Is my CD Drive fried? :(

[Danimal1086]

Hi everyone

I want to keep this post short and straight to the point, I dont want to waste anyones time, so let me get to it right away:

So basically what happened was that two days ago I was watching a movie on my mac. After turning it off for the night I noticed that in the morning when I turned on my mac I heard strange noises (sounded like bumble bees) then after one minute or so on the loading screen the cd automatically came out. After the cd came out, my mac was back to normal. There were no files missing or anything. So today, I have been trying to find out what exactly is the problem. It doesnt matter what cds i put in (games or movies) it makes strange noises and after a minute or so, the cdrom pops out automatically. Could it be possible that my cdrom drive has been fried or was I hacked? Can it be fixed? Will I have to get a new computer?

Here are my specs:
Powerbook G4 15 inch Titanium
OS: MAC OSX 10.3.9
HD: 80 GB FUJITSU
CPU: PowerPC G4
Memory: 1gb SDRAM
ATA-3 bus: MATASHITA DVD R UJ-825

My hopes are that this can be fixed. Hopefully without any money being involved. I have had this computer since High school graduation (2004), and I absolutely adore it. I take it everywhere with me. So, any help or advice would be nice.

Thanks in advance,
Daniel

 

[banjomamo]

I dont think there is a free solution to your problem unless you still have Applecare. Noises usually mean a hardware problem and not a software glitch. Im not an expert on what your problem is but I do know that you can just buy a new drive for your computer. Putting it in there is another thing. Its not all that hard if you know how to follow instructions. You can check out macsales.com and see some how to videos on how to do it in the support section of their site. The also have really good tech support. You can also try getting it repaired by an Apple tech or at the Apple Store.

 

[TEG]

I have been in a similar situation, where my drive would not read any burned media until after careful examination (read: 5-20 minutes). I took it to an Apple Store and they said that it would be $300 to fix. I decided not to fix it, and just watch for burned media. However, a few weeks later I went to my aunts house and found a Philips/Magnavox DVD lens cleaner. This device had some physical brushes strategically placed on the surface of the disc. I put it in the drive and it opened up iTunes, it had some instructional audio on it, then two silent tracks that caused the lens to read in the area where the brushes were. There was then a tag of audio at the end. When I ejected the disc, my drive was as new, and I have not since had any problem with any media.

TEG

 

[BioChron]

If your drive is in fact fried, you wouldn't have to replace the computer, but you could buy a new drive from a 3rd party vendor and try that.

- Daniel