My 2011 iMac doesn't recognize any discs given it. There are soft sounds of mechanics inside but no icon for the disc appears on the screen and...

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Hi Virginia,

Sounds like the problem that you are experiencing is a bad mechanism inside the disc drive. You can try this procedure first and see if this will fix the problem. If this procedure fails, then the problem is the cd drive. 

From the Finder menubar click on GO. If you see the choice of Library, click it.  If you do not see the word Library, hold down the option key. Choose Library. Find the Preferences folder. (Not the Preferences Panes).  Find the CD Info.cidb file and drag it to the desktop. Close all the windows. Reboot and test the issue again.

Let me know if this helps. 

Hi Virginia,

Ok. If the file is missing then you cannot perform that procedure. Instead of buying a new computer, you can just but an external cd rom drive that you can plug in to the USB port and that will act also as a CDROM drive. You can buy that one at bestbuy. Much cheaper than buying a new computer or repairing the machine. 

Let me know if you have further questions. 

Hi Virginia,

Ok. If the file is missing then you cannot perform that procedure. Instead of buying a new computer, you can just buy an external cd rom drive that you can plug in to the USB port and that will act also as a CDROM drive. You can buy that one at bestbuy. Much cheaper than buying a new computer or repairing the machine. 

Let me know if you have further questions. 

Dear Virginia, It was a pleasure helping you with your iMac issue today. Here is a summary of the resolution.
Issue identified : iMac wont recognize discs
Solution Implemented : chat with cx and provide steps to fix the problem. cx cant locate the file and cant proceed with the troubleshooting. suggest to cx just buy an external usb cdrom drive that will act as cdrom instead of repairing the machine or buying a new computer. cx agreed. answer accepted. 
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