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Why doesn't Apple update the Slotloading CD/DVD drives?

G

Gml

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 24, 2008
8
0
Netherlands
So why don't they. It is the only thing I actually hate about the mac, the slotloading drives. Sure it lookes great, but the amount of people having problems with it is huge.

My macbook pro drive is dead, it can't read any discs anymore. Most of the time it isn't really a problem, I don't do much with cds or dvds anymore. But sometimes, for example with Snow Leopard, I need a drive. Eventually I did it by copying the disk to an image on another computer (a windows one). Made a bootable disk on a USB device and installed SL from there.

Just a moment ago, a friend calls me telling the dvd doesn't come out anymore. As you guys may know, the slotdrives don't have any physical way in forcing a disc out of the drive. She tried everything, booting up again and pressing eject and all the other methods that are out there. Eventually she got it out by putting a piece of cardboard in the drive and that made it come out. But what the !@#%, sticking a piece of cardboard in the thing to get a disc out is crazy!

And Apple must know this. But there not doing anything about it. I mean all the cool innovative stuff they come up with and the slot-drive hasn't changed for years! It doesn't even make a nice sound when the disc is 'eaten'.

I think the slot-drive should be the next to be updated. This whole post is just a way to get it of my chest :) But I'm still curious what you guys think.
 
I like the slot drive :) but have to agree that there should be a way to manually eject a disc if it stops working :rolleyes:
 
I have found when a disc is stuck in the drive, reboot the computer while you hold down the mouse button, that seems to do the trick most often.
 
They will soon be obsolete

With "updating" I hope you don't mean replacing it with a drawer-type drive.:eek:

Anyway, they aren't really needed anymore, as you pointed out yourself, and I think they will soon be just as obsolete as floppy drives are today.
I could do without them myself. I have an external drive for my desktop computer and could connect it to my MBP when needed (1-2 times a month). I really hate the spin up sound it makes when I turn on my MBP too. It sounds like a machine from the nineties!
 
I haven't had that many problems with the slot loading drive. I did have a disc stick there once or twice, but the convenience of not having a flimsy disc try pop out is worth it to me. In any case, I was able to get the disc out myself in both cases. I didn't consider it a big deal. I am pissed that Apple doesn't have a blu-ray slot loading drive and in that respect it should be updated--but that is another thread. :)

Are you out of warranty on your MBP?
 
santos79 said:
With "updating" I hope you don't mean replacing it with a drawer-type drive.
Click to expand...

Well I don't think Apple will ever do that, the drives are really slim. The drives becoming obsolete... I don't think so. Blur-ray is coming and they don't have anything for that yet. What I mean by updating is that the slot-loading drives schould be way more robust, hardware-wise it should be made better.

barkomatic said:
Are you out of warranty on your MBP?
Click to expand...
Yes I am....
 
I agree...

My drive has been dead for over a year now.

I am tempted to get a replacement from ebay but I harldy need to use it. I dont use my MBP to watch movies, and all of the siftware is already on my external HDD. the only reason that I might need it is when I need to send a project to a print shop.

I might still replace the drive. You never know when you are going to need it. Is kind of embarassing to tell people that the drive on my $2000 apple laptop is broken.

The sad part is that it might have been bricked when updating the drive´s firmware!. So it is apples fault - yes it was out of warranty.
 
Gml said:
..Blur-ray is coming and they don't have anything for that yet....
Click to expand...

Hah! Yes that's what it is.
Personally that's the last thing I'd want in my MBP. Who would really notice the difference between DVD and BD or a 15-inch or 17-inch (or even 30-inch) screen.
 
santos79 said:
Hah! Yes that's what it is.
Personally that's the last thing I'd want in my MBP. Who would really notice the difference between DVD and BD or a 15-inch or 17-inch (or even 30-inch) screen.
Click to expand...

BD. Would be good for storage wouldn't it. Don't they hold more space.

I use my mbp with an external screen and it would be good to be able to play blu ray from that.
 
Slot-loading SuperDrives are very classy, and usually work quite well.
Although I'd like to see them integrate the pin-hole emergency release into it somehow.
 
I wonder when they come with an option that you can replace the drive completely with a second hard-drive. That would be cool.
 
I agree the Matshita slot-loading drives are pretty bad. They're slow at data transfer and I tend to have more problems with them than tray-loading drives I own.

However, Apple's been obsessed with them since the iMac DV. So, they're not going anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to cram them in the next design revision of the Mac Pro.
 
santos79 said:
Hah! Yes that's what it is.
Personally that's the last thing I'd want in my MBP. Who would really notice the difference between DVD and BD or a 15-inch or 17-inch (or even 30-inch) screen.
Click to expand...

On the 15 inch you probably wouldn't notice it--since Apple is still using a cheapo low res screen for that model. On the 17 inch you would certainly notice it as that model has the hi-res screen.
 
I happen to like them. Really give the Macbook that extra edge as opposed to tray type CD drives.

If holding the mouse button does not work for ejecting, it's most likely because it's accessing the CD (say during an OS install). When that's the case (You'll know since you'll hear/feel the CD spinning. I've found that stick a CC in the slot to force stop the CD from spinning will eventually eject it. I tried this on my Leopard OS CD. The CD was pretty scratched and It failed install on my old MBP15... I tried everything to eject it but it wouldn't (since i had already wiped the HD, i couldn't get into any OS)... At every boot, the CD would start spinning.

I stuck a card in, stopped the CD from spinning and after about 30 seconds, it threw the cd out.

The only exception here would be if the drive is physically damaged. Then you're screwed.
 
ziggyonice said:
Slot-loading SuperDrives are very classy, and usually work quite well.
Although I'd like to see them integrate the pin-hole emergency release into it somehow.
Click to expand...

They used to. The option is no doubt still there on the drive's hardware itself, but Apple are no longer drilling the small hole in the case ... you could always drill your own. :)

The only real problem with slot-loading drives is that you can't use those smaller mini-CDs / business card CDs ... but thankfully they aren't that common anyway.
 
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