macbook pro won't read DVD's - how do i reformat?

[Crayons15]

My macbook pro won't take dvd's - i insert them and it just spits them back out. i can insert music cd's and it will read them fine, and i can burn cd's in itunes fine, but it won't read anything else - including my install disks.

i have been having lots of issues lately and just want to reformat and start over, but i've realized i can't because it won't read the install CD to do it! i went into disk utility to see if there was a way for me to check the cd rom drive and see if it was working properly, etc. but i don't see a place to do that. i only see a place to check/reformat a cd. is there a place to do this?

the nearest apple store from me is 2 hours and i work so it's hard for me to get to one asap. so i figured i'd ask here first to see if there was a way i could try to troubleshoot this myself first. thanks to anyone who can help!

 

[macfrik]

My macbook pro won't take dvd's - i insert them and it just spits them back out. i can insert music cd's and it will read them fine, and i can burn cd's in itunes fine, but it won't read anything else - including my install disks.

i have been having lots of issues lately and just want to reformat and start over, but i've realized i can't because it won't read the install CD to do it! i went into disk utility to see if there was a way for me to check the cd rom drive and see if it was working properly, etc. but i don't see a place to do that. i only see a place to check/reformat a cd. is there a place to do this?

the nearest apple store from me is 2 hours and i work so it's hard for me to get to one asap. so i figured i'd ask here first to see if there was a way i could try to troubleshoot this myself first. thanks to anyone who can help!

Do you have another Mac that has a FireWire on it? You can connect 2 Macs with each other using Firewire and use another Mac's DVD drive to reformat your Mac.

To do it, take a look at this
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

Hope it helps.

 

[Crayons15]

unfortunately i don't i don't have any friends that have macs either.

 

[macfrik]

unfortunately i don't i don't have any friends that have macs either.

Try visiting Apple Store. They might give you a new one for their generosity

 

[Crayons15]

haa doubtful! especially since i don't think i'm under warranty anymore, lol

 

[DoFoT9]

i have the same problem. the dvd drive is pretty much dead. about $300 to replace. goodluck!

 

[Crayons15]

oh man!! ugh, i've only had mine a year and 4 months! i don't even burn that much. that sucks, thanks for the info though. im heading to the apple store on saturday.

 

[Phil A.]

Wirelessly posted (iPod touch 32GB: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/7A300g Safari/525.20)

You could get an external drive and Use that to reinstall: would be cheaper than paying for a replacement internal drive.

 

[NRose8989]

Yup willing to bet that your superdrive is dead.

I just had mine replaced because of the same symptoms.

Personally I'd go with what the poster above said about getting a external burner. You should be able to find one of $60 ish.

 

[sascha h-k]

buy a pioneer "superdrive", but you have to look if the size (high) fits in your mbp.

the how to do is on: ifixit.com

drive is dead, i had it twice (in same mbp) ..

 

[DoFoT9]

Yup willing to bet that your superdrive is dead.

I just had mine replaced because of the same symptoms.

Personally I'd go with what the poster above said about getting a external burner. You should be able to find one of $60 ish.

or buy a replacement drive off ebay for under $100.

 

[clyde2801]

unfortunately i don't i don't have any friends that have macs either.

1. Move closer to an apple store. If you live an a country without an apple store, emigrate to one that does. If the closest country with an apple store speaks a different language than yours, get a rosetta stone cd-oops, sorry.

2. Get new friends. Number one should help in that regard.

3. Try getting a kit to clean your superdrive from an electronics store.

4. Look for a third party authorized repair center in your area.

5. Always, always, always buy applecare for any apple portable, or for any apple product, period. This point is probably painfully apparent to you now. With their svelte designs, macs can be hard to work on and prohibitively expensive to repair. Applecare pays for itself if you have one out of warranty repair.