CD Drive is not working... software issue?

[justaleaf]

I'm still pretty new to OS X, so forgive me for idiocy if this is the case here.

I bought a new iMac just before Christmas '07. I'm running 10.5.4 and I've had virtually no problems since I got the computer.

I went away for the weekend and found two new problems with my Mac when I returned.

1. Start up time is well over 5 minutes.
2. My SuperDrive no longer functions. Will not draw in, eject, read, or burn CDs. And there's no evidence it exists on the system.

I may be wrong, but it seems like the long start up could be attributed to the system's inability to locate the CD Drive?

At any rate, I repaired permissions twice, did a full shutdown, unplug, PRAM, and looked up forum threads for help. It came on for a few minutes at one point but then disappeared again.

The drive worked flawlessly since day 1... and now suddenly it's invisible! Could this be a software problem?

About this Mac says the following under Disc Burning: "No burning device was found. If you are using an external device please make sure that it is connected and powered properly."

The nearest Apple Store is an hour and a half away... and I need this machine for business. So I don't want to go in for repair unless I have no choice. Is it possible to reflash the firmware or reinstall the drivers for the SuperDrive? It's a Matshita.

Thanks for any advice!

-Garrett

 

[TEG]

Since the Computer is still covered by Apple Care, I'd call them. They will charge you for the phone consultation (unless you extended the 90 days) unless it turns out to be a hardware problem, in which case they can send you a box to ship your system in to have it repaired (as save you the gas money). It sounds like it is a hardware problem.

You can make sure, by trying to put the OS X disc in the drive at startup, then trying to boot off the disc by holding "C", if it will boot off the disc, then it is a software problem, and you should try an archive and install of OS X, otherwise it is hardware, and you need to call Apple Care.

TEG

 

[justaleaf]

Unfortunately, holding "C" or the mouse-button during startup has no effect. I can't test the Leopard CD because I can't get the old disc out of the drive.

Ugh, I guess I have to take it in. On my PC I fixed everything myself, but I guess I can't really work on an iMac. I've read that these Matshita drives are of particularly low quality. Too bad I got a lemon drive on my first Mac.

I can't afford to wait for mailing, so I suppose I'll have to take it in to the Apple Store.

I'm only going to buy Mac Pro after this so I can access the guts.

If anyone has another suggestion, please post it!

-Garrett

 

[Mal]

If the other disk is stuck, and you want to boot from Leopard, we can do both at once. Start up the computer with both the option key and the mouse button held down. It will load into the EFI boot screen (basically just show you the drives available to boot from) and spit out the disk. For reference, the option button triggers the EFI screen, and the mouse button ejects the disk. Pop your Leopard disk in and it should show up on the screen after a second, then just select it and click the little arrow below it (or just hit return).

Presto, booting from the Leopard DVD!

Of course, if that doesn't work, then you definitely need to take it to an Apple Store or call Apple.

jW