MB combo drive is dead :(

[silencer51]

Hi everyone,

I have had my 13" MacBook for nearly a year now and i think its great.

However, my combo drive (CW-8221) has failed to the point that it refuses to read all CD and DVD disks...

It just tries to read the disk and ejects it after a few seconds...

Now, I have the following options.

1) Take it to Apple and have it fixed there (I still have 2 months of warranty) - HOWEVER, the official Apple dealer here in Greece is probably the worst in the world and they could hold my computer for a month or so until the new part arrives.

2) Buy a UJ-857 superdrive from ebay and install it myself - and in this case I will be able to write DVDs too

What do you suggest?

I really love my MB (just upgraded its RAM to 2GBs ), should I give it to the awful tech support or upgrade its optical drive myself?

Also, is there any way to possibly revive the drive?

And one final question. Suppose I want to reinstall OS X on my MB. Since I obviously can't boot from the internal drive, can I use an external firewire drive to boot the OS X installer?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ucfgrad93]

Personally, I'm so technically inept that I would never attempt to change out the drive myself. So how about you? Do you have some technical skill or are you like me? If you are like me, take it to the shop. If you have some skill, maybe you can try it yourself.

 

[Manzana]

Sounds like you really love your macbook and are going to keep it for a while. In this case you should do it yourself. If you take it to the dealer for warranty repair they will also put in a combo drive. If you do this yourself you can get a dual layer superdrive. Download a manual from ifixit.com, get ALL the proper tools, find a nice quiet, clean place and take your time doing it. Pretend you are a surgeon, you will be fine!

p.s. I went to Greece this summer, you live in a beautiful country. I was there right after the fires, and now we are going through this where I live.

 

[Manzana]

yes, you can install os x from an external firewire or usb dvd drive.