A valid DVD drive could not be found. [-70012] Not External Drive Issue

Hello, This is my first post.

A valid DVD drive could not be found. [-70012]

That is the error I am getting every time I attempt to open "DVD Player." Also, I have a disk inside the drive that will not mount, nor eject. I have tried holding the eject button, script eject and firmware eject, but nothing has worked.

Actually getting the drive to mount the disk onto my desktop is what I'm after. So how can I get the computer to know the drive is there?

It may be helpful to explain how this problem came about...It's a long story; I'll try to be brief as possible.

I bought this computer used. It was always not quite right: Primarily, it crashed at odd times, when very little computing seemed necessary. Then one day, it only booted to a gray screen. I assumed the problem was the hard drive or the RAM. I replaced the RAM which did not help. I opened the computer and found a crimped hard drive cable (I assume from the previous user). So I replaced the hard drive cable. The computer started up and ran perfectly, better than ever...except...now the Superdrive was not working.

So I assume I must have somehow screwed up the superdrive while repairing the hard drive....but I'm not sure how. It there something I could have done, replacing the cable? I did not even touch the superdrive. Since having these problems, I have gone back in to be sure all connections are secure: They are.

Any suggestions from the many mac geniuses here on the forum? It would be nice to burn disks again without first transferring files to shared computers.

Thank you in advance!

I'm on a Powerbook G4, 1.67 Ghz, OS 10.4.11

Have a look in:

Blue Apple Icon ~> 'About this Mac' ~> 'More Info' ~> 'System Profiler' ~> Hardware

Tell us what you see here, it should display your Superdrive.

Do you know if the drive is empty of any discs?

Spawn,

Thanks for your response. The superdrive is not displayed under hardware. The text reads:

"No burning device was found. If you are using an external device please make sure that it is connected and powered properly".

By the way, there is power to the drive, I hear it spinning when the computer is booted up or comes out of sleep mode.

There is a disk in the drive, but I am unable to eject it. I have tried every way I can find to make the drive eject, short of jaws of life.

Hi ILoveLamp,

There is a little known manual eject trick on the slot loaders, which I think your model is, but it it NOT mechanical ... so you need to take great care from this point on.

The eject button, which only works with the power on, is a tiny button inside the slot of the CD.

It is on the extreme right of the slot, on the inside and can be felt using a straightened paper clip. You might even be able to see it using a flashlight but remember it will be only a tiny hole.

Anyway, it is hard to describe what the button feels like, but when pushed it only moves about a millimeter or two if that.

It's sort of like the CUDA button, you can feel when you push it in, but do so very, very carefully.

You will not hear anything when you push it, only feel the movement. If you find it and the machine is powered up, the CD ''should'' eject.

If you have a USB mouse, try the reboot with the mousekey held down ALL the way through the start up, until the desktop appears. It may work better than the trackpad button. At this stage, everything is worth a try.

Thanks again Spawn,

I have a question. I have more of a concern about getting the system to recognize the drive, than I do in retrieving the disk. Can ejecting the disk manually help in getting the computer to see the drive?

Please feel free to kick me in the teeth for second guessing.

No chance of that ILoveLamp you're doing fine! There is maybe a chance that the two could be connected but I can't say for 100%.

Do you know if the Superdrive is the original? There may be known issues with it that you could google. When you were "under the hood", did you check the connections to the SD or weren't you in that deep?

Have a look at this Apple doc:

Mac OS: Cannot eject copy protected audio disc, computer starts to gray screen

Other than this link, I will need to do some further checking and I'm just about to head out for a couple of hours ... I'll check back here later.

You may have already resolved your problem, but I came across your question yesterday, because I had the same exact issue and the same exact error message. I tried every suggestion I could find on the internet several times over, non of them worked. Just by trial and error, I was able to finally eject my dvd by restarting my computer and rapidly tapping (not holding it down) the eject button on the keyboard during startup and Voila' it popped out, and now my computer recognizes the drive again. Hopefully this info will benefit you and others out there with the same problem.

signed,
mac user

Thank you pozfour. I just googled having experienced this problem - and in following your advice it seems to have resolved, so am most appreciative!
signed,
mac user.