Usb superdrive won't burn cd

When I try to burn a cd using my external usb superdrive I get an error: "The attempt to burn a disc failed. An unknown error oc
curred (-3)."
I have tried numerous discs and get the same error. The drive reads pre-recored music cds and dvds...just doesn't burn.
Any ideas.
Thank you

Hi Steve.
I'd try an optical drive cleaning kit. It may just be a dirty laser. Doing this has been known to resurrect drives before.
Incidentally, I think it is better to let the software determine the burn speed, by having automatic as the setting.

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My usb superdrive won't let me eject a disc

I recently purchased a usb superdrive so I could watch dvds on my macbook air. I watched one movie and went to watch another one which was a pirated copy of a movie! Once I put the movie in it didn't work and every time I try to eject the disc the cursor turns into that rainbow spinning circle. As well as my computer stuffing up and I have to shut it down to get it back to functionality again! I also tired command E and that didn't work either someone please help?

DavidMacApr 4, 2015 12:49 PM Re: My USB SuperDrive won't recognize or eject a disc. What can I do?
Re: My USB SuperDrive won't recognize or eject a disc. What can I do?in response to GR Red Wings Fan
I too had a major problem with the Apple External Superdrive not ejection many of my DVD and CD disks. I would have to turn the dive upside down to get it to eject the disk in it …. completely unacceptable coming from Apple. You would have thought they would have bench tested the current Superdrive design, and fixed this issue before releasing it for sale.
Well, it looks like they may have tried to make a fix on some of the more recently produced Superdrives, I'll explain ….
If you are able to open the bottom plate of the Superdrive, take it off, you'll see that Apple has placed a small black foam square pad (about 1/2" square), at the top of the internal unit (at the top near the entrance slot). This small square foam rubber pad is not evident on some earlier Apple Superdrive units, indicating that Apple had figured out the internal unit was "hanging up" some disks inside by not being aligned with the slot properly (the tolerances were obviously designed very tight by Apple. So what they did was a "fix" where a piece of rubber was added to the internal component, that raise the internal drive better to allow the disc to eject better.
Here's the problem though, I my case, I had that small rubber piece in my Superdrive …. but it was still not ejecting discs like it should.
So after looking around youtube, I got an idea from a youtube video (thanks to "TheHobbieCollector"), and did it one better.
What needs to be done is just to follow-up on Apple's "fix" effort, but one better. The small rubber pad just needs to be "boosted" by placing another small rubber/foam pad (the same thickness), on top of the existing one (or a double thickness pad if your unit has no small rubber pad in the first place).
I hope the following photos are self-explaining as to what has to be done to "fix" the Apple Superdrive "ejecting" issue. I immediately noticed I had practically no more "eject" issues after having performed this single "fix" … but yes, I still have that rear occasion to have to turn the drive upside down to eject a stubborn disc … but this is very very rear for me after the "fix".
Hope this helps all with the same Superdrive "eject" issue
1. Before opening the bottom plate, protect it from scratching …. open with a thin dinner knife or putty blade.
2. This is what the bottom plate looks like, taken off, Note where the metal clips are located
   3. Note the two small locator pins in the front of the bottom plate. It's important these are put in first
        and correctly located when putting the bottom plate back on.
4. This is a close-up of what the bottom plate clips look like. They are metal and pretty strong.
5. This is the small rubber pad I mentioned, Some early Superdrives may not have this.
    6. Another angle view of the "original Apple pad applied to the inside unit.
7. The FIX … Applied another (same thickness as original), over the Apple original pad. This gave enough
        of a "boost in internal drive "alignment-to-eject slot" … without affecting the dive performance!
    Use cut thin rubber strip, or foam (same thickness as Apple original pad) …. and double-sided tape, or
    glue to affix on top of the existing Apple rubber pad.

USB Superdrive will not burn my cd

I have a macbook pro Retina display and the USB Superdrive. For some reason the superdrive will not burn cd's. Help please...US

Hi larsonteam,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
In addition to the following tips, check out these articles:
Solving problems with burning discs
If the disc burning options are dimmed or unavailable
Disc Burning Quick Assist
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1152#trouble
Best of luck,
Mario

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I'm using OS X 10.5
Any suggestions please ?

Ridiculous! I suppose it's all part of the business stategy to force you to upgrade even though the kit you have is still doing everything you want of it.
But I wonder is there a way of doing something in 'Terminal' mode to get other macs to accept the superdrive?

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Dear Support Community,
I have an Apple USB SuperDrive connected to my mid-2011 Mac Mini (2.5GHz dual-core i5) and recently updated to the Yosemite operating system. Following the update, I receive error messages whenever I try to burn a DVD (I have not tried to burn a CD recently).
I've done some quick searches and the closest thing I found was a suggestion to rename the com.apple.DVDPlayer.plist file. I have not tried that yet, but will likely do so shortly.
Might anyone else have had this problem and be willing to share their solution?
Thanks so much,
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Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
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View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then try to launch Mail. Select any lines that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
Some private information, such as your name or email address, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

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Hello everyone. I'm having a serious problem. Both of the Superdrives in my MacPro (1.1) will not burn DVDs or CDs. They read discs just fine. They just won't burn -- in ANY program (DVD Studio Pro, Finder, iDVD).
I have scoured the forums to answers to this problem, and NOTHING has worked. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this issue.
Here is a list of things I've tried:
Disc cleaner
Reducing burning speed
Different DVD media. I've tried every brand and speed out there. Verbatim, Memorex, Sony, generics, etc.
Re-install operation system. The issue started on Leopard. A reinstall didn't help. I'm not on Snow Leopard and having the same problem.
Checked connections. (all plugs are snug)
Some thoughts:
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I have an external firewire burner that works just fine.
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I'm not sure if we can post links to other mac forum threads, but I found this:
Open System Preferences.
Click on "International"
Under "Languages": Drag any of the other languages to the top,
then drag English back to the top.
Set "Order for sorted lists" to English
Set "Word Break" to English (United States, computer)
Close System Preferences
Restart computer
What you can try is typing the exact phrase of the error message into google... in parentheses, and you will find a lot of hits, and maybe the answer. Good luck!
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Hi.
I mentioned earlier in the 'won't burn dvd' topic that my Superdrive wouldn't burn DVD-Rs, saying there was a fault in the burning and the multiplexing.
Now it's spitting out my DVD+Rs as well. As a film student at a college that likes DVD submissions, this is terribly inconvenient. The computer gets as far as encoding everything, then spits out the disc as the burning begins.
I have tried completely re-loading my system, but still have a problem. Is anyone else having this problem and can they help me. Time is of the essence!
Many thanks.
PS. Check my post on 'won't burn dvds' for more info!

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I am following instructions found online
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manual
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0/MA395/en_US/MacBook_Air_SuperDrive.pdf
was it a mini disk? If so thats a problem.
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drag disk to the trash if on desktop.
or
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Hi. I am not totally computer illiterate but i really need some help. I have two long videos of a show that Im in in Londons West End. Several of the lads have asked for a copy and I didnt think that would be a problem. Ha!
The clips are one of an hour and the second of 40 minutes. I use a MacBook Air and I purchased a USB superdrive to do the job. Followed the instructions to the letter, but the clips wouldnt burn as in total thay came to just under 10GB! Im struggling to understand how to get round this. For instance, if I buy a movie on DVD, i can get a whole movie of more than the length Im trying to do on one disc.
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Why is there no iDVD on my new Mac? How do I get it and how do I install it?
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3673
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Usb superdrive won't burn cd

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