Bondi iMac CD Drive Problem

thuh freakthuh freak
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
my sister has an original bondi blue imac, and recently her cd drive doesn't respond to discs. it can open and close alright, but it doesn't even spin when i put a disc in. i opened up the comp and checked the connection, and everything is plugged in. i also tried putting in a startup disc (x.0) and holding 'c'; i got the missing sys folder icon then it went back into the regular boot. help

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    sounds to me like it's toast.



    sorry.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    not unlike myselfnot unlike myself Posts: 2,037member
    Time to can it. You can get an external if you were really desperate, but it'd have to be USB.... Basically it's time to upgrade anyway so kick a grand and buy a nice new comp. (OR dig around ebay and you might find a drive to go in there. I saw a college kid who put a CDRW drive in his bondi, had to do some metal work though....
  • Reply 3 of 9
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,180member
    check MacMall or others .... I don't remember the brand name, but there is a CDRW you can get that is designed to replace the drive in a Tray-loading iMac. If you can open the computer, you can do the install. Works like a champ with OSX.



    less than $200 US.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    spartspart Posts: 2,060member
    Have you checked out the lens? Wouldn't be surprised if there was a glob of jelly on there or something.



    And yes, MCE makes a CD-RW replacement drive for Rev. A-D iMacs, very simple installation, especially if you have ever installed RAM into the thing.



    You can find it for ~$189.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    lol, ok, 10 points to spart. i can't believe i didn't even think of that. check the lens and clean the lens before doing anything drastic. sheesh, i've been hanging around to many really dead machines lately, that's the first thing you should check.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    spartspart Posts: 2,060member
    Hanging around dead machines? Looking to become a Mac mortician or something?



  • Reply 7 of 9
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    nah, but i only get called in when something is completely FUBAR.



    so usually every machine i see in a day is toast. it's starting to affect my outlook on computers and how to fix 'em.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    and if is still does not work: <a href="http://www.mcetech.com/mshd.html"; target="_blank">upgrade</a>.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    reynardreynard Posts: 160member
    Freak,



    My son's drive failed about a year ago. I believe the CD drive is a weakness in those iMacs. The bit of good news that I have is that I was able to replace it and it worked! Im an old man and a computer "user", not fixer. It would be worth you while if you have any mechanical skills. More tedious than difficult.



    If you plan on keeping it, certainly go for a RW drive. IN any case, I think you'd get very little $ if you sell it with the CD drive broken.
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