Superdrive question (swap between machines)

[grantza]

I want to put a working superdrive from a very old MBP into an old MBP - replacing the defective superdrive in the old machine.

The very old MBP is a 2006 15" (panasonic uj 857-c superdrive)
The old MBP is a 2007 15" (hitachi HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N superdrive)
Both are machines are running SL 10.6.8

I tested the superdrive from the very old MBP yesterday - working perfectly !
So I removed the defective superdrive from the old MBP and replaced it with the working superdrive.
However, the panasonic superdrive is not recognized by the machine.
It powers up and spins, but there is no "communication".

System profiler:
ATA - no devices found
Disk burning - no devices found

I've tried resetting both smc & pram on a few occasions, as well as cleaning all contacts, to no avail.

Any ideas ?

 

[Jozone]

Really have me pulling the cobwebs out of my head on this one -- have you tried swapping the small flex cable and seeing if that makes any difference.. also what are the symptoms of the bad drive from the 2007?

 

[grantza]

No, have not tried swapping that cable - i somehow suspect the solution may lie there.
Will try in the morning (00H34 here now).

The bad drive was always bad, a litany of various errors. It degenerated to the point where it would only burn coasters for coffee tables. Then refused to read DVD's, progressing to the point now, where it simply spits any disc straight out again.