new MacBook hard drive...

Hi,
i am beside myself again...(i just visited my local Genius bar this afternoon). Any help would be most appreciated! :o)
i purchased a 2.5 inch SATA Fujitsu 120GB laptop hard drive for my new MacBook. Followed the awesome* instructions on "how to replace/upgrade hard drive", and took out the original Toshiba HD. What the instructions* failed to mention was that i would eventually need to use a Torx screwdriver (star-shaped) to remove the caddy/carriage from the Toshiba HD. Got that the next day and replaced the Toshiba 80GB with my new 120GB Fujitsu drive..., it slipped into place nicely but i did notice that the Toshiba had four short wires protruding out to the right of the contacts, which my new Fujitsu didn't have... hmmmm...?!
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i figured that had to do with the four little wires, so i replaced the original Toshiba and made a reservation with Genius Bar to ask for assistance.
this afternoon, i explained my problem and was told the four wires have NOTHING to do with it... Lawrence (the genius) told me to (actually, first he said Apple does not recommend my doing this... and that i should go to a 3rd party computer store such as Dino to get help!) go back to disk utilities and partition, then erase this drive and then i will see the icon for this drive in the install box.
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ps. please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you think that would be better! :o)

Hi,
...after getting back from school, my MacBook was STILL in the process of verifying and "supposedly" repairing... since i was gone for over 10 hours, i finally assumed the drive was either defective or just incompatible, and quit disk utility.
...this morning i went out and bought a new Seagate 120GB SATA (they didn't have 160GB SATA drives, only 160GB ultra-ATA drives) 2.5 inch HD. This one DID have those four wires to the right of the contacts... (i don't know how important they are), and after changing and exchanging the Toshiba/Fujitsu HDs, it was a breeze putting in the new Seagate drive.
Erased > patritioned > and sure enough, the icon showed up and the biggest smile showed up on my face as i finished installing! :o)
I contacted the original seller of my fujitsu hd (it was a 2.5 inch, 120GB, serial ATA notebook drive) and he was kind enough to say "just pack it up and send it back for a refund!" (minus shipping and re-stocking fees of course! :o)
Just wanted to mention that, the fujitsu hd WAS recognized by disk-utility and at the bottom left of the window it said that the fujitsu was "GUID partitioned"..., so i am still scratching my head as to why it didn't work?!
I want to thank everyone that offered advice, it was helpful and i feel more comfortable with my MacBook after this trying and very frustrating episode! :o)
blue skies,

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I put a DVD into the optical drive of my Macbook Pro and, at first, it worked normally, playing the DVD and displaying the disk on the Desktop, but now it doesn't display on the Desktop, so I can't eject it.
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Five ways to eject a stuck CD or DVD from the optical drive
Ejecting the stuck disc can usually be done in one of the following ways:
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2. Press the Eject button on your keyboard.
3. Click on the Eject button in the menubar.
4. Press COMMAND-E.
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Hi Everybody,
So I put a CD in my CD/DVD drive on my white 2009 Macbook and it made a funny sound. The CD did not register with the system. And when I open Disk Utility, it doesn't recognize the optical drive at all.
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Are the files there somewhere hidden away?

Check here, Pondini has extensive info on TM:
http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

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Boris

Thank you very much for your answers. Well, you know, I'm from Europe and I'm used to use Windows for several years. My MacBook is my wedding present and It's one beautifull, good and quality "gadget". I saw many good and intuitive solutions in Mac OS, but I simply don't have enough time to learn a new operating system. So, I made a 100Gb big windows partition and everything works just fine, except unnormal lenght of DVD writing. I also suspect that my problem has something to do with the drivers supplied by Apple for the drive, but one of the guys on our forum has MacBook Pro and no problems with writing DVDs in windows. So ... what can I do. Buy an external drive? It's a non sympatic idea at all . Thx anyway, if you maybe know, how could I get appropriates drivers for Windows ... I'd appreciate it a lot.
Sorry, if I make grammar mistakes, my residence is Slovenia, Europe

New Macbook optical drive is...selective.

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