iMAC DVD Drive doesn't play Movies

Tunnelrat69 · Sep 5, 2014

Haven't used my DVD player in a long time, decided to play a newly acquired Movie and it kept popping back out - so I tried a dozen more, same symptoms. I popped in a Music CD and it plays - whats wrong?? I use Quicktime, VLC, and DVD Player.

chscag · Sep 5, 2014

You didn't identify your Mac but what you described is a common symptom of a Mac slot loading drive not working right. It's not unusual for a DVD to work OK but a CD not work and vice versa. Buy a can of compressed air and blow several short blasts into the drive slot to see if that restores it to working for both DVDs and CDs.

chas_m · Sep 6, 2014

There is more than one laser reader in the optical drive, because CDs and DVDs don't actually use the same technique for being read. Sounds like the DVD (red) laser is having a problem. The compressed air might fix it.

Tunnelrat69 · Sep 12, 2014

chscag said:
You didn't identify your Mac but what you described is a common symptom of a Mac slot loading drive not working right. It's not unusual for a DVD to work OK but a CD not work and vice versa. Buy a can of compressed air and blow several short blasts into the drive slot to see if that restores it to working for both DVDs and CDs.

Thanx - I am in South Sudan and it is dusty here - the compressed air did the trick, I have a 27" iMAC circa late 2009 - its been to Iraq, Afghanistan and now South Sudan.

Once in awhile the Drive kicks in and sounds like it is ejecting something, but there is no disc in the drive. I credit it to old age like me.

johnodd4 · Sep 13, 2014

yep it happens honestly i have had 36 slot loading drives go bad on everything from xserves to iMacs to even g4 cubes and the weirdest moment the xserve because it used a g4 mac mini slot loading drive

iMAC DVD Drive doesn't play Movies

Tunnelrat69

chscag

Well-known member

chas_m

Guest

Tunnelrat69

johnodd4

Shop Amazon