Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-117D Superdrive ejects blank DVD-R

[rickstahl]

I've been using my Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 with a Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-117D Superdrive since 2005 without any problems. My operating system is OS10.3.9.

Recently the Superdrive isn't able to recognize blank DVD-Rs. It ejects the media after about 10 seconds. At first it was hit or miss and now it happens all the time. I've used the same brand of disc before and burned many a DVD on this machine. It seems it still works fine for CD-Rs and commercial DVDs play OK too.

Is the drive just worn out or is there a software fix I can try?
If you think the problem is dust or dirt, how can I clean it?
Thanks so much.

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