MAC guys...a burning question
 

Ok so I have had no troubles with burning CD's from itunes on my internal CDR burner. Now lately I select "Burn disc" - insert a blank CD, and it kicks it back out and I get this message

" the attempt to burn a disc has failed. The device failed to calibrate the laser power for this media."

Now it has happened with ALL types of blanks, Sony, Imation and maxell, and very suddenly.

I don't get it. Anybody have to deal with this before?

PS: I can burn to my external DVD-R, no probs.

Drive is probably going/gone.

Happens.

What box? How old?

it's mini, about 5 years old.

Take a blank CD-R, and smear blueberry jelly on both sides, then put it in the drive. you need to refresh the "blueness" of the laser in there.

Dead drive.

I had one (in a PC) go that, when burning, made CD-Rs look like caffeine crystals under magnification. It was both beautiful and frustrating as hell.

Damn! At least I can still burn on the external DVR. Man it will be hell replacing it in that little tiny box. Damn!

Can you even get replacement drives for the Minis? I haven't played with one, I wasn't sure if it was a standard bay inside, or some specialty item.

New superdrive from OWC is ~$80-90.

Bout a half hour for a first timer from start to finish.

I think it's a lap top drive.

What is OWC?

Never mind I googled it. Thanks for the help guys.

Sorry, shoulda linked.

The current Superdrives do dual layer discs. Don't recall but pretty sure your current drive does not so may be worth your while.

I have a stack of dead burners. If you burn a lot, they only last a couple of years at best.

That place is great! I did a "Chat" tech Q&A. Great stuff.

Thanks

I'm replacing the optical drive on my iMac. Cost $90 for a new one. You can do it too.

Ok then. I'm pretty fearless about these things.

Alright, done. Took about 40 min. Probably would have helped to have consulted some directions first. I simply removed the iMac back and started looking for screws to remove around the ODD. I bought a naked drive (from OWC, as it turns out) so had to transfer over the perforated shield/bracket thingy, that took a little while for me to understand. Your Mac mini might be harder, but I bet you do it faster, because you'll actually have instructions in hand. I needed a small Phillips and a small Torx driver (bought a set for $10 once, they have been very useful). And a pair of chopsticks to retrieve the screw I dropped.

New drive is ripping CDs as we speak. How come with a Windows PC I'd still be installing drivers now, whereas with the Mac you simply install the hardware and the Mac starts using it right away?

This iMac has been going since 2004/5. It is a G5 that gets used 6+ hours a day by the whole family. I've maxed the DRAM, replaced the hard drive, added a wireless card, now replaced the ODD. Its been quite the trooper of a machine. It's time is coming, alas, because the G5 is just too slow (takes me literally all night to rip a DVD) and because Leopard won't install on a G5. So it will be retired to the family room as a music player, I guess. Macs are good stuff.

Optical drives do not need additional drivers in windows. How would you be able to load a disk with drivers without the drive? (yes I realize there are many options these days such as the internet, flash drives, etc. but you get the point).

I thought for sure this was going to be like the hardest part of rollerblading.

:p

Tom

I guess the generic drivers in Windows should work with most CD/DVD drives then.