If ultimately it looks like the drive really is faulty, I would suggest you consider replacing it with an external unit rather than an internal one - the choice of drives is better that way, costs are generally similar, but performance is much better with most externals than with an Apple-supplied unit. Next, if that doesn't help, try using a cleaning kit on the drive, since it may be a simple matter of dirt or debris on the laser. Press the power button on the back to start up your computer.

Then reconnect your keyboard and mouse to the computer. Plug the power cord back in, making sure the power button is not being pressed at the time.

Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord and any display cables. Shut Down (or if the computer is not responding, hold the power button until it turns off). Press the power button once more to start up your Mac mini. Plug in the power cord while simultaneously pressing and holding the power button on the back of the computer. Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord. If that doesn't help, you might then try a PMU reset (if this is a G4 mini) or an SMC reset (if it's an Intel) Instructions for doing this are: What you describe is certainly a symptom of a faulty optical drive, but before you have it replaced, there are a couple of things you might try.įirstly, open the CD and DVDs preference pane and ensure that for each type of disk, an option is selected, such as 'Open Finder' for when you insert blanks, open iTunes for music CDs, DVD player for video DVDs etc.

Mac dvd drive internal