External Superdrive not accepting discs

[DriftNismo]

My apologies if there is already a thread on this, I searched Google and here but couldn't find anything on it.

I recently got an official Apple external USB SuperDrive (pre-owned) from Ebay to use with my MBA, and it appears to be broken or at least something is wrong with it. When I plug the USB into the MBA, the drive makes a few noises and shows up in Disk Utility (albeit greyed out and not selectable). However, when I try to insert a disc, the disc does one of two things. Either I can only push the disc in halfway and something solid inside prevents me from inserting the disc any further (with no effort from the Superdrive to pull the disc in), or as soon as it senses me inserting a disc it acts as if it's trying to pull it in (noises and vibrations and such) but doesn't let me insert it at all, it's just blocked completely. If the disc is inside like 1/4 by this time it feels as if its trying to crush it then it stops.

To get it back to the state it was when first plugging in i've just been using drutil eject in Terminal and trying it again but it looks like I'm not going to have any luck with it. Has anybody been through this and know a fix for it? Or is it likely that the optical drive needs replacing due to being broken somehow?

 

[chscag]

Did you pay for the Apple Superdrive with PayPal? Lodge a request for a refund from the seller and return the drive. If the seller refuses, you can take it up with eBay or PayPal to get a refund. To answer your question... the drive appears to be defective. Slot loading drives are difficult to repair and usually not worth the time and effort.

 

[DriftNismo]

Thread can be closed or deleted now, fixed it in the end.

I pryd it open and unscrewed the case containing the optical drive and of all things, a Samsung PC Driver mini-disc pops out of it. After this was removed, the arm was stuck up and just needed moving back, and then the laser wasn't reading properly so I cleaned it and now it's working perfectly.

 

[RadDave]

Thread can be closed or deleted now, fixed it in the end.

I pryd it open and unscrewed the case containing the optical drive and of all things, a Samsung PC Driver mini-disc pops out of it. After this was removed, the arm was stuck up and just needed moving back, and then the laser wasn't reading properly so I cleaned it and now it's working perfectly.

BOY - quite a story and amazing after all of your efforts, the drive worked! Dave

 

[Tech-Challenged]

My apologies if there is already a thread on this, I searched Google and here but couldn't find anything on it.

I recently got an official Apple external USB SuperDrive (pre-owned) from Ebay to use with my MBA, and it appears to be broken or at least something is wrong with it. When I plug the USB into the MBA, the drive makes a few noises and shows up in Disk Utility (albeit greyed out and not selectable). However, when I try to insert a disc, the disc does one of two things. Either I can only push the disc in halfway and something solid inside prevents me from inserting the disc any further (with no effort from the Superdrive to pull the disc in), or as soon as it senses me inserting a disc it acts as if it's trying to pull it in (noises and vibrations and such) but doesn't let me insert it at all, it's just blocked completely. If the disc is inside like 1/4 by this time it feels as if its trying to crush it then it stops.

To get it back to the state it was when first plugging in i've just been using drutil eject in Terminal and trying it again but it looks like I'm not going to have any luck with it. Has anybody been through this and know a fix for it? Or is it likely that the optical drive needs replacing due to being broken somehow?

Ok, this might seem obvious to others but I am tech-challenged. Have a new USB SuperDive I bought a couple of years ago but hadn't used it. Had to get a new computer, bought an IMAC 2024. Plugged the SuperDrive in and it showed up as an external but I couldn't get the CD with photos to take; it just spun and then ejected itself. Turns out (this is the embarrassing part) the external player has to be positioned with the silver side up and the black side (with the Apple log) down. If you don't do that the CD goes in upside down and won't play. Duh.

 

[IWT]

(this is the embarrassing part) the external player has to be positioned with the silver side up and the black side (with the Apple log) down. If you don't do that the CD goes in upside down and won't play. Duh.

Oh don't worry. This has happened numerous times over the years. Don't feel embarrassed. We've all been there.

Ian

 

[RadDave]

Hi TechC - welcome to the forum! - as Ian stated, a not uncommon post about the Apple SuperDrive and often the first response is which side is up! Dave

 

[Rod]

Weird isn't it, you'd think (at least today) the logo would be proudly displayed on top.