New iMac and scratching cd's/dvd's

[KeltonTurvey]

Scraches come on the way OUT!

I have just upgraded from the 24" iMac to the 27" and I too have notice this CD scratch problem with the new machine.

I've popped a few blank CDs in and out of both computers to try and see whats going on. The 24" has never scratched any CDs. The new iMac scratched the very first one I put in.

The scratches happen when the CD touches the metal casing. This happens usually on the way OUT of the drive when the disc is almost clear of the felt 'door'.

There is clearly a manufacturing burr on the slot, sharp enough to cause a scratch with only the lightest of contact. In fact if I slide the corner of my post-it-note pad up the slot it will actually cut through the first note!

What worries me is if I complain to Apple I will be without my computer (it's my main work tool) for some time and the problems might not get resolved. If I file the edge with some sand paper I'll get filings in the computer. If I stick tape on it I will have paid £1800 for something that I had to repair with sticky tape! Makes me

 

[Auster1]

Solution to stop the disc scratching

Sorry for arriving late for this party. I got an iMac recently and it definitely has a design flaw. Rather than sandpaper or tape, I'm using clear fingernail polish around the inside of the DVD entry slot. It doesn't have the problem of sandpaper generating small particles that could be corrosive, or have the aesthetic problems of using tape on a pricey machine. I've been using macs since '89 and, along with the pre-magnetic laptop power cords (which led to innumerable motherboard replacements and purchase of innumerable extra power cords), this has to be the one of the stupidest Apple design ideas I have come across. They could easily have beveled the entry slot edges or covered the metal edges with brushes like they do with the laptop Dvd entry slots. It's obviously dumb.

 

[John T]

I must admit I am slightly confused with some of the replies to this thread!

I have the latest version of the 21.5in iMac. There are no rough edges to the entrance to the drive. In fact, it is impossible to scratch a disc on inserting/ejecting because there is a plastic internal sleeve to the slot.

 

[IndustrialSpace]

All the new iMacs are scratching discs. There is no remedy for this. Use some eletrical tape and tape the sides to the slot. I see lots and lots of iMacs with tape on the disc slot. Its just part ofthe Apple experince, I guess.

 

[macdoofus]

Just took delivery of a new 21.5 base model. Everything check's out satisfactorily (so far) but the scratching slot drive. I've used single layers of 3M micropore tape \ surgical tape. (scotch tape that is soft and leaves no goo behind). Then tried 2 layers focusing on good coverage of the back side of the slot. Still getting scratches! And, I've been gentle as a gnat wings flap on inserting removing CD's. I just got a CD from the public library and it has the tell-tale Apple skitter scracthes and parallel scratches. What a JOKE! I'll try electrical tape if that's what's been working but it leaves goo. Luckily, my screen pixels are great (look to be 100%), yellow-screen is 10% off and not a problem for me. The Seagate Baracuda is very quiet. I'd return the iMac for a new slot-load but I'm not playing that game until they actually do something predicatable about this.

 

[lee14160]

I must admit I am slightly confused with some of the replies to this thread!

I have the latest version of the 21.5in iMac. There are no rough edges to the entrance to the drive. In fact, it is impossible to scratch a disc on inserting/ejecting because there is a plastic internal sleeve to the slot.

John, you and I are the fortunate ones here, however, as some have stated they are having problems. A good friend is having the same problem with this 27". I truly understand their misgivings, when you put out the kind of money that Apple charges for their system you are not looking for something has silly as a CD tray that scratches your DVD/CD's.

And, like you I have been using Mac's for over 24 years (Mac 512). Just remember nothing is perfect not even a Mac.

 

[joedevis]

second imac

i think you and i are on the same boat,when i first bought my imac after 3 months i realize that some scratches,i took it the the store they are unable to fix they exchange it after 3 weeks,now i still have the same problem i call apple they advice me take it to the store right now i do not know what the output will be.

 

[kevn]

disk scratches using iMacs

My iMac has the same disk scratch problems reported on this and other Mac forums. I sent it in for repair. I will let everyone know what happened.

If I aligned the disks perfectly with the slot, the severity of scratching was reduced, but it still happened on almost every disk to some extent. I have a Chessmaster 9000 disk that must be inserted to play the game. I inserted the disk as carefully as I could each time. Yet there are now about 10 sets of short parallel scratches on this disk. This disk is only readable about 70% of the time now, and I often must eject and reinsert it to get it to work. This disk is copy protected beyond my ability to figure out how to duplicate it, aside from sending the software company $ to replace it.

A few users report that they do not have this problem with their iMacs, so this leads me to believe that maybe the scratching is related to the alignment of the drive with the narrow slot in the beautiful aluminum housing.

The slot width on more recent iMacs seems to be comparable to the slot width on Macbook Pros. I don't think that there are similar disk scratching complaints on Macbook Pros. So perhaps it really is an optical disk drive/slot alignment problem on iMacs. I would think that this should be easily fixed by moving the drive around so that a disk engaged in the drive lines up with the slot, no?. I will only put tape on the slot as a last resort! Let's see if the techs at the University of Arizona computer store, where I bought and returned it, can fix it. Maybe they will have better luck than the "geniuses" at the Apple stores referenced in various forum postings about this problem.

Kevin

 

[morfeas-dsl-]

just reallised that my 27" imac has scratched more than 50 cd's i own.... tried the tape thing and it work but i sure as hell didnt buy a premium machine to use it with a tape....

 

[kevn]

disk scratch issue

After taking my 21" Mac back 3 times for the same problem, they replaced the entire computer. The new one does not scratch disks.

Kevin