Apple PowerCD Troubleshooting Guide
Fault-finding for the Apple PowerCD, from Apple's user's guide and owners' repairs. Apple published no service manual for the player. Care, batteries and dismantling are on Apple PowerCD General Maintenance.[1]
Disc will not spin or "ERR"
[edit | edit source]If the player powers up but the disc does not turn, or the display shows "ERR", check that the spindle turns freely. On 68kMLA and TinkerDifferent several owners found the grey spindle hub pushed down onto the motor, so that it dragged and the motor could not turn it; one measured the spindle motor as a 5.9 V DC unit and confirmed the diagnosis by running it from a 6 V supply.[2][3]
- Switch off. Turn the hub by hand: if it feels rough or stiff, it has probably been pushed too far down.
- Lift the grey hub slightly and slowly with a small screwdriver. bibilit did this with the player dismantled, but suggests it may be possible without; Byrd dismantled his and also put penetrating oil around the hub.[2]
- Power on with the door open. On a working player the laser seeks up and down, trying to focus.[3]
If the disc now spins but will not read, the lens may be dirty or damaged and unable to lock onto the disc.[3]
Apple's troubleshooting list
[edit | edit source]| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| No power | ON/OFF switch on; fresh batteries; both ends of the power adapter connected, and the outlet live |
| Remote control does not work | Aim it at the player; clear the path; new batteries |
| "FULL" on the display; programs cannot be changed | The player's memory is full; delete stored programs |
| No picture on the television | The disc is a Photo CD; label towards the door; the television on and set to the right channel or input; the computer switched off if both are connected; the video connection |
| Picture or sound distorted | Clean the disc with a soft cloth from centre to edge; try another disc |
| No sound | Volume up; the disc is an audio CD or a Portfolio Photo CD with sound; label towards the door; all audio connections; headphones on another source |
| Amplifier sound distorted | The player is connected to the amplifier's phono input instead of a line input |
| Macintosh does not see the PowerCD | Player on and a disc inserted; PowerCD software installed; restart; unique SCSI ID |
| Macintosh will not restart after the software was copied by hand | Start up from another disk and install the software with the Installer |
| CD-ROM icon does not appear | Label towards the door; SCSI cable connected; software installed; restart |
| "This is not a Macintosh disk" | Software installed; the disc may use a format the Macintosh cannot read |
| No sound from an audio CD on the Macintosh | Headphone or speaker connections; volume up on the player; start playback from the PowerCD Audio desk accessory; check play is not paused; network-shared discs give no audio |
| Photo CDs will not open | QuickTime and the Photo CD extension installed, with the PowerCD software |
The SCSI ID is preset to 3 and set with the buttons above and below the number; do not use 0 on a Macintosh with a built-in hard disk.[1]
Base faults
[edit | edit source]A base that lights the player's display but never spins a disc was the fault in one 2025 TinkerDifferent teardown; its electrolytics were not visibly leaking, and the thread reports no cure. Another member there reported that faults in the drive mechanism are more common than in the base.[4] Try the player on another base, or on batteries away from the base, before opening either. Never connect the player's DB-25 base connector to a Macintosh SCSI port.[5]
Related pages
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Apple Computer, PowerCD User's Guide (1993), Chapter 8, Troubleshooting, pp. 51-55 (PDF pp. 56-60); Setting the SCSI ID number p. 14 (PDF p. 21); hosted as File:Apple PowerCD User's Guide (1993).pdf.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "PowerCD repair", 68kMLA forum thread, June to October 2019, 68kmla.org. Posts by bibilit and Byrd.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 wottle, "PowerCD problem / fix", TinkerDifferent forum, August 2022, tinkerdifferent.com. Spindle hub pushed down; fix by lifting it; laser seeks up and down at power-on on a working unit; a dirty or damaged lens as the other cause.
- ↑ "Apple PowerCD Base Station / Dock Teardown", TinkerDifferent forum, March 2025, tinkerdifferent.com.
- ↑ "Apple PowerCD 'portable' CD ROM drive", 68kMLA forum thread, February 2018, 68kmla.org.