Superdrive Confused
I recently added a Superdrive (Pioneer DVR-111D) to my MDD Power Mac G4. It worked great for a while, I was able to burn from the Finder & all the iApps even though it's listed as "Unsupported" in the System Profiler. Suddenly I guess Tiger decided it wasn't going to let me do that anymore. I haven't tested it from iDVD yet but I'm now unable to burn DVDs from the Finder or from Disk Utility. Looks like it's burning from Toast just fine but why would this happen out of the blue? One day it's recognized by Tiger and the next day it's not. I suppose an update could have caused this but that seems silly to me.
Any suggestions?
PowerMac G4 1.25GHZ MDD Mac OS X (10.4.7)
I installed Patchburn and everything seems to be back to normal, except for the fact that the "DVD-R" doesn't show up in the Finder when I put a blank disc in. I also have the factory-installed Comb drive in there but I haven't checked the jumper settings. I thought they were both CS but I'm just guessing here.
As a tech geek, though, I'm still interested in why it worked fine up to a point and then I needed to tweak things. Weird.
Similar Messages
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I want to change the name under DEVICES, left column Remote Disk, Untitled to FLASH USB, and still have it read my Superdrive when I connect it?
Each Volume (partition) on a device has a name.
When it is mounted it will appear with that name as an icon on the desktop, and under devices in the sidebar.
Typically a USB flash drive would only have one volume.
They may initially come with names like Untitled or No_Name etc.
When mounted you can rename any USB drive (Or individual Volume if there is more than one partition) by using the mouse to select the name on the Desktop and hold the selection in you can edit the name. That name will stay with that particular drive and will show every time it is mounted.
CDs and DVDs may well have a name which will show when they are mounted. When you make a CD or DVD you can provide a name when making it.
It is good practice to name a new thumb drive or USB disk when you get it to avoid the confusion you seem to be having. Simialrly to name any DVDs or CDs you create -
Using 2 Identical SuperDrives with DVDSP in Mac Pro
Hello-
I recently installed 2 new identical Pioneer 118 Superdrives in my 2006 Mac Pro. In DVDSP, I'm having problems selecting a drive and burning discs. The Burn dialog box allows me to select either drive, but both have identical names. When the top one in the list is selected, sometimes the bottom tray will open; when I try to burn a disc there, it takes a long time for the burn to begin, and sometimes it will hang before finishing. I'm not sure if the Mac is having a tough time figuring out which drive is which because of the identical names.
I have both drives installed correctly, with Cable Select chosen on both. I wonder if there is way, anywhere, to rename the drives, or if this is the problem. The drives both read any kind of disc without problems, and I have burned discs on both, so they do work. I can also create disc images, which I can then burn in disc utility.
It just seems like DVDSP gets confused because the drives are identical. Should I get a different model or brand of drive to replace one, or is there another way to straighten this out?
Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.Thanks for the response; I've been trying a few things today, and they seem to be working now. Both drives show up in DVDSP with identical names; when I select the upper name, the lower tray opens, and I can burn the disc. Selecting the lower name results in the upper tray opening, and again I can successfully burn.
In Toast, both names also appear and I can burn to both drives (haven't tried two discs at once, yet), although the names/trays are correctly oriented in Toast.
What I do notice is that these drives (New Pioneer 118s) take an extra minute or so before burning begins (in DVDSP only, so again, this might be a name recognition issue), and are noisier while burning.
I wonder if switching to the master/slave setup would improve anything. -
I am trying to install a program on my Mac Book Pro Retina from a Apple SuperDrive. Every time I run the installer, it says I do not have enough memory to install. However, I definitely have enough memory (186.74 GB). The program takes only 550 MB. Any ideas why?
Thanks for the clarification on the terms. I consider myself proficent at my computer, but not exactly in its inner-workings! I have 8 GB of memory installed.
I am still confused as to why I do not have any space for the program. This is the exact error message I get: "There is not enough free space on Macintosh HD disk. The Print Shop 2 application requires about 550 MB to be installed. Free some disk space and try again."
Thank you again for your help. -
I have an Apple Power Mac G5 Dual 2.3 GHz/6GB RAM/500GB HDD/Superdrive PowerPC Desktop and just bought an Airport Extreme card for it. The card is recognized but will not see the in-house network. This is a pre-intel computer. Do I need an additional antennae? If so, which one because my research is confusing me about what is supposed to work with this computer.
Please check out the following Apple Support article to see if your particular Power Mac model supports an external Wi-Fi antenna.
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HOW DO YOU GUYS DEAL WITH APPLE.. SO CONFUSING...NEED HELP WITH SPECS FOR PURCHASE OF IMAC 21.5
Hi guys, been reading your forums, blogposts, etc and am getting more confused. I'm just a video girl trying to produce meaningful content through web videos for small to mid sized businesses and want to come over from the dark side.
Good news,, I dont need a super giant system, I do simple editing for web videos, minimal graphics, no motion graphics, no animation etc. currently using CS4, will probably end up with 5.5.
I want to get imac 21.5 or 27 if i have to.. So here's the question we all have,,, what do I really need besides an Apple fairy godmother to figure this crazy stuff out?????
I want to be able to have firewire add on, but the rest is what I need help with. So i've been looking at cs6 specs, even though im not there yet, eventually will be,, so just need to run cs4 now and build from there. I also want to eventually move to final cut down the road so I want imac able to upgrade to final cut.
WHAT DO I REALLY NEED MINIMALLY FOR NOW? WHAT CAN I GET LATER IF i CHOOSE TO DO MORE AND NEED MORE POWER?
cs6:
Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X v10.6.8, v10.7, or v10.8**
4GB of RAM (8GB recommended)
4GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
Additional disk space required for preview files and other working files (10GB recommended)
1280x900 display
7200 RPM hard drive (multiple fast disk drives, preferably RAID 0 configured, recommended)
OpenGL 2.0–capable system
DVD-ROM drive compatible with dual-layer DVDs (SuperDrive for burning DVDs; Blu-ray burner for creating Blu-ray Disc media)
QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features
Optional: Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated performance
Any responses would be great. I know you guys are busy answering the really high end tech questionsAll the current iMac models (both 21.5" and 27" with OS X Mt. Lion 10.8) will run CS4, 5.5 and 6 just fine. They will also run Final Cut Pro X just fine. Ditto for most any application you may want to use.
Below are some notes (specific to your apparent requirements) that may help you with your purchase decision:
Notes on purchasing a 21.5" iMac
All 21.5" iMacs come with 8GB RAM but you cannot add more later. I strongly suggest getting the maximum RAM (16GB) when you order the iMac.
The basic hard drive is a 1TB 5400rpm drive. It will work fine with Adobe CS but you will probably want the added speed of the optional 1TB Fusion drive for better performance. Some people will recommend/argue for one of the optional SSD drives instead, but they are very expensive and still only come in relatively small capacities - I don't recommend the SSD drives. Get the Fusion drive and spend any extra money on a good external hard drive for backup and/or extra storage instead of an SSD.
Notes on purchasing a 27" iMac
All 27" iMacs come with 8GB RAM and you can add more later, up to 32GB
The basic hard drive is a 1TB 7200rpm drive - it will be fine with Adobe CS. There are upgrade options to a 3TB 7200rpm drive or a 1TB or 3TB fusion drive - these will be fine also. There are also SSD drive options, but I do not recommend them. (Same comments as above.)
Notes on all the current iMacs
iMacs no longer come with built-in CD/DVD drives. If you need one, you will need to purchase the Apple Superdrive accessory drive ($79)
All of the iMac graphic processors (GPU's) are compatible with Adobe CS 4, 5.5, 6
It is very difficult to impossible to change or upgrade the hard drive later on, so don't buy low-end thinking you can add a better internal hard drive later.
Be aware that Macs always come with the latest (most recent) version of OS X. And OS X Mavericks (10.9) is due to be released soon (in the next month or two). There is no guarantee that the older Adobe CS 4 or 5.5 versions will run on OS X Mavericks. If you cannot upgrade to CS 6 in the near future, you may want to purchase now rather than after OS X Mavericks is released.
For what it's worth, I'd recommend the 27" iMac if your budget can afford it. You will appreciate the larger screen size and added capabilities over the years you will use the computer. -
SuperDrive media disc(s) .. assist .. update concluded . . .
Concluding post in relation to the earlier postings on this particular subject and thread (now officially closed by apple support) .. and to be found at SuperDrive Media Disc(s) .. Assist ... [http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=759874#759874]
APPLE DVD R DISC MEDIA TRIAL
DVD-R
8x speed
Certified for use with Apple DVD-R drives :: 4.7GB Media
Made in Japan
MAC MINI MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C
Mac mini 1.42GHz PowerPC G4 | 512 MB DDR SDRAM
Tiger OS X 10.4.3
Finder Burn - single folder containing many sub-folders totaling about 800Mbytes and approx. 4000 files.
Burn Speed Options : 4x(faster) : 2x : 1x(more reliable) - actual Finder media disc burn dialogue descriptions
[default selection is 4x(faster) ]
We choose 1x(more reliable) ..
Observations include .. no 8x speed media disc burn available from our little Mac mini Matshita DVD-R UJ-845C burner .. and .. as this is a DVD R .. we have time .. but no going back once burned .. and we want maximum systems compatibility .. you, dear reader, already know the drama we have previously experienced with Finder burns and older Apple iMac DV SE machine DVD drive (media disc burned) read compatibilities.
The total burn was a lengthy delay before the entire routine was completed including automatic verification.
OUTCOME
This disc did not verify correctly and is unreliable. Because this disc is unreliable, discard it and try again using a new, blank disc. (Error code ) 0x80020063
Total disc burned is almost 800Mbytes and about 4000 files.
Verification was not an available option for the burn .. a Finder burn .. meaning verification was apparently automatically included as an unseen 'yes' option at media disc burn execution time.
Examining the resulting Apple DVD R media disc burned .. we discover that things are good .. biggest single files (.dmg's at about 100Mbytes expanding to 350Mbytes - e.g. OS X 10.4.3 update) are able to be copied from the burned Apple DVD R media disc back to the Mac mini hard disk again and verify 100% when opened for installation. Encouraging. Better than anything previously experienced.
iMac DV SE [ DVD MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8184 ]
Into the Apple iMac ancient (500 MHz PowerPC G3 operating OS X 10.4.3 Tiger | 640MB SDRAM) and we are greeted with goodness .. same accessibility as the originating Mac mini machine .. satisfying.
And yes the 'problem' of multi-session burns is yet to come on the ancient iMac and if the response is any good as now .. it may not be a problem worthy of mention. At 800 Mbytes burn and 4.7 Gbytes capacity .. one could loosely forecast up to another 5 media disc burn sessions before the DVD R is full and complete.
XP MACHINE
And now into the PC machine for an XP looksee and again .. more goodness. Cross compatible files are fully accessible (an entire - own - website burned). Large files copy 100%. Better than before.
Two thumbs up for this disk and burn.
Verification failure remains a current mystery. Anyone ?
It is easy to figure how one may doubt one's media burning hardware is any good by now .. but the gathering volume of supporting entries at the relevant media burning and error message forums reveals that hardware is unlikely to be (entirely) at fault .. rather something else .. say firmware ?
Apple Media DVD R discs are manufactured in Japan (stated on the disc) and the quality difference and price premium are consistent with what others have written of the place of manufacture and the Apple media disc as well. Mostly positive.
Still .. we should like to have access to dependable RW discs from Apple too .. for reliable re-useability.
As for the subject of burn speed ...
Many forum readers are well aware of an ongoing and gradually escalating matter between Apple and this gentleman http://www.crc.id.au/page/2/ .. we have curiously followed the unfolding events to observe the outcome of the burn speed specification variation. As you know .. our Mac mini is rated at maximum DVD media disc burn 4x and fitted with a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C which is a later edition than Mr H's UJ-835 .. however .. we are more curious to observe whether the final outcome will satisfy Mr H or not. Burn speed, primarily, and quality of burn, secondarily, on selected media by Mr H. Once the outcome is known and to Mr H's satisfaction .. then we may enquire about his satisfaction with burn quality at the chosen burn speed(s) by Mr H.
Here is an offline forum communication that we shared with another Mac mini user about disc media burn speed. As you may read .. he is entirely dissatisfied with the Mac mini media burn speed and isn't too keen on using the Apple disc burn media either ...
So...Have you found any dvd-r or +r media that burns reliably on the mini? (non apple media please).
I am completely disgusted with my new mini's pathetic superdrive that I paid way too much for.
I have purchased new & built from new parts several PC's that burn DVD after DVD on a wide variety of media reliably.
No one has even replied to my post
http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2773&start=0&postdays=0&postord er=asc&highlight=
Thanks
.. and at latest check .. no-one has responded to the post .. maybe no-one knows .. outside of Apple HQ .. mind you .. no-one has truly usefully responded to our post either .. we responded thusly ...
Mac Mini SuperDrive .. burn speed .. and burn .. reliability
Sometime I just can't get my head around the subject and have to step back and breathe in real deep .. which makes me kinda dizzy .. and wait until the focus is on the forest before
choosing the tree(s) to climb. This particular tree is getting taller ...
And congratulations on your Apple ownership. Small is beautiful.
Regret your coaster experiences. Frustrating and unfortunate.
What SuperDrive description is fitted in your new mac mini ?
We seem to be staring into a gaping black hole of acknowledgement .. from anyone.
PC users, windows operating system software computers, appear to have an extreme edge .. when it comes to media disc burning. i.e. successful burns.
Re-reading that lengthy post .. which doesn't fully format as intended .. has me fully believing that less is more and small is beautiful (still). Future specific posts will probably follow as a matter of personal self-committment .. to persist until the solutions are fully to hand. For now .. may we refer to your mentioned post in our next planned post please ? Solidarity of negatory outcome experience is credibility.
Three forums have we frequented and participated to learn more about the black hole .. we know as SuperDrive media disc burning .. only you have provided any feedback whatsoever .. post reader numbers grow but answers are missing in action .. absent from class.
http://www.crc.id.au/page/2/
We have thought the SuperDrive matter you have referred to in your post was of no concern to us .. but now you have us thinking again .. although model numbers differ .. (ours is a later numerical reference) the concerns appear to be similar .. or largely about performance .. we shall also refer to this domain in our planned next post. Yes, we are aware of the matter .. from another forum .. but shall now supply the link for others to weigh and hopefully dish out their two cents worth .. where a consensus could mean we are also a part of this particular action. An ideal consensus would be firmware is unsuitable .. requires immediate update .. and in particular the quality of burn is consensually unacceptable .. action could follow.
We have progressed no further with burning experimentations .. and will be using Apple media before progressing with our findings reporting. For now, we are unable to add to your ease of mind .. frankly .. unless the burning media is made in Japan .. we doubt any burn verification success is to be had. And we cannot find any burning media made in Japan in our locale. Where is the Apple media made?
We have come to appreciate the SuperDrive is all about the firmware .. but have no new firmware to apply .. in fact .. our research to date shows that we have been unable to find the Matshita SuperDrive at all online and cannot confirm specifications .. neither could we locate the specifications at www.apple.com.au .. which is just plain odd.
A third look has provided ... from www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html ..
Storage
* One of the following optical drives:
o Slot-loading Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW): reads DVDs at up to 8x speed, writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed, writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed, reads CDs at up to 24x speed
o Optional SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW): writes DVD-R discs at up to 4x speed, writes DVD-RW discs at up to 2x speed, writes DVD+R discs at up to 4x speed, writes DVD+RW discs at up to 2.4x speed, reads DVDs at up to 8x speed, writes CD-R discs at up to 16x speed, writes CD-RW discs at up to 8x speed, reads CDs at up to 24x speed
Where were you able to establish your SuperDrive (burning) specifications ?
Writer's note : .. some things change .. and so have the Apple Mac mini SuperDrive burner specs changed .. since recording those detailed above. In fact .. they read like they maybe should have all along .. 8x DVD R media burn speed. DL is a bonus. Can anyone tell us what the drive designation is please ?
CRC says: ".. This limits burn speed to 4x for Mac Minis and 8x for Powerbooks.".
While speed matters .. and it does .. you appear to have exactly the same media disc burning problems that we are experiencing .. failed verification(s) .. and for us .. in short .. complete DVD-R media disc burned rejection from the Apple OS X.
Do we .. in actual fact .. have two separate operating challenges here .. speed of burn and quality of burn .. any burn ? Speed was not our first priority .. quality is .. now we figure that at any speed the burn quality is anywhere from dubious to coaster.
CRC says: ".. The UJ-835 that Apple use is firmware limited to suit various bits of hardware that they want to put together. The burner in the Mac Mini is the exact same model as the one in the PowerBooks. Apple load a 4x firmware on the Mac Mini, and an 8x firmware on the PowerBook drives.
My bet is that this is for marketting reasons only. ".
One of the contributors to http://www.crc.id.au/?p=21 . . says . .
# Moneky Boy Says:
August 14th, 2005 at 1:03 am
My parents have a mini and my has one of the PowerBooks. Confirmed the drives are Matsushita UJ-835. They have never had an issue burning DVDs. Confirmed it by burning DVDs last night on the wife’s 12″ PowerBook.
As far as updating the Firmware in your optical drives, no, you do not have to remove them from the machines to update their firmware. I’ve updated the firmware on my optical drives (for Region Free and/or speed gains) via the GUI in Mac OS X. One application that will do this is called DVRFlashX I believe. The key is then finding the firmware, which is platform agnostic.
BTW, removing the drive wouldn’t void the warranty on your Mac but messing with the firmware certainly will void the warranty on the drive.
Our primary concern remains SuperDrive media disc burn quality .. while you do appear to share the same concern as well as speed performance. Mr Haigh's only concern appears to be speed .. and here we may have missed any opportunity .. since the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C
SuperDrive is a later designation and the speed performance specifications showing on the apple web-site are likely consistent with current performance capabilities of that SuperDrive and later .. including yours ?
Mr H may have indeed received marketing materials that promised 8x while actually receiving a 4x SuperDrive .. which only performs at 2x unless exceptional media disc(s) .. so he does have a legitimate claim concerning performance. Do we ?
What has us fully curious is whether he can burn quality media disc(s) with his new SuperDrive ..
(Update 24/12/2005 07:10pm (+11 GMT)
Well, it seems that Apple have decided to replace my hardware. I've started the proceedings yesterday and will hopefully get some news in the new year as to what they are going to replace. At the moment, I'm looking to send in the 12" Powerbook for a replacement, then see what changes in the mac mini side of things. I'm not going to accept the same DVD drive - as we all know the problems with the UJ-835. Stay tuned for more details as they come to hand.) .. http://superdrive.crc.id.au/
.. which would likely be the same as yours .. now that should prove an interesting outcome .. which he seems likely to voluntarily report and will be the essence of any enquiries from us in the near foreseeable future assuming Mr Haigh is forthcoming in his SuperDrive computing developments.
Mr Haigh may have begun to scratch the surface (so to speak) .. and find the more serious problem is that no matter how fast or slow the SuperDrive .. reliable media disc burns are a fantasy !
As yet no update .. almost three months .. could the delay by Apple could have something to do with the model identification of any replacement DVD burner .. if they use an UJ-845 .. then all **** could break loose as Apple users realise (such as we) they do have the same DVD burner and (in a Mac mini) are limited to 4x maximum speed DVD media disc burning performance .. so another designation may be required .. one that already delivers 8x DVD burns .. bit of a mess really .. and the latest Mac mini SuperDrive sports 8x DVD R media burn speed.
We are curious about you too, dear reader .. are you satisfied with your non Apple disc media burn quality ? We are able to openly admit that we are dissatisfied with our non Apple disc media burn output quality.
We are currently satisfied with the Apple DV R disc media burn quality. However at a price of premium dollars and an unexplained media burn verification failure message.
Burn speed, we nonchalantly confess, is not our greatest concern, and, for now, falls to a lower priority of importance with us.
For now the matter is at rest with us.
How about you ?
Yours Sincerely
Stuart
PS. .. helping to explain the confusions surrounding the Mac mini SuperDrive is this extracted from ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_mini
October 2005–February 2006
Multiple reports exist that the Mac mini was quietly upgraded in October 2005 to 64 MiB VRAM, and either a 1.33 GHz (up from 1.25 GHz) or 1.5 GHz G4 (up from 1.42 GHz) processor, with 512 MiB of PC3200 RAM while underclocking it to PC2700. The 80 GB drive is currently a Seagate Momentus 5400.2 ST9808211A, which runs at 5400 RPM with an 8 MiB cache. The SuperDrive is a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845, which supports +R DL burning, and may also have unofficial support for DVD-RAM. Apple did not revise the official specifications on their web site. This may be to avoid issues with discounting or discontinuing of old stock.
Well .. whatever .. we use a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C SuperDrive .. wouldn't that mean we have +R DL feature too ? .. probably not judging by the following explanations .. sort of .. and yes you could grab the mac_min.pdf service manual and do your own upgrading and overclocking as it pleases you .. try google for more info.
PPS. .. http://www.macintouch.com/macmini11.html
Mac Mini Part 11
January 9, 2006
Stealth Upgrade
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
I recently received the SuperDrive Mac Mini that I ordered from Amazon the day after Christmas. To my delight, my Mini contains a 1.5 GHz PPC and 64MB of video RAM.
The SuperDrive is listed as a Panasonic UJ-845. According to Panasonic's web site this drive is supposed to allow DVD-RAM writing (and I assume reading). Has anyone attempted to use DVD-RAM discs with this drive under 10.4.3?
Xxxxxx Xxxx
I also have a new SuperDrive mini with the same specs, and note that the UJ-845 drive doesn't include DVD-RAM capability, though as Gordon notes the OEM Panasonic drive does. However, Panasonic's spec page is for the UJ-845-B drive, and I expect that the one in the mini is instead a special version of the UJ-845 that Panasonic made for Apple with DVD-RAM disabled. For some reason Apple doesn't seem to want to support DVD-RAM, which is a pity. I believe the drive will work with DVD-RAM discs, but treat them like DVD-RW, requiring complete erasure every time they're used, rather than allowing addition and subtraction of individual files, which is what makes DVD-RAM a great backup/exchange medium, especially for travelers.
My new PowerBook came with an Apple-labeled Panasonic UJ-825-C drive, which System Profiler saw as simply "UJ-825" and which didn't include DVD-RAM although Panasonic's specs showed it; I replaced it with an 825-B I got on eBay, which System Profiler sees as "845-S" and which now does DVD-RAM even without Patchburn. Note that the 825 is two generations earlier than the current 845/846 drive (whose new feature is DL burning); DVD-RAM has been available for a long time, but Apple has been using special versions of the drives without it.
How to exactly determine the capabilities of your drive: Insert a disc (any type, CD or DVD, but not a blank recordable disc that has to be formatted), open Disk Utility, and on the left side select the drive (not the disc in the drive), then look in the lower right side of the window where it says "Capabilities". You may have to widen the window to see the whole list, as it doesn't wrap for some reason. If it says "DVD-RAM" in the list, the drive should do DVD-RAM discs as they are meant to be used: like a 4GB floppy disk, they must be formatted once, then can be used as "random access media" (RAM). Doesn't matter what kind of disc you put in the drive; any type will make the drive appear in Disk Utility, which will then show its capabilities.
FOLLOWUP: I opened up the Mac Mini, and found the SuperDrive is an Apple label "UJ-845C", presumably a special version of the 845 with DVD-RAM disabled, unlike the UJ-845-B spec'd at the Panasonic site.
[MacInTouch]
We just received a middle-model Mac Mini - 80GB/512MB/AirPort+Bluetooth/Tiger - ordered from Amazon (currently $519.99 after rebate) and were pleased to find that it is one of Apple's "stealth" upgrades, where the label belies the actual specifications. Apple shows it as a 1.42GHz model, but it's actually running at 1.5 GHz, according to System Profiler.
It has a Seagate ST9808211A hard drive, which is a 5400-RPM model (better than the dog-slow 4200-RPM drives Apple started shipping sometime after the original Mini models debuted).
The optical drive is a Matsushita CW-8124, a Combo drive with 24X CD writing and reading and the ability to read DVD-R and DVD-RW, as well as DVD-ROM, at 8x.
System Profiler shows 64 MB of video RAM - double Apple's specified amount - for the "ATY,RV280" graphics card (ATI Radeon 9200) on an AGP bus, supporting display rotation and Quartz Extreme but not Core Image.
(For what it's worth, we found that we could not connect a Dell 1704FPT to the digital video port while an analog video cable was connected; after removing the analog cable, the Dell works beautifully with the Mini's DVI video. The Dell display also worked fine with analog video via the adapter included with the Mini.)
We also tried a WiebeTech Maxelerate hard drive enclosure but found it unpleasantly noisy, even in a special reduced-RPM version the company offers customers who raise the issue. By contrast, the miniStack we previously reviewed is virtually silent with the same hard drive inside.
Xxx Xxxxxxx
While this isn't the first time I've seen this type of 'error' from Apple, or other firms, this particular incident seems to have gone beyond the typical example, and I'm beginning to wonder if it is more than just an overlap in an otherwise complicated process.
I've done my share of OEM documentation, including manuals, labels and cartons. I know how hard it is to maintain reality in this regard. But in this case, it seems to me that the mismatch between the inside and the outside of the package has gone beyond the norm, and I'm wondering if someone along the line has simply decided to live with it, rather than deal with it up front. I can see this saving money...changes cost more than just the ink - it takes time and planning to overcome a spec change and cover all the bases.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone in a position to decide hasn't simply elected to run out the materials without implementing changes. After all, the customer gets more than they expect, which can be favorable publicity, and we all know the saying "any publicity is good, and good publicity is even better".
On the other hand, it can be a minefield to fess up. Once word gets out, customers start hand-picking the good from the better, taking the higraded units and leaving the rest as floatsom. Or they buy the downgrade for less, then return it shortly thereafter, demanding the up while refusing to pay more.
Let's just hope the sun keeps shining on this particular parade, and no one decides to claim fraud. All it would take is one competitor with a surplus of over-eager attorneys, and Apple would be forced to apologize for over-stuffing the golden goose.Concluding post in relation to the earlier postings on this particular subject and thread (now officially closed by apple support) .. and to be found at SuperDrive Media Disc(s) .. Assist ... [http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=759874#759874]
APPLE DVD R DISC MEDIA TRIAL
DVD-R
8x speed
Certified for use with Apple DVD-R drives :: 4.7GB Media
Made in Japan
MAC MINI MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C
Mac mini 1.42GHz PowerPC G4 | 512 MB DDR SDRAM
Tiger OS X 10.4.3
Finder Burn - single folder containing many sub-folders totaling about 800Mbytes and approx. 4000 files.
Burn Speed Options : 4x(faster) : 2x : 1x(more reliable) - actual Finder media disc burn dialogue descriptions
[default selection is 4x(faster) ]
We choose 1x(more reliable) ..
Observations include .. no 8x speed media disc burn available from our little Mac mini Matshita DVD-R UJ-845C burner .. and .. as this is a DVD R .. we have time .. but no going back once burned .. and we want maximum systems compatibility .. you, dear reader, already know the drama we have previously experienced with Finder burns and older Apple iMac DV SE machine DVD drive (media disc burned) read compatibilities.
The total burn was a lengthy delay before the entire routine was completed including automatic verification.
OUTCOME
This disc did not verify correctly and is unreliable. Because this disc is unreliable, discard it and try again using a new, blank disc. (Error code ) 0x80020063
Total disc burned is almost 800Mbytes and about 4000 files.
Verification was not an available option for the burn .. a Finder burn .. meaning verification was apparently automatically included as an unseen 'yes' option at media disc burn execution time.
Examining the resulting Apple DVD R media disc burned .. we discover that things are good .. biggest single files (.dmg's at about 100Mbytes expanding to 350Mbytes - e.g. OS X 10.4.3 update) are able to be copied from the burned Apple DVD R media disc back to the Mac mini hard disk again and verify 100% when opened for installation. Encouraging. Better than anything previously experienced.
iMac DV SE [ DVD MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8184 ]
Into the Apple iMac ancient (500 MHz PowerPC G3 operating OS X 10.4.3 Tiger | 640MB SDRAM) and we are greeted with goodness .. same accessibility as the originating Mac mini machine .. satisfying.
And yes the 'problem' of multi-session burns is yet to come on the ancient iMac and if the response is any good as now .. it may not be a problem worthy of mention. At 800 Mbytes burn and 4.7 Gbytes capacity .. one could loosely forecast up to another 5 media disc burn sessions before the DVD R is full and complete.
XP MACHINE
And now into the PC machine for an XP looksee and again .. more goodness. Cross compatible files are fully accessible (an entire - own - website burned). Large files copy 100%. Better than before.
Two thumbs up for this disk and burn.
Verification failure remains a current mystery. Anyone ?
It is easy to figure how one may doubt one's media burning hardware is any good by now .. but the gathering volume of supporting entries at the relevant media burning and error message forums reveals that hardware is unlikely to be (entirely) at fault .. rather something else .. say firmware ?
Apple Media DVD R discs are manufactured in Japan (stated on the disc) and the quality difference and price premium are consistent with what others have written of the place of manufacture and the Apple media disc as well. Mostly positive.
Still .. we should like to have access to dependable RW discs from Apple too .. for reliable re-useability.
As for the subject of burn speed ...
Many forum readers are well aware of an ongoing and gradually escalating matter between Apple and this gentleman http://www.crc.id.au/page/2/ .. we have curiously followed the unfolding events to observe the outcome of the burn speed specification variation. As you know .. our Mac mini is rated at maximum DVD media disc burn 4x and fitted with a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C which is a later edition than Mr H's UJ-835 .. however .. we are more curious to observe whether the final outcome will satisfy Mr H or not. Burn speed, primarily, and quality of burn, secondarily, on selected media by Mr H. Once the outcome is known and to Mr H's satisfaction .. then we may enquire about his satisfaction with burn quality at the chosen burn speed(s) by Mr H.
Here is an offline forum communication that we shared with another Mac mini user about disc media burn speed. As you may read .. he is entirely dissatisfied with the Mac mini media burn speed and isn't too keen on using the Apple disc burn media either ...
So...Have you found any dvd-r or +r media that burns reliably on the mini? (non apple media please).
I am completely disgusted with my new mini's pathetic superdrive that I paid way too much for.
I have purchased new & built from new parts several PC's that burn DVD after DVD on a wide variety of media reliably.
No one has even replied to my post
http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2773&start=0&postdays=0&postord er=asc&highlight=
Thanks
.. and at latest check .. no-one has responded to the post .. maybe no-one knows .. outside of Apple HQ .. mind you .. no-one has truly usefully responded to our post either .. we responded thusly ...
Mac Mini SuperDrive .. burn speed .. and burn .. reliability
Sometime I just can't get my head around the subject and have to step back and breathe in real deep .. which makes me kinda dizzy .. and wait until the focus is on the forest before
choosing the tree(s) to climb. This particular tree is getting taller ...
And congratulations on your Apple ownership. Small is beautiful.
Regret your coaster experiences. Frustrating and unfortunate.
What SuperDrive description is fitted in your new mac mini ?
We seem to be staring into a gaping black hole of acknowledgement .. from anyone.
PC users, windows operating system software computers, appear to have an extreme edge .. when it comes to media disc burning. i.e. successful burns.
Re-reading that lengthy post .. which doesn't fully format as intended .. has me fully believing that less is more and small is beautiful (still). Future specific posts will probably follow as a matter of personal self-committment .. to persist until the solutions are fully to hand. For now .. may we refer to your mentioned post in our next planned post please ? Solidarity of negatory outcome experience is credibility.
Three forums have we frequented and participated to learn more about the black hole .. we know as SuperDrive media disc burning .. only you have provided any feedback whatsoever .. post reader numbers grow but answers are missing in action .. absent from class.
http://www.crc.id.au/page/2/
We have thought the SuperDrive matter you have referred to in your post was of no concern to us .. but now you have us thinking again .. although model numbers differ .. (ours is a later numerical reference) the concerns appear to be similar .. or largely about performance .. we shall also refer to this domain in our planned next post. Yes, we are aware of the matter .. from another forum .. but shall now supply the link for others to weigh and hopefully dish out their two cents worth .. where a consensus could mean we are also a part of this particular action. An ideal consensus would be firmware is unsuitable .. requires immediate update .. and in particular the quality of burn is consensually unacceptable .. action could follow.
We have progressed no further with burning experimentations .. and will be using Apple media before progressing with our findings reporting. For now, we are unable to add to your ease of mind .. frankly .. unless the burning media is made in Japan .. we doubt any burn verification success is to be had. And we cannot find any burning media made in Japan in our locale. Where is the Apple media made?
We have come to appreciate the SuperDrive is all about the firmware .. but have no new firmware to apply .. in fact .. our research to date shows that we have been unable to find the Matshita SuperDrive at all online and cannot confirm specifications .. neither could we locate the specifications at www.apple.com.au .. which is just plain odd.
A third look has provided ... from www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html ..
Storage
* One of the following optical drives:
o Slot-loading Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW): reads DVDs at up to 8x speed, writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed, writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed, reads CDs at up to 24x speed
o Optional SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW): writes DVD-R discs at up to 4x speed, writes DVD-RW discs at up to 2x speed, writes DVD+R discs at up to 4x speed, writes DVD+RW discs at up to 2.4x speed, reads DVDs at up to 8x speed, writes CD-R discs at up to 16x speed, writes CD-RW discs at up to 8x speed, reads CDs at up to 24x speed
Where were you able to establish your SuperDrive (burning) specifications ?
Writer's note : .. some things change .. and so have the Apple Mac mini SuperDrive burner specs changed .. since recording those detailed above. In fact .. they read like they maybe should have all along .. 8x DVD R media burn speed. DL is a bonus. Can anyone tell us what the drive designation is please ?
CRC says: ".. This limits burn speed to 4x for Mac Minis and 8x for Powerbooks.".
While speed matters .. and it does .. you appear to have exactly the same media disc burning problems that we are experiencing .. failed verification(s) .. and for us .. in short .. complete DVD-R media disc burned rejection from the Apple OS X.
Do we .. in actual fact .. have two separate operating challenges here .. speed of burn and quality of burn .. any burn ? Speed was not our first priority .. quality is .. now we figure that at any speed the burn quality is anywhere from dubious to coaster.
CRC says: ".. The UJ-835 that Apple use is firmware limited to suit various bits of hardware that they want to put together. The burner in the Mac Mini is the exact same model as the one in the PowerBooks. Apple load a 4x firmware on the Mac Mini, and an 8x firmware on the PowerBook drives.
My bet is that this is for marketting reasons only. ".
One of the contributors to http://www.crc.id.au/?p=21 . . says . .
# Moneky Boy Says:
August 14th, 2005 at 1:03 am
My parents have a mini and my has one of the PowerBooks. Confirmed the drives are Matsushita UJ-835. They have never had an issue burning DVDs. Confirmed it by burning DVDs last night on the wife’s 12″ PowerBook.
As far as updating the Firmware in your optical drives, no, you do not have to remove them from the machines to update their firmware. I’ve updated the firmware on my optical drives (for Region Free and/or speed gains) via the GUI in Mac OS X. One application that will do this is called DVRFlashX I believe. The key is then finding the firmware, which is platform agnostic.
BTW, removing the drive wouldn’t void the warranty on your Mac but messing with the firmware certainly will void the warranty on the drive.
Our primary concern remains SuperDrive media disc burn quality .. while you do appear to share the same concern as well as speed performance. Mr Haigh's only concern appears to be speed .. and here we may have missed any opportunity .. since the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C
SuperDrive is a later designation and the speed performance specifications showing on the apple web-site are likely consistent with current performance capabilities of that SuperDrive and later .. including yours ?
Mr H may have indeed received marketing materials that promised 8x while actually receiving a 4x SuperDrive .. which only performs at 2x unless exceptional media disc(s) .. so he does have a legitimate claim concerning performance. Do we ?
What has us fully curious is whether he can burn quality media disc(s) with his new SuperDrive ..
(Update 24/12/2005 07:10pm (+11 GMT)
Well, it seems that Apple have decided to replace my hardware. I've started the proceedings yesterday and will hopefully get some news in the new year as to what they are going to replace. At the moment, I'm looking to send in the 12" Powerbook for a replacement, then see what changes in the mac mini side of things. I'm not going to accept the same DVD drive - as we all know the problems with the UJ-835. Stay tuned for more details as they come to hand.) .. http://superdrive.crc.id.au/
.. which would likely be the same as yours .. now that should prove an interesting outcome .. which he seems likely to voluntarily report and will be the essence of any enquiries from us in the near foreseeable future assuming Mr Haigh is forthcoming in his SuperDrive computing developments.
Mr Haigh may have begun to scratch the surface (so to speak) .. and find the more serious problem is that no matter how fast or slow the SuperDrive .. reliable media disc burns are a fantasy !
As yet no update .. almost three months .. could the delay by Apple could have something to do with the model identification of any replacement DVD burner .. if they use an UJ-845 .. then all **** could break loose as Apple users realise (such as we) they do have the same DVD burner and (in a Mac mini) are limited to 4x maximum speed DVD media disc burning performance .. so another designation may be required .. one that already delivers 8x DVD burns .. bit of a mess really .. and the latest Mac mini SuperDrive sports 8x DVD R media burn speed.
We are curious about you too, dear reader .. are you satisfied with your non Apple disc media burn quality ? We are able to openly admit that we are dissatisfied with our non Apple disc media burn output quality.
We are currently satisfied with the Apple DV R disc media burn quality. However at a price of premium dollars and an unexplained media burn verification failure message.
Burn speed, we nonchalantly confess, is not our greatest concern, and, for now, falls to a lower priority of importance with us.
For now the matter is at rest with us.
How about you ?
Yours Sincerely
Stuart
PS. .. helping to explain the confusions surrounding the Mac mini SuperDrive is this extracted from ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_mini
October 2005–February 2006
Multiple reports exist that the Mac mini was quietly upgraded in October 2005 to 64 MiB VRAM, and either a 1.33 GHz (up from 1.25 GHz) or 1.5 GHz G4 (up from 1.42 GHz) processor, with 512 MiB of PC3200 RAM while underclocking it to PC2700. The 80 GB drive is currently a Seagate Momentus 5400.2 ST9808211A, which runs at 5400 RPM with an 8 MiB cache. The SuperDrive is a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845, which supports +R DL burning, and may also have unofficial support for DVD-RAM. Apple did not revise the official specifications on their web site. This may be to avoid issues with discounting or discontinuing of old stock.
Well .. whatever .. we use a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C SuperDrive .. wouldn't that mean we have +R DL feature too ? .. probably not judging by the following explanations .. sort of .. and yes you could grab the mac_min.pdf service manual and do your own upgrading and overclocking as it pleases you .. try google for more info.
PPS. .. http://www.macintouch.com/macmini11.html
Mac Mini Part 11
January 9, 2006
Stealth Upgrade
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
I recently received the SuperDrive Mac Mini that I ordered from Amazon the day after Christmas. To my delight, my Mini contains a 1.5 GHz PPC and 64MB of video RAM.
The SuperDrive is listed as a Panasonic UJ-845. According to Panasonic's web site this drive is supposed to allow DVD-RAM writing (and I assume reading). Has anyone attempted to use DVD-RAM discs with this drive under 10.4.3?
Xxxxxx Xxxx
I also have a new SuperDrive mini with the same specs, and note that the UJ-845 drive doesn't include DVD-RAM capability, though as Gordon notes the OEM Panasonic drive does. However, Panasonic's spec page is for the UJ-845-B drive, and I expect that the one in the mini is instead a special version of the UJ-845 that Panasonic made for Apple with DVD-RAM disabled. For some reason Apple doesn't seem to want to support DVD-RAM, which is a pity. I believe the drive will work with DVD-RAM discs, but treat them like DVD-RW, requiring complete erasure every time they're used, rather than allowing addition and subtraction of individual files, which is what makes DVD-RAM a great backup/exchange medium, especially for travelers.
My new PowerBook came with an Apple-labeled Panasonic UJ-825-C drive, which System Profiler saw as simply "UJ-825" and which didn't include DVD-RAM although Panasonic's specs showed it; I replaced it with an 825-B I got on eBay, which System Profiler sees as "845-S" and which now does DVD-RAM even without Patchburn. Note that the 825 is two generations earlier than the current 845/846 drive (whose new feature is DL burning); DVD-RAM has been available for a long time, but Apple has been using special versions of the drives without it.
How to exactly determine the capabilities of your drive: Insert a disc (any type, CD or DVD, but not a blank recordable disc that has to be formatted), open Disk Utility, and on the left side select the drive (not the disc in the drive), then look in the lower right side of the window where it says "Capabilities". You may have to widen the window to see the whole list, as it doesn't wrap for some reason. If it says "DVD-RAM" in the list, the drive should do DVD-RAM discs as they are meant to be used: like a 4GB floppy disk, they must be formatted once, then can be used as "random access media" (RAM). Doesn't matter what kind of disc you put in the drive; any type will make the drive appear in Disk Utility, which will then show its capabilities.
FOLLOWUP: I opened up the Mac Mini, and found the SuperDrive is an Apple label "UJ-845C", presumably a special version of the 845 with DVD-RAM disabled, unlike the UJ-845-B spec'd at the Panasonic site.
[MacInTouch]
We just received a middle-model Mac Mini - 80GB/512MB/AirPort+Bluetooth/Tiger - ordered from Amazon (currently $519.99 after rebate) and were pleased to find that it is one of Apple's "stealth" upgrades, where the label belies the actual specifications. Apple shows it as a 1.42GHz model, but it's actually running at 1.5 GHz, according to System Profiler.
It has a Seagate ST9808211A hard drive, which is a 5400-RPM model (better than the dog-slow 4200-RPM drives Apple started shipping sometime after the original Mini models debuted).
The optical drive is a Matsushita CW-8124, a Combo drive with 24X CD writing and reading and the ability to read DVD-R and DVD-RW, as well as DVD-ROM, at 8x.
System Profiler shows 64 MB of video RAM - double Apple's specified amount - for the "ATY,RV280" graphics card (ATI Radeon 9200) on an AGP bus, supporting display rotation and Quartz Extreme but not Core Image.
(For what it's worth, we found that we could not connect a Dell 1704FPT to the digital video port while an analog video cable was connected; after removing the analog cable, the Dell works beautifully with the Mini's DVI video. The Dell display also worked fine with analog video via the adapter included with the Mini.)
We also tried a WiebeTech Maxelerate hard drive enclosure but found it unpleasantly noisy, even in a special reduced-RPM version the company offers customers who raise the issue. By contrast, the miniStack we previously reviewed is virtually silent with the same hard drive inside.
Xxx Xxxxxxx
While this isn't the first time I've seen this type of 'error' from Apple, or other firms, this particular incident seems to have gone beyond the typical example, and I'm beginning to wonder if it is more than just an overlap in an otherwise complicated process.
I've done my share of OEM documentation, including manuals, labels and cartons. I know how hard it is to maintain reality in this regard. But in this case, it seems to me that the mismatch between the inside and the outside of the package has gone beyond the norm, and I'm wondering if someone along the line has simply decided to live with it, rather than deal with it up front. I can see this saving money...changes cost more than just the ink - it takes time and planning to overcome a spec change and cover all the bases.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone in a position to decide hasn't simply elected to run out the materials without implementing changes. After all, the customer gets more than they expect, which can be favorable publicity, and we all know the saying "any publicity is good, and good publicity is even better".
On the other hand, it can be a minefield to fess up. Once word gets out, customers start hand-picking the good from the better, taking the higraded units and leaving the rest as floatsom. Or they buy the downgrade for less, then return it shortly thereafter, demanding the up while refusing to pay more.
Let's just hope the sun keeps shining on this particular parade, and no one decides to claim fraud. All it would take is one competitor with a surplus of over-eager attorneys, and Apple would be forced to apologize for over-stuffing the golden goose. -
Magically Restored Files after Hard Drive Replacement? Confused...
Ok so I don't really need help, but I'm confused as to how this is possible.
Okay, so my backyard got struck by lightning a week ago. My Macbook Pro was working fine after the strike until like 2 days later when it started kernel panicking on start up and wouldn't boot OS X. Took it to the genius bar, they said they probably needed to replace the logic board. 5 days later, I go to pick it up and they said they had to replace the logic board, hard drive, superdrive, and some other cables inside. I asked if my data was lost, and they said they tried to restore it but they couldn't and recommended to go to an outside tech person to try to recover it if it was really important but didn't recommend it because it would be very expensive because they would have to essentially rebuild the hard drive. I was upset because they said they would call me if they had to replace the hard drive and I was never notified. The guy felt bad for me, so they let me keep my old hard drive instead of sending it back to apple for investigation or whatever. So I leave the Apple store, and turn on my computer to make sure it works and lo and behold all my stuff is there. I checked to make sure documents worked and all my music and photo files opened correctly.
So I am happy that I didn't lose anything, but very confused as to how a replaced hard drive contains my old data when the Apple store said they couldn't get it back. And I still don't know what is on the hard drive they gave me. I'm pretty sure they actually did the replacement because I signed a sheet stating that they did so.
So could the apple store have just been confused? i've been trying to figure it out and can't understand how all my stuff is magically back. and i don't know what to do with the hard drive that they gave me. any thoughts on my magically reappearing files?Hi r,
I suspect neuro is correct, but if you're still curious, one more thing you could do is purchase a connector or enclosure for the HD they said is your old one, and see if it will mount when connected to another Mac. If so, open it and check it out to see if it really is. -
How do I know if my inbuilt Superdrive can write DVDs or not[MBP]?
Details about the superdrive:
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-868:
Firmware Revision: KB19
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
Problems I am having with my superdrive(not so super):
1) It just ejects 8 out of 10 discs I insert aftew few seconds of trying when my other Macbook Black or my wife's old Dell laptop can do it in few secs. Discs arenot so scratched either.
2) I am confused if it can write DVDs or not because when I check the info about my superdrive on it says I can as you can see above but idk I also have Windows 7 installed on my MBP using Parallels and inside My Computer my superdrive is tagged as "DVD-ROM drive". What is it?
3) When I insert a already burned DVDs or CDs containing data, my Superdrive thinks its a blank disc and asks me what do I want to do with it for eg: burn.
What do you think about this? What is happening? Is my superdrive being dead? Is there any thing I can do as a last resort before thinking I have a MBP without an optical drive?
Oh btw I was also searching on Google for the solution of this problem and I saw few people talking about their region locked superdrive or something like that? Do you think my superdrive is refusing to read discs because it is region locked or something?
Thank you so much for your timebrobama2 wrote:
It just ejects 8 out of 10 discs I insert aftew few seconds of trying
The lens may be dusty. Try using a lens cleaning disc.
inside My Computer my superdrive is tagged as "DVD-ROM drive"
Ignore it.
Do you think my superdrive is refusing to read discs because it is region locked or something?
No. That concerns only commercial entertainment DVDs (movies). -
Superdrive wont accept discs at all.... common problem?..
see these threads...they are old but i posted up on one ages ago and have never got around to fixing or replacing the drive since then.... slack...
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=3559409#3559409
and..
http://superdrive.crc.id.au/
Anyway- anymore news on these things-ie; has apple accepted that these superdrives are faulty,
should i replace like for like or if not what should i fit in place of existing drive. I just want something work and be reliable... I'm happy to have a crack at replacing it myself but i'm just not sure whats the best unit to fit?
cheers
alexMore often than not Quality is the issue as well as the correct Format.
This issue has been discussed many times in the fourms.
Many users are not aware of the big difference in the quality in the Media for sale on the market today.
There is also a difference in the quality of the media in the same package from one disc to another.
So it seems this issue boils down to the best in over all quality of manufactured MEDIA.
http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm
Again, after viewing the quality guide, some users will expieriance some confusion.
I have tried several different brands and personally had my best luck with.
This Media will explain that it will burn in the OLDER as well as the NEWER Computers. It means that this media will burn at the best speed, your computer is capable of.
Again most users are not aware that there is a huge difference.
Again many computers are capable of reading and writing DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW as well as DL, Going under the aumption DVD is just DVD, which of course is not the case, have a look at the link below.
http://www.videohelp.com/dvd
SO in closing, you will have your best luck using DVD-R Media and one that is high enough in quality that it will burn as stated above. 1X through16X
Don -
Does Apple Plan To Help Anybody w/ Their SuperDrive Problems
I see a lot of questions from people who spent good money for a superdrive and are unable to use it BUT NO ANSWERS. Does apple even read these forums? This is totally unacceptable. I want all the possible answers to all SuperDrive Problems NOW. Get on it, Apple. Stop making new ipods and start helping people with the broken junk that you gave them in exchange for hard cold cash.
First let's start by saying that we are all sorry you are having a problem with your SuperDrive.
That being said there are a couple of things that you must understand.
First we all have had one or more issues with the capability of the Superdrive in one sence or another,
You must also understand that the Software that comes with the Superdrive is ENTRY LEVEL. It is far from the top of the line in burning software.
The ease of use with the better software is daylight and dark in comparisson for most users.
The supplied software is cumbersome and difficult for some users to navigate through, not being used to it.
In comparison the better software gives you very informative choices of DATA, AUDIO, VIDEO, Likewise it gives you the choice of PC only, Mac only, or PC, and Mac compatible. Not all Media on the market is compatible with all burners and visa versa.
DVD can be confusing at best without doing some research.
Most users assume they can just put in media and click and wa-la they have a copy, Sorry to say this isn't the case.
There are very few step by step instructions on the use of Drive capabilitys and the use there of. I contend this is by design by the entire Industry. Read my response to this post.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=264696&tstart=0
Lastly, To my knowledge there are no Apple Butt Boys on these fourms, and none of us are here but for one purpose.
To help one another with our problems.
Rather then to go through the hassle of contacting Apple for every little problem we have that for the most part are self induced.
If you have a specific problem, all you have to do is give as much detail as you can to your problem and there are hundreds of very very sharp people on here that have forgot more than you or I could ever hope to know that are willing to take there time to help. Don -
So I've finally decided to mess around in iDVD, thinking that it would be nice to know what to do if I ever want to use it... and when I start it I get this popup..
"your macintosh does not have a supported SuperDrive. Please note that while you will be able to work with iDVD projects, you will not be able to burn a DVD disc."
... now I thought that my macbook has a superdrive? but I don't?
I'm a little confused with this.If yours is a month old, both choices were available.
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP5
Which one do you have?
2.1 GHz ??? Then you have the Combo drive.
2.4 GHz models had the SuperDrive.
Check your receipt. See which model you paid for.
If you paid for the SuperDrive, then I would take it back and get the SuperDrive.
Joseph Kriz -
SuperDrive and DVD-RW Question
Hello, I have a 1GHz G4 iMac with 1GB of RAM. It has the stock superdrive installed, below are the specs from Pioneer:
Writes 4X, 2X and 1X speeds for DVD-R (General 650nm discs only) &
2X or 1X for DVD-RW
Writes to CD-R/RW standard and high-speed media
Rewrites DVD-RW discs at 1x speeds more than 1,000 times
Read speeds up to 6X for DVD (single layer), 24X for CD-R/RW and
16X for CD-Audio Extraction
I have been trying to use DVD-RWs I purchased from Target, but none of them seem to be working. I insert the disc and they get kicked back out after about 30 secs. First I tried Immation DVD-RW. I am not sure what the speeds of these are. I took them back and got TDK DVD-RW. They are 4X and compatible with 2X. Does this mean my superdrive will not read these as they are not 1X?
I have been able to write to DVD-RW using sony DVD-RWs that are 1x-2x speeds, I got these a couple of years ago, and wanted to get new ones.
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I am confused with all of the lingo when it comes to writing and rewriting with these things!
* - On a side note, does anyone know of a good inexpensive Dual Layer DVD writer I could put in?
ThanksHi,You've surpassed my experience as I've never owned a tower based Mac since my brother had a Performa 6400..
For non Apple hardware - you'll have to check out the OEM (i.e. Pioneer) website for firmware upgrades.
...but if it ain't broke don't fix it!
The only firmware update I've done to an optical drive is on my TiBook where Apple had removed DVD-RW support and reduced DVD-R burn speed from the drive's 2x capability down to 1x. To me, that was worth the update!
OS X Tiger (10.4) is, however, very supportive of third party drives (although I suspect that support does not go as far as distributing firmware updates!) - so updating to that will help if you are having difficulties taking advantage of your Superdrive. The other option is to install a third party drive like Patchburn. Having said all that the Apple has shipped many types of Pioneer optical drive in its desktop Macs so Software Update may well provide updates unaware that it's a replacement drive (but that's only a guess).
regards
mrtotes -
Will the Software Update to 10.4.7 install firmware upgrade for SuperDrive?
Will the Software Update to 10.4.7 install firmware upgrade for a SuperDrive?
I have a Mac mini and I've just let the Software Update run as needed, but I am confused by the number of Apple update downloads listed.
I don't believe I need them, when I just use Software Update?
Seems like a simple question, but I was on Windows for the last 10 years.
Thanks,
--Todd
Mini Mac OS X (10.4.7)Believe Software Update.
-
How do i know if i have a superdrive?
i'm thinking about installing iLife so i can get iDVD but i don't know if i have the right system requirements. I have the basic iBook G4, I bought it about 2 years ago. Below it says I need Apple SuperDrive or 733MHz G4 processor. When I look in my System Profile it says I have 800MHz of CPU Speed. Also, is 256MB of physical RAM referring to the memory? I can play DVD's and burn CD's but I don't know if my computer can burn DVDs, even after installing iDVD.
I am confused, please help!!
THANK YOU!
DVD 5 System Requirements
Macintosh computer with a 733MHz G4 or faster processor
256MB of physical RAM (512MB recommended)
Mac OS X v10.3.4 or later
Display with at least 1024 x 768 pixel resolution
QuickTime 6.5.2 (included)
DVD drive required to install GarageBand and iDVD
Apple SuperDrive (or 733MHz G4 processor) required for iDVD
4.3GB of disk space required to install GarageBand, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD
MY Hardware Overview:
Machine Model: iBook G4
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 800 MHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
Memory: 256 MB
Bus Speed: 133 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.7.7f0
ATA-3 Bus:
MATSHITA CD-RW CW-8123:
Manufacturer: MATSHITA
Model: MATSHITA CD-RW CW-8123
Revision: CA0T
Serial Number:
Drive Type: CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Disc Burning: Apple Supported/Shipped
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)Stiles,
Your equipment is your limitation, not iDVD. You currently show a read-only DVD drive. If you replaced that internal drive or added an external DVD burner (LaCie has a great one), you can use iDVD to burn DVDs up to 2 hours in length. You do not have to have an Apple superdrive to use iDVD, except for one possibly important case. iDVD out of the box can only be used with single layer DVDs with the external drives. It does require the Apple superdrive (the newer ones capable of burning double layer DVDs) to burn DL DVDs. There is an option to select this capability that only appears when you have the Apple drive available. Their is a French patch that some have tried to use that is supposed to make this option available for external drives, but the results have been mixed with its use and I am staying away from it for a while.
Gary
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