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animatedude

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 27, 2010
1,143
88
i have the latest Mac Mini..

i keep getting "the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"...what to do?
 
it's a CD a friend burnt..it only has 2 pix.i tried it on my iMac at work at it worked fine..but now i tested 2 CDs at home with my Mac Mini i keep getting the same message.

what should i do?
 
2j30gaw.png
 
You selected the HDD, the ODD is below (see below screenshot for the red marked region).

MR_SysProf_S-ATA_ODD.png


Btw, why has your screenshot so many white in it?
You can screenshot a single window or dialog via CMD+SHIFT+4, then SPACEBAR, then clicking on the window/dialog.
 
so what should i do now? it has white marked in it because it's the screen shot of my desktop..anyways, what should i change for my CD-ROM to work?
 
Option A:

Don't make CDs like that anymore. "If it hurts when you do that, don't do that anymore"

Option B:

Troubleshoot.

What type of computer made this CD? What software was used? What type of mac reads this CD (is your imac newer or older)?

Is it just this one type of CD, or more than one type? Could the drive be dirty?

I have a Mac mini at home that seems to collect more dust than usual. I don't know if it's the smaller vent size or the slower fan, but a bit of dust seems to collect inside. I've taken to using compressed air to blow out the inside on more than one occasion when disc media couldn't be read.
 
dude it doesn't read any CD-R...however i tried a DVD the other day and it played it with no problems.

how to fix this?
 
dude it doesn't read any CD-R...however i tried a DVD the other day and it played it with no problems.

how to fix this?
A lot of software doesn't close the disc when they're done recording the session. This makes the disc not useable on other machines without the same software. Can you burn and read discs on the system?

Can you try and have a different friend burn a disc to check? Especially on a Mac. bring it to an Apple store and ask for help.
 
i tested the CDs on my work iMac they work fine...but on my home Mac Mini they don't.
 
If the Mini is still under warranty or has Applecare, bring it and a couple of the problem discs in to your local Apple store. You could have a defective optical drive.

And yes it's possible for an optical drive to work fine with replicated/pressed discs but not fine with burned discs.
 
This is really fuzzy in my mind (not surprising ;) )... but do the drives use separate laser diodes (different wavelength) for CD and DVD? If so, then it is possible that the laser diode for CD has burned out, while DVDs will still read fine.
 
This is really fuzzy in my mind (not surprising ;) )... but do the drives use separate laser diodes (different wavelength) for CD and DVD? If so, then it is possible that the laser diode for CD has burned out, while DVDs will still read fine.
Yes different laser frequencies are used for the CD, DVD and Blu-Ray.
 
Yes different laser frequencies are used for the CD, DVD and Blu-Ray.

I knew that Blu-Ray used a separate diode, but couldn't remember if CD and DVD shared a diode. Maybe it is just a "dust bunny" lodged in the drive and blocking one laser.:rolleyes:

If no CD disks can be read, but DVD disks work fine, that could be the problem and it will take a visit to the Apple Genius to get it replaced for the OP.
 
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