Disc Stuck in Drive...Possibly

[Kalns]

I have an iMac G5 and I think their might be a disc stuck in the drive but I don't think it's where ti ought to be. I can still stick in another disc and the drive will read it. I installed 10.4 the other day no problem but the entire time the disc was running it made a buzzing type sound and it came out very hot as if it'd been rubbing against something. First of all, is this even possible? And second, what can I do about it?

 

[mad jew]

It won't fit two discs and it's normal for the disc to come out hot. However, the buzzing is a little disconcerting. Has there been a noticeable increase in its volume? Have you got an optical drive cleaner handy, that you could use on the iMac?

 

[Kalns]

That's strange. I moved the computer yesterday and I turned it on just now to try to get a better sense of the sound but it's not there anymore. It's running perfectly fine now. Well, thanks for your help anyway

 

[mad jew]

Ahh, could just have been the angle then. Nothing to worry 'bout.

 

[calebjohnston]

My optical drive is a bitch. Reprimand yours occasionally and all should be well.

 

[Makosuke]

Worth noting that some CDs aren't well balanced (ones with stick-on labels are the worst culprits, but not the only offenders), and when the thing is spinning at high rates in a modern optical drive, that tiny unevenness can lead to noise (or, in severe cases, worse). Probably even worse when mounted at a vertical angle like in the iMacs.

Unlikely anything to worry about unless it sounds really bad. And when the noise went away, was it with a different disc? Might try the original and see if it comes back--that would definitely just be an unbalanced disc.

(Scary note: Modern 40X+ CD drives spin the disc so fast that if there is some damage to it--hairline cracks, for example--it can literally tear itself apart from the centrifugal force. Rare, but it's a reason to make sure your CDs are in good shape.)