Macbook won't play DVD it played two days ago because, now it's suddenly "empty".

I've googled and searched this problem for a while, and nobody has an answer for my circumstances.

It's an Insanity DVD, so : not burned, not pirated, not home-made, etc.
It worked fine 2 days ago, used it in the same macbook that's now claiming it's "empty".
Absolutely nothing is wrong with the DVD, it works fine in my blu-ray/dvd player and on the other PC in the house.

I re-started my macbook because, for some reason it does wonders sometimes. It no longer says it's empty. It opens the DVD player, and just makes weird noises.

I'd really appreciate it, if somebody could give me a suggestion other than to take it to some apple store ; Mainly because the closest one is about 70 miles away. But, if that's it..then so be it.

Please and thank you?


*Also, it plays other DVD's/CD's fine.

Is the disc dirty or scratched?

cwa107 said:

Is the disc dirty or scratched?

Click to expand...

No, nothing is wrong with the DVD. I think I stated that..?

landiecat said:

No, nothing is wrong with the DVD. I think I stated that..?

Click to expand...

You said "Absolutely nothing is wrong with the DVD, it works fine in my blu-ray/dvd player and on the other PC in the house", but that doesn't mean the disc isn't scratched, dirty or smudged with finger prints. Optical drives can vary greatly in terms of how well they deal with these conditions - so just because it works fine in one machine, doesn't mean it will work in another.

The way you describe the heads banging around in the Macbook, it sounds as though it's having trouble honing in on certain key areas of the disc. So, either the disc is dirty or your optical drive has issues.

The only recommendation I can make would be to buy a can of compressed air. Gently insert the tip into the MacBook's disc slot and give it a few quick bursts. That should dislodge any accumulated dust or debris. Don't bother with "cleaning discs" which can do more harm than good.