Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iMac G4 - optical drive not appearing in Finder

HereBeMonsters

HereBeMonsters

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 5, 2012
319
9
Fareham, UK
I've acquired a G4 iMac recently, and still loving the design of the thing, thought I'd try to recommission it just for a bit of web browsing, maybe watching the odd DVD or something.

It's a 1.25GHz (which I believe is the fastest G4 iMac?) to which I've installed 2GB of RAM. It boots up quickly into 10.3 now, but I want to install 10.5. I have an original retail 10.5 disc, but the system will not boot from it.

The DVD drive appears in the list of hardware under System Profiler, and it opens and closes OK using the keyboard button. It doesn't appear under Finder however, and does not create a desktop shortcut as it should when I put a disc in it when in the OS.

iTunes cannot see a music CD in there, and DVD player cannot see a DVD.

I have checked that all the boxes in Finder preferences are ticked to show CDs and DVDs in Finder. I have reset permissions in System Preferences and installed all updates to 10.3. The drive is also not listed in boot options (I only have the hard disk, or network as options there).

I could understand if the drive was dead, but it opens and closes fine, and appears in the list of devices under System Profiler. Any ideas?
 
fhall1 said:
I'm not home to verify, but I thought the 10.5 disk was dual layer....maybe the optical drive in your G4 won't read DL media? Just something to check.
Click to expand...

I did think that at first, but it also won't read CDs (music or data), so I don't think that's the issue.

Thanks though - I really enjoy fiddling around with this old kit, hope to install in the nursery in time for my 1st child being born. I figure growing up with such an icon in their room has to instill some appreciation of good design. Due 3 weeks on Friday!
 
Just because the drive door still opens and closes does not mean the optical equipment is functioning. I have a dead DVD drive in a G4 at work. Opens and closes just fine. Doesn't read or see a damn thing.

I've had the same in a few of the PCs at work too.
 
eyoungren said:
Just because the drive door still opens and closes does not mean the optical equipment is functioning. I have a dead DVD drive in a G4 at work. Opens and closes just fine. Doesn't read or see a damn thing.

I've had the same in a few of the PCs at work too.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. I just find it weird that it does appear in System Profiler, but no drive (even empty) appears in Finder. If it was having read problems, would the drive still not appear in Finder?

I guess I'll see what happens in Disk Utility once I get home and can have a look at it. Thanks for all the help so far, everyone. Much appreciated.
 
The 5.25" optical drives in the G4 iMacs sometimes develop problems with reading DVDs. I think it has to do with dust build up. You could try cleaning it with a lens cleaner disc. Although I've never heard of one not being able to read a CD. Maybe it wouldn't if the lens got very dirty.
 
Intell said:
The 5.25" optical drives in the G4 iMacs sometimes develop problems with reading DVDs. I think it has to do with dust build up. You could try cleaning it with a lens cleaner disc. Although I've never heard of one not being able to read a CD. Maybe it wouldn't if the lens got very dirty.
Click to expand...

Aha! Progress.

Put in a lens cleaning disc, and now it can see CDs. I'm going to get the spray air and run the disc a few more times to see if that has any effect. Many thanks for the tip!

And yes, it does show in Disk Utility now when I put a CD in, just not with a DVD (single, dual layer or a film).
 
Your laser is gone. As ATA dvd drives are about as expensive as a can of soda nowadays, you just need to swap your dead drive for anything that has "DVD" written on the front of it and an ATA (IDE) interface on the back. Just remember to remove the decorative bezel from the tray before installing. For replacement instructions it would be best if you more or less followed http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+G4+17+800+MHz+EMC+1936+Optical+Drive+Replacement/7044
 
Last edited:
hwojtek said:
Your laser is gone. As ATA dvd drives are about as expensive as a can of soda nowadays, you just need to swap your dead drive for anything that has "DVD" written on the front of it and an ATA (IDE) interface on the back. Just remember to remove the decorative bezel from the tray before installing. For replacement instructions it would be best if you more or less followed http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+G4+17+800+MHz+EMC+1936+Optical+Drive+Replacement/7044
Click to expand...

I think you might be right. Can't get it to see a DVD in any way. It works with an external (USB 2) DVD burner, so it's not the OS. Happily, I have a spare G4 iMac with an intermittent fault in the power supply, so I'll cannabalise it for the DVD drive. It also has a better screen (this one has a couple of dead pixels) - how easy is that to swap over?
 
HereBeMonsters said:
It also has a better screen (this one has a couple of dead pixels) - how easy is that to swap over?
Click to expand...

Judging by the ifixit replacement guide for the LCD it might be even easier than the DVD drive. I personally take the ifixit guides with a tiny grain of salt, but I think it is rather due to my DIY abilities, or lack thereof. That notwithstanding, I've followed numerous of their guides and ended up with a lot of upgraded Macs... eventually. I have no idea however, if the screens themselves are interchangeable 1:1 between different models.
 
I think the screens on the same model shouldn't be too hard to replace....but I think different models had different pinouts (just going from memory)....you might try going here: www.dremeljunkie.com - he has done a lot of work modifying iMac G4s and documenting the process.
 
Thanks chaps, it is exactly the same model, so should be the same pinouts.

Just need to decide if 5-6 dead pixels is worth the hassle, particularly as the bezel on the other monitor is more scratched.

I was trying to get the power supply to work on the other machine so I'd have a spare to tinker with once this is put in the baby's nursery. The replacement power supply seemed to work, but two days later it won't turn on again. Might just nick all the best parts, then strip it down for spares and sell some bits on later.

Just ordered some polywatch (should remove the scratches on the monitor bezels), some keyboard cleaner (you don't want to know how dirty this keyboard is!) and an IDE->SATA converter to make use of an old 40GB SSD I have spare.

Bit more of a project than I was planning, but it's all great fun, and really interesting. I'm also in the middle of upgrading my Mac Mini to Mountain Lion now it has an SSD and 4GB of RAM, and then there's a G4 PowerBook to play with once all that's done!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back