Is my Combo Drive broken?

B

bradhammer

Registered
Stupid question department, but the combo drive on my Emac does not read DVDs. Never has.

I know I can't burn DVDs on the unit, but shouldn't it at least recognize a DVD? I put them in and nothing happens. The DVD player software doesn't even recognize the disk.

Don't seem to have success with either commercial or homemade.

Am I missing something? Is there some sequence of buttons I should be pressing?

Sorry if this seems basic. Suggestions/advice/knowledge appreciated.

-- B. Hammer
 
Check to make sure you have a combo drive. Use System Profiler in the Utilities folder to check your Devices and Volumes.
 
Appreciate the prompt response. I checked both the sales slip and the computer itself, and it does show as a combo drive.

-- B. Hammer
 
Does anything mount on the desktop after inserting the DVD?
What is the version of the DVD player software installed in your system?
AND.. what version of Mac OS?
 
First I just want to thank everyone who has responded quickly, and the managers of the board for this valuable site.

This is not a first generation Emac (to my knowledge). It's a 700 MHz running a combo drive, a Philips CDD5101.

The DVD player software is version 4.0. I also use the software update feature for OSX quite a bit, so I presume this is the latest incarnation.

I am running Panther 10.3.2. Jaguar had the same issue.

When we put in a DVD-R, nothing mounts. The DVD just spins and spins. When I open DVD player, it says there is no DVD to play.

Hope this additional information helps.

-- B. Hammer
 
I think you already mentioned this, but is there any difference with a commercial DVD ( a burned DVD may not work with every player that you try)
Is the 'CDs & DVDs' pref pane set so inserting a video DVD will 'Open DVD Player'
That's all the correct 'buttons'!
If you've already tried a couple of different COMMERCIAL DVDs, and the player does not see them, and the DVDs don't mount at all, then likely the DVD part of your drive is bad (try a Drive cleaning CD, available at any office supply store as a last possibility) If still no go, replace the DVD/CD-RW
 
Based on everyone's comments, I've done an afternoon's worth of testing.

More recently purchased commercial DVDs do work. They open the DVD player, and play out.

DVD-Rs are iffy. Some will play, others just have the disk spin and spin, never mounting and never showing up on the desktop.

Isn't a DVD-R standard? I know there are different disk makers, but different companies made floppies as well. The same DVD-R will play on a $35 DVD player from Circuit City -- shouldn't it appear on a near-$1K Emac?

-- B. Hammer
 
Compatibility of a DVD-R will be close to 100%, if used in the same device they're burned. DVD-R can have similar issues to Audio CD-Rs, not all players will work, not every burned CD-R (or burned DVD-R) will work with every other player. Some brands, and some coatings, will be more compatible. One Philips CDD5101 may be more successful for you than another Philips CDD5101 (or any other DVD-rom reader). Nothing to blame on your eMac, the hardware (DVD/CD-RW) is just not 100% compatible (and no way to make it so - the burning process has so many variables, amazing that it works as good as it does) Replacing your current drive with another identical one may be more successful (or not) The best you can do, is find a media (brand) that usually works for you. I have some older DVDs that won't play on newer players, or will play ONLY on my Mac.
 
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