Mac G4 CD Drive Problem

phil connors · Post by **phil connors** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 2:20 pm

In the past ive had no trouble inserting a blank cd and having it show up on my desktop so i can copy something onto it. Today I tried to do just that but the blank cd didnt load at all.

I tried using numerous other blank ones butI got the same result. What makes it even more frustrating is the fact that Im having no problem loading any other kind of cds. I tried restarting the computer a few times as suggested but that didnt work.

Does anyone know what might be the problem? Thanks

squ1d · Post by **squ1d** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 2:44 pm

When you say you tried numerous other blank ones, were they all by the same manufacturer?

Have you been able to use these same brand of disks in the past?

If so, it sounds like an optical problem......your write laser may have or be going bad.

sneed · Post by **sneed** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 6:14 pm

wanna know something fucked up??

if you don't have a mac keyboard, you cannot open the cd drive on a G5, which i have...my keyboard is broke and I cannot open up shit....

SUCKS

Useff · Post by **Useff** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 6:16 pm

Cable wrote:wanna know something fucked up??

if you don't have a mac keyboard, you cannot open the cd drive on a G5, which i have...my keyboard is broke and I cannot open up shit....

SUCKS

There must be a way. You can't do it through the console?

rakesh1 · Post by **rakesh1** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:46 pm

Cable wrote:wanna know something fucked up??

if you don't have a mac keyboard, you cannot open the cd drive on a G5, which i have...my keyboard is broke and I cannot open up shit....

SUCKS

solution: get a pc

Beek · Post by **Beek** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:56 pm

Cable wrote:wanna know something fucked up??

if you don't have a mac keyboard, you cannot open the cd drive on a G5, which i have...my keyboard is broke and I cannot open up shit....

SUCKS

Have you tried the F12 key?

sneed · Post by **sneed** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 12:52 am

^^^ you are right thank you...

only reason I was led to believe that was because tech support were assholes and didnt mention that to me

phil connors · Post by **phil connors** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 1:59 am

squ1d wrote:When you say you tried numerous other blank ones, were they all by the same manufacturer?

Have you been able to use these same brand of disks in the past?

If so, it sounds like an optical problem......your write laser may have or be going bad.

Yes and Yes

Do you know if its an easy fix and an expensive one?

HAHA Rakesh Ive been seriously thinking about getting a PC. My Mac has been giving me nothing but problems lately

Noah · Post by **Noah** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 3:01 am

phil connors wrote:
squ1d wrote:When you say you tried numerous other blank ones, were they all by the same manufacturer?

Have you been able to use these same brand of disks in the past?

If so, it sounds like an optical problem......your write laser may have or be going bad.
Yes and Yes

Do you know if its an easy fix and an expensive one?

HAHA Rakesh Ive been seriously thinking about getting a PC. My Mac has been giving me nothing but problems lately

If the laser is dead, you really can't do shit except get a new drive.

Or so I think.

I had a similar problem with an old burner in this PC. The laser must have been bad, as the power was fine (disc tray worked) but nothing would read or write. The other drive worked ok though.

squ1d · Post by **squ1d** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 10:57 am

Noah wrote:
phil connors wrote:
squ1d wrote:When you say you tried numerous other blank ones, were they all by the same manufacturer?

Have you been able to use these same brand of disks in the past?

If so, it sounds like an optical problem......your write laser may have or be going bad.
Yes and Yes

Do you know if its an easy fix and an expensive one?

HAHA Rakesh Ive been seriously thinking about getting a PC. My Mac has been giving me nothing but problems lately
If the laser is dead, you really can't do shit except get a new drive.

Or so I think.

I don't know if it is that simple with Apple products. I was hoping an Apple enthusiast/user would speak up on the matter. Every time I have asked about hardware situations with Apple computers (these boards included) the usual responses are:

"Oh, I just send it to Apple Care."

or

"I don't ever have any hardware problems."

So, ok, now we have someone with an older Mac (not quite sure how old G4s are) who is having a hardware issue?

Apple people, can he simply stick any old drive in his tower, does he need to order a specific component from Apple or is Apple Care the only way if he has a warranty on it and said warranty is voided if he cracks the case?

phil connors · Post by **phil connors** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 4:42 pm

Noah wrote:If the laser is dead, you really can't do shit except get a new drive.

Or so I think.

I had a similar problem with an old burner in this PC. The laser must have been bad, as the power was fine (disc tray worked) but nothing would read or write. The other drive worked ok though.

im thinking its not the laser because it can read my other cds with no problem

Beek · Post by **Beek** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 5:53 pm

Can you burn a CD any other way (such as an audio CD with iTunes)?

Beek · Post by **Beek** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 6:10 pm

squ1d wrote:I don't know if it is that simple with Apple products. I was hoping an Apple enthusiast/user would speak up on the matter. Every time I have asked about hardware situations with Apple computers (these boards included) the usual responses are:

"Oh, I just send it to Apple Care."

or

"I don't ever have any hardware problems."

So, ok, now we have someone with an older Mac (not quite sure how old G4s are) who is having a hardware issue?

Apple people, can he simply stick any old drive in his tower, does he need to order a specific component from Apple or is Apple Care the only way if he has a warranty on it and said warranty is voided if he cracks the case?

Apple still uses the G4 in the Mini, eMac, iBook, and PowerBook.

phil hasn't said what model he has. The problem with replacing a CD drive doesn't have much to do with whether motherboard or OS X will support it. They should, it's just IDE/SATA. It has more to do with whether the case can hold it. On PowerMac, I'm sure he'd be fine, but I'd doubt it on any other model. Instead of replacing it, I'd opt for an external drive.

It's not really clear to me what voids the warranty or not... Some people claim that opening the case will void it, others say you can open the case and do whatever, and the warranty still holds as long as you don't damage anything. I haven't had any problems with my Apple products yet, so I haven't had to figure out for myself.

phil connors · Post by **phil connors** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 8:39 pm

Beek wrote:Can you burn a CD any other way (such as an audio CD with iTunes)?

i actually dont know because i dont have itunes installed on os 9. i did at one point but now all of a sudden its not on my computer for whatever reason. my mac is buggin

i forgot to mention that im using a g4

squ1d · Post by **squ1d** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 12:55 pm

phil connors wrote:
Noah wrote:If the laser is dead, you really can't do shit except get a new drive.

Or so I think.

I had a similar problem with an old burner in this PC. The laser must have been bad, as the power was fine (disc tray worked) but nothing would read or write. The other drive worked ok though.
im thinking its not the laser because it can read my other cds with no problem

See my post at the top. I mentioned that your write laser could be going bad. Your read laser may be fine......both optics are present in a CD burner.

squ1d · Post by **squ1d** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 12:56 pm

Beek wrote:
squ1d wrote:I don't know if it is that simple with Apple products. I was hoping an Apple enthusiast/user would speak up on the matter. Every time I have asked about hardware situations with Apple computers (these boards included) the usual responses are:

"Oh, I just send it to Apple Care."

or

"I don't ever have any hardware problems."

So, ok, now we have someone with an older Mac (not quite sure how old G4s are) who is having a hardware issue?

Apple people, can he simply stick any old drive in his tower, does he need to order a specific component from Apple or is Apple Care the only way if he has a warranty on it and said warranty is voided if he cracks the case?
Apple still uses the G4 in the Mini, eMac, iBook, and PowerBook.

phil hasn't said what model he has. The problem with replacing a CD drive doesn't have much to do with whether motherboard or OS X will support it. They should, it's just IDE/SATA. It has more to do with whether the case can hold it. On PowerMac, I'm sure he'd be fine, but I'd doubt it on any other model. Instead of replacing it, I'd opt for an external drive.

It's not really clear to me what voids the warranty or not... Some people claim that opening the case will void it, others say you can open the case and do whatever, and the warranty still holds as long as you don't damage anything. I haven't had any problems with my Apple products yet, so I haven't had to figure out for myself.

Thanks Beek! I appreciate the help here!

Trademark · Post by **Trademark** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 1:01 pm

you have OS9?? STEP THE GAME UP HOMEY get the lastest upgrade and then get ilife05 and your set....what is your processor speed?

phil connors · Post by **phil connors** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 7:26 pm

squ1d wrote:See my post at the top. I mentioned that your write laser could be going bad. Your read laser may be fine......both optics are present in a CD burner.

i see. thanks squid didnt pay attention to that

Trademark right now im using OS9 but like you said im going to STEP THE GAME UP. Im going to be working on 10.2. It wont make a difference to my drive though right?

should I really get ilife05?

my processor speed is 400 mhz

phil connors · Post by **phil connors** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 11:47 am

squ1d · Post by **squ1d** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 11:53 am

Like I said......I think your drive is done. I don't think a different OS will change it.....but if it is a free alternative, it is worth a shot before moving to spend the money to replace the drive.

De Seven Free · Post by **De Seven Free** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 3:49 pm

Whoa there...

Are only running OS 9? Under OS X, in System Prefs->Hardware->CDs & DVDs, there's options for what to do when you insert blank discs. If you have CDs set to 'ignore', there's your problem. I'm sure there's an equivalent Control Panel in 9, but it's been a while.

squ1d · Post by **squ1d** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 4:10 pm

^^^ Good lookin, hopefully it is that......

Apple heads need to step up their game!

phil connors · Post by **phil connors** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 2:50 pm

de, im working on os 10.2 now. i followed what you said but im still getting the same results. i have it set to open itunes. thanks

this is probably a long shot but does anyone happen to use a que! fire cdrw drive? im asking because i need an installation disk.

De Seven Free · Post by **De Seven Free** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:30 pm

And iTunes doesn't launch? Hmmm... dunno, maybe it's worth trying 'Open Finder' (which should make it appear on the desktop as before), just to make sure.

And are you sure you need an installation disk for your Que drive? I've not needed drivers for any of my external drives under OS X. And if you do need software for it, can't you get it from their site?