[Full-Auto]

My Macbook had the Superdrive die in it a couple of months ago. No biggie, I swapped it out myself as it was out of warranty.

Today I discovered the Superdrive in my brand new Macbook Pro is dead. It will read and burn CD's, and read DVD's, but it can't burn DVD's... just like the drive in my Macbook.

What is it with these Superdrives? The failure rate on them has to be through the roof. I bought the Apple Care on my MBP (thank God) so I'll be taking it back to Apple for them to fix. But this sucks, I hope I don't have to do this a couple of times a year as that seems to be the rate at which they're failing.

[Tomchu]

My original SuperDrive in my 2006 MBP burned one DVD before it promptly dropped that ability. The replacement I got worked perfectly, and has worked perfectly for 1.5 years now.

[forumhound]

quality control is really lacking these days it seems. i lost a superdrive in an mbp a few months back (same symptoms as described above) and the one in the mb sounds like a shotgun when loaded. i doubt that one will last the warranty period. also, the drive in the mbp must be the slowest drive on the market these days. it just sucks. the one in the mb is faster for some odd reason...same media, slower write times. go figure.

[Gamoe]

Originally Posted by Full-Auto 

I bought the Apple Care on my MBP (thank God) so I'll be taking it back to Apple for them to fix.

No, thank your hard-earned cash that Apple is happy to take because they didn't do their job right and expect you to pay (again) for it.

[ibook_steve]

Just to remind everyone, Apple does not manufacture Superdrives. They are an OEM purchase from other manufacturers. They are thoroughly tested when the machine is tested during production, but you can't completely blame Apple for shoddy drives it didn't design or build.

Steve

[Kyle76]

Steve, I must differ with your opinion. If Apple puts its name on it and sells it to the public, I believe they ARE responsible for the finished product. There are many different parts that Apple does not manufacture, but it's the company's responsibility to find reliable suppliers if they are going to include those parts in their machines.

[Full-Auto]

Yeah, I agree it is Apple's problem. Apple doesn't make it's own chips, LCD's, etc. but it is responsible for the finished product.

For many years the Superdrives have been problematic. I was hoping my new MPB wouldn't suffer from the bad Superdrive problem... but alas it wasn't to be.

Since this problem has been on going, with so many people reporting problems with their drives, I have to wonder why Apple hasn't acted to correct the problem. They should either force their vendor to improve their product or they should find another source for drives. DVD drives are a commodity so finding an eager vendor to replace their current one shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Regardless, it's a bummer to have to get my 1 month old MBP warrantied already. What sucks is I know that I will likely have to replace the drive again before the system reaches the end of its life cycle.

[ibook_steve]

When you look at it that way, I'll give you that. I guess I still have the Apple employee mindset!

In any case, thinking the SD will die again for you before you get a new machine is really going against the odds. That would just be really bad luck. I've had my MBP now for a year and half with no problems.

Steve

[Luca Rescigno]

I used to have a G4 Mac mini, and I replaced the combo drive with a DVD burner myself. Never had any problems for the year or so I owned it.

Then I replaced it with a PowerBook G4. About a year after I got it, the Superdrive stopped burning discs (it still read them, but it would spit out every DVD-R and CD-R I inserted, regardless of the brand). Got it fixed under warranty of course. But then I sold it so I don't know if the Superdrive still works or not.

COINCIDENCE? Probably. But that was the only time I've had an optical drive fail on me. I do think Apple cuts corners with their optical drives, which is too bad considering it's $200 extra to get a Mini or a MacBook with a Superdrive (I know they give you other things for that $200 too, but it's still a rip off).

[Cottonsworth]

I guess this is one of those posts where mostly people with problems will post. If you have a working superdrive you are probably not going to post "Working Superdrive here!" I have owned two PB 17" G4s that had their superdrive take a crap. I have replaced the drives myself and it doesn't seem very sturdy.

[Sage]

My dad’s iMac G5’s superdrive is failing, as is my MacBook’s combo drive. Quality for all other components have been spot-on.

[CharlesS]

In my family, there are:

2 iMac G5s - both of them eject the CDs with too much force, so the disc falls down on the desk, bounces around, and ends up in a pile of dust bunnies behind the desk.

1 PowerBook G4 - the optical drive no longer functions, and the owner replaced it with an external FireWire tray loader.

3 iBook G4s - two of them have had their optical drives die and needed to be replaced. One of these has actually had its drive replaced twice (moral: get AppleCare).

One MacBook - owned by my sister, with whom I haven't had any contact since she got it, so I don't know how it's doing.

One MacBook Pro - mine. Less than two weeks after getting the machine, the SuperDrive started acting up such that DVDs just spin for a minute and then spit back out when you insert them, instead of mounting like they should. I can eventually get it to read a DVD if I insert it about 10 times or so, but I'm sure this drive isn't long for this world.

Meanwhile, the tray-loader in an ancient Power Mac G4/450 still works exactly as it did they day it was new, as does the laptop tray-loader in my old Pismo, and probably even the ancient tray-loader in my parents' old PowerComputing clone from 1997 if they still have that thing in a closet somewhere.

Conclusion: Slot-loading drives suck. They fail far more often than they actually work, which is why the MacBook Air's lack of an optical drive isn't any shocker - having no optical drive is only marginally different from having a slot-loading drive. Unfortunately, Apple insists on using slot-loaders for almost all of the rest of their machines, even for the desktop line (I can understand it for notebooks). Therefore, you have to buy AppleCare or else you are going to be using an optical-less machine before long.

[ghporter]

Are the superdrives that people here have discussed all the same model? Are they all the same VERSION of that model? Have they all failed in exactly the same way?

I'll bet that there are at least a couple of variables in play, from physical environmental factors to oddities in how the drives are used, that have an impact on whether they fail or not, and how they fail if they do. That's not to say that there isn't some sort of systemic problem with the drives Apple is putting in MacBooks, just that they guarantee these parts for a limited time for a reason.

I haven't seen anything like the volume of reports of this problem that I did when other, very major problems came to light. Logic board issues, the whole first gen AirPort problem, those had lots and lots of people reporting them all the time. Maybe the folks here are just the tip of the iceberg, or maybe they're more aggressive users. Time may tell us a lot on this issue.

But to say that Apple is negligent in using these drives is pretty extreme. Has anyone contacted Apple about how many of these drives they've gone through?

And Apple Care for a laptop is not just some gimmick to make tons of money for Apple. Laptop parts are more expensive, Apple laptops are built "interestingly" so it often takes a lot more work to get into them to fix stuff, and you really want someone who knows what he's doing tinkering inside your Mac. I have Apple Care on my MBP (which will run out just about exactly when I graduate next year), and I got it on my iMac because the extra cost was relatively trivial. But it's not a scam, it's insurance. I personally hope I never have to make use of it for either of my machines.

The level of rhetoric and inflammatory language in this thread has been pretty mild so far. Let's keep it that way, OK?

[Full-Auto]

As for me, I pamper my Mac's. I really do love the little guys and you couldn't get me to switch back to PC's if you paid me to do so.

As for environment, my machines live in a nice, clean, smoke free, average temp of 70 degrees office. If they are moved, they are placed in protective sleeves and then into another protective carry bag. I had burned a total of one DVD with my MBP since buying it 3 weeks ago. My second attempt uncovered the issue of my SD not working.

The same is true of my MB. I burned very-very few discs on that system. The SD probably failed long before I discovered it. Since I don't have Apple Care on that unit, I replaced it myself with a OEM drive I found online for $90. Since my MB is an early model the original drive was only able to read DVD's and burn CD's. I was happy to swap it out with a DVD burner anyway... not that I use it much but it's nice to have.

I'm praying my new iMac 24" doesn't have this problem... that would be a total bummer as lugging this thing around is not fun and the Apple Store is 60 miles away by train and cab.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Full-Auto 

I'm praying my new iMac 24" doesn't have this problem... that would be a total bummer as lugging this thing around is not fun and the Apple Store is 60 miles away by train and cab.

I'm trying to picture someone lugging an iMac on the El...it's not a complimentary picture, but it IS funny. You're right that it would suck-a lot-if you had to haul a new iMac in to have its drive replaced.

Come to think about it, I've only burned a few DVDs with my iMac, and even fewer with my MBP... I may have to do some checking to see whether my hardware is still working.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Are the superdrives that people here have discussed all the same model? Are they all the same VERSION of that model? Have they all failed in exactly the same way?

They're obviously not the same model, and certainly not the same version, since I'm talking about a number of machines spanning from the original 12" PowerBook G4 from five years ago to a brand-new MacBook Pro. Technology changes quite a bit in that time - but the fact that slot-loading drives suck doesn't.

I'll bet that there are at least a couple of variables in play, from physical environmental factors to oddities in how the drives are used, that have an impact on whether they fail or not, and how they fail if they do. That's not to say that there isn't some sort of systemic problem with the drives Apple is putting in MacBooks, just that they guarantee these parts for a limited time for a reason.

Again, it's a number of different users, so it's not something a particular user is doing to it. In addition, my MBP is pampered (and of course the two iMacs in this equation just sit on a desk). The time I discovered the optical drive was flaky was the first time I tried putting the install DVD in - the problem's clearly been there from the start.

But to say that Apple is negligent in using these drives is pretty extreme. Has anyone contacted Apple about how many of these drives they've gone through?

I didn't say Apple is negligent - I just said the drives suck. With a laptop, there's not much alternative, but I do wish they'd use something else for their desktops.

And Apple Care for a laptop is not just some gimmick to make tons of money for Apple. Laptop parts are more expensive, Apple laptops are built "interestingly" so it often takes a lot more work to get into them to fix stuff, and you really want someone who knows what he's doing tinkering inside your Mac. I have Apple Care on my MBP (which will run out just about exactly when I graduate next year), and I got it on my iMac because the extra cost was relatively trivial. But it's not a scam, it's insurance. I personally hope I never have to make use of it for either of my machines.

What? When did I say AppleCare was a scam? Quite the contrary - I said that you'd better get AppleCare since you're more likely than not to need it when the optical drive fails.

[ghporter]

Charles, my response wasn't aimed specifically at you. It was more toward the numerous others here who always figure that if something isn't going their way, it's somebody's fault. My questions were meant to be hypothetical, not specific.

I mentioned the negligence issue because there are several posts suggesting that Apple needs to police every single drive they install, from cradle to the user's grave. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's the feeling I got.

My statement about Apple Care is there because I wanted to cut to the chase and prevent a cascade of "yeah, they're just out to take our money." There's already at least one post in this thread that's leaning that way. I wholeheartedly agree that Apple Care is NECESSARY for any laptop for the reasons I stated above.

Obviously I was not generic enough in making my points. Sorry for the confusion.

[The Placid Casual]

Well, my Superdrive in my MBP quit reading CD's last week (although still plays DVD's), but just checked, and found out that yep, the DVD burning function has gone here too...

Spec of drive is as follows:

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857:

Firmware Revision: HAE4
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO

[The Placid Casual]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

And Apple Care for a laptop is not just some gimmick to make tons of money for Apple. Laptop parts are more expensive, Apple laptops are built "interestingly" so it often takes a lot more work to get into them to fix stuff, and you really want someone who knows what he's doing tinkering inside your Mac. I have Apple Care on my MBP (which will run out just about exactly when I graduate next year), and I got it on my iMac because the extra cost was relatively trivial. But it's not a scam, it's insurance. I personally hope I never have to make use of it for either of my machines.

In recent years, Applecare seems to be *essential* too... since the Intel switch, from a purely personal perspective, quality has gone through the floor. I have had 8+ Apple machines, all have needed repairs. My Thinkpad, and those of 10 other colleagues have been flawless...

It's just a shame that in Europe, Applecare costs so much more than similar services from rivals. Dell are doing 3 years on a laptop for 120 Euro atm, which is barely 1/4 of the cost of Applecare on a MBP which runs to 439 Euro!