AppleCD 8x from my 6360 not working

[Machead]

It receives power just fine; the tray opens and closes correctly. The AppleCD 600i out of my 7200 works fine with my 6360 with the card-edge adapter, so that's not the problem either. But when I insert a CD, nothing happens. It doesn't appear on the desktop, and the CD drive doesn't spin up.

 

[Themk]

Have you tried the CD-ROM drive in a different system, just for testing. I have a 2X CD-ROM drive (that came with my Performa 638CD), and it is picky about the disks it will read, perhaps that is part of your problem too? One thing you can try to do is pop in a Red Book Audio CD (when professionally burned, those work with just about 100% of CD-ROM drives), and use AppleCD player to see if that works.

 

[Unknown_K]

Check to see if the drive is terminated or not. I assume the drive will not be seen by the system if the terminator jumper on the back is off (only device on the chain since the HD is IDE).

 

[Machead]

I should add that Drive Setup sees it. It identifies it as SCSI ID 3.

EDIT: It doesn't work in my 7200 either. The jumpers on both drives are configured identically.

 

[Johnnya101]

That's your issue I think. Try it on 4. I was having major issues with an external drive when it was on 3.

 

[Machead]

I set it to 4 and it still isn't working. The "Term Power" jumper is connected. Should I disconnect it?

 

[Themk]

Now I'm inclined to think there is something wrong with the drive itself. Perhaps the laser is dirty? Maybe there is something damaged on the circuit board? Try an audio CD in it, with AppleCD player.

 

[Machead]

Try an audio CD in it, with AppleCD player.

I have, and it didn't work. I'm currently leaning in the direction of "Something's wrong with the drive itself", because I've tried every jumper combination without luck. My question is now, how do I get it open to look at it? I undid some screws, but the circuit board seems to be fixed somehow to the case.

 

[slomacuser]

I have replacement CD unit if you are interested

 

[Machead]

I am, but it would seem that shipping is very expensive.

 

[techknight]

The optical pickup unit is bad, it is not obtaining focus lock which is why the CD doesnt spin. 

You can get by albeit temporarily, if you adjust the laser power level on the pickup itself a bit higher. It may take off and spin, but I say temporarily because it wont last if used heavily. 

 

[Machead]

The optical pickup unit is bad, it is not obtaining focus lock which is why the CD doesnt spin. 

You can get by albeit temporarily, if you adjust the laser power level on the pickup itself a bit higher. It may take off and spin, but I say temporarily because it wont last if used heavily. 

But how would I get to it to do that?

 

[Themk]

I have to concur with Techknight, the optical pickup is failing/already bad. You can replace either just the optical pickup, or the entire drive.

I think it is adjusted with a (trim)pot?

 

[Unknown_K]

You should look into getting a replacement drive. If you want to try one other thing I would clean the laser lense with a q-tip.

 

[techknight]

You have to take the unit apart, and you can see the laser assembly itself. Usually on the top, or side of the laser is a small trim pot. you only want to adjust those in VERY SMALL increments until it locks in and becomes stable. 

If you crank it up the first time you can actually fry the laser diode. 

 

[Machead]

I turned the trimpot on the laser clockwise about a sixteenth of a turn, and it works now. But I'll still probably get a new drive, just in case.

 

[techknight]

ok, you may get some time out of it then. if it was a large jump I wouild worry 

A minor tweak means the laser has wear, but its not too bad. 

Diode lasers, and actually all LEDs eventually drop in emissivity over time. Just like a CRT. DVD diodes seem to wear out much much faster than standard 780nm CD diodes. 

 

[Themk]

Oh good. As Techknight said, that isn't a huge change on the trimpot, so it should work for a little while. At some point you may still want to get a new drive.

Speaking of DVD diodes, I can't tell you how many times I have seen these die in Sony PS2 video game systems.

 

[techknight]

And the PS3, and the xbox, and probably the PS4 by now.