MacBook DVD/CD Player not reading CD's

charliegriffin · Apr 9, 2014

Suddenly, after having used CD player successfully many times, I have found that after not using it for a few months, it can't read CD's. Tried again after clean-installing Mountain Lion, now it doesn't even show the CD drive window in Finder.

However it read DVD's!

Is it possible it reads one and not the other?

I am hoping some setting has been corrupted, so I don't have to spend $200 to replace DVD/CD drive.

Any thoughts or advice, people?

Charlie

bobtomay · Apr 9, 2014

Yes, it is possible to read one and not the other.

Turn the computer off and unplug it.
Take a can of compressed air and shoot 3-4 quick bursts through the slot in different directions - wait 30 seconds and turn it back on.

(Moved thread to more appropriate forum)

charliegriffin · Apr 9, 2014

Geez thanks bobtomay!

I will get a can and do just that, today…

So am I correct in assuming the chances are that because it can read DVD, it is likely the drive is OK but impeded somehow?

RadDave · Apr 9, 2014

charliegriffin said:
Geez thanks bobtomay!

I will get a can and do just that, today…

So am I correct in assuming the chances are that because it can read DVD, it is likely the drive is OK but impeded somehow?

Hi Charlie - no, not necessarily - first determine if the 'air blow-out' has any effect; simple and may help. Second, if the drive can still not read CDs, then a hardware problem might still exist - reading CDs & DVDs require different laser beams (i.e. wavelengths are important) - see the quote below from this DISCUSSION -

NOW, keep in mind that if you do not use this 'built-in' optical drive much, then an external one would be a LOT cheaper ($40 or so - I have an Apple Superdrive for my new model MBPro w/o one in the laptop) - just a suggestion. Good luck - Dave

DVD discs use a tighter spiral (also known as a track or helix) with only 0.74 microns between the tracks, compared to 1.6 microns on CDs. DVD recorders use a laser with a smaller wavelength, 635nm or 650 nm (visible red light) vs. 780nm (infrared) for CDs, to produce a smaller "burn" or pit in the translucent dye layer (0.4 microns minimum vs. 0.83 microns minimum on CDs). Improvements in the logarithms used for error correction allow a much greater data accuracy using smaller Error Correction Codes (ECC) than those used in CD technology, resulting in more effective use of the track space. These technologies allow DVD discs to store large amounts of data-up to seven times that of a CD.

charliegriffin · Apr 10, 2014

External optical drive

Hey Dave, that's REALLY valuable advice. With labour I'm looking at $200 to replace the drive!

Thanks a lot.

Charlie

bobtomay · Apr 12, 2014

The superdrive in my '06 model quits reading discs about once a year - thus far, the can of air trick has worked for me. However, slot load drives are just more prone to failure than tray load drives - I'll keep my fingers crossed the air works for you.

charliegriffin · Apr 12, 2014

A tad broke…will buy the compressed air next week and give it a go…thanks for the interest...

charliegriffin · May 15, 2014

Hey Bob blowing out the CD rom drive with compressed air did the trick!

Thanks a lot…you saved me a lot of trouble and money.

Charlie