Optical drive upgrade. Successful stories. tell me

Hi all
I am looking to upgrade my PB 15 1.5 combo
Specs
to a superdrive with doudle layer burning facilities.
I first though of playing it safe and going through Camcon upgrade services, but their replacement drive isn't fully compatible because of some special apple firmware missing. Although they will be happy to install some equiment that I provide. 1h of labour charged, and they will also upgrade my hd in the process. The deal is not so bad.
So now is the issue of buying the right optical drive, and this is just driving me crasy. grrr
Most of the threads here presents difficult experiences as it is may be difficult.
Lets hear about the good stories at once.
Something in this sort of format will be great.
computer model:
drive model:
Original drive model:
Read/Write/speed:
Finder burning: y/n
iAppl burning: y/n
Short comment:
Remember that I have already read lots of the bad, patches and firmware stories, and I will really want to concentrate to the one working without modification.
Many thanks in advance

UPDATE:
If you have a 1.5GHz model A1106, the same as mine, I can tell everyone that I just successfully upgraded my combo drive to the "current" SuperDrive they used on the last PowerBook, the 15-inch 1.67GHz Double Layer SD model.
I took out the combo drive, model CW-8123-C from Panasonic, and installed the UJ-846-CA double layer SuperDrive into it.
So far so good! In fact, people claim the UJ-846-CA drive works in all PowerBooks (Titanium and up) and iBooks as well (G3 and G4, the dual-USB G3s). But I can't confirm that. I can only confirm that which I did.
Everything is recognized and no special drivers are needed. I did notice, since I also upgraded the hard drive, that in Panther (did a restore from my discs), it recognizes the drive, but doesn't support ANY burning, only reading. In Tiger, plain old 10.4, it says burning is supported, but not by Apple. In 10.4.11, it is "Apple shipped/supported."
And I did the installation myself. I totally went against my recommendations to people (such as in my previous posts above), about how the Aluminum PowerBooks are delicate to work with. I still won't touch my 12-inch PowerBook (maybe later down the road) but these 15-inch 1.5GHz models are easier than the previous 1.5GHz/1.33GHz ones that had a latch/catch over the optical drive.
By the way, the drive I chose was a 160GB Seagate 5400.3 because it has perpendicular recording technology and it's been said to be just as fast as the 100GB 7200RPM drive by Seagate. I thought about the Western Digital 250GB drive that I've been telling people about here on the forums, but I've had good experiences with Seagate and Maxtor, so I stayed with them.
The money saved was a lot!! Had I asked an Apple Authorized Service Provider to do it, it would have run me $1000, at least, for the options I wanted. Hard drive installation, LCD display casing, top case, and optical drive upgrade.
You can get the UJ-846-CA from resellers (both used and new), or on eBay. I got mine on eBay.
Here's what my profiler says:
Hardware Overview:
Machine Name: PowerBook G4 15"
Machine Model: PowerBook5,6
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.2)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.5 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.9.1f1
Serial Number: xxxxxxxxx
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled
Version: 1.0
ATA Bus:
ST9160821A:
Capacity: 149.05 GB
Model: ST9160821A
Revision: 3.ALD
Serial Number: xxxxxxxx
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk0
Protocol: ATA
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
OS9 Drivers: No
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
PowerBook G4 15:
Capacity: 148.92 GB
Available: 138.95 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk0s3
Mount Point: /
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-846:
Firmware Revision: FAAG
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
Message was edited by: Pismo 900
I just did this last night, by the way! And you can do it yourself too by going to this guide (you have to have the Model A1106 one... if you have another one, go to the main site and choose the one that matches your model)--
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/PowerBook-G4-Al-15-Inch-1-5-1-67-BT-2-0-LR/64

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Optical drive upgrade and useability

I recently read an article about upgrading the optical drive on my Wallstreet PDQ. Basically, purchase any old ATAPI 50 pin drive and mount it in the Wallstreet sled. Then use Patch Burn to allow use in OS X. Sounds simple enough... I have also been told that I can further simplify this by making sure the drive is a UJ-85J drive (this would eliminate the need for Patch Burn software).
2 questions:
1) I had been told the original Wallstreet DVD drive required a decoder card and could not work in OS X. Will this upgrade drive work in the Wallstreet in OS X with out the card?
2) I dual boot into OS 9 to play some old games I just can't seem to leave behind. Will this drive also work in OS 9?
Thanks for helping me keep my favorite computer running.
Thoma

Thoma,
Unfortunately the Wallstreet has a non-industry standard optical drive connector so no, you cannot replace the optical drive with a modern unit. The Lombard and later are industry standard.
The DVD Decoder PC card was placed in the PCMCIA/CardBus slot and in conjunction with the Apple's DVD-ROM drive (an optional kit from Apple), you could watch DVDs. This hardware-enabled decoding is not supported in any version of OSX, just Classic. The decoder card is not necessary for burning optical disks or any other task.
My suggestion is to buy a FireWire PC card and an external DVD drive to burn disks and have access to DVDs. However, this will not allow you to watch movies...the Wallstreet needs hardware decoding to get a decent picture. You will also not be able to boot your Wallstreet from the external DVD drive since you cannot boot through a FireWire PC card, only built-in FireWire.

Macbook Mid2007 Optical Drive Upgrade

On Saturday im taking my macbook into my local apple store to have my keyboard replaced. I just wondered if they would be able to replace the optical drive (combo drive) with a superdrive as I cant live without the ability to burn DVD's.
Assistance is greatly appreciated
Ryan

You'll need to ask them. We can't answer your question.

A31 Optical Drive Upgrade

Hello everyone.
I need to upgrade my optical drive on my A31 (2653).
It has a CD-R/W drive and I want to replace it with a DVD-R/W drive.
Does anyone know the part number or any other model that will fit this particular Thinkpad.
Your help would much appreciated.
Thanks.
Tony

This is the drive you should be looking for:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-46337
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
George
In daily use: R60F, R500F, T61, T410
Collecting dust: T60
Enjoying retirement: A31p, T42p,
Non-ThinkPads: Panasonic CF-31 & CF-52, HP 8760W
Starting Thursday, 08/14/2014 I'll be away from the forums until further notice. Please do NOT send private messages since I won't be able to read them. Thank you.

Hard drive will not mount after optical drive upgrade

I recently performed an optical drive install. Had to remove the hard drive bays (I use three hard drives - Luckily, 2 run OSX).
I carefully removed all three drive bays and the empty bay. When I inserted the drives into the computer I had changed the position, swapping one OSX drive with a different one and reversing the drive bays. On restart, the computer started on the drive I had not selected for startup and I received an error message stating the other drive could not mount and it gave three options (Initialize - Ignore and Eject).
I can see the drive in Disk Utility and repair the permissions (it's also located in the System Profile).
I tried a few things I read in the community using various Terminal commands but was unsuccessful.
(Let me point out that I recently switched from a PPC G5 to MacPro and swapped the drives from PPC into MacPro and all has been fine until I removed changed their positions in the bays)
Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated.

I would recommend you reformat your drives that you brought over, and if possible put in a Firewie case.
Swapping drives will normally not matter but you should use Startup Disk to reset the default after using Option key the first time.
Putting in an optical device shouldn't require removing the drives to get the cage loose and let you put in a 2nd superdirve.
G5 used APM partition map, Intel Macs use EFI and requie GPT/GUID.
A drive with just data should not matter but that is not fool-proof either.
A drive iwth the system from a G5 though can.
During startup the boot process scans all volumes and looks for systems and mountable volumes.
Pull all the drives except the one with OS X that you were using, and put that in bay #1.
I've moved arrays between bays and that never "broke" the array or had trouble mounting and using (even moving to ODD ports).

Black Tie cover RAM/HDD in Optical Drive Upgrades?

I recently upgraded my macbook pro to 16gb of ram and a seagate momentus xt 750gb in the hdd bay and the original 5400 rpm 750gb hard drive in the optical bay drive with a caddy. I have the BTP Accidental coverage. Everything went well, it is in there safely MBP running good, only a few screws missing in the bottom, but that's just because they were stripped. Part of the bottom is raised a little in one corner, not sure why but it is and everything is running good. If I crack the screen, will they cover it? Or if something happens, will they not fix it because of the upgrades, or the loose/uplifted back?

You'll need to ask AppleCare.

Help - Optical Drive Upgrade

I have a Tecra M2-630 that has provided great service for many years. I changed out the hard drive with a larger one that I took out of a dead HP laptop. I have an HP Model UJ-840 DVD RW drive from that same dead laptop and I found that I can change out the carriage and install in the Toshiba. I thought it might recognize the hardware and search for drivers but it seems that it won't. Anybody know if this will work, and how I can get the right drivers to make it work well?

Many will say there a lot of cheaper options.
However, MCE is one of hundreds of GOOD choices out in the market place.
Here is another option.
http://eshop.macsales.com/staticpages/index.cfm?page=superdrive0904/superdrive1004.html&&ref=Google%208%2F20%20Start%20general%20Superdrives&title=Superdrive% 20DVD%20and%20CD%20Burner%20Optical%20Drives
Cheers Don

Optical drive not working since upgrading to Mountain Lion

Backstory:
I ordered a new MacBook Pro with Retina Display after a coworker expressed interest in my current laptop (a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MBP). I had just upgraded the current MBP to Mountain Lion, but decided to sell in order to offset the cost of the new machine.
As I started backing things up last week, I realized that my optical drive had ceased functioning ("The operation can't be completed because you don't have the necessary permission." pops up whenever any optical media, blank or otherwise, is inserted).
I took the computer to the Apple Store, where they kept it overnight. They tried swapping in a new optical drive, but were unable to get the machine to correctly recognize optical media. I was told it was a permissions issue with Mountain Lion. They offered to downgrade the OS for me, but Mountain Lion is one of the selling points (as is "working optical drive"). Now my coworker is a little less eager to buy.
My new MacBook Pro should arrive in the next few days, at which point I'll take my current machine back to the Apple Store. I'll try to get them to do a full OS reinstall and see if they can repair the permissions issue in the process, but I'm not optimistic.
My question is this:
Is it likely a subsequent OS update will address this issue? Or am I simply out of luck?

You paid for a license to use Mountain Lion & that license is forever tied to YOUR Apple ID. You cannot distribute Mountain Lion in any way shape or form. If you were to sell your computer, with Mountain Lion installed, as I've already provided, the new owner will never be able to update or restore OS X, should the need arise. You will have sold the new owner a huge bag of hurt.
Good luck.

Optical drive....dead or software issue? How can I tell?

I'm using a PowerMac G5 with OS 10.4.11. Recently I routinely went to put a DVD-R into the drive to copy some archived files for a client, and it froze. I restarted, drive wouldn't work or eject. I got the disc out using the "paperclip" hole on the drive, but now, the drive isn't even showing up in the System Profiler. When I go to ATA in the Hardware section it says "no information found." The eject button doesn't work on my keyboard either.
I've tried taking the drive out and cleaning it, and tried to use the Hardware Test that came on my G5 disc but it won't work. I also booted from a system disc on my backup external Firewire CD drive and ran Disk Utility/repair disk, and it did some repair but the darned Optical drive is still showing as "no information found."
I've since ordered a new drive and I'm waiting for it to arrive, but is there any way for me to tell if this is a software/OS X issue, or if it's a hardware one?

I just wanted to add that this just happened to me on my G5,I put in a store bought CD and noticed it did not show up on the desk,so I decided to eject and I would not. I tried the paper clip method and it opened it a bit but not enough. Then I discovered on reboot that the drive was not even a choice any more.I still tried to get the disc to eject and finally did,somehow,now I am afraid to insert anything in my Super drive,what is going on I wonder. The system did not even see the drive until I forced it open then everything looks fine. I find it too unusual we would both be having the same issues,I dunno.
Check that: I did insert my Leopard install disc and on the next reboot ran Disc Utility,everything worked fine there,eject and everything!

Adata sp900 sdd 128-GB ssd, optibay optical drive to replace superdrive, and 16 GB upgrade for macbook pro mid 2012.

Hello everyone,
Thank you in advanced for all of the support. This is my first post to the communities. I just bought a 2.9 GHz core 17 processor MacBook pro mid 2012 13" with 8 GB of RAM and I am in the process of upgrading it. When I bought the MacBook pro originally, I was told that I would never mac out the performance because I do not do a lot of photo/video editing. This is true, but I am an academic researcher and tend to multitask often, having 20+ safari tabs open, SPSS (a statistical program), full screen mail app, full screen calendar app, and preview, iTunes open all at the same time. I often get slow performance and error messages that state low memory. This is why I am interested in upgrading the laptop. I am getting ready to go to medical school and I want to have a powerful laptop. I also want to future proof because I plan on having a dual boot system to mac OS and windows OS.
Because I know I will be maxing out the performance of the computer, I want to take full advantage of upgrades, especially now because the cost of the components is reasonable at the moment. The following are the proposed upgrades:
1. Upgrade my current 8-GB ram (2x4-GB) with 16-GB ram (2x8-GB). I plan on using crucial RAM.
Crucial 16-GB Ram: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008LTBJFW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&coli d=2B1KHELSPJPNN&coliid=IYGJWGQDH8LV0&psc=1
2. Replace my optical drive with a hard drive. I will place a SSD into my current hard drive position and then install my current HDD into the optical drive bay with the optibay optical drive caddy. I am doing this because I plan to use the SSD as the boot drive and my current HDD as my backup and files drive. I am putting the SDD into the HDD because I have read it is better to place it in this bay for performance. I will put the other HDD in the optical drive because the performance of that one will not be as important.
Adata SSD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008LTBJFW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&coli d=2B1KHELSPJPNN&coliid=IYGJWGQDH8LV0&psc=1
Optibay Optical Drive Caddy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058AH2US/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&coli d=2B1KHELSPJPNN&coliid=I3GI8MGWAKXY79
My questions:
1. Is the listed RAM appropriate and sufficient for my MacBook pro?
2. Is the listed SSD appropriate and sufficient for my MacBook pro?
3. Is the listed Optical Drive Caddy appropriate and sufficient for my MacBook pro?
4. Is there still a firmware problem that does not allow for SATA 3 (6Gb/s) support in the optical drive?
5. Would it be easier to format the new SSD outside of the MacBook using a SATA to USB adapter?
6. Does working on any of the listed components void my AppleCare (I plan on keeping all of the original components so I can replace them, if I ever need to see apple support)?
7. What is the best way to put Mavericks onto the SSD to make this my boot drive?
8. What is the best way to make all of my files remain on the HDD, but link to the SSD with the operating system?
9. Has anyone ever successfully upgraded to 16-GB RAM and used their optical drive for a secondary hard drive?
10. Is there any miscellaneous advice for this project?
Please feel free to give partial answers. I know this was a lot of information, but I wanted to be efficient in my post. I am very appreciative of everyone who will contribute.
Thank you!

rmichaud91 wrote:
Hello everyone,
I just bought a 2.9 GHz core 17 processor MacBook pro mid 2012 13" with 8 GB of RAM
16 GB of RAM is the best you can do.
The optibay HD will null and void your warranty.

Optical Drive has stopped working since upgrading to ATI 9800

Due to hardware failure of my ATI Radeon 9600 I decided to upgrade to the 9800, which requires (in G5's) a four pin split power supply to be connected to the optical drive.
I have turned my computer on and successfully receive signal out to my monitors, but thus discovered I can't eject the disk tray!
I opened up the computer again and all the connection seem fine.....
Is anyone familiar with installing the 9800?
G5 (duel 2.0 Ghz) Mac OS X (10.4.9) 1GB RAM

Thanks for both your responses.
I am going to restore the system with the other video card and try to get things back to normal, but I did a few more troubleshoots.
The optical drive seems to be functioning. I started up my computer with the side panel opened and I moved the drive a few inches out in order to press the manual eject button. I was able to open the drive bay and close it by pressing the eject button on my keyboard. (That is the first time the keyboard worked.)
I closed the drive bay with an installer CD in it but the CD wouldn't read. I restarted holding the C key down to try and boot off the CD drive- nothing. So I guess the drive isn't working....but yet it seems to be powered????
Do you think this is really only a bad cable? When installing the new Video Card I had a very hard time detaching the 4 pin power supply from the optical drive. Could I have damaged something?
It wouldn't surprise me if now my optical drive was broken. I have had to replace everything on my computer since it reached three years old.
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.9) 1GB RAM

Optical drive endlessly cycles after upgrade.

After upgrading to snow leopard, when closing my laptop (not shutdown, but sleep), my optical drive "cycles" (or sounds like it is trying to eject a disc) persistently. It does this about every 1-1.5 minutes.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Hello Michael Dixon2,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
In order to troubleshoot this issue where the optical drive does not accept discs, please follow the steps below.
Doesn't accept discs
Be sure to check your disc to make sure it is flat. You can check this by putting the disc upside-down on a flat surface. If the disc is bowed up on any side or in the center, do not use the disc because it might get stuck in the drive. Do not use discs that have anything attached to them or dangling from them (such as "sweeper" or cleaning discs).
If the drive struggles when you put in a disc or stops part-way, carefully look at the disc for labels that may be interfering. If there aren't any raised labels then try putting the disc in a few more times.
Try another disc to see if the issue is being caused by a specific disc.
Make sure you insert the disc far enough for the drive mechanism to activate. You need to insert discs nearly all the way before the drive will activate and pull them in. If you don't completely insert a disc, the drive will reverse and push the disc back out.
Allow the drive one or two seconds to accept the disc while it is fully inserted.
Reset the System Management Controller (SMC).
If the drive repeatedly does not accept discs, contact Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or make an appointment with an Apple Retail Store.
Apple Computers: Troubleshooting the slot-loading SuperDrive - Apple Support
Cheers,
Alex H.

Optical drive problems after upgrade to Tiger 10.4.10

I've just had my machine updated to Tiger 10.4.10 after having two new hard drives installed after a hard drive failure. I'm now having issues with burning data for backup purposes.
I can't burn anything with Mac OS Disc Burner utility, it doesn't seem to recognize blank disc's DVD's or CD's. It keeps telling me to load a disc when one is already in the drive.
System profiler recognizes CD-R's & DVD-R's when they are in the optical drive
I can burn with Toast Titanium ver 6.0.3 DVD's & CD's. The burned CD's will mount. The burned DVD's will not mount.
I have checked the burned DVD's in the optical drive of my iBook G4 Mac OS 10.3.9 and they mount on it fine.
Movie DVD's will mount & play. Software DVD's will mount and load applications.
I have cleaned the drive with a cleaning disc.
The Optical Drive was working fine before the upgrade, so what is the problem?
I can only assume two problems now!
1.) the optical drive has a physical malfunction
2.) there is a software issue between Tiger 10.4.10 & this optical drive (this is my favorite at the moment)
The upgrade was done by an Apple Authorised Service Provider they say there are no issues with Tiger & the optical drive.
So any ideas or help would be much appreciated.
Machine Name: Power Mac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac7,2
CPU Type: PowerPC 970 (2.2)
Number Of CPUs: 2
CPU Speed: 1.8 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 1.5 GB
Bus Speed: 900 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.1.5f0
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D:
Model: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D
Revision: A606
Serial Number: DBDL909690WL
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D:
Firmware Revision: A606
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2000 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No

I'm having a similar problem. I bought my G5 with Panther OS on it a few years ago. The DVD drive functioned perfectly back then. Then I upgraded to Tiger this past year which caused the DVD drive to open later..that is, I'd have to hold down the eject button for a good 2 or 3 seconds before it would open or close. Previously it responded instantly. Now what happens more and more is it can't read DVD-ROM disks that it has burned. My imac G4 with Jaguar has no trouble reading the disks but Tiger 10.4.9 and 10.4.10 simply refuse to mount DVD ROM disks that it burned.
I'm trying to make a duplicate DVD of the offending disk on my single-processor G4 and then put THAT disk into the G5 so it can read the info. Hopefully that will be my work-around.
It's got to be a software issue and I keep hoping the Apple wiz kids will put out an update to remedy this. Something's fishy with the DVD drive programming.

Optical drive no longer working after upgrade to Snow Leopard

I have read several of the posts about problems with the optical drive, but I think my problem is different.
I have a MacBook Pro, early 2008 (non-unibody)
Under Leopard, I had no problems with the optical drive. I purchased Snow Leopard (the single disc, 10.6.3 version). The upgrade went smoothly. From that moment on, the optical drive fails to read both CD's and DVD's.
I have reset SMC and PRAM/NVRAM, but that made no difference.
Thanks in advance for any ideas!
Bart Zorn

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Try running a DVD Lens Cleaner disc through it, a little bit of dust or dirt is all it takes to throw them out and it might just be co-incidental with the upgrade.

Since I upgrade to Lion OS my optical drive stop working can't read or write at all I did what I could to fix it but still not working , any help please

Since I upgrade to Lion OS my optical drive stop working can't read or write at all I did what I could to fix it but still not working , any help please

It sounds like you may have multiple problems, but none of them are likely to be caused by malware.
First, the internet-related issues may be related to adware or a network compromise. I tend to lean more towards the latter, based on your description of the problem. See:
http://www.adwaremedic.com/kb/baddns.php
http://www.adwaremedic.com/kb/hackedrouter.php
If investigation shows that this is not a network-specific issue, then it's probably adware. See my Adware Removal Guide for help finding and removing it. Note that you mention AdBlock as if it should have prevented this, but it's important to understand that ad blockers do not protect you against adware in any way. Neither would any kind of anti-virus software, which often doesn't detect adware.
As for the other issues, it sounds like you've got some serious corruption. I would be inclined to say it sounds like a failing drive, except it sounds like you just got it replaced. How did you get all your files back after the new drive was installed?
(Fair disclosure: I may receive compensation from links to my sites, TheSafeMac.com and AdwareMedic.com, in the form of buttons allowing for donations. Donations are not required to use my site or software.)

Optical drive upgrade. Successful stories. tell me

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