I have an iMac dv se..the dvd drive no longer recognizes cd's..but it will play dvd's without problems..i have zapped pram..reformatted hard drive and reinstalled system software..(this i had to do from a borrowed 'external' cd drive)..the mac will not allow me to boot from the internal dvd drive in order to install software..i have also in the distant past..did the firmware update..that was last year some time..so i know that this problem did not stem from that ...ONCE in a blue moon..when i put in a cd it will work..then the next one will not..this problem literally happened overnight..should i replace the dvd drive?..apple support is no help..they want 69.00 for 'consultation' with no guarantees..and that is beyond my budget if i have to replace the dvd drive..thanks in advance for any suggestions you can offer!

Sounds like the combo drive might be shot. Fortunately, slot-loading combo drives are relatively cheap - $100 plus labour ought to cover it easily.

See if there are any more firmware updates for your machine, though, and install the 9.2.1 and 9.2.2 updates and then run Software Update a few times.

Once that's all done, see if the drive still isn't working.

p

I just had the same problem start
happening with my iMac. I actually got a
CD to work last night, with some effort,
but it kicks out all I've tried since then.

Is it possible that a firmware update could
solve this? I'll try. If not, I guess I'll have
to replace the drive entirely. Let me know
if you come up with any other ideas.

S