Troubleshooting Slot Loading Drives
By Todd@Smalldog.com
Since I joined the Small Dog Team recently I have begun to look at the technology that I use (or abuse) in a new light. Of the many ideas floating around in my head I decided to go with a rather simple issue that I know I have gone through. I use an old titanium G4 and it can be rather finicky on what CD’s it decides to reject (and eject some times). So, I thought I would look up some common fixes for slot loading drive issues.
Problem: The drive won’t accept my Red Hot Chili Peppers CD.
Solution: Check to make sure it is free of dust, it is standard (120mm) sized and it is inserted to the point that the motor in the drive to get a hold of it. In my G4 it is just past half way, but in newer MacBooks you need to insert it over 3/4 of the way in before the drive engages.
Problem: I have a Celine Dion disc stuck in my drive and I want it out before anyone sees it!
Solution: Hit the manual eject key on your keyboard (or F12 in the case of newer computers). You can also hold the trackpad button at startup to eject that pesky disc. If the disc still doesn’t eject you will need to have an authorized apple technician remove it manually.
Problem: My drive is making more noise and vibrations than my death metal band.
Solution: Make sure it isn’t just the disc you are using. I know that I have had some discs that wanted to be fashionable and had extensive cover art only to cause it to become weighted not evenly. Also see that you are operating your laptop horizontally. If you slouch and hold your computer at an angle it can affect playback and even scratch your discs. If vibration and excessive noise occurs with multiple CD’s you need to get it serviced.
Note: Before sending that doomed slot loading drive out for service you should try reseting the Power Manager (PMU). Check http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449 for instructions for the powerbooks and ibooks and http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319 for MacBook users.
These fixes were taken from: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88275
By Todd@Smalldog.com