Old iMac G3 slot loading desktop cd/dvd loading prob.

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I have an old imac slot loading G3 500mhz desktop with OS 9.2.2. Recently the cd/dvd player stopped accepting dvds & cds. It loads them fine, but after a few seconds the player just ejects them. It worked just days ago.

Any possible solutions?
 
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Mac Mini Core i7 2012 | White 2009 MacBook 2 Ghz | 733 Mhz G4 Quicksilver
Its either broke or just needs a clean

Getting the drive out is a bit of a pain (I once had to get a small optical disk out of one), but you could give a cleaning disk a try if you have one handy

Or you could try compressed air to blow out any dust
 
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Thanks, that is what I feared! I think I will give the cleaning a try, but I thought it might be something else. It seemed to stop working after an auto upgrade of several software.
 
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Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
And if the drive has failed sadly it is a fact of life you will be able to buy a G4 much cheaper than a new slot loading optical drive.
 
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MacMini 14.3, 8.1 & 4.1, OS 13.5, 10.14, & 10.11 & 10.6; Macbook Pro 8.2, OS 10.12.
Or a USB external optical drive in enclosure, or a used optical drive via ATA/USB adaptor (only USB 1 though). Okay for low-res pics, music, text, but not video.
 
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It seemed to stop working after an auto upgrade of several software.

You say its got 9.2 on it. Running auto upgrades may not be a good idea. Servers will try to download OSX stuff like flash Etc. Could cause problems.
 
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I tried to clean it with a laser lens cleaner. I inserted the disc, but I'm not sure if it spins to clean. I can't click play so how do I know it spins? I have my cd player on auto play, but not sure it is trying to play the cleaning disc.

After I used the lens cleaner, I tried to play a dvd and cd, but both were just ejected after several seconds. I need help.

How do I unistall my updates?
 
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Hunt up a USB or Firewire external CDRW or use a thumb drive. Or connect to another Mac with ethernet.
 
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more help

but, how do I get the cleaning disc to spin if play on my iMac is disabled...and how can I uninstall my recent updates??
 
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Your Mac's Specs
MacMini 14.3, 8.1 & 4.1, OS 13.5, 10.14, & 10.11 & 10.6; Macbook Pro 8.2, OS 10.12.
I think you're down to removing the optical drive from the iMac. Not easy, but not impossible. I can send you links to How To manuals on request.

What I think MacSk is suggesting is that you link your iMac to another (healthy) Mac via your ethernet setup. It's called Networking. You can do all sorts of maintenance on the troublesome Mac via the other computer. However, that doesn't/won't solve the optical drive problem.
 

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