Pioneer Superdrive

Hi,
Apple Care kindly replaced my faulty Superdrive, which was a Panasonic. The new drive is a Pioneer one:
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K05:
Firmware Revision: I518
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 0 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No
What sounds odd is that the old drive, as far as I know, supported DVD +R. Could somebody, who still has the original Panasonic drive, go to "About this Mac" and send me the Tech Specs via this thread.
Thanks,
Jurgen

Hi Jürgen,
Yep. It does appear that your new Pioneer SuperDrive has limited DVD-Write capabilities. I have the Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-K04L (presumably the previous version to your new drive) that shipped on my computer and it seems to have a wider range. Here are the specs:
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K04L:
Firmware Revision: D441
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2000 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, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No
Strange. Hope this helps, though.
Cheers,
Steve.

Similar Messages

8x Pioneer SuperDrive only burns 2x - firmware update?

I purchased two iMac 20" 2.0GHz models a couple months ago. One has the Pioneer DVR-K04L SuperDrive, the other a Matshita UJ-845.
The Pioneer drive burns most 16x, 8x, or 4x DVD+-R media I have tried at only 2x. In fact, the ONLY media I have gotten to burn at 8x is Verbatim 8x DVD-R media. 16x Verbatim DVD-R media only burns at 2x. The same 16x media, and many other brands of 8x media, all burn at 8x in the Matshita UJ-845 drive.
Is anyone aware of a firmware updater for the Pioneer drive to enable it to burn 8x rated media at 8x? Burning 8x media at 2x is unacceptable. The fact that the same 8x media burns at 8x in the Matshita UJ-845 drive points to a problem with the drive.
In my research, I have found that Apple is responsible for the firmware on this Pioneer OEM drive, not Pioneer. Now a Pioneer fireware updater may work and enable faster burn speeds, but basically, this is a problem Apple needs to address and fix by releasing a drive updater for Pioneer equipped iMac G5's.

I had NO LUCK burning DVD's with the Internal Imac G5's Superdrive - my External FW with a DVR-109 burns everytime no matter what the brand DVD's - at the advice of a few Imac G5 owners I bought VERBATIM 8X DVD's (the real Verbatim Branded ones) and now my Imac burns fine everytime - try Verbatim or Apple Branded DVD's you may find your troubles disappear.... Apparently Apple DVD Burners are real finicky about media - I just burned about 8 DVD's with my Internal and no problems!..
Mine is the Revision A with the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-825
I'm using these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817130955
and they burn at the full speed too (4X) where before 2X was all I got and then 90% had problems finishing the burn

IT8 killed my pioneer superdrive, dvr-109

Firmware Revision: 1.40
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2000 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, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No
I have a DVR-109 in my G4 MDD. before I upgraded to IT8, i was able to watch dvds, listen to and import cds like I am supposed to. Now with IT8, my superdrive wont recognize any disc. Once a disc is inserted, I can here the drive spinning as though its trying to read the disc. But nothing...the drive stops spinning after trying for a few minutes. I can eject the disc but nothing can be read...anyone else have this problem? any suggestions on how to fix this? ive cleaned the drive with a cleaning disc. anyone know what the latest firmware version for this drive is and where I can go get get it?

now i know its itunes because now a cdr will appear in finder but not in itunes. stil cant burn anything.

Pioneer superdrive problems / flashing firmware

I hope someone can help me. I have an alu imac 2007 and after 13 months (and without extended applecare) the dvd drive packed in. I got it replaced by a local apple agent, but i supplied the drive myself, a new pioneer dvr ka06 from a macbook. Here is the problem. The drive works fine but the dvd has to be pushed all the way in to actually take the disk, its a massive pain. I assume that it is set up like this as the drive is closer to the edge of the case in the macbook compared to the imac. According to pioneer the firmware may be the problem. The firmware on the new drive is q609, and on the old drive is q624. Is there any way to flash or update the drive to solve this problem or does anyone else have any ideas.

It depends (obviously) on how Pioneer flashes the firmware. Some drives can flash on a disc that has the update on it, others require a program run (usually PC based) to trigger the update sequence.
I'd spend some time on the Pioneer site and maybe call their support... RTFM?

Pioneer Superdrive no longer reads Apple Brand DVDs!

Just recently i have noticed my G5 has stopped accepting Apple Branded dvds. All others work fine. I think it started after I upgraded to 10.4.4.
Since I upgraded I have noticed the drive makes a lot more 'clicks and *****' as well as the fan underneath the drive spins alot faster and makes more noise than before. Now when I put a pre-burnt Apple brand DVD into the drive, its sort of grunts, waits a few seconds then spits it out.
Curiously the dvds mount in my ibook with 10.4.4.
I think 10.4.4 has shafted the optical drive firmware is there any way I can reload the firmware?

Before this all happened, I could burn to dvd no problem.
BUT I totally know what you mean about having a problem ejecting any disk!
The grinding noise and the attempts by the iMac to spit them out on it's own and then trying everything I could think of to get it to eject... frustrating and a bit scary knowing something is definitely wrong.
It probably should have clued me in that things were only going to get worse.
I've got the extended care, my hard drive has already been replaced (that after only a few months) and now I've got to pack this baby up again and wait for the optical drive to be replaced.. oh no...
I agree, you should get a replacement without charge even if you don't have extended care as it is obviously defective, just like mine.
Hey thanks for replying, I was beginning to think this post was in complete vain.

Upgrading To A Pioneer internal DVD RW

I have a Quicksilver 800Mhz(single processor) with internal Sony CD RW
I'd like to replace this drive with an internal Pioneer DVR-110 16x Dual Layer.
Does the computer have the correct cabling etc to operate this device

It's not necessarily the firmware for all the iApps and Finder, rather with device profiles.
It appears only dual-layer buring in iDVD that is sensitive to the firmware version, probably using a firmware check -- but I can't say for sure on that. Apple OEM optical drives usually have different firmware from the ones that you buy, and usually this doesn't make a difference. One verified problem with different firmware came in the early days of OS X, where drives with PC firmware would cause kernel panics on wake if you left the disc in the drive of Pioneer Superdrive. There was a workaround for this, and I believe, but haven't checked that the was later in later versions of OS X.
With Finder and iTunes, the issue isn't the firmware of the drives but rather with device profiles (files or files). Going back to iTunes and disc burning on OS 9.x Apple was and still writes and updates these device profiles as new drives hit the market -- so the various apps know what drive is installed and being used. This is why for instance the Pioneer 109 didn't have support early on with Tiger, but the 10.4.3 update brought native support (without the need for Patchburn).
So if the drive you're installing, e.g. Pioneer 110D, is too new, and Apple hasn't yet written the profile for it. Part of what Patchburn is to supply the requisite profiles for these drives that are too new or drives from manufacturers, Apple may have never officially supported. A lot people thought the 10.4.4 update would bring full native support for the 110D, but alas it's still not there -- I checked when I installed mine. I've installed a lot of Pioneers over the years, great drives which Apple still uses. (Just installed a 110D in my DA, and a K05 in my PB and Cube.) Usually get full compatibility with these -- I say usually since there is the issue of the iDVD5 dual-layer burning. We'll have to see if iDVD6 removes the alleged firmware check.
If you're still stuck in 9.x, you can find patched device profiles at xlr8yourmac. I used one with a Pioneer 106.
DA-Giga 2x1.33; Cube-Giga 1.3; PB 15" 1.33-Hitachi 100GB 7K100, Pioneer DVR-K05 Mac OS X (10.4) Cheetah 15.3K, ATTO UL3D, Radeon 9600 Pro

Installation of 2nd superdrive- Jumper question

I have just installed a Pioneer Superdrive into my G4 Mirror Drive FW 800 Power Mac. It is in the lower bay, in the upper bay is the original combo drive that came with the computer.
I currenty have the new drive's jumpers set to "CS", and the original drive 's jumper is on the third pin (there are only 3 pins), I assume this is also "CS".
Now when I press my eject key, the upper bay opens the original drive. I'd like to make the new Superdrive the default when I press the eject key. How do I do this? And how will I access the second drive, when I need too?
Thanks,
Cheri

It is probably a jumper setting problem. There should be a sticker on each drive showing the settings. On the Pioneer, the position closest to the flat cable is Master, next is Slave, and third is Cable Select. If both drives are set Cable Select (and the cable and computer support Cable Select) the drive at the end of the cable will be Master, the other drive Slave.
If you are not sure if Cable Select will work on your system, set the drive at the end to Master, and the other to Slave.

PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K05 won't burn dvd+-r/w or cd-r

I've read a bunch of posts from people with similar problems and am concerned...brand new 20" imac with 2GB of RAM and following superdrive specs:
Model: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K05
Revision: Q523
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
I have tried many types of media and all have failed...used both burn folder and toast...burn folder has given me the following errors when burning to a Sony DVD+R media:
error code 0x80020022
and
error code 0x8002006D
get this error when burning to Maxell CD-R:
error code 0x8002006E
I've used these on my previous G4 with upgraded Pioneer Superdrive and had no problem. Is this a warranty issue?

reset the pram and nvram. tried burning from both toast and burn folder...more pricey dvd+r coasters.
created a new user and tried to burn from that. still nothing.
i have transferred 200 GB of data to this computer from my old one (which is severely damaged) and can't back it up now, without purchasing a whole new external drive, as i'm guessing i'll have to send this back...just throwing money away on this. thanks apple.

SuperDrive generico para eMac

*Hi, I have a question!*
ENGLISH//
I have an eMac to which is no longer working the combo drive, and wanted to install a SuperDrive, unfortunately few suppliers in Mexico have it and is very expensive or do you recommend putting on an outsider, but it makes you uncomfortable.
Anyone know what kind of drive that makes it official or I can buy to suit the needs of the team.
The serial number is XX435XXXXX
I send a greeting!
ESPAÑOL//
Tengo una eMac a la cual ya no le funciona el drive combo, y quisiera instalarle un SuperDrive, lamentablemente pocos proveedores en MX lo tienen y es muy costoso o te recomiendan instalarle un externo, pero esto lo hace muy incomodo.
Alguien sabe que tipo de Drive le funcionaria o que marca puedo comprar para que se adecue a las necesidades del equipo.
El no de serie es XX435XXXXX
les envió un saludo!
<serial number edited by host>

G'day, [Good Day to you]
You have noted the 2 options - replace the internal drive, OR get an external one.
I personally replaced the internal with a Pioneer superdrive. You need to know what you are doing though - the CRT inside the eMac remains dangerous even when unplugged. (Dangerous Electrical Discharges)
If going for an external, preferably find a Firewire drive rather than USB. It will be more reliable.
Cheers
cosmic

OEM vs Superdrive

Hi, wondering what the difference between an OEM Pioneer burner, and the ones shipped with the G5s are? I've always thought that there is no difference. But a couple an Apple tech has told me that the superdrives shipped in the macs where built specifically for that system. Hence, why it's harder to update the firmware on them.
When I had my G4 MDD, I replaced the older and slower Pioneer superdrive with an OEM Pioneer 112D drive. Worked just fine, but there was one issue that I couldn't resolve. It was ported to burn at 16X, but no matter what disc I used (all 16x media) it burned only at a max of 8x. Even after 2 replacement drives and a firmware update. No biggy. Everything else was okay. Until recently (just before I got the G5), if I left a disc in the tray for a long period time, and I ejected it, it would unmount but the tray wouldn't eject. Instead it would re-mount the disc. And only then can I eject it.
Should I be looking to get an original Mac superdrive? Or will OEM drives work just fine?

Cool. Thanks maclover. I'll be picking up the 112D either tonight or tomorrow. Should be interesting working on a G5, trying to get familiar with it. So far, I've had no issues. Just a matter of figuring out the layout and how things are put together. Lucky for me, I haven't had to consult a manual or instructions yet. But having a quick look inside last night, I may have to brush up on replacing the optical drive. The link you sent will help. One question though, the instructions says not to use the standoffs from the old drive on the new one. What happens if there are no standoffs included with the new drive?

Self replacing Superdrive DVR-104 Any Tips - Have You Replaced It Yourself?

In a previous post I mentioned probably replacing the original DVR-104 Pioneer Superdrive myself. Has anyone done this on their own?
I have the complete Apple eMac repair manual, and it shows the complete procedure for: (in order)
• Removing the outer eMac housing shell
• Disconnecting the Power Button connection
• Procedure for discharging the CRT (Using Apple Tool)
• Removing the "Faraday Plate"
• Removing the Apple Pioneer Superdrive
With the right Apple tools, precautions, and "repair" skills to
take on a repair of this nature, I am willing to replace the Superdrive myself. Especially in light of the fact that an Apple repair shop has quoted me over $450.00 to do this very same repair.
It seems pretty straight forward, and after buying the Apple CRT discharge Tool and a new Pioneer DVR-104 (in the next week or so), I'm planning on making the change.
Has anyone here ever replaced the Superdrive themselves? Can you offer any suggestions or tips that might make things go any smoother?
I will greatly appreciate your input. Thanks

I recently upgraded my eMac which is 2004 USB 2.0 model to a Pioneer 111D 16x Superdrive. Basically you follow the manual directions for removing the drive and then you plug in the new drive in its place and put your eMac back together. I found that turning the case 45 degrees makes it a lot easier to detach and re-attach the power button cable. I bought my drive from eBay for about $60 and it even came bundled with Tiger for eMac. I just swapped the drives, put the eMac back together, and the drive booted the next time I turned my computer on.
It doesn't take $450.00 worth of expertise, I'll tell you that. You just need the allan keys to take apart the case, a phillips head screwdriver, and maybe a flathead screwdriver to help you remove the Faraday plate. In replacing your superdrive, you really won't be coming in contact with the CRT capacitors so just make sure to touch a metal part in your compter to prevent static discharge like you would when installing memory. The only real tip I can give you is to keep your hands off the circuit board as best you can--you don't want to break it or get it dirty from the oils on your skin--thankfully the mounting rail for the drive makes this extremely easy.

Which Superdrive is more reliable?

I'm having my defective Pioneer superdrive replaced in my new iMac. I have a choice of two drives according to AppleCare. I'm guessing it's between the Pioneer and Matshita. Does anyone know which is likely to be more reliable? Thanks,
Bill

No idea which is more reliable, but the Pioneer is relatively new,
and there are far more Matshitas in the iMac installed base. So,
the Matshita might be a little safer WRT potential driver "issues."
BTW, Matshita is short for Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.,
also known as Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries Ltd...
...a.k.a. [Panasonic|http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/computer/storage/optical/models/UJ85JB.asp] !
[_''It's spelt +Raymond Luxury Yacht+, but pronounced +Throatwarbler Mangrove+.''_|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyQvjKqXA0Y]
Looby

Internal Hard Drives Disappeared, Finder Memory Problem

Hello Helpful Folks,
I recently installed an addional internal Hard Drive, and an additional 1GB SDRAM. This worked great for a day, but the next morning, after powering up, system was extremely sluggish, and after much deadline-induced impatient problem solving, has gone from bad to worse (system refuses to acknowledge existence of internal Hard Drives). I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but as
the devil is in the details, I figure too much info is better than not enough.
Following is a breakdown of my system: AS IT LAST WORKED; RECENT UPGRADES; and MY LAME ATTEMPTS AT PROBLEM SOLVING THAT HAVE MADE THINGS WORSE. Please don't interpret my all caps as shouting, just trying to organize this post for better clarity.
System is dedicated to Video Editing with FCP 3, running under OS 9.2.2. System is "off the Grid", i.e. no network, no internet, no printer, no gaming devices. System was purchased new in July 2001, by a friend. At one point I know this system had an Airport card, which was removed prior to my purchase in 2003. I can't remember what else it may have had installed in its history, but here's what it has now:
SYSTEM AS IT LAST WORKED:
**bold items are upgrades Original Owner or I installed with no apparent problems**
Power Mac G4 "Quicksilver" 2001
867 PowerPC G4, 256 L2, 2MB L3
-1 Stick "ValueRAM - KVR 133 x 64 C3/512" in PC 133 DIMM slot **
- "Virtual Memory" was turned off years ago due to conflict with FCP 3
-2 empty DIMM slots
-1 60 GB internal HD (Maxtor Ultra ATA/100), 1 partition, formatted HFS+, jumpered as "Master" on Internal ATA 2 ID=0 (which as I understand it is ATA/66 speed)
-1 Pioneer "Superdrive" DVD-R/W/CD-R/W on Internal ATA 0 ID=0
-NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 32MB SDRAM in AGP Slot, feeding a 17" Apple Studio Display.
-PCI Display Card "formacGA7" - not attached to any external device, not sure what its intended purpose is.**
-3 Empty PCI Slots
-OEM Keyboard attached to Monitor's rear USB port.
-Microsoft 3 Button Wheel mouse with "IntelliEye" (wheel is 3rd Button) connected to Keyboard USB port (right side).**
-2 OEM FireWire (400) ports
-2 OEM USB (1) ports
Peripherals that have worked in various configurations with this system over the past 3 years:
-3 OWC Mercury Elite ("Oxford Chipset") Externally powered, External FireWire(400) 200GB Hard Drives, 1 partition each, formatted HFS+, daisy-chained to either of the FireWire ports.
-1 Canon GL1 MiniDV camera, attached either to the other FireWire port, or to the last drive in the chain, depending on my urgency/laziness factor. BTW, FCP 3 has worked flawlessly controlling this Cam for logging and Batch Capturing.
Applications on System Hard Drive that I have OEM CDs for:
-OS 9.2 - (I think I remember that OS X was removed from system due to conflicts shortly after original purchase)
-FCP 3
-DiskWarrior (version unknown, purchased from Alsoft in 2003)
-OWC Intech Hard Disk SpeedTools ver 3.5
Other CDs I have:
OEM CDs for Power Mac G4:
-Software Install, OS 9.2, CD vers 1
-Software Install, OS 10.0.4, CD vers 1
-Software Restore, OS 9.2 & 10.0.4 CDs vers 1, Discs 1-4 of 4.
-OEM Apple Hardware Test; Power Mac G4, SW vers 1.2.1
Applications on system Hard Drive that I don't have CDs for, that I rarely use, but I'd like to keep:
-After Effects 5.0
-QuickTime Player 6.0.2
-Toast Audio Extractor 1.1
-Toast Titanium 5.0.2
Applications on system Hard Drive I use if my wife is busy on our Windows XP machine:
-Photshop 6.0
-Microsoft Word & Excel
# of other Applications on System Hard Drive I either don't use or may be integral to the system: 260
# of Control Panels:
-Enabled: 34
-Disabled: 0
# of Extensions:
-Enabled: 174
-Disabled: 0
note: a number of the applications and extensions are for AOL, Quickbooks, Microsoft Money and the like, as well as other things I don't use (Airport, USB printers, Networking, etc.)
Smart things I did:
-Regularly made backup copies of my FCP projects to the external drives.
-Bought a copy of MacDrive so I can see what's on my External Drives on the XP machine.
-Printed out System Profile before I installed upgrades.
-Thoroughly searched this discussion board for and gathered as much info as I could before upgrading.
Dumb things I did:
-Made a copy, but not a clone, of my System Folder to one of the external drives when I first got it.
-Didn't keep any sort of separate log of what's on the External Drives.
-Never ran any sort of Disk Maintenance, even after one of the Externals crashed (DiskWarrior saved my butt on that).
-Ignored some of the advice on this discussion board.
Really dumb thing I did without even realizing it:
Captured all media for a rush job onto my internal system Hard Drive, as well as storing and using massive jpgs for the same job on that same drive...
Which led to painfully slow rendering times, and crashes caused by "Error: Out of Memory", which I interpreted as "Must buy more memory" and not "must make sure I'm not trying to edit media stored on system drive, especially with massive jpgs that I should reduce"
RECENT UPGRADES:
Here's what I did, and how I did it:
Turned off system, disconnected all External FireWire Devices, disconnected Monitor, opened case, touched various metal parts of case and power supply to discharge any Static, unplugged power cable.
-Installed 2 512MB sticks of "Lifetime" PC 133 SDRAM; total System RAM is now 1.5GB, all 3 DIMM slots now occupied.
-Installed 1 Maxtor "DiamondMax" Ultra ATA/133 100GB Hard Drive (8 MB buffer) as "Slave" (no jumper) in top of U-Carrier above System Hard Drive; attached to middle of original Apple ribbon cable, attached available power plug.
Taped spare jumper to inside of empty drive bay, noting origin and date. Did NOT push PMU button. Carefully closed case. Reconnected Monitor, did NOT reconnect any FireWire devices. Powered System on, but did NOT perform PRAM reset.
I don't remember the exact order of what happened next, but I think: System booted up normally, a window popped up saying a new drive had been found, would I like to intitialize it?, which I did as Mac OS extended, and then named. If I was instructed to restart, I did so, otherwise did not. Clicked on "about this Mac" and saw that it now showed 1.5GB RAM. I then went about moving Media/Render files off the System drive (and one of the Externals) onto the Internal Drive, with a combination of FCP's Media Manager, and dragging from the Finder. After files had copied, dragged Media/Render files from System Drive to Trash. Opened FCP project, had FCP re-link to new locations of missing files. Saved, closed, and re-opened project, set Capture/Scratch disc to new internal Drive. At some point I changed FCP's Memory Allocation from whatever it was to 512000KB Minimum, and 900000KB Prefered (and I hope I got all those zeroes right). Did NOT restart after changing Memory Allocation, unless a window popped up instructing me to do so, in which case I did. Re-opened my project, rendered a few thing at a noticeably increased speed, saved everything, emptied the Trash, shut everything down, and called it a night as it was 4:30 am.
A few hours later, I plugged the MiniDV and an External Drive into the FW ports and powered up the System. It was behaving extremely sluggishly. I would click on something, the pointer would turn into a wristwatch (sometimes with the minute-hand moving, sometimes not) and like an actual minute later, what I'd clicked on would open. All three drives were on the desktop, still had their files, and "About this Mac" still showed 1.5GB total Memory. So I powered down, disconnected the FW devices, waited a bit, and powered back up. Same sluggish response. I tried to open my FCP project file, and instead got a Window that said something to the effect of "The Application associated with this document could not be found". I think I tried to open FCP from the Applications folder on the System Drive and got the same message (I'd only had 3 hours sleep, no coffee, my client had died, and his family was coming for whatever I had in a few hours).
LAME ATTEMPTS AT PROBLEM SOLVING THAT HAVE MADE THINGS WORSE
Panic had set in, which never solves anything, so I don't remember what order I performed which tasks, between searching for clues in this forum, and convincing myself that that would be faster than trying to compose a question, waiting for a response, etc.
The first two things I did, and I can't remember which I did first (both from Keyboard Commands during Restart):
Rebuild Desktop
PRAM Reset
Neither of those solved the problem, so I continued.
I tried restarting without extensions.
I would get errors that said something like "Not Enough Memory to Open Finder".
I tried booting from Disc 1 of the Software Restore Disk, which only wanted to destroy my data.
I tried booting from the OS 10 disk, with the same result.
I was finally able to boot from the OS 9.2 Software Install Disk, and actually saw both internal drives on the desktop, and the 1.5GB RAM in About this Mac. I tried to allocate more memory to Finder, but was informed that "Cannot Perform Requested Operation. This operation requires versions above 8.0".
I think at this point I decided that I must have too many extensions, and started disabling ones I thought irrelevent to my cause (mostly anything that said "AOL", "Airport", "Ethernet", "Printer", "Modem", "Speakable", and a couple things called "Open TPT".
It gets worse. Then I decided to turn off some "unnecessary" things via the control panels, but somehow managed to disable the control panels themselves: AppleTalk, DialAssist, File Sharing, Modem, Mouse (as I saw that Microsoft Mouse was among the others), Remote Access, Speech, USB Printer Sharing, and possibly TCP/IP.
That certainly didn't help anything (though upon restarting from the OS 9.2 Disc I was able to see the extensions and control panels in their respective "Disabled" folders in the System Folder). But I still wasn't able to get more Memory to Finder.
So, I decided a few more PRAM resets might help, which succeeded in making both Internal Hard Drives disappear. I tried booting up from the DiskWarrior disc, but even the Mighty DiskWarrior couldn't find the drives. I performed the longer, in depth version of the Apple Hardware Tools tests, which reported that everything's fine (including the new RAM), but made no mention of the Hard Drives at all. The deadline having long passed, I shut the system down. I read through more posts and tech articles, etc.
I searched my External drives with MacDrive on my XP, and found the drive that has the copy of my System Folder (which shows all extensions and control panels as enabled); not sure if the Quicksilver will boot from that, I don't know what the Keyboard command for booting from a FireWire drive is (if there is one) and the drive itself only has 900MB of free space.
I can't find any reference to Internal ATA drives anywhere in the MacDrive documentation; if it was possible I'd put them into the XP, get the files off the Mac drives, reformat them and install OS9 from the Discs.
This is where I am now:
The Quick Silver is still powered down. I removed the Microsft mouse and replaced it with the OEM Apple mouse. I opened the case, and removed the PRAM/Backup battery (manufacture date: July 2001). Couldn't find my voltmeter, so took the bat to Radio Shack and bought a new one. Had the Radio Shack guy test the old one: it showed 3.69 volts still. Have not installed the new battery yet. The case is still open, waiting for any advice any of you might have to offer.
Thank you all so much for your patience in perusing and pursuing this.
Sincerely,
Patterson
Power Mac G4 Quicksilver 867 Mac OS 9.2.x 17" Studio Display, 512MB RAM

Thank you Rodney and John,
The jumpers are correct for both Maxtor Drives.
Rodney, you are correct in that the initial problem (slow rendering/"out of Memory" crashes) was caused by my not realizing I'd stupidly captured several GBs of media to my system drive, and not checking which drives those files were on (as I'd assumed I'd put them on one of my external media drives) once that problem presented itself.
Before I'd determined what I'd done, I bought the extra RAM. After I'd found the media files on the System Drive, and saw that my dedicated media drives were too full to easily move them, I decided to buy an additional Internal drive so that I could:
-Move the Media onto it relatively quickly and finish my urgent project.
-Juggle all my media into a more organized fashion for archiving (as most of my projects are on-going long-term affairs)
-Wipe it, Partition it, and clone my System Drive onto it, as a spare bootable drive in case my OEM System Drive failed.
Copying the Media files onto the New Drive and moving the System Drive's Media files into the Trash worked great: huge improvement in Rendering, etc.
Before shutting down for the night I Emptied the Trash, and was pleased with the amount of space I'd freed up on the System Drive.
My guess is that the System Drive was terribly fragmented, having been subjected to intense use over the past 5 years without any sort of Drive Maintainence, and deleting that massive amount from it in one shot caused my extreme system sluggishness upon Startup the next day.
My subsequent lame attempts to solve the sluggishnes ultimately resulted in my losing access to both drives.
Today, I replaced the Backup Battery, pushed the PMU, re-attached the AC, and Powered Up with the case open as per your suggestion.
It was trying for a few minutes (the gray screen went black at one point, and then returned to gray) before presenting me with the flashing question mark.
There was, however, a quiet but distinct "buzzing" sound that would alternate: 1 sec "buzz", one second silence, one second "buzz", one second silence, etc. coming from the drives, even after the "?" appeared.
I powered down, removed the Ribbon and Power Cables from the new "Slave" drive, and powered up again, with the exact same results.
I powered down, removed the Ribbon and Power cables from the original "Master" drive, reinstalled the Jumper on the New Drive as "Master", plugged the End of the Ribbon and the Power cables into the New "Master" drive and powered up. The screen went to the "?" within 20 seconds instead of 4+ minutes, and no more "buzzing".
I put the Apple Hardware Tools Disk in, ran the "long" test, and everything came out fine.
I have to abandon this for now, but thanks again for your previous advice, and any more you may have!
Cheers,
Patterson

ITunes 11.4 The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disc drive didn't respond properly and can't recover or retry.

27-inch, Late 2009
Processor 2.66 GHz Core i5
8 GB memory
Software OS X 10.9.5
iTunes 11.4
Can not burn a playlist in iTunes 11.4 to a CD, upon completion of the burn operation get error message, "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disc drive didn't respond properly and can't recover or retry." Receive this message using 2 different external drives that are Apple compatible. 1. is a Pioneer SuperDrive that I had replaced from a previous Mac in a OWC enclosure, 2. the other is a OWC 8X Slim Portable USB 2.0 External. After receiving the error message I can re-insert the disc into the drive and it will mount the disc and it will list all the songs with the correct size, but none of them will play. iTunes then comes up asking me if I want to import the CD, at this time iTunes has a (not responding) status in Finder. Can burn from finder with no problem, only have issue in iTunes.
Background
Last year I took the iMac to the local Apple Store 3 times and they determined the optical drive was defective and replaced it, the last time even replacing the cable to it. When I attempt to burn playlist from internal Superdrive it states it can not burn due to media errors. I have tried Memorex, TDK and PNY media with the same results. I thought purchasing the OWC Slim Portable USB 2.0 External would resolve the issue. If I put a commercial audio CD into the Internal Superdrive it will not mount and will eject it, if I insert the commercial audio CD into the external drive it will mount and play. Now the extended warranty is expired on the iMac and I don't know what next to try.

After multiple attempts to both find an answer to this problem or to fix it myself I've given up and switched to a Windows PC. The same media works just fine at maximum write speed with no special tricks needed. I got my iMac specifically to manage my photographs and burn images for friends and family. It has been nothing but a big disappointment to say the least. To read messages saying I need to lower my write speed or buy more expensive CDs is just laughable. Unless I see something major change I'm sticking with my Windows PC.

Error when burning DVD

I just bought a Mac a few weeks ago, and have had some trouble burning DVD's. I have a G5 running 10.3.9, with a Pioneer Superdrive. I try to burn an image in Disk Utility, but get the error message "The disc is reserved for exclusive use by another application". When I try just burning files using finder, it says "This disc cannot be used". I have tried DVD-R and DVD+R. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks!

Hi macaboo
Welcome to apple discussions. Just to add to the already excellent advice kindly provided to you by Fred Shippey;
I too have one or two suggestions:
First is to delete the plist for iDvd (but first quit the app). The plist is located in your preferences folder and looks like this (assuming the app has been launched at least once):
com.apple.iDvd.plist
Now try your iDvd project again. But if that too fails then ...
Delete encoded assets from the Advanced menu tab and then try the burn again.
That procedure looks like this. Hope this helps but if not just come on back. Good luck.
Click Here
Message was edited by: SDMacuser

Pioneer Superdrive

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