Reading DVDs but not CDs

I'm having the same problem. I have tried repairing disk permissions, as well as a cleaning disc... but to no avail. Someone please help. I can't afford to replace my optical drive.

Eric Westby wrote:
CMCSK wrote:
Apple Portables: Troubleshooting the slot load optical disc drive
Unfortunately that article seems to be MIA. Maybe a typo in the URL?
Works for me. Here is the URL in case it does not work for anyone else - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2801

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Will read DVDs but not CDs

I have a satellite a305-s6872 that will read dvds but not cds. It was reading cds the last time I tried (October) but now it's not. This means that I can't play or burn cds. It also means that I can't install any programs that come on a cd. Please help!

I have the same problem. It reads DVDs, and rejects CDs, even perfect/new CDs.
Apple Support told me there will soon be a software update (in a week?) to fix this problem, but I am not convinced.

Drive reading DVDs but not CDs

My disc drive does not read ANY CDs but does read DVDs. I dont feel that it is 'broken' in the normal sense as it still instantly recognizes my DVDs but for CDs it eats it, spins it three times, and spits it back out. is this a problem I can fix with a software update or with an easy fix in some options menu? thanks in advance for any help

That is too funny. I've just blew some air in the optical drive with that http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Giottos-Rocket-Air-Blower-Review.aspx and it is working now! : )

Why my brandnew L10-193 reads DVDs but NOT CDs?

Tehnical support of the company I bought the laptop said "this is not possible", but it is a fact. My laptop simlpy does not read CDroms, although it has no problem to read DVDs. I use Windows XP. Is it a technical defect?
by the way, it took me about 30 minutes to register myself in order to be able to attend this forum.. throught the registration-over-registration-line. very burocratic.
[Edited by: admin]

Hi
First of all I dont find that this forum or the login procedure is bureaucratic.
For me it was very simply and short login procedure.
But now something about your drive issue:
Did you test the drive with different CDs? Audio, data, etc
But nevertheless, try to remove the drive from the device manager. After rebooting, the OS should recognize the drive again. If after this procedure the drive will not read the CDs so in my opinion there is a lens calibration problem. I dont know why it is happened but the unit is under warranty. In this case the drive replacement will be done for free.

IMac reads DVDs, but not CDs

My computer will mount and open DVDs, no problem, but will not mount CDs, and will eventually eject them. I tried several CDs, including DiskWarrior, and music CDs. They are all ejected, except DW sometimes will just keep going (never getting past the gray Apple logo). I have run Disk Utility and repaired permissions, I've run DW (on my hard drive) and repaired permissions, I have reset PRAM and NVRAM, and CDs still won't be read. Is this broken hardware that needs to be replaced, or is there something else to try?

Try going to System Preferences +CDs & DVDs+ pane. Try changing one of the settings, such as +When you insert a music CD+ to Ignore. Try inserting a music CD to see if it is accepted and mounted (not eventually ejected). If that works, set it back to whatever it was before and try other types of CDs to see if they are now also accepted.
If that does not help, as a test, create a new admin user account in System Preferences Accounts pane.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8235.html
Log out and log in to the new account. See if you have the same issue in the new account, or if things work as they should.
If it works fine in the new account, you have narrowed down the cause to something in your normal user account. The hardware and overall system are OK.
If the problem recurs on the new account, the problem is more likely to be caused by some issue with the overall system, or possibly hardware.

Superdrive reads Dvds but not cds?

I am a new convert from PCs. 2 days ago I bought a new Imac G5 it plays dvds without a problem but when I put in a blank CD or even a regular CD it takes about 30sec and just spits it out. It doesn't even show up on the desktop? Whats wrong? I update the mac. Some1 Plz help!!!

In the System Preference panels, there is one named CDs & DVDs
and it is possible the computer has been set to Ignore or eject blank
media of this type; since that option exists in this control panel.
System Preferences should be available in the menu beneath the
Blue Apple, and also in the Dock.
{PS: Where did you get a 'new iMac G5' in these days of Intel® iMacs?}
Good luck & happy computing!
edited.

DR8-A will read DVDs but not CDs

After a few months of use my MSI DR8-A has just stopped reading cds in both windows and dos. I hadn't installed or removed anything and I have flashed the drive to the most recent version. I'm assuming the cd laser is either dirty or knackered, but if anyone has any ideas...

Replacment drive has the same issues, I did upgrade the Firmware to 1.5 and it seems better. I will give it some time to test, first reaction is not favorable...

IMac will play DVDs but not CDs

My 2009 iMac will play DVDs but not CDs (bought music CDs and burnt CDs). The last time I tried (successfully) was December 2013. Can anyone help?

Start a new topic and don't hijack this one. You're problem is different from the OPs. When you start the new topic give your system version, iMac year and model and what type of CDs you can't read, i.e. commercial or those you created yourself. Also if you can read DVDs.

HP Pavilion DV7 2206TX - DVD drive reads DVDs but not CD's

My HP Pavilion DV7 2206TX - DVD drive reads DVDs but not CD's.
When I insert a CD, the drive tries very hard to read the CD but gives up after about a minute.
I get no error message. I do not see the Auto play message.
Windows Explorer does not recognize the DVD drive.
When I insert a DVD, I get the Autoplay menu, Windows Explorer recognize the drive and the DVD. I can play the DVD using any number of Video players.
I would welcome advice relating this problem.

your HP Pavilion needs a new DVD driver. I ran into many problems such as this when troubleshooting computers in school.
A DVD drive should play CD at any time: While a CD driver will not play a DVD disc. Do not think there is a problem with sofware because it will only throw your troubleshooting skills out the window and it will confuse you.

Dvd Drive Reads Dvd but not burning Dvd

Product Name:HP Pavilion 15 Notebook PC
Operating System: Windows 8 Pro 64-bit
Optical DriveVD-RAM UJ8DB
problem: Dvd drive reads Dvd but fails to burn Dvd.I can hear a noise from Dvd drive when i insert a blank Dvd to burn.
Noise keeps running until i remove Dvd from Dvd drive. please help

Help us to help you by posting the following information.
1. The complete Model Name. or Product Number. of the notebook - see This HP web document if you don't how to locate the model number and\or product number.
2. The complete version and name of the operating system you are using ( ie Windows 7 64bit ).
3. Is your notebook still covered under warranty? Check your warranty status Here.
****Please click on Accept As Solution if a suggestion solves your problem. It helps others facing the same problem to find a solution easily****
2015 Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience Consumer

MacBook SuperDrive Reads/Writes DVDs but not CDs

The SuperDrive on my first-gen MacBook (bought May 2006, Intel Core Duo) is acting up, but in the opposite direction of what you might expect: It can read and write DVDs, but fails on all forms of CDs: it cannot mount commercially-produced audio CDs or CD-ROMs, nor any form of CD-R (blank or previously written). It ***** them in, spins a bit, hesitates and then finally spits them out after a minute or so.
But it can read all sorts of DVDs (video and data), whether commercially stamped or home burned. And it can write to DVD-R. Pretty much the opposite of what you might expect if the lens was dirty or some other mechanical problems - since one would assume that the DVD mode would require higher tolerances than CD modes. And yes, I've used a CD lens cleaner just to be sure.
Suggestions?

Thanks - so does that mean a SuperDrive has two different lasers, one for CD media and the other for DVDs? I guess I assumed there would just be one (for the DVD) that was downward-compatible so it could also read CDs.
I've done a lot of searching, and I've seen many cases where a drive fails to work with DVDs but still works with CDs ... but not the other way around (which is my situation).

Satellite A210-12U - DVD RW Drive will recognise DVDs but not CDs

I've got a 4yr-old Toshiba Satellite laptop (Model: A210-12U) which I recently restored using the recovery CD - it's running Vista SP2.
Please bear with me as this may be a long-ish story, but it helps to explain my problem.
Around a year ago, a virus made its way onto my laptop and almost destroyed the OS - I'd consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable software-wise having studied IT at college, and so set about the long process of trying to fix my laptop without resorting to the recovery CD.
It was a patch job, but after a month or so I had it working again and it was fine for a further few months or so, before I noticed that my DVD RW Drive would no longer read and/or burn CDs. I spent hours trawling internet forums for help without any luck and was subsequently convinced that it was a hardware problem.
As I needed to use a CD burner, my cousin lent me his USB DVD RW drive and this didn't work, meaning that logic suggested it wasn't a physical problem with the drive, rather that it was more likely a problem with the registry/OS. This wasn't surprising seeing as I'd done a basic patch job following the virus infection a few months earlier.
After becoming increasingly frustrated with my laptop in general, I backed up my data onto a portable HD and used the recovery CD which came with my laptop. The laptop booted the CD up when it was outside of the OS (as per the instructions that came with it) and restored the entire computer to its original state (and solving a lot of the problems that were caused by the virus in the process).
I've spent the last week re-installing programs, copying back data etc. and was in the process of installing some software from a CD today, when I noticed that the laptop was having difficulties accessing the drive. Windows Explorer knows the drive is there; it is listed in "My Computer" and will also have the little CD icon alongside the pointer when it is trying to load the CD up - suggesting it knows there is a CD in there.
However, the drive itself will still read DVDs which suggests it could be a physical problem with the drive itself (I read somewhere about the laser having to change its angle accordingly when reading CDs and DVDs). I question this however, as the computer was able to read the recovery CD when I was in the process of a complete restore (and it was having the same difficulties reading CDs in Windows before the restore).
I've tried all the methods suggested in similar posts on this forum - Microsoft Fix It, Uninstalling the drivers etc. to no avail... So yes, I am pretty much stumped and am wondering if anyone can help?
The DVD RW Drive is listed in the Device Manager as HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-T20N ATA Device.
Thanks,
Ben

Hi Ben
In my opinion it is hardware related issue. You are right about lens position. It must be calibrated for CDs and also for DVD. If the optical disc drive cannot read one of these medias in general it can be lens calibration problem.
To be honest ODDs for this old A210 are not expensive anymore. I recommend you to buy new one or used one on eBay. Exchange it and test the functionality.
To be honest I dont believe there is some trick that can help you to get it working again.

My Imac wasn't read DVD but not in VCD and CD

Hi everybody,
I bought an Imac 24" 2.8GHZ one month ago, serial is : YM845*ZE4. The first time I used , no problem with superdrive , can read smoothly DVD also with VCD and CD. but 2 days ago , i did a mistake , i deleted 2 files in HD name is : mach_kernel and mach_kernel.ctfsys . Right now, i can not read any DVD , but VCD and CD is no problem .My Imac stills have guaranty 11 months .So right now anybody can help me, how to fix this problem ? And i want to know what's happen ?Is it cuz hardware or software ? should I bright to apple care ?Is it because I deleted 2 files or because the ROM have problem ?
Thanks a lot ....
siusiu5445.

I already do it (rebuild my system with OSX). Yesterday , I was check again and I found the 2 files I deleted before but now all that files is hidden. The Rom nothing change ! still can not read DVD . I already think about bring my Imac to Apple Care . I think the Rom is failed .
Anybody have suggest ?
Thanks a lot !

Can Mount DVDs but not CDs!

The subject line says it all. DVDs mount fine, CDs try for a while, then are ejected.
Suggestions would be appreciated.

Welcome to the Apple discussions.
When you click on system preferences (light switch with the apple on it) and then click CDs & DVDs, what does it say for when you insert a blank/music/picture CD?

EMac plays DVDs but not CDs

All of a sudden my 2nd hand eMac (G4 (3.3) 1GHz 1GB RAM) has stopped accepting CDs. When I insert either a music CD or a blank disk it sounds as if the Mac is trying to access whats on it but then spits it out.
This started a few days ago when the sound quality started to go in the middle of a Megadeth disk (no comments please!).
It does still accept and play DVDs perfectly well.
I've tried a number of things: repair permissions; resetting pram and nvram etc. I can't clean it because the same thing happens with the cleaning CD!
Any help or suggestions gratefully received.
cheers,
Steven
eMac G4 (3.3) 1GHz 1GB Mac OS X (10.3.9)

hi steven-
i would try a number of things before purchasing an external burner. first try booting to open firmware by holding apple-option-o-f and type in the following commands--
set-defaults (hit return)
reset-all (hit return)
the second command restarts the computer. even though part of the firmware would have been reset by your prior troubleshooting, this is more extensive. as well, try resetting the pmu. instructions are located in step 6 of this article. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=34885 your emac is a later model than this, and the button is located on the right, not the left side. another thing you could do is booting to the install disk and running disk repair. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214 make sure it is the install disk for the current operating system. let me know if any of this makes any difference. good luck. [ 8 ) ]

Reading DVDs but not CDs

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