Optical drive slow/noisy

Hi, I saw a lot of other topics about the optical drive concerning the 10.4.6 update but I don't think my problem falls under that. About 6 weeks ago I sent my powerbook (15" 1.25 ghz superdrive) into apple after it had started to make a very loud buzzing/grinding noise and the computer was slow to respond. They sent it back after a few days and the technicians had replaced the hard-drive. The apple store genius however had insisted that the problem was the optical drive.
Everything seemed fine for a while until a few days ago when I noticed that it took around 2 mins for a CD to come up in iTunes. The optical drive was clicking away and spinning up and down and being generally wacky. Eventually the CD came up and it seemed ok. I ripped songs from the CD and now I notice in a few of the tracks there are little skips or blips of the song that are cut out for a split second and its not part of the music on the CD.
I've also had it simply eject the CD after 10 or so seconds of being in the drive. Also i've witnessed a song playing off of the CD then it stop for 10 seconds, then start playing again. Finally, the other day I stuck a DVD in to watch and the optical drive sounded like a lawnmower. It was very loud, vibrating my whole desk. I was scared but it calmed down after a minute or so and played the whole movie without any trouble. Right now its playing a CD and its making clicking and whirring noises more often than i've ever noticed.
I'm not sure about the burning capabilities. Thanks for any help, it's appreciated. I have applecare so if it needs serviced its not a problem.
Thanks again
Ben S.

Your drive may no longer be seating properly and the its connection has gone funky. Also there might be a firmware update for your computer/drive. Either way i'd head down to the apple store again and recreate the problem for them.
In the meantime you can repair permissions and run cron scripts. You could also do a hardware test to see if any errors are detected.

Similar Messages

Optical Drive Super Noisy.

I've listened to the recordings, thats how my drive used to sound. Not anymore, now it vibrates and sounds uber obnoxious. Like, head-turning obnoxious. I've only used regular-sized CD's in the drive, so I pose the question: why? And... what to do?
Thanks,
Matt

I think I am hearing the same noises you are. When I burn a CD through iTunes, it makes an awful buzzing sound that vibrates the whole computer. A few discs in particular also sound like they are scraping something after they are inserted.

Combo drive slow

recently, my combo drive has been importing and burning cds slower than it used to (about half the speed). i have repaired permissions, and i use onyx and macjanitor often. i wonder if i need to clean out some preferences or something, but i am at a loss. any ideas?
14 iBook, 933 MHz Mac OS X (10.3.9) 640 MB, Airport Extreme card

Have you seen the same results with a lot of different disks?
It wouldn't hurt to run a drive cleaning CD in the drive. It might be slow because the laser is having problems reading the disc and is forced to do a lot of error correction. I have not seen any reports of system updates causing optical drive slow-downs.
One way to test if it was caused by software update is to find another mac that does not have the same problem (and possibly hasn't been updated), boot it into Target Disk mode by holding down T while booting. Connect the two computers using a firewire cable. Then start up your computer while holding down the Option key. You should then see a few little icons of your HD and the other computer's HD. Click on the other computer's HD and then the arrow to boot from the other system. Now you can try to rip a CD using the other computer's system and your optical drive. If the drive reads faster now then problem is software and you'll possibly have to find a way to un-install some updates. If the drive acts the same then problem is likely hardware. Be sure to post your results here.

Slow read spead on new Pioneer 116D optical drive

I just added a second optical drive (Pioneer 116D) to my Mac Pro and I was expecting it to read faster than the 112D that came with the computer. However, I've been surprised to see that it's reading speed seems to be much slower, almost half of what the 112D is.
Any ideas on how I can fix this problem?

Hiya,
I know for my macbook, there was a superdrive firmware update.
Either manually check for "software updates" (ensuring you run a disk permissions REPAIR first from your disk utility) or have a look at these firmware updates and see if anything matches your new drive:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/firmware_hardware/
Apple machines still need sort of "drivers" (a piece of software that makes a piece of hardware work properly- except apple call these a much more interesting "firmware update"); drivers is so windows

Apple store installed optical drive replacement. It plays CD and DVD but will not let me change a DVD to .mp4 without stalling and or going very very slow. Can I fix the HL-DT-STDVDRW GA11NR?

Apple store installed optical drive replacement. It plays CD and DVD but will not let me change a DVD to .mp4 without stalling and or going very very slow. Can I fix the HL-DT-STDVDRW GA11NR? The Apple store is a two hundred mile one way trip.

I didn't imply anything; I simply explained the terms of the ToU here because you had not specified what you were trying to do. Most such related questions are about copying protected content and I would not appreciate having my post removed with the obligatory email from Apple because I violated the ToU. In any case, you can find dozens of threads googling (or here) about the newer burners being slow copying content if it is protected. FWIW, if the DVD was produced by a commercial outfit, they may have used some sort of protection or an unusual file format - that problem has been discussed here previously.
As for your slow burner - since we don't even know what type of Mac/model/year/OS you have, it is impossible to guess. If it's an iMac, those vertically installed burners are known to be less than perfect; the horizontally installed versions are better, but still not as good as an external. I've used an external burner for years.
As for the conversion time: the burner should have nothing to do with that; it is your software and your Mac's processor and amount of RAM that matter for conversions and rendering. I have no idea what you are using to burn the DVD. And, as a last consideration: you should always burn your content at a slow speed so you can avoid burn errors and have better results.
Good luck.

Optical Drive/s eject on startup - SSD Slow Boot time also

Hi guys,
Been researching this problem over and over with no avail.
I have installed a 240GB OWC 6GB SSD in this machine:
Mac Pro MID 2010
32 GB RAM
240 SSD
3 x 1T 7200 RPM Drives (bays 2 - 4)
8-Core 2.4
DVD Super drive
LG BluRay Drive
Sonnet USB 3.0 Card - (Nothing plugged in)
Black Magic Intensity Pro - (Nothing plugged in)
Stock Graphics Card
USB Keyboard (mac)
Trackpad
Wacom Bamboo Tablet
Software:
FCPX / Motion
Adobe Suite
Lion 10.7.3 FRESH / CLEAN
I have done a fresh install of lion 10.7.3!
I have selected my SSD as started up disk
I have reset the PRAM
I have reset SMC
I have no apps running at startup
I have trashed the prefs
I have run disk utility and repair permisions on the SSD boot Drive
I have let Onyx do its thing with cleanup etc.
When I boot, the white screen appears for upto 30sec - 1.5mins, once I see the apple logo, it takes about 10sec to give me desktop and all is good. Everything is lightning fast, and I couldn't imagine my machince lacking performance in any way besides boot time. Shutdown is approx 2 seconds.
It appears that it waits for other possible boot drives, then gives up and boots from the SSD.
Sometimes my optical drives open during white screen on boot???
Any suggestions to solve this?
Thanks

Me brain-storming & thinking out loud about how I would go about troubleshoot this:
Every time you zap pram you need to reset the default boot volume.
I never use Onyx after looking at it and keeping it around for awhile, I have mixed idea that people are looking for a problem to fix and do I trust it? gets mentioned enough.
LG BR - can you take that out of the picture to test with it not connected?
Wacom Tablet - take it out of the equation for testing
USB3 - CallDigit? that has USB3 + SATA and looks and sounds good.
Try w/o it also.
Just because there is nothing connected - I've seen a cable that just by being plugged in was the cause of slow boot.
Clone the OS to SSD? sounds like you didn't do that which in the past has had mixed results (sometimes with bad consequences and hard to know why, too many variables) but a clean install should be perfect. One person's though took "ages" to do what should have been very quick.
I assume you would also clone the SSD to backup as image or to another drive.
How does it boot from a 300GB partition off a platter?
3 x 1TB: are these an array? do any of them have a system on it? sounds like you don'[t as it might otherwise choose non-SSD boot drive.
An SSD from restart sometimes is fast(er) but from cold boot the system may not know it is there and how to send a signal to it?
What does OWC say? about SSD, about the USB3 card.
Even having 32GB RAM can take longer to POST.

Very noisy optical drive

Hi
Received my new Mac Pro a few day ago and have noticed that the optical drive likes to go into fits of absolute horrendous noise - I mean it sounds like its chewing the disc up inside. Sometimes it lasts a couple of minutes but other times it can last for over 10 (very noticable during the fresh install of Leopard). It definitly doesn't sound like a normal 'read' sound and is driving me crazy!
Is this the normal behaviour of a Mac Pro (my iMac and MacBook drives never sounded like this) or is this something that should be returned to Apple?
Thanks, Chris

Similar to a poster above, when I inserted a disk into my new Mac Pro 2009, it would churn and make a racket where I thought the disk was rattling around inside the caddy!! I slid out the optical drive mounting, loosened the four screws holding the drive into the bracket, then tightened them again, and lo - a near silent drive for a few minutes work.

Optical Drive REALLY SLOW!

I was ripping a CD in iTunes and all of the sudden, MY MACBOOK FROZE, I rebooted holding down the mouse button (to eject the cd), logged in, opened iTunes, and reinserted the CD, and it started to rip it again. I looked at the speed and it said 5.2X! Mine normally says around 30X!
WHY!!!!!

FWIW, to close out my query, the question has not been explicitly answered, but close enough. I returned the iMac to local Apple Store, well within the 14-day return period. I didn't want an exchange; I wanted a flat return and refund. After taking the iMac off to check for problems on the optical drive (which would determine whether I would have to pay the 10% open-box fee), the salesclerk soon returned to say I would not have to pay the fee. They also refunded the cost of the add-on ram I had them install at purchase (which he noted they don't usually do). A good-will gesture, I suppose. Works for me! Relieved to be getting a full refund, I didn't ask what they did or did not find wrong. While I haven't had success with either of my iMac buys, I can say the local Apple Store always does right by me.

Optical Drive = Noisy in Sleep

I'm really desperate for some help with this problem.
When I put my computer to sleep, the optical drive spins (like it is loading a CD). Sometimes it does it every five seconds, sometimes every 30 seconds, etc.
I've called AppleCare and they couldn't fix it. We tried several things.
I left it with a Mac-certified technician for over a week. They said they "couldn't replicate the problem" but reconnected some sensor cords and reinstalled my operating system.
The problem is back.
Anyone had this problem and had it resolved?
And what happens when both AppleCare via phone and Mac-certified techs can't fix it? This is the second MacBook I've had due to problems, and I'm finding this pretty ridiculous.

I am having the EXACT same problem.
Our MacBook was sent in for repair and they "did something". My calls to India and the US were not bvery illuminating.
I put the MacBook to sleep and then sometime during the next few hours it will spin the SuperDrive up for a 1/2 second.
Looking for answers.
thanks,
dave

Adata sp900 sdd 128-GB ssd, optibay optical drive to replace superdrive, and 16 GB upgrade for macbook pro mid 2012.

Hello everyone,
Thank you in advanced for all of the support. This is my first post to the communities. I just bought a 2.9 GHz core 17 processor MacBook pro mid 2012 13" with 8 GB of RAM and I am in the process of upgrading it. When I bought the MacBook pro originally, I was told that I would never mac out the performance because I do not do a lot of photo/video editing. This is true, but I am an academic researcher and tend to multitask often, having 20+ safari tabs open, SPSS (a statistical program), full screen mail app, full screen calendar app, and preview, iTunes open all at the same time. I often get slow performance and error messages that state low memory. This is why I am interested in upgrading the laptop. I am getting ready to go to medical school and I want to have a powerful laptop. I also want to future proof because I plan on having a dual boot system to mac OS and windows OS.
Because I know I will be maxing out the performance of the computer, I want to take full advantage of upgrades, especially now because the cost of the components is reasonable at the moment. The following are the proposed upgrades:
1. Upgrade my current 8-GB ram (2x4-GB) with 16-GB ram (2x8-GB). I plan on using crucial RAM.
Crucial 16-GB Ram: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008LTBJFW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&coli d=2B1KHELSPJPNN&coliid=IYGJWGQDH8LV0&psc=1
2. Replace my optical drive with a hard drive. I will place a SSD into my current hard drive position and then install my current HDD into the optical drive bay with the optibay optical drive caddy. I am doing this because I plan to use the SSD as the boot drive and my current HDD as my backup and files drive. I am putting the SDD into the HDD because I have read it is better to place it in this bay for performance. I will put the other HDD in the optical drive because the performance of that one will not be as important.
Adata SSD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008LTBJFW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&coli d=2B1KHELSPJPNN&coliid=IYGJWGQDH8LV0&psc=1
Optibay Optical Drive Caddy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058AH2US/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&coli d=2B1KHELSPJPNN&coliid=I3GI8MGWAKXY79
My questions:
1. Is the listed RAM appropriate and sufficient for my MacBook pro?
2. Is the listed SSD appropriate and sufficient for my MacBook pro?
3. Is the listed Optical Drive Caddy appropriate and sufficient for my MacBook pro?
4. Is there still a firmware problem that does not allow for SATA 3 (6Gb/s) support in the optical drive?
5. Would it be easier to format the new SSD outside of the MacBook using a SATA to USB adapter?
6. Does working on any of the listed components void my AppleCare (I plan on keeping all of the original components so I can replace them, if I ever need to see apple support)?
7. What is the best way to put Mavericks onto the SSD to make this my boot drive?
8. What is the best way to make all of my files remain on the HDD, but link to the SSD with the operating system?
9. Has anyone ever successfully upgraded to 16-GB RAM and used their optical drive for a secondary hard drive?
10. Is there any miscellaneous advice for this project?
Please feel free to give partial answers. I know this was a lot of information, but I wanted to be efficient in my post. I am very appreciative of everyone who will contribute.
Thank you!

rmichaud91 wrote:
Hello everyone,
I just bought a 2.9 GHz core 17 processor MacBook pro mid 2012 13" with 8 GB of RAM
16 GB of RAM is the best you can do.
The optibay HD will null and void your warranty.

CD/DVD Optical drive appears and then disappears, replacement also does not show up

My laptop: HP Pavilion dv9601AU
I have read a similar post here but my problem is different. My problem is that the DVD drive *sometimes* show up in My Computer and *sometimes* dont. Even the BIOS does not detect it. When I formatted my laptop with Windows 7, to my surprise it was gone. But it appeared again and I somehow installed all the required drivers from my driver DVD.... then it dissapered again. It never came back.
Failed attempt 1: I tried to re-format the PC using virtual drive but the problem persists.
Failed attempt 2: Thinking it to be a physical loose connection, I took it to local HP service station, they removed the drive, put it back firmly, but in vain.
Failed attempt 3: They attached other similar optical drive but to my surprise, the new drive was also not detected.
Failed attempt 4: I tried Microsoft's "Fix It" thing and also read about removing "upper filters" and "lower filters" in registry. However, I didnt have any of those filters entry in the first place so no question about making changes to the registry.
Facts:
1) The drivers are installed. There should not be any problem with the drivers.
2) The lens is perfect. I was able to install all the drivers from DVD when the drive appeared for a short period of time.
3) The HP logo tht appears upon starting the laptop lingers for a longer period of time compared to what it was doing so when the drive was fine.
4) The boot menu does not show the optical drive.
5) I live in India where normal room temperatures go upto 42 degrees Celcius and my laptop gets much much warm most of the times. I think some damage has been done to the internal circuitry.
Please, if somebody can provide me a solution to this. How can I get back my DVD Drive working. The support personnel here are having no clue (especially after learning the fact that their new optical drive also didnt show up) I hope I get some guidance from you guys as what should I do next. Please help me.
Message Edited by jal_desai on 10-09-2009 06:51 AM

I am having the exact same problem with my customer's dvd drive sometimes showing up during boot (BIOS) and sometimes not. Also ran full system diagnostic software and everything else tests fine, although the drive is not showing present. I have also tried 2 different drives but they do the same thing. I would go on to say that if you always left the dvd drive out of the laptop, your boot problems would probably go away. This would then tell you that it's not your drive at all, but the connections on the MOBO or the traces (wires) connecting the drive to the MOBO.
I work on computers and have for several years and most times this is related to a MOBO issue since that is the only item left in this situation. You know it's not the drive since it's been replaced with the same issue so drivers/firmware are not the case. I am assuming you have already updated the BIOS as well, but this shouldn't matter. There could be a dirty contact, faulty component, or a bad trace (wire) on the MOBO which is almost always harder to fix and is better to just replace the MOBO. However, replacing the MOBO is usually expensive when you have to buy the part and then pay someone to install it making it not usually the best option. Even if it is a dirty contact, it was probably caused by something that was spilled which could cause problems later. In this case, I am probably just going to recommend disabling the internal dvd drive and buying a slim external usb dvd drive, and then saving their money for a new laptop. You will still have to wait through a slower boot while staring at the HP screen, but I don't think replacing the MOBO is the most economical thing to do, unless you are the manufacturer and have several laying around.
I know this isn't good news, but it is what I've found to be the case in my experiences. Anybody else care to chime in?

Optical drive scratching new dvd's

I bought my macbook (black) back in June while on vacation and was able to watch a dvd on it in the airport on the way home. When I got home and watched another dvd I noticed it was scratched after watching it. I wasn't sure if it was already scratched or not, so I put in a new dvd and the macbook scratched it to the point it wasn't able to be read anymore. I took it in and they replaced the drive. Since then I have had another two disks get scratched, both of them new. I took it back in and had the drive replaced yet again. I just started watching another new movie and I heard a funny noise so I ejected the dvd. Again it was scratching the disk. I don't understand why this is happening. Any suggestions? (Yes I know I am a slow learner, but I keep hoping that a product this expensive won't eat dvd's.)
I don't know how many times apple is willing to replace an optical drive. Like I said, this is the third drive I am on. I have had my computer in the shop more than I have been able to use it!
black macbook Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2 GHz intel core duo, 512 MB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Windows XP

I have heard that moving the laptop will make the scratching worse. I could accept that as the cause if I was actually moving the computer when it scratches the disks, but that has not been the case when mine have been scratched. I don't understand why it scratches in the first place. Cars have cd and dvd players in them all the time and they don't seem to have those problems.

Hard Drive Corrupted - No Disc or Optical Drive Available.

HI all,
Just looking for some advice. I have a MacBook Pro (15-inch) Early 2011. I think it was Snow Leopard installed.
Yesterday, the hard drive came to the end of it's life. During use the computer started to make a buzzing sound every two seconds or. I'm not an expert, but I would go with it being the hard drive.
I currently live in China & the internet is very slow, yet the only way to get to DU is via the internet recovery. I attempted to 'repair' the disk, but it syas the 'Macintosh HD etc etc is corrupted'. In your experience would you believe this siffucient evidence to place it at the door of a HD failure?
THe info on there, I can deal with losing. Hopefully I can somehow get music from my iPad back onto the new HD.
I will purchase a new HD & I feel competent enough to fit it in the laptop. I then have a couple of issues. I have left the OSX disc in England. I have no access to it. My optical drive is also broken after a student tried to put a mini-disc in there. That said, how will I be able to install an operating system? Is it possible to do via an imternet link, USB drive?
Unfortunately I cannot speak Chinese well enough to get an expert in. I would like to do this as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Please note, I have no access to the OSX discs & my optical drive is broken.
Thank you for any advice.
Regards,
Stuart.

Snow Leopard is installed only via a disk. You would have either get duplicate disks from Apple or find Snow Leopard disks that are for the EXACT same model as yours.
The other option is to try to clone Mavericks (10.9) into your MBP from another Mac. Downloaded from the Internet, Mavericks will have all of the necessary drivers for your MBP but I am not certain if that will be the case if another Mac is the source.
Ciao.

Replacing the Optical Drive on my iMac G4

Disclaimer: Apple does not necessarily endorse any suggestions, solutions, or third-party software products that may be mentioned in the topic below. Apple encourages you to first seek a solution at Apple Support. The following links are provided as is, with no guarantee of the effectiveness or reliability of the information. Apple does not guarantee that these links will be maintained or functional at any given time. Use the information below at your own discretion.
Some of the earliest DVD burners went in to the +iMac (Flat Panel)+ model Macs and many users are now reporting problems with their original drives.
Your initial fault finding should include:
Using a drive cleaning disc to ensure there isn't dust build up on the lens.
Try functionality in another OS X user account.
Ensure that the media you are using is suitable. For example, the maximum write speed for the original drives is 4x DVD-R and these drive cannot burn DVD+R or DVD+RW media.
Revert to a recent, known good, clone of your system (i.e. from a previous software state).
<hr width="200">
If it becomes apparent that a replacement is required outside warranty there are two broad options:
Internal.
Most replacement optical drive models should work under Tiger/Leopard fine. Patchburn will enable operation in Panther/Jaguar.
The DVR-115 (20x DVD±RW DL for $35) has been proved good by several users and is great value.
It's fiddly to work inside an iMac G4 so you must be very cautious, especially around the video cable. Always take anti-static precautions. Here are two options for guiding you through the procedure:
MacWorld
xlr8yourmac
There are also some additional photos which you can find here.
Its worth reading the reports on the xlr8yourmac drive database to get other people's experiences before you commence.
You must replace the Thermal Paste when you close the iMac up or it will overheat.
It's probably worth replacing the PRAM Battery whilst you're in there as these have a finite life (once they fail to re-charge you may start to run into problems - it's only a $5 part).
External.
Certainly a whole lot less effort to install. Should you upgrade to an Intel iMac / Mac Mini / MacBook / MacBook Pro / MacBook Air in the future you'll have access to this faster desktop-spec tray loading drive rather than the slower laptop-spec slot drive installed in these current Macs. This means you'll get 20x burning versus 8x and be able to use small-size and mis-shapen discs.
Here's one example - 20x DVD±RW DL burner again:
OWC - External Optical Drive
Links provided are examples and not specific recommendations of a particular product or retailer.
mrtotes
Do you want to provide feedback on this User Contributed Tip or contribute your own? If you have achieved Level 2 status, visit the User Tips Library Contributions forum for more information.

You can probably just tape it down with package sealing tape. I would just re-use the old stuff. On my recent upgrade, my tape just barely had enough sticky left.
Edit:
Here is a source I found:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,pickups/Supplies:_Shielding/Conductive_CopperTape.html
Pretty cheap, too.
Message was edited by: Keith Barkley

[X301] Laptop doesn't recognize optical drive! Help!

Hello,
my ThinkPad X301 2774-LFG doesn't recognize the optical drive! Can anyone help me???
Informations about the ThinkPad
1.) Newest BIOS is installed (1.02 (6EET21WW) 2008-10-09)
2.) BIOS-Option Security->I/O Port Access-> Optical Drive is ENABLED
3.) Laptop starts fast without Drive and very slow with Drive in Bay
4.) No Drive in 'Boot Device List' when Drive is installed
5.) all other BIOS-values standard too
6.) No drive recognition in Vista (ultimate 32bit)
7.) PC Doctor show no defects
8.) Lenovo sent new drive, but it's all the same
Is the board defective or are there still other possible reasons for this problem???
Regards
Volker
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hello Volker, welcome to Lenovo forums!
Unfortunately it seems you have already tried everything to force it to work.
If it´s not recognised in bios, I would suggest to call support.
You might try a Linux live CD, but there´s no really hope
and you already know it too, as an experienced ThinkPad user, I think.
Follow @LenovoForums on Twitter! Try the forum search, before first posting: Forum Search Option
Please insert your type, model (not S/N) number and used OS in your posts.
I´m a volunteer here using New X1 Carbon, ThinkPad Yoga, Yoga 11s, Yoga 13, T430s,T510, X220t, IdeaCentre B540.
TIP: If your computer runs satisfactorily now, it may not be necessary to update the system.
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Optical drive slow/noisy

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