iMac Spitting out DVDs

[ostephy]

My 5 year old iMac has recently quit reading DVDs. It tries then spits them out. It has no problems with CDs, reading and burning. It recognizes a blank DVD but when trying to burn, it spits the disk out.

Do I need a new Super Drive? Is there a fix I can do? Should I just get an external DVD drive? I'm not a fan of our Apple store - they are some of the rudest business owners in town - so I'd like to try to see what I can do on my own.

Thanks for any help

 

[drambuie]

Is it a reading, or writing problem? At first you say it can't read DVDs, then you say it recognizes blanks. In order to recognize a blank DVD, it has to read the header info. In any case, since it has a problem with DVDs, but reads and writes CDs without problem, I would suspect that the DVD laser has failed.

Re a replacement, if you don't like the local Apple dealer, and are reluctant to mess with the iMac's insides, I would recommend an external DVD writer. You can get a fairly good unit for less than the repair of the internal drive. The only drawback is an extra piece of hardware, and cables on your desk.