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RonnieoftheRose · Sep 1, 2004, 05:54 PM

Haven't stuck a CD or DVD in my Alu17's drive for over a month. Just found out it doesn't work anymore. Won't suck in any discs. No Applecare as the machine is one and a half years old.

Great build quality. Thanks Apple. Now for my list of historical hardware failures.

1. Powerbook G3 Lombard. One row of keys failed.
2. Powerbook G4-400. Flaking paint.
3. Powerbook G4-550. DVD drive failed. Flaking paint.
4. Powerbook G4-800. Bubbling paint. Speakers failed.
5. Powerbook G4-1000 17 ". Slot drive failed.

Bear in mind I hardly take my 'books outdoors and they always remain on my desk or lap. What a wonderful world.

iREZ · Sep 1, 2004, 06:13 PM

Yeah that sux, what also sux is that if you payed the $175 for Applecare you would have had your drive fixed by now. Your best bet is to get safeware and then accidently drop your PB two months down the line. You might wanna try going through standard procedures such as repairing permissoins, pram, running scripts, and maybe even a clean new install. Hopefully doing the above would help, sux to hear though.

RonnieoftheRose · Sep 1, 2004, 06:40 PM

Originally posted by iREZ:
Yeah that sux, what also sux is that if you payed the $175 for Applecare you would have had your drive fixed by now. Your best bet is to get safeware and then accidently drop your PB two months down the line. You might wanna try going through standard procedures such as repairing permissoins, pram, running scripts, and maybe even a clean new install. Hopefully doing the above would help, sux to hear though.

Thing about Applecare is that it's not worth it for me. PBs cost enough as they are and I tend to sell up and get a new one if there are better features to upgrade to. But this time I've held off upgrading as the current model isn't enticing enough. Now I can't even sell my current one which is the longest a PB has lasted me.

BenN · Sep 1, 2004, 07:49 PM

Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
Thing about Applecare is that it's not worth it for me.

So on the one hand, you`re upset that your optical drive needs fixing, but on the other hand, an extended warranty (that would have covered the repair) is not worth it to you.

I think you need to decide where your priorities lie; unfortunately, stuff breaks.

Maflynn · Sep 1, 2004, 08:05 PM

Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
Thing about Applecare is that it's not worth it for me..

Under the circumstances, it sounds like it is worth it. You now need to pay to have your PB fixed.

Mike

ibook_steve · Sep 1, 2004, 08:28 PM

An optical drive doesn't just suddenly die like that. Do you hear the motor at boot time? When you say it won't suck in disks, how far are you pushing? I find it highly odd that it would work a month ago and now not work if you haven't dropped it or made any strange software changes. Go into Apple System Profiler and confirm that the system sees the drive under "ATA." If all you see is your hard disk listed there and no optical, then it is possible that something is wrong. If it was my machine and that were the case, I'd open it up and check the cable to make sure it hadn't worked itself loose. Obviously, not everybody is brave enough to open their machine, but it sounds like you have nothing to lose if you follow a guide.

Steve

RonnieoftheRose · Sep 1, 2004, 08:46 PM

Screw this thread. the drive started working again. When I opened the lid and woke it from sleep I heard some sort of mechanism being released in the drive. Possibly the inner tray was stuck. So it's working now.

BenN · Sep 2, 2004, 10:37 AM

Glad it worked out.

So are you going to buy AppleCare now?

RonnieoftheRose · Sep 2, 2004, 11:39 AM

Originally posted by BenN:
Glad it worked out.

So are you going to buy AppleCare now?

No. I want to see if the next revision makes a good leap then I'll sell my current model. I want something like 1.8Ghz with a Radeon 9800. The latter being most important. My current PB is fast enough for most tasks but I like to do some gaming to relieve some stress when taking breaks. A better graphics chip should keep me happy for some time and is more important than a G5.

Maflynn · Sep 2, 2004, 12:12 PM

Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
Screw this thread.

Seeing that made me laugh

RonnieoftheRose · Sep 2, 2004, 04:42 PM

Originally posted by Maflynn:
Seeing that made me laugh

I slapped myself. Before it started working again I was building a new PB on the Apple Store. Got tempted for a second. I also configured a Dell Inspiron XPS laptop, 3.4Ghz, 1GB memory, 100GBs, combo drive and 256MB 9800.

Good thing I stopped in time.