iMac 7,1 Superdrive not recognized in system profiler

So I have an intel iMAC 7,1 20" with a DVD stuck in the superdrive and the superdrive is no longer recognized in the system profiler. When the DVD was inserted it worked fine but the next day the icon disappeared, DVD wouldn't eject and the drive is not showing up in profiler, or disk utilities. I have googled this to no end and surprisingly couldn't find anyone that had the same problem. I tried fixes recommended for other problems like reseting the PRAM and NVRAM, holding down the mouse at reset, and unplugging everything for 15 seconds then restarting to no avail. The iMAC is just over 1 year old and therefor out of warranty. This was my first PC to MAC conversion, which originally sold me on MAC, however I must admit I am very unhappy with this turn of events. Does anyone have an suggestions on a fix/repair??
Thanks,
Karl

Restart, and then hold down the mouse button until the disc ejects.

If that doesn't work, you can insert a paperclip in the dvd slot, there's a button you can press to eject the disc. I couldn't find where it is located exactly.

Well, as I stated, i tried that trick with the mouse with no luck. The disk is the least of my worries anyways. Is the drive fried, is it user replicable, is this type of thing common with MAC??? What would cause this type of malfunction?

Karlseith, were you able solve the problem? The same thing happened with my iMac7,1, except it was a CD that had just been inserted; otherwise your misfortune sounds exactly like mine.

Gary Johnson said:

Karlseith, were you able solve the problem? The same thing happened with my iMac7,1, except it was a CD that had just been inserted; otherwise your misfortune sounds exactly like mine.

Click to expand...

I have the same problem with a dvd - any ideas on it yet?

I mentioned this in a previous post somewhere, and it worked for that person so I'll mention it here: it's a way to get the disc out of the drive, which is the first step towards diagnosing what's wrong with it.

Remember, I am NOT RESPONSIBLE for any damage you might do if you try this.

1. Turn the machine off.
2. Turn the iMac on its side in such a way that the disk drive is pointing towards down and is free of obstruction.
3. Turn the machine on, holding the mouse button down.
4. Unless the drive is dead, it will TRY to eject. At this point, hopefully gravity will take over.

If your drive does not even TRY to eject, it is dead and you'll need to take the machine in to a tech for servicing.

PS. A Mac is short for "Macintosh." It's not an acronym, thus it should not be capitalised.

To put it another way:
mac: a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
MAC: a data communication protocol sub-layer, also known as the Media Access Control
Mac: a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc.

Ditto for iPod.

karlseith said:

So I have an intel iMAC 7,1 20" with a DVD stuck in the superdrive and the superdrive is no longer recognized in the system profiler. When the DVD was inserted it worked fine but the next day the icon disappeared, DVD wouldn't eject and the drive is not showing up in profiler, or disk utilities. I have googled this to no end and surprisingly couldn't find anyone that had the same problem. I tried fixes recommended for other problems like reseting the PRAM and NVRAM, holding down the mouse at reset, and unplugging everything for 15 seconds then restarting to no avail. The iMAC is just over 1 year old and therefor out of warranty. This was my first PC to MAC conversion, which originally sold me on MAC, however I must admit I am very unhappy with this turn of events. Does anyone have an suggestions on a fix/repair??
Thanks,
Karl

Click to expand...

Same issue here and it seems that even on the Apple site certain links to this issue have been removed. My thoughts on this aren't good. I suspect they know they have thousands of faulty drives out there in the world or they made some code change in a patch that rendered certain drives inoperable. If you find anything, please let me know and I will do the same here as well. I posted in another thread that I probably have used the drive about a dozen times since purchasing the computer. No real need for me to use the drive other than to load apps. This shouldn't occur no matter the age. Only use should eventually make it eventually fail. Heck I hear the drive spin up upon startup, so it's getting power. However for it not to be recognized, that tells me it's related to the OS in some way.

same issue

I bought an iMac 20" (mid 2007) for my elderly mother. She uses it for email and web surfing. She has used the superdrive perhaps 10 times in the 2 years or so she has had the computer.

The other day she put in a music CD. Nothing happened. Same issues as above. It is as though the drive is not in the computer. Does not appear in system profiler.

I regularly download software/OS updates. I am wondering as well if the drive has been rendered inop due to OS update error.

So I am faced with a potential $300 repair bill at Apple store (part & labor) or buy the drive online ($70) and risk replacing the drive myself. But now reading the latest posts, I am wondering if my new drive (assuming I survive the self-repair) will fix the problem. Frustrating

Superdrive Malfunction

karlseith said:

So I have an intel iMAC 7,1 20" with a DVD stuck in the superdrive and the superdrive is no longer recognized in the system profiler. When the DVD was inserted it worked fine but the next day the icon disappeared, DVD wouldn't eject and the drive is not showing up in profiler, or disk utilities. I have googled this to no end and surprisingly couldn't find anyone that had the same problem. I tried fixes recommended for other problems like reseting the PRAM and NVRAM, holding down the mouse at reset, and unplugging everything for 15 seconds then restarting to no avail. The iMAC is just over 1 year old and therefor out of warranty. This was my first PC to MAC conversion, which originally sold me on MAC, however I must admit I am very unhappy with this turn of events. Does anyone have an suggestions on a fix/repair??
Thanks,
Karl

Click to expand...

karlseith said:

Well, as I stated, i tried that trick with the mouse with no luck. The disk is the least of my worries anyways. Is the drive fried, is it user replicable, is this type of thing common with MAC??? What would cause this type of malfunction?

Click to expand...

My iMac 7,1 is a 24” Version 10.4.11 EMC # 2134 & my superdrive is still not working. I researched this numerous times over the last year or so & have considered purchasing a replacement but I am not sure that will fix the problem. The computer was just out of warranty when the stupid-drive stopped working. I have the same exact errors as reported by karlseith & many others around the world. I love my iMac except for this one issue it has been a great machine, but in all good consciousness, I can not recommend purchasing an iMac until Apple makes a serious attempt to recall/repair this huge issue.
I paid a lot of money for a machine that is only partially usable….I am ticked off!!!

Well personally believe the problem, as stated previously, is all this minaturisation of iMac and Minis to take laptop optical drives. Go through these forums and look at the huge number of failed iMac, MacBook and Mini optical drives and the comparative rarity of a failed desktop drive

Same problem with my 2009 imac 27". The superdrive failed about a month into owning it, but I never used it so I just procrastinated on taking it in. I finally took it in and had only 12 days left on the warranty. Luckily I was able to get it replaced for free.

This issue really is a huge black eye on Apple's otherwise sterling reputation in my opinion.