Issues with Mac Optical Drives
Everyone and everything is going digital! As a result, older mediums such as CDs and DVDs are becoming less common and eventually, like its predecessors the cassette tapes and VHS, obsolete. Even newer disc technologies such as Blu-Ray may begin to see a drastic decline in sales. Prices have already plummeted since its mainstream arrival just a few years back. The problem is that convenience is clearly making the decisions for the future of media content and storage. And high-selling laptops such as the Mac Air and Window’s Alienware are now coming equipped without optical drives. Instead, they rely on digital downloads to acquire content. With everything shifting towards digital media services such as: Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, Xbox
Live, and others, one question comes to mind: Should I bother fixing my broken optical drive?

Symptoms of a Bad Optical Drive
• CDs not reading
• DVDs not playing
• DVDs skipping
• Not being able to burn videos, documents, pictures, etc
• Disc stuck in optical drive
• Can’t open the tray

Troubleshooting Tips for Issues with the discs
• Restart the computer
• Clean the disc with disc cleaner and a cotton ball
• Try the disc on another system
• Try using and external burner

Hopefully, the steps above resolved the issues. If not, you may need to replace the optical drive. Make sure you get the proper size and style because they can vary. Many Mac computers, for instance, will require a specific model number in order to order the proper part. Contacting a local computer repair company is always recommended before attempting to replace the drive itself. The good thing about these issues is that optical drives have recently become relatively inexpensive. You may also want to consider where you plan on using the optical drive. In certain situations an external optical drive may be the better choice.
You may also determine that it simply isn’t worth it to fix the bad optical drive. You may determine that you don’t even use CDs anymore that you get all your music from iTunes. You may find out that you rarely even buy DVDs anymore and that you just watch them on Netflix. You may, in fact, find out that you simply don’t need that optical drive after all.