Vibration in superdrive

I have some regular vibrations inside the superdrive when reading DVD's on my iMac (doing like "brrrr-rr"-brrrr-rr" regularly); Vibrations are really annoying. Is it the reader or the laser ? I don't know...
Is there any way to change that or is it normal ? Should I do a cleaning (I have this mac for about 8 months and I didn't use a lot the superdrive so...) ?
I would really feel great if somebody could answer my question, and I thank him/her in advance.
Frades
G5 isight built-in Mac OS X (10.4.8)

This steady vibration is something that has happened occasionally ever since I put a replacement superdrive in this machine a month or two after I bought it back in '04.
However, it's been doing it a lot in the last couple weeks, and now all of a sudden it's decided to stop recognizing blank DVD-R media altogether (although it appears to still read already-burned discs). I guess I'm going to have to drop some change on the replacement dual-layer drive that's available now. Kind of $ucks, that you can't expect more than a couple years out of a lot of hardware these days. Like there isn't enough crap going into landfills.
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1st-generation G5 model

Similar Messages

Does 10.4.9 generates superdrive errors? burning/strange vibrating sound..?

I don't use much my G5's superdrive but lately it is causing me problems, When a disc is inserted, it makes like a vibrating noise... like if it doesnt spin properly. Despite of these random noises, it reads any disc very well. I have however problems on burning, I Have tried several type of CD-R without success... When I want to burn via Itunes, the software stays stuck on the first track needed to be burnt. If I cancel and eject the disc, I can see that the burn process didnt start at all on the CD... All these seems to happen since the update to 10.4.9. Did anyone notice the same issue? and if yes, did you solve and how? or maybe it is more like an unlucky isolate hardware problem? Thanks for your help !!!

Hi
See Mac OS 10.4 Help
And Mac OS 10.3 Help
You need Tiger if you want to burn DL Media using the Finder, otherwise you'll need to invest in Roxio's Toast.

SuperDrive vibrating and making very loud noise

Whenever I finish ripping a CD, the SuperDrive starts vibrating (excessively?) and making a loud noise for about 10-15 seconds... I was thinking that was normal, but recently the noise has kept getting louder and this last time the whole MBP was vibrating so much I ejected it before the noise stopped...
Would this call for a visit to the Genius Bar?

Yes, a few months ago I noticed it making a lot of noise for 10-15 seconds after CDs finished ripping to iTunes, though I can't say for sure it wasn't doing that before. Within the last few days it's gotten so bad that the whole desk that the MBP is sitting is vibrating heavily... not normal, I assume. :/
This would be under warranty, right? (13" refurb MBP bought in Jan 2010)
Message was edited by: liam27

Current Mac Mini Superdrive noise/vibrataion...Resolutions?

I've got a Mac Mini that I purchased around September or October of last year, so it's the current generation that's in the Apple Store right now. When the drive spins up anywhere near full speed, whether reading or burning, the excessive noise and vibration makes it almost intolerable to stay in the room with it. It's definitely not "normal" by any stretch of the word. No disc burning has failed because of this, but it does seem to take excessive amounts of time to burn full discs. Also, this weekend I installed Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 on my 2008 Black Macbook and it took around an hour to complete the install. I did the same install from the same DVD on my current Mac Mini and after well over 2 hours of installing and only getting to about 60% progress, I gave up and went to bed while it finished. So same speed drive, close to the same processor, 4 times the RAM...and the Mac Mini takes at least 3 times as long to accomplish the same install. That's not acceptable at all. Granted, I don't use the drive all that often, but when I do I want it to work, and to work efficiently and properly.
I've searched the discussions and see threads from over a year ago on this topic, but nothing recent. Wondering what the latest verdict is on these issues and if Apple has been replacing these as of late and/or has acknowledged the problem. I'm still within the standard 1 year warranty, but also have Applecare, so warranty is not really an issue. I've only found a couple people for whom Apple has fixed this (and then they just replaced the whole machine), and those have all said that the noise was not quite as bad, but that it was still not normal in the replacement machines, and even then that was after 2-3 replacements. I don't want to go through the hassle of replacing my machine multiple times and having to keep restoring from Time Machine backups only to have a machine that isn't quite as noisy. The noise I could honestly deal with if I had to (but I shouldn't), it's the excessively long read/write times that I can't accept. So any new news on this before I go to the trouble to take it to the Apple Store?

Right, and that's what I would fully expect. However, I'm looking for people who have recently had the problem, have taken theirs in for repair (warranty or not) and if the issue was fully resolved or if it was still a problem, even if it wasn't quite as bad as before. If I'm still going to have the issue after a drive repair/replacement I don't want to waste my time taking it in and being without a machine for a few days. I want to know current experiences with the superdrives on the last gen Mac Mini.

Very loud vibration from new Mac Mini DVD ROM drive

Good evening all.
I bought a new design Mac Mini 3 days ago. Today I decided to re-install the OS and found the following :-
1. The DVD drive makes a horrendous vibrating noise like an out of balance washing machine.
2. The usual method of booting from DVD ROM is to turn it on whilst holding the C key down. Mine just freezes to a white screen. This is reproducible every time. This boot method method has always worked for my iMac.
3. The alternate method of setting the boot disc in boot disc preferences to boot from DVD ROM worked on the second attempt. The first time it said Its own OS disc was an unformatted DVD ROM.
Anyone else with problems with VERY noisy DVD ROM and/or booting from its own DVD ROM ?
regards
videodrone.

Yeah my new mini does the same thing. Funny thing is that it doesn't d it all the time. I know the other day, I burned a DVD with iDVD which took about 8 minutes. It was so loud That I didn't even thing the DVD would've burned correctly but it burned fine.
I installed Grand Theft Auto 4 when I booted into Windows XP Pro and the Super Drive Went To all sorts of Speeds, but Know Vibration. *It's a random thing, or maybe these superdrive are very sensitive to imperfectly made Discs.* *I have a Late 2006 iMac 17" which is very sensitive to an HP Printer Install disc which vibrated like crazy. But with ALMOST every other disc I throw at it, it burns and spins just fine and quietly.* _It's like putting Regular 87 Octane Fuel into a Lamborghini, it will run terribly unless you put the good stuff/ Higher octane fuel in it._
Luckily or me, *I have a MacBook Air SuperDrive. These Drives do work on all the new Minis*. SO because of that, I'm not going to rush out for a repair right now. Unless I know in advanced that I will be in the same area of the Apple Store ( 25 miles Away / 50 miles round trip) ).
Message was edited by: Christian Rosario

IDVD Burning Problem...Pixels and Vibrating Image!!!!!

I have a 104 minute project that I'm burning in iDVD (exported from FCP Pro). Every time I play it back after burning, I notice the same scene (about midway through the project) is pixelated and the picture "vibrates" like crazy. I've already re-burned it about 5 different times, and the same thing happens with each disc.
Then, I've isolated the problem by only burning that particular scene onto a disc...no pixels, no "vibrating".
I then went back and re-burned the entire film again...same pixels, same problem in the same scene. What's going on?
I'm using Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD-R discs...I've set the burning speed to Professional Quality and the burn speed to 8x...I've chosen a 6.0 them (Road Trip)...and, Im burning directly to the DVD-R disc.
Why am I getting this strange problem? Please help!!!!

Well, you're using highly regarded DVD-Rs. I would create a disk image and burn it at 4X or slower. You can test the disk image to see if the problems exist before burning.
Suggest you create a disc image and then burn the DVD. File/Save as Disc Image...
This will isolate any encoding/burning issues you may encounter. Once the disc image is created, double-click the .img and burn the virtual disc that should appear on your desktop, using Toast to burn the DVD. Disk Utility to burn the .img file. Usually, you can select a burning speed in Disk Utility.
There are variations to this process based on which OS X you are using...
Open Disk Utility (in Utilities folder in Applications folder), click on the virtual disc (maybe the .img) in the left-hand window. Click the Burn icon. A new window should drop down and your SuperDrive tray will open after clicking the Burn icon. Insert a recordable DVD. (Verbatim DVD-R preferred by me.) Click the Close button. Wait. Select a burn speed. If you hold your mouse cursor over the pop-up it says: "Select a slower speed to work around burn failures," so select 4x or slower for best results. Then click the Burn button.
-->If the virtual disk selection won't allow you to click the Burn icon, use the .img file instead. This may have changed in 10.3.9 and did change in Tiger.
Also, you can use DVD Player to play the virtual disk to check your iDVD project before burning to DVD. Launch DVD Player. File/Open VIDEO_TS (Open DVD Media... in Player 4.6). Find the VIDEO_TS folder and open that. (The audio folder is for DVD-Audio disks.)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93006

Loud Superdrive, CD Recordings Fuzzy

My SuperDrive is at TIMES, very loud when I put in a CD or DVD; and, at other times is quiet. There have been no problems READING disks, but when burning CDs (audio from itunes), some of the songs are fuzzy and skip. One DVD recording errored as well, though I have since burned some DVD's just fine. Burning CDs on my external drive works fine, so it isn't the source. Has anyone else had this problem? All of my software/firmware are up to date. Thanks for any help you can provide.
G5 Power PC Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Hi justaglo and welcome to the discussions.
Noisy optical drive operation is often due to poorly made CD's and DVD's . Discs which are the slightest bit out of round or out of balance are likely to produce a lot of noise.
The same discs are also likely to suffer from erratic burn and playback behaviour.
The slot loading Panasonic drives in many Macs are less tolerant of such things than many of the external, tray loading, drives.
My suggestion would be that you try a few different brands of discs and see which ones it likes best. Verbatim, TDK and Sony seem to work very reliably in mine. Memorex, and many of the cheap, generic, discs are much less happy. Some are so bad that they are only really of any use as drink coasters.
Assuming that Northwest WA is NW "Western Australia" one brand of "cheap" discs which does work well though, in my experience, are those sold through Australian Post Offices, under their own brand. Worth a go if you haven't already tried them!
Another factor worth considering in your neck of the woods unfortunately may be damage to discs through heat or vibration during transit, regardless of their original quality.
Cheers
Rod

Superdrive not so Super anymore - help

The Superdrive (PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-117D) on my G5 Dual 2 gig (10.3.9) seems near death. Although the drive will read DVDs and audio CDs just fine, burning is completely unreliable. 1 disk out of 10 might burn OK. The other 9 are coasters.
At first, audio or MP3 CD's burned through iTunes 4.7.1 would no longer play in my car. Or, just the first few tracks would play and the rest would be corrupted somehow.
Now, the drive won't properly burn data CD-R's from the finder or iTunes. The drive claims to be burning the data, and makes the appropriate whirring noises, then burps out a message that says "An error occured while using this disk. This disk cannot be used." This message sometimes appears during the burn and sometimes during verification.
After an unsuccessful burn, the CD-R media seems to remain untouched.
I looked in the console log for a more descriptive error message and found this:
Finder: Burn started, Wed Dec 14 14:57:52 2005
Finder: Burning to CD-R media with SAO strategy in PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-117D B705 via ATAPI.
Finder: Requested CD burn speed was max, actual burn speed is 24x.
Finder: Burn underrun protection is supported, and enabled.
Finder: Write (10), block: 192, count: 32 -> 3/73/03 Medium Error, Power calibration area error
Finder: Burn failed, Wed Dec 14 14:58:10 2005
Finder: Burn sense: 3/73/03 Medium Error, Power calibration area error
Finder: Burn error: 0x80020060 The device drained its buffer without burn underrun protection.
I've read a bunch of the posting on this forum, and tried the easy fixes already, like using a disk lens cleaner, compressed air and different media. All with no joy. This thing worked great for a while. I suspect the problem may have started with the install of the Apple Security Updates, but I'm not sure.
My questions are these:
"How do I determine if this problem is in the hardware or the software?"
"Does anyone know what these error codes mean?"
"Can anyone out there help a poor old geek fix this thing"
G5 Dual 2gig Mac OS X (10.3.9)

There is not much help available for simply playing CDs. The questions are generally about problems trying to burn discs, stuck discs, etc. I quickly found two Apple Support "Help" articles, which means they are available from the "Help" menu of the menu bar.
1.) The computer ejected my CD or DVD right after I inserted it
2.) My CD or DVD makes a vibrating noise
In addition, a restrictive search finds 35 hits, while my slightly limited search turned up 332 hits
The only possible other solution that I can suggest is a PRAM reset. To reset the PRAM:
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following four keys on the keyboard: Command (Apple logo), option, P, and R. You will need to hold these four keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Start up the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination after the startup chord sounds, but before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold all four keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup chord for the second time.
6. Release the keys.
If this wouldn't work, it's probably in need of warranty repair.
Message was edited by: myhighway

Scary "rattling / vibrating" noise with iMac DVD drive

I have an iMac for 2 months now and experience problems with the DVD drive. With some DVDs (not all, but still too many for my taste) it spins around quite fast and makes a scary sound as if the DVD is vibrating (rrrrrrr) inside the iMac's superdrive. I am a bit affraid it will damage my DVDs. When I try to burn a DVD with iDVD or Toast the DVD is ejected by the system with a HW error.
I called the Apple help desk and was asked to burn a DVD with finder. That went ok. Next DVD with iDVD failed. I was asked to install iDVD again, because they thought it could be a software issue. The next DVD I could burn without problems, so the case was closed. Later burning some DVDs failed again, but at the moment the majority succeeds. And reading some already written discs makes sometimes a scary noise, but I can still read them.
I am not sure if I should call apple again, because it not always fails. It is very disappointing to be having these problems with my first Apple. Didn't expect that at all. Every time I insert a DVD now, I wonder what will happen. But it would be a pity to have to add an external dvd reader/writer to the beautiful integrated iMac.
Anybody a suggestion, or is it better to call Apple again?

I also have this problem with my 2.4ghz, 24" iMac. It started a few months back and it didn't seem to affect the media I stuck into it and for about 75% of the time the vibration was minimal. Now some DVD media are getting stuck in the drive and it takes a lot of tries with the eject button before enough of the DVD or CD shows itself to pull it out ... otherwise it gets sucked back in and I am back trying again.
What has just freaked me out is that some of the discs I have just burnt, when inserted, ask whether I want to write them i.e thinks they are blank ... when they go perfectly on my powerbook or my wife's G5 iMac. I just thought I would check out the support forums for a lead, but doesn't seem like a regular fault so its off to the repair shop under warranty (up to a week wait around here).
So can't help that much iDijkman ... I suppose get it fixed while you still have some warranty.

SuperDrive Media Disc(s) .. Assist ...

07.11.2005
Dear Apple Mac Mini User forum participants
b Macmini SuperDrive : Matsushita DVD-R UJ-845C
How do we confirm the correct read/writable disc(s) media for our Mac mini ?
We have searched widely .. specifically .. and generally .. online.
And we come away with no new definitive knowledge. Others
have trialled and erred .. and learned .. and reported. But still
we are ill-informed about which particular media we should
be restricting ourselves to use in our Mac mini.
Are you able to assist by sharing your garnered information(s)
about the correct media(s) for the Mac Mini Superdrive.
We seek your illumination by kind response, if you will.
Point us to the worthy online repositories or share your personally
accrued gems of optical SuperDrive media disc management.
And finally, for now, we would like to hear your formula for establishing
the minimum specification to share your media disc(s) among your Mac
computers in use and even with an XP machine, from time to time.
Establishing the upper performances and the lower compatibilities would
provide a practicable strategy to managing machine restricted and machine
to machine informations sharing by optical drive media disc(s).
Positively thanked will you be.
very much obliged,
Stuart .

09.12.2005
Dear Apple Mac mini user discussions participants
Thank you to everyone who has constructively added to
the body of useful knowledge now available in this
humble thread. Your contributions are genuinely prized.
Gems.
We have read and re-read your entries, acting where
able, to discover more about the true capabilities of
the Mac mini SuperDrive mentioned. Along the way, we
have discovered a few many other related and relevant
aspects to the personal industry of media disc burning.
Here is the Apple Mac mini ..
About This Mac ..
More Info ..
Disc Burning ..
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C:
Firmware Revision: DPP9
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
Media: No
One of the informations we seek is the speeds capacities
of the SuperDrive mentioned. More frequently now .. in
the stores .. you find speed rated disc media for
burning. What are the rated speeds of the Mac mini
SuperDrive and media ?
What does CD-TAO mean ? TAO : TrackAtOnce
What does CD-SAO mean ? SAO : SessionAtOnce
What does DVD-DAO mean ? DAO : DiscAtOnce
What does .. Media: No .. mean ?
From here we begin to discover compatible media ..
the original mission.
Online .. here and elsewhere .. we are educated by the
many who have trialed and erred before us. Most demanded
manufacturer of disc burning media is 'Taiyo Yuden(s)'.
Made in Japan. Taiyo Yuden Company Limited is mentioned
by www.cdfeaks.com WIKI as the most preferred media too.
Most recommended brand name of disc burning media is
Verbatim.
We searched for Taiyo Yuden(s) media in our geographical
locale. Rare as hens teeth. Sold out before arrival.
Premium price no deterrent to those in the business of
quality disc burning. We settled for a couple of
Verbatim DVD+RW media discs. Made in Taiwan. Every disc
we could locate in retail was either made in Taiwan or
made in Singapore.
We began our media disc burning adventure by applying
the native OS X Tiger 10.4.2 disc burning applications.
Finder and Disk Utility. We bothered not with itunes,
iphoto, since our mission is data. Problems emerged
early. From the log file automatically kept by Disk
Utility (top right hand corner of the DU window) you are
able to read for yourselves the two error messages
reported as operations failed. Error messages ...
Finishing burn
Verifying burn...
Verifying
Burn failed
Verification of the burn failed.
Unable to burn “backup xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx.xx.xxx.dmg” -
Verification of the burn failed..
Burning Image “backup xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx.xx.xxx.dmg”
Preparing data for burn
Opening session
Finishing burn
Burn failed
The device failed to calibrate the laser power level
for this media. Unable to burn “backup xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xx.xx.xxx.dmg” - The device failed to calibrate the
laser power level for this media..
Finder media disc burn error message ...
This disc did not verify correctly and is unreliable.
Because the disc is unreliable, discard it and try again
using a new, blank disc. (Error code: 0x80020063)
Success message - without verification ...
Burn completed successfully
Image “backup xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx.xx.xxx.dmg” burned
successfully.
Operations failure .. we quickly discovered .. does not
mean media disc burn total failure.
All media disc burn operations were 'successful'. And,
as soon as we unticked Verify data at end of disc burn
(DU), we were regularly greeted with successful media
disc burn dialogue affirmation. Encouraging .. and
further confirmed as we examined the data burned and
satisfied ourselves of the totality of the writing
event. Otherwise .. DU had zero challenges media disc
burning and reading burned media and copying data files
back onto the originating apple mac mini hard disk
drive. Remember that DU is limited to media disc burning
in apple format only and multi-sessioning where on
screen you will be greeted with individual icons
representing each session burned on the same media disc
burned.
However, things went south far to soon and without very
apparent reason. The DVD+RW was suddenly and perpetually
rejected by the SuperDrive. No doubt .. the more
informed among you are smiling and nodding knowingly ..
at our novice and amateur opening efforts. Useless disc.
You may be able to pinpoint the moment of coaster
creation from the supplied error messages logged.
We imagine that the lack of verification availability ..
always displayed with an unsuccessful burn message,
every time .. points directly to media disc quality.
Unusable disc an eventual certainty. Perhaps.
Every disc burned delivered an unsuccessful burn message
whenever Verify data burned was ticked. Finder media
disc burning does not provide apparent opportunity to
switch off verification. Read-on .. if you are
interested to discover our further media disc burning
experiences and experimentations.
We re-examined the apple computer help system from DU
and learned that DVD+RW is the favoured alternate re-
writeable format disc for DVD re-writing intended to
replace the capabilities of DVD-RW and DVD-RAM and
provide higher compatibility with set-top players ..
though some DVD drives or applications may not support
recording to this disc format. At the store .. we re-
read the retail store chart by Verbatim on DVD options
and learned of media designation purpose distinctions.
Still .. we appear to have chosen within the SuperDrive
capabilities. Another disc we should like to sample is
the DVD-RAM disc .. which is not specifically mentioned
as compatible media .. are you able to clarify whether
Mac mini users with the mentioned SuperDrive
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C are able to use this designation
? And the reason for the question is that we have
discovered a DVD-RAM disc available from a Japanese
manufacturer. Premium price at the retailer .. assuming
premium quality too. Appears, however that we are unable
to use DVD-RAM media burn disc(s).
After media disc burning the DVD+RW disc we then fed the
written disc (and at that time, readable - by the
originating Mac mini machine) to the iMac DV SE
(graphite) running OS X 10.4.3 Tiger to confirm
compatibility. Nightmare on Apple street. Barely able to
read the media disc burned .. we eventually had to force
the iMac cough the DVD+RW disc back out by manually
restarting the iMac machine (side button) and holding
the mouse button down on start-up. Disc retrieved ..
safely. First time ever in five years of ownership ..
since new. Bummer. To eliminate speculation of poor iMac
DV SE drive performance we set about throwing other CD
and DVD discs at the machine. Perfect. From the iMac ATA
Device Tree - ATA Bus ... (no media disc burning capability)
MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8184:
Model: MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8184
Revision: AA32
Serial Number:
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 1
Socket Type: Internal
Disk Utility and Finder are limited media disc burning
applications. DU creates multi-session disc by burning
separate instances that manifest as separate disc icons
on the desktop. Operationally limiting and eventually
problematical. iMac DV SE showed only the first media
disc burn of a multi-session disc burned. DU is limited
to media disc burning in Mac OS format only too.
We returned the DVD+RW discs to the retailer .. one
opened and used and fully rejected and the other
unopened. Instead we chose to step down to Verbatim
CD-RW discs .. made in Taiwan. We continue with our
experimentations. Finder help reveals more about disc
burning and under; "I got an 'unknown error' message
while burning a CD or DVD disc" we find two links ..
Apple Service & Support article: Problems burning discs
[http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n25480] reads ...
Mac OS X: "Unknown Error -2147352480" when burning CD-R,
CD-RW, or DVD-R media Learn how to troubleshoot burn
underrun protection issues ("Unknown Error -2147352480"
alert) when burning a disc. This document applies to Mac
OS X 10.2 or later.
Try these tips:
* Specify a burn speed that is less than the maximum
speed rating for the optical drive.
* Quit open applications you are not using. Open
applications are marked with a triangle in the Dock.
* Once a burn session has started, do not move, bump,
or vibrate the computer.
* Do not put labels on blank discs before burning them.
* Use blank discs that are rated for the burn speeds of
your drive, or consider using a different brand of media.
* See "Macintosh: Factors That Affect Writing to or
Reading From Optical Media".
Your computer may also benefit from installing additional
memory (RAM) or a higher-bandwidth system interface for a
burning device (such as SCSI).
You might also consider having the optical media device
tested by an Apple Authorized Service Provider.
Additional information
The Console utility or log may report:
"-2147352480 = 0x80020060 = kDRBurnUnderrunErr = Device
drained buffer without burn underrun protection"
Low disk space or RAM availability issues can lead to this.
These are some clues that this might be the case:<
* The issue more often occurs during the burn process.
* The failed burn more often leaves data partially
written to the disc, and he disc can't be reused.
Physical source of these issues can lead to burn failures
and can sometimes be identified when:
* The issue more often occurs at the start of the burn
process.
* The failed burn session more often leaves the media
untouched and ready to be burned. (It is still blank.)
* The burn starts, but an external incident interrupts
the session.
... and the one link on that page ...
"Macintosh: Factors That Affect Writing to or Reading From Optical Media" ...
Factors that affect writing to or reading from optical media
This document discusses things can affect your computer's
ability to write CD and DVD discs, and what can potentially
affect their being read by other computers and consumer
electronics equipment.
Several things can affect the mastering of recordable media
and the ability to read them by other devices. These factors
equally apply to CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW media.
To consistently achieve successful burns, be aware of these
factors
The source for the media
Third-party discs that conform to the specifications of the
drive should operate as expected. However, since Apple has
not physically tested these discs, you should contact the
manufacturer if full compatibility cannot be achieved.
Apple-brand discs are tested and qualified for use with
Apple-installed optical drives and are fully compatible.
The optical drive used to master the media
Earlier drives may not work with some later, high speed
media. Use discs recommended by your drive's manufacturer.
Make sure you have installed any firmware updates available
for the drive. Some updates may address media compatibility
issues, or update the function of the drive in other ways.
The software used to master the media
Make sure the application software you use to master the
discs is up to date. Make sure the options you choose in
the application, such as the burn speed, work with the
drive and the media you are using. Varying the burn speed
may affect the compatibility of the media in the playback
device. This may make a difference in the accuracy of the
mastering of an audio CD or DVD. Burning applications often
perform a verification after the burning process is complete.
This ensures that the final disc is ready for playback.
If the verification fails, try choosing a slower burn speed.
The connection method for your optical drive
If your burner is connected via USB, you may not be able to
burn at the highest speed the drive is capable of using.
Trying to burn at too high of a speed may lead to a failed
burn because there is not enough bandwidth on the bus.
If you have a SCSI burner, make sure the SCSI cabling is
configured correctly, and that the SCSI chain is properly
terminated. Issues may result from improper termination.
Also, make sure you use properly-shielded cables to connect
the burner to the computer.
To successfully use your burned media, be aware of these factors
The source of the media
In general, if you are able to successfully burn discs in a
drive, that drive should be able to read the same discs without
an issue.
Note: Apple optical drives work with standard 650 MB-capacity
discs, but not all drives work with 700 MB-capacity (80 or 90
minute) discs.
The optical drive used to read the media
Earlier optical drives may have issues reading modern media.
Early DVD-ROM drives, for example, may not read burned DVD-R
or DVD-RW discs. Some may read DVD-R, but not DVD-RW. This is
true for consumer audio CD players, car audio players, and
DVD-Video players, too. Depending on when the drive was
manufactured, it may or may not be compatible with certain
burned media. Check the documentation that came with the player,
or check with the manufacturer for more information. A firmware
update may be available that improves compatibility. Even if it
is considered "compatible" with certain media, you may encounter
issues with some brands of media, or issues with media burned at
certain speeds.
The software used to read the media
You may find that software designed to copy data to discs cannot
successfully copy video or audio to discs. Make sure you are
using a current version of the application, and that the software
can copy the kind of data you are working with.
For best success in reading media, use the latest version of
the Mac OS. Also, make sure that you burn the disc in a format
that can be used by the operating system that will read the disc.
For example, a CD burned in Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus) format
may not work with a Microsoft Windows-based computer.
If a disc's format is not normally recognized by the computer's
operating system, you may need to install software that allows
the computer to recognize it.
Additional information
60849: "Mac OS: How to Determine a CD or DVD Drive's Mechanism
and Firmware Version"
120029: "Power Macintosh G4 CD-RW Firmware Update: Information
and Download"
86130: "SuperDrive: Important Information About Using With
High-Speed Media"
... 60849: "Mac OS: How to Determine a CD or DVD Drive's Mechanism
and Firmware Version" ...
... blah about Apple system profiler .. where we started .. just
one possibly useful link ...
For the latest information about compatible CD-RW drives, visit
the iTunes website.
So .. we did .. and found nothing of specific use ..
86130: "SuperDrive: Important Information About Using With
High-Speed Media" ...
... blah about older mac computers and SuperDrive .. inapplicable.
Apple Service & Support article: Hardware specifications
[ http://www.info.apple.com/support/applespec.html ]
... interesting .. and could have been useful .. maybe
.. if the mac mini were itemised at all .. not to be ..
yet the hypertext link is in the mac mini help .. anyone
see the mac mini here ? ...
... Moving along ..
Finder help also explains about burning blank CD or DVD
disc(s) and states that it will create burned disc(s)in
'hybrid' format that can be read by most computers,
including Windows computers. The (burned) disc contains
these filesystem: HFS+, ISO-9660 with Rock Ridge, and
Joliet with Rock Ridge. However .. "The names of files,
folders, and the disc can't be changed after the CD is
burned." So, a CD-R or DVD-R would seem the appropriate
media disc(s) to use as they cannot be (erased and) re-
written .. on any machine. [ but they can be written
until full with other softwares and on other operating
systems .. e.g. XP ]
We used CD-RW to experiment with this capability .. by
media disc burning data files to find out what we could
do after the first Finder burn. Initially recognized as
a CDR media disc. As you, dear reader, are by now, well
aware, media burn automatic verification failed.
Automatic ejection occurred after the burn and at the
(usual) verification failure message from Finder.
Re-insertion (after a delayed period) showed the CD-RW
disc to be CD-RW Untitled CD .. even though we had
titled the disc at dialogue box burn time. One folder
and zero nested folder or data files content were shown
as recorded in the Finder window. We know something is
on the disc because the usage amount is shown as 353.6MB
on the desktop icon. Second attempt to burn gave
message: Insert a blank disc to begin. So CD-R is better
value (read: cheaper) media than CD-RW for Finder burns.
You can use use DU to erase the CD-RW. DU agrees with
the media burned disc volume usage.
Finder is doubly confusing because of two apparently
colliding help entry explanations.
Under: Disc burning options are dimmed or unavailable ..
is the explanation: If the entry contains "-R", your
computer can write to a CD-R or DVD-R disc only once. If
the entry contains "-RW", your computer can erase a CD-R
or DV-R disc and write to it again.
However ..
Under : I can't burn files on my recordable CD or DVD
disc .. is the explanation: If the entry contains "-R",
your computer can write to a CD-R or DVD-R disc only
once. If the entry contains "-RW", your computer can
erase a CD-RW or DVD-RW disc and write to it again.
Personal experience proves the latter explanation to be
the more correct one. We are unable to erase a CD-R or
DVD-R disc on either Mac or XP machines. Whew.
Are we missing something here ?
Or is that the correct facts of the designations ?
Finder also provides a run-down of Types of recordable
CD and DVD media.
Types of recordable CD and DVD media
If your computer has an internal or external recordable
optical drive supported by Apple, you can "burn" or
record your favorite music, applications, documents,
digital photos and video, and other digital files to
recordable CD and DVD discs. You can create your own
music CDs and play them on a standard audio player, or
create DVDs with movies and slideshows and play them on
a DVD player.
There are several types of recordable CD and DVD media:
• DVD-R discs hold about 4.7 GB of information.
You can burn files on a DVD-R disc using the Apple
SuperDrive. DVD-R discs are not reusable; you can burn
files on them only once.
• DVD+R is an alternate DVD Recordable write-once
format. Some DVD drives or applications may not support
recording to this disc format.
• DVD-RW discs hold about 4.7 GB of information on
each side. If you have an Apple SuperDrive, you can read
information on these discs, but you can't burn files on
them using Mac OS X. DVD-RW discs are reusable: you can
burn files on them, erase them, and then burn again (if
you have an application that is compatible).
• DVD+RW is an alternate DVD ReWritable format
intended to replace the capabilities of DVD-RW and DVD-
RAM and provide higher compatibility with set-top
players. Some DVD drives or applications may not support
recording to this disc format.
• CD-RW discs come in normal and high-speed
formats. You can burn files on CD-RW discs using the
Combo drive (or another supported CD burner). CD-RW
discs are reusable: you can burn files on them, erase
them, and then burn again.
• CD-R discs come in two types. One holds 74
minutes of audio, or about 650 MB of information. The
other holds 80 minutes of audio, or about 700 MB of
information. You can burn CD-R discs using the Combo
drive (or another supported CD burner).
For recording audio CDs, it is best to use CD-R discs
because most standard audio CD players cannot read CD-RW
discs. For longer-term storage and reliability, use CD-R
discs.
You can't burn anything on a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM disc.
Enter Microsoft Windows XP Professional
We are .. for once .. fortunate enough to have Microsoft
Windows XP machine available to us with media disc
burning hardware installed. Just like the Mac mini .. we
do not have any other software installed for media disc
operations, only from the native XP OS supplied tools.
However .. we quickly discover that the XP machine has
an edge .. licensed Roxio software integrated into the
XP OS. And it works well. We discover that the Apple OS
X media disc burning software Disk Utility .. chooses
only to format in Apple OS. Meaning .. DU media disc
burned with Mac mini are only able to be read by Apple
OS machines. Confirmed by attempting to have the XP
machine(s) read the disc burned. Unable. But .. media
discs burned by XP machines are able to be read by the
Apple machines. Because XP machines native OS media
disc burning format appears to be an industry standard
OS independent. Couldn't tell from the available
information from the XP OS but suspect it is an ISO 9660
format variation. To be exactly confirmed .. and it will
be .. because the entire outcome of this mission is to
arrive at a total media disc burning and sharing
strategy among Apple and as a matter of operating
contingency .. XP machines too. Open source
applications in use by us are deliberately cross
platform between XP and Apple machines. Data generated
is able to be swapped or even shared among the machines
with little or mostly no user operating challenges.
Focus on productivity. The media disc(s) burned in the
XP machine reads well in the Apple machines.
The Finder media burned disc .. mentioned above earlier
.. CD-RW .. read immediately on the XP machine .. folder
and data files burned .. all there .. all on display.
99% able to be copied to the XP machine hard disk .. and
confirmed as a CD-R formatted disc since only option is
to erase the disc and not add to the existing content ..
thanks to the Apple Finder format for the re-use sharing
limitations. So Apple SuperDrive cannot read it's own
disc but XP machine can and is able to verify burn by
way of 99% trouble free copy to XP machine hard disk.
Here .. we begin to struggle with what is happening in
our limited media disc burning experience(s).
Enter Media Disc Burning Software
Additional software has become necessary to accomplish
our media compatibility and resource management
requirement(s) .. and we are surely open to your welcome
suggestions for software applications that enhance the
available Tiger OS X applications for dependable
outcomes.
Remembering for a moment that we have arrived at almost
total incompatibility between the two Apple disc media
drives mentioned after burning disc(s) in the Mac mini
using DU and Finder and attempting reading in the iMac
DV SE. We are searching for ways to achieve worthwhile
compatibility.
And one way is to use the XP machine to create data
burned media disc(s) that are instantly able to be
easily read by both Apples in our humble possession.
This fact is an earlier discovery .. when migrating
(again) from the XP realm to Apple heaven. Moving open
source application data files form the XP realm to
the Apple iMac DV SE machine was unencumbered. Easy.
How unprepared we are for the encounter with OS X media
disc burning tools limitations.
We go on-line to seek any worthwhile open source media
burning software for OS X. www.pure-mac.com lists
several possibilities. We need to burn media disc(s)
that are able to be read by a wider population of
computer systems including Apple (OS X) and PC (XP) and
be fully (re-)used to their manufactured storage
capacities. A combination of Finder and Disk Utility,
if you will.
We quickly learn that Roxio is evidently the developer
of the supreme media burning software available to Apple
users. And garner from on-line sources that Roxio is
favoured by the serious and casual user who demands
quality.
For the moment we choose to learn more by trialing less
expensive media disc burning software(s) to find out
whether our simple needs (and open source patronages)
can be met by available applications without unnecessary
bells and whistles. We may be wasting our time here ..
if Roxio or similar is favoured by so many and not
because of the bells and whistles but rather
because of media disc burning performance quality and
standards then we are likely to arrive at that same
destination too. As satisfied Roxio user.
www.pure-mac.com displayed the media disc burning software list below .. in alphabetical order ...
CD Session Burner
BurnAgain
BurnX Free
Burnz
DiscBlaze
Disc-o
Dragon Burn
FireStarter FX
ImageBurner
Jam
PatchBurn
Popcorn
Toast
YuBurner
BurnAgain is one of the programs we chose to experiment
with to create more standards compatible media disc(s)
burned. BurnAgain is developed only for the OS X.
BurnAgain automatically and only formats in ISO 9660
(Rock Ridge) .. guaranteeing Windows machine
compatibility. And it does .. so far .. we have used up
about 5 of the available 10 burns before registration
should be made with the author. We learn from the
BurnAgain help system that iTunes burns the same as
Finder.
However, BurnAgain focuses only on CD-R and CD-RW media
.. SuperDrive is capable of more. And you are
discouraged from mixing media disc burning applications
to burn the same media disc. BurnAgain prefers you to
stay the course. DU is the OS X solution to alternate
media burning (DVD) .. but apple OS format only.
However, still our iMac is troubled and challenged to
fully and properly read the BurnAgain media disc(s)
burned (CD-RW) by the Mac mini .. it couldn't .. but
eject was a formality and not a crises recovery
management procedure as before with the DVD+RW disc
burned by DU on the Mac mini.
XP machine could read the BurnAgain CD-RW Verbatim
disc(s) easily and fully .. but copying was about 99%
accurate (same as Finder). We are writing about 350
Mbytes of data files recorded on the CD-RW media disc
with nested folders up to several deep. However,
subsequent burns to disc(s) wouldn't repeat the same
data file errors .. meaning if you noted the delinquent
files then you could just BurnAgain those files and
expect eventual full disc to hard drive copy success on
the target machine (XP in our situation) of those
deliquent datafiles.
Originating Apple Mac mini machine could read the
BurnAgain CD-RW verbatim disc(s) easily and fully .. and
copying was 100% accurate back onto the originating
Apple Mac mini machine hard disk .. all 350 Mbytes of
data files .. no error messages reported. Meaning the
originating machine is performing as expected .. with
BurnAgain .. but sharing remains a challenge with other
machines. Particularly iMac DV SE. Remember that Finder
media disk burned couldn't read again on the Mac mini.
BurnAgain is clearly an improvement of standards based
media disc burning .. since originating Mac mini could
read it's own burn and XP machine 99% accurate too. DU
is OK if you are confining yourself to Apple machines
and they can actually read the media disk burned .. only
originating Mac Mini was able to read it's own burn 100%
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C is the most modern and capable
(Super)drive among the five disc media equipped machines
available here. For now we are confused whether that is
any advantage or disadvantage.
We are going to run through the remaining media disc
burning softwares available from the www.pure-mac.com
website to determine if our simple needs can be met
or whether we are required to plumb for the creme deluxe
(Roxio) and have greatest confidence that our media disc
burning needs are fully met. We may report back our
findings to anyone so interested at this forum. Are you?
We also chose to sample a Verbatim CD-R media disc for
burning and copying of data files among machines.
However .. the BurnAgain burn went well .. but the
copying was problematical to the XP machine hard disk ..
file copy errors .. and back on to the originating Apple
Mac mini machine hard disk too .. Error code - 36 (same
file errors as XP machine). We tried again and met error
messages from the BurnAgain application .. to the effect
that BurnAgain would not permit a further media disc
burn .. even though few hundred megabytes available on
target media CD-R disc. This outcome .. according to
Disk Utility help is because: "Mac OS Extended allows
burning the disc more than once. Formats such as ISO
allow burning the disc only once." Off to the XP machine
and burn an additional small file to the disc. Perfect.
Back to the Apple originating machine .. copy file to
the Mac mini HD. Perfect. Kept the disc for any future
file transfers between the XP to the Mac(s) until fully
used. How confusing .. and .. yes .. frustrating too.
Burnz is the only other program we choose to sample
after studying the homepages and value propositions
and our needs assessment. Thank you to www.pure-mac.com
for the compilation(s) and accessibilities. Appreciated.
Burnz developer www.thinkertons.com have other software
available too. While downloading Burnz media disc burn-
ing software for trial evaluation .. we browsed Burnerz
.. another application from thinkertons that is 100%
free. Burnerz is an informational tool .. and retrieves
whatever informations available on your system about
optical media drives fitted and attached and your
computer systems' optical media drive compatibilities.
Burnerz is a welcome assist for the knowledge starved
and delivered up useful confirmations of the MatShita
DVD-R UJ-845C optical superdrive fitted by Apple. Nice
one thinkertons.
Here is the information display from Burnerz ..
106 Supported Drives in this Version of OS-X
( that would be Tiger 10.4.3 fully updated mac mini )
AppleShipping MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C, Internal via ATAPI
Device Information
2005-12-06 15:39:56 +1300
ProfilePath: built-in
IORegistryEntryPath: IOService:/MacRISC2PE/pci@f4000000/
AppleMacRiscPCI/ata-6@D/AppleKauaiATA/ATADeviceNub@1/
IOATAPIProtocolTransport/IOSCSIPeripheralDeviceNub/
IOSCSIPeripheralDeviceType05/IODVDServices
CanWriteCDText: YES
CanWriteDVDPlusRDoubleLayer: NO
CanUnderrunProtectDVD: YES
CanWriteDVDR: YES
CanWriteDVDRAM: NO
CanWriteDVDDAO: YES
CanWriteIndexPoints: YES
CanWriteDVDRW: YES
CanWriteCDTAO: YES
CanTestWriteCD: YES
CanUnderrunProtectCD: YES
CanWriteCDSAO: YES
CanWriteCDRaw: NO
CanWriteCDRW: YES
CanWrite: YES
CanWriteCDR: YES
CanWriteCD: YES
CanWriteDVD: YES
CanWriteDVDRDualLayer: NO
CanTestWriteDVD: YES
CanWriteDVDPlusRW: YES
CanWriteDVDPlusR: YES
CanWriteISRC: YES
PhysicalInterconnect: ATAPI
FirmwareRevision: PP9
LoadingMechanismCanEject: YES
ProductName: VD-R UJ-845C
SerialNumber: MATSHITADVD-R UJ-845C 5D0A25C7
VendorName: MATSHITA
LoadingMechanismCanInject: NO
WriteBufferSize: 2048
PhysicalInterconnectLocation: Internal
SupportLevel: AppleShipping
LoadingMechanismCanOpen: NO
Device Status
2005-12-06 15:39:56 +1300
MaximumWriteSpeed: 2822.4
MediaState: MediaPresent
CurrentWriteSpeed: 2822.4
MediaIsBlank: NO
MediaBlocksUsed: 173914
BurnSpeeds: Object of Class: NSCFArray, description: ()
MediaBlocksFree: 0
MediaIsReserved: NO
MediaIsAppendable: NO
MediaIsErasable: NO
MediaFreeSpace: 0
MediaClass: CD
MediaIsOverwritable: NO
MediaSessionCount: 1
TrackNumber: 1
FreeBlocks: 0
SessionNumber: 1
TrackLength: 173914
BlockSize: 2048
TrackIsEmpty: NO
SessionFormat: 0
TrackType: Closed
TrackStartAddress: 0
BlockType: 8
MediaType: CDROM
MediaBlocksOverwritable: 0
MediaUsedSpace: 173914
TrackRefs: Object of Class: NSCFArray, description: (<DRTrack: 0x003B4950>)
MediaBSDName: disk1
MediaOverwritableSpace: 0
MediaTrackCount: 1
IsBusy: NO
IsTrayOpen: NO
And here is the Media information from Mactracker ..
www.mactracker.ca .. a free informational tool on
everything Apple hardware ...
Media: 4x8x16x8x24x SuperDrive
.. Dunno exactly what those numbers mean ..
And here is the Media information from Mactracker on the
iMac MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8184 ...
Media: 24x CD-ROM or 4x DVD-ROM
Imagine that means read at 24x CD-ROMs and 4x DVD-ROMs
Back to BURNZ
Burnz has a particular feature that meets our
requirements and added weight to the application's value
proposition. You are able to choose the specific optical
media disc burn format. Five graduations exist.
Each graduation includes (all) of the lower ranked media
burn format qualities. Top to bottom sliding scale.
HFS+
ISO 9660 Joliet extensions
ISO 9660 RockRidge extensions
ISO 9660 level 2
ISO 9660 level 1
Visually affirmative .. this feature gives user
confidence about media disc burned format
compatibilities. And the website and written materials
from thinkertons make clear that compatibility is well
covered for all optical media drives. Exactly what we
seek. Default is HFS+ which thinkertons encourages you
to maintain unless you do reason to otherwise change.
Finally, for now, Burnz writes DVD media disc(s) too.
Wethinks .. could we go wrong now .. as we progressed to
practical evaluation. 10 free burns before registration
is required by thinkertons. Here we go ..
We chose 407.29mb data files .. application downloads
and Tiger updates (.dmg, .zip, .bin) .. in one folder
to brand new Verbatim CD-R (702.82mb available according
to Burnz) .. and settings to maximum possible speed
(automatically selected at 16x) .. other selectable
speed setting is 8x .. and leave disc appendable ..
verify burned data ON ...
Burn failed...
StatusError: -2147352477
ErrorString: Verification of the burn failed
RE-inserting the media burned disc gave desktop CDR
icon with the burn folder named and 406.9 MB usage ..
Finder (double click on the desktop disc icon) shows
all 18 items burned .. copy from CDR back to new desktop
folder showed the appropriate copy dialogue box and
progress bar without color .. left awhile to see what
happens ...
The Finder cannot complete the operation because some
data in "Gimp-2.2.8.dmg" could not be read or written.
(Error code -36).
Error code -36 is becoming an old friend ..
Repeating the operation minus "Gimp-2.2.8.dmg" ..
same drill .. offending file "MacOSXUpdate10.4.3.dmg" ..
repeating minus "MacOSXUpdate10.4.3.dmg" .. same
drill .. repeating minus "PDFLab.dmg" .. that's three
out of total 18 so far .. and not one copied from disc
to desktop .. last chance before coaster designation
is applied as we get the pattern and the picture ..
down to 245.9 MB to copy and still no satisfaction ..
and now number 4 "Firefox 1.0.7.dmg" ..
Houston .. we have a coaster .. trajectory .. garbage.
Won't bother trying this disc insert into the iMac.
However, we troubled ourselves to find out what would
happen in the XP machine .. same outcome .. yes,
readable by XP but copy failure to hard disk on the
larger .dmg files. Not unexpected. Media format
compatibility confirmed .. just as Burnz promised.
Repeating the entire exercise with brand new Verbatim
CD-RW (just to reduce CDR coaster count) .. this time
at 4x write (automatically determined with no other
speeds selectable - maximum possible) .. all other
settings unchanged ... samo .. samo ..
Burn failed...
StatusError: -2147352477
ErrorString: Verification of the burn failed
RE-inserting the media burned disc gave desktop CDRW
icon with the burn folder named and 406.9 MB usage ..
Finder (double click on the desktop disc icon) shows
all 18 items burned .. copy from CDRW back to a new
desktop folder showed the appropriate copy dialogue box
and progress bar color .. copy began immediately and
reached the end .. Bingo .. we have a winner ! .. or
do we ? .. Opening 50% of the now copied to desktop .dmg
files produced an error message: The following disk
images failed to mount. And for each delinquent .dmg ..
the same Reason: codec overrun .. quite whatever that is
meaning .. we appreciate the .dmg is damaged and now
useless. Always the larger .dmg files .. up to 125 MB.
On the Apple .. we are down two for two .. let's go
again with burn verification off .. but first erase the
disk with DU quick erase .. done .. now regarded again
as an empty CDR by Finder .. (note that 'Erase disc
before burning' is an available option in Burnz and on
the Burn Disc dialogue box .. but it wasn't available
as soon as the previously burned media disc was
re-inserted for deleting and re-burning) ..
No burn failure message .. as expected .. 406.9 MB
usage on CDRW .. as expected .. Finder shows all
18 items burned .. copy to desktop .. seemingly
good .. as before and usual .. opening .. again
a 50% failure rate .. same message .. same result.
And in the XP machine .. same for read and copy to HD.
OK .. let's give it one last go with the .dmg's, .bin's,
and the .zip files .. by erasing again (with DU again)
and media disc burning the CD-RW with just one file at
a time and then copying back to confirm burned file
integrity .. that's totally 18 burns .. but we shall
only go as far as 9 file burns and copy back to the
desktop from the burned media disc .. if all 9 are
good then we shall assume it would all be good. We
trial the big .dmg's to begin .. interestingly, erase
disk before burning is available now and so we use
that feature rather then DU (perhaps because the
burn is less than the remaining disc storage available)
.. is that a bug ? we wonder .. we turn Verify burned
data ON .. just curious .. we are asked about our erase
certainty before proceeding .. we click yes ..
burning .. 97 MB .dmg .. burned (no negative
verification error message) .. now copying back to
desktop .. opening .. and .. codec overrun message.
Finally, for now, we return to our original evaluation
folders and files trialled with BurnAgain .. and perform
the same media disc burn and onto the same (new) media
disc (i.e. CD-RW) from the same batch too .. using Burnz
.. Verify ON ...
Burn Failed ... blah
Copying back to desktop .. copy back is good .. just
like BurnAgain .. encouraging.
What that says about the larger .dmg files or perhaps
any larger (50mb+) files to burn is unclear .. do you
need even better hardware (media and burner) and
software ? .. or are you out there in expert land able
to advise readers how you do exact maximum confidence
on the larger files media disc burn(s)?
No DVD media burn disc(s) lying around here, for now,
so we shall reserve any outcomes for another day of
evaluations and experimentations.
BurnAgain and Burnz go head to head .. From the tests
performed to date we are able to comment from personal
experimentation and practical experience .. they are
very much similar quality .. Burnz does DVD's too.
However, neither managed to accomplish entirely reliable
media disc burn(s), of use, beyond the originating Mac
mini SuperDrive .. nor accomplish verification .. is
that normal ? Or do we have a particular problem ?
We are back to square one for verifiable media disc
burning.
Interestingly .. those 10 free media disc burns
available .. have only reduced by the number of burns
without verification .. since negative verification
appears to not count .. 8 free burns still available ..
Recap On Applications, Capabilities and Limitations as
encountered To Date ..
SuperDrive MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C : Mac mini (Apple)
Apple OS X Disk Utility : apple OS format only
: multi-session burn(s)
Apple OS X Finder : apple OS format,
: ISO 9660 Rock Ridge..
:..Joliet with Rock Ridge
: one burn only each media disc
OS X BurnAgain : ISO 9660 Rock Ridge
: do not mix burn applications
: CD-R & CD-RW media disc(s)only
: no DVD media disc burn feature
OS X Burnz : ISO 9660 level 1
: ISO 9660 level 2
: ISO 9660 RockRidge extensions
: ISO 9660 Joliet extensions
: HFS+
: CD-R & CD-RW media disc burn
: DVD-R & DVD-RW media disc burn
[1]Sony cd-rw crx230e (CD 207x rd, 52x Wr):XPmachine(PC)
XP integrated tools .. : ISO 9660 ?*
.. Windows Explorer :read SuperDrive Finder CD media
:..disc(s) burned and copy to HD
:..and write to CD media disc(s)
:..burned with Finder
:read SuperDrive BurnAgain
:..CD media disc(s) burned and
:..copy to HD and write to CD
:..media disc(s) burned with
:..BurnAgain application but
:..preferred that you do not
: limited to and tested only CD
?* .. opening resource: http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpcd.php
Explains more about XP native CD media disc burning and
further links to more well informed research webpages
that show XP appears to apply ISO 9660 Joliet .. to
manage long file names, primarily. The entire area is
wide-scope with technicalities .. access
www.cdrfaq.org and see for yourself how deep the rabbit
hole goes. Software is performing an important aspect
of your optical drive media disc burning capability ..
as hardware specs improve and softwares fully use the
available service offered by the developing hw/sw
standards .. as evidenced by browsing the cdrfaq.org
.. you can see how things have moved along for the
user's benefit and advantage.
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845C : iMac DV SE (Apple)
: read only media disc(s) burned
from Mac mini.. : cannot read SuperDrive media
from mac mini.. :..disc(s) burned on DVD or CD
from XP machine.. :can read media disc(s) burned..
from XP machine.. :..on XP machine (test only CD)
: if SuperDrive media disc burn first and then further
written and so added to by XP machine..unable to read.
(applied to Os X Finder, BurnAgain and Burnz
applications)
We are safely at the point where we can assert that we
have a potential operating solution for the Mac mini
media disc burning. However, we remain reliant on our
XP machine to create media disc burned that can be read
fully by the iMac DV SE. And we have no confidence to
date in the ability to share information burned by the
Mac mini with any other party .. except where we can
repeat ourselves over several iterations to accomplish
100% data transfer .. and that means we are confined to
our home operating computer systems. For now, XP machine
is required to write a media disc that can then be read
by the iMac DV SE. (Yes, we do have a Mac to Mac network
.. but if data is unavailable on either of the Mac
machine drives then we are required to resort to hard
media backup) Media disc(s) sampled to date .. Verbatim
CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+RW .
Apple quality media pack (8x DVD-R only)*• is available
at www.apple.com and in our locale. We shall sample the,
not inexpensive, apple media disc(s) in the near future
.. and report back. Still the DVD-R is write once. And
no mention of any CD-RW apple quality media
availability. Remember ...
*• DVD-R discs hold about 4.7 GB of information.
You can burn files on a DVD-R disc using the Apple
SuperDrive. DVD-R discs are not reusable; you can burn
files on them only once.
[1] Action item one is to acquire genuine quality media
disc(s). [ to, ideally, accomplish burn verification ]
If 100% media disc burn and verification were able to be
accomplished by the OS X supplied applications Finder
and Disk Utility then only limitations to overcome are:
Finder's (improved standards adhering) write once only
to media disc feature and Disk Utility's apple OS only
media disc burned format limitation and maybe multi-
session disc burning feature.
[2] Action item two is to acquire genuine quality media
disc burning software(s). [to accomplish burn media
capacities and maximum standards adherences ]
If fuller standards compatibility and media disc burn
usage features are available then items one and two
requirements seem to be met. And actions items three
and four are no longer options of any material
significance. That would be welcome.
[3] Action item three is to optionally acquire an
alternative media disc burning solution. [ to accomplish
100% or nearest possible media burn quality and
consistency ]
[4] Action item four is to forego media disc burning
(item three) in favour of external hard disk solution
(which could be partitioned) to share datafiles among
differing machines and operating systems. [ to resolve
the media sharing challenge in the absence of
satisfactory value media burning solution that meets
quality, consistency and compatibility needs ]
Hopefully .. this tale of media burning discovery does
ignite some passion and interest among certain others of
you who may be willing to share a little of your own
enlightening discoveries in the industry of media disc
burning and any Apple SuperDrive MATSHITA guidelines or
guidance(s) that you have established .. in particular.
For now .. and until any further future update .. thank
you again everyone .. we look forward to any remedial
solutions that you may have developed to your media disc
burning operating satisfaction. Much have we to learn ..
search for answers continues ...
Well .. it's been fun .. in an adventurous and discovery
kinda way .. but back to our chosen path must we return.
Stuart.
Additional Informations ...
We only ever used the software system default media disc
burning speed settings where no choice permitted, or
where choice permitted .. we used half (the
automatically selected ) speed setting or lowest
possible speed setting.
Xp machine OS: Windows XP (5.1.2600 Service Pack 2)
XP machine media disc burner: Sony cd-rw crx230e
[+]Sony cd-rw crx230e (CD 207x rd, 52x Wr)
This is what we want(ed) to know about the Apple
MatShita SuperDrive too ! (opensourceuser note: crx230ae
is the closest we could find to XP revealed Sony optical
drive)
[+]SPECIFICATIONS
PART NUMBER CRX230A/U
DRIVE TYPE Internal
MEDIA & MODES SUPPORTED CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM (Mode 1 & Mode 2),
CD-ROM XA (form 1 & form 2), CD Audio, Video CD,
CD Extra, Multi-Session, Packet Writing
READ/WRITE SPEED CD-R Write: 4X, 8X, 12X, 16X CLV, 24 ~ 40X P-CAV,
52X CAV (turbo mode) max.
CD-RW Write: 4X, 8X, 10X, 12X CLV, 16 ~ 32X CAV max.
CD Read: 52X max.**
SUSTAINED DATA TRANSFER RATE 600 kB/s (4X CD-R/RW read/write)
(CD-R/RW DISCS): 1,200 kB/s (8X CD-R/RW read/write)
1,800 kB/s (12X CD-R/RW read/write)
4,800 kB/s (32X CD-R/RW read/write max.)
7,800 kB/s (52X CD-R read/write max.)
RANDOM ACCESS TIME 100 ms
INTERFACE ATAPI/EIDE
LOADING MECHANISM Motorized tray
MOUNTING Vertical or Horizontal
BURST TRANSFER RATE PIO Mode 4: 16.7 MB/s, Ultra DMA Mode 2: 33.3 MB/s
BUFFER MEMORY 2 MB
POWER REQUIREMENTS +5V / +12V V DC
POWER CONSUMPTION +5V: 1.5A / +12V 1.5A
DIMENSION (W x H x D) 5.75 x 1.63 x 7.49 inches
WEIGHT Approx. 2.2 lbs.
PACKAGE CONTENTS CRX230A/U Drive
ATAPI Cable
Software installation CD-ROM: B’s Clip and B’s Recorder Gold
Mounting Screws
Quick Start Guide
Limited Warranty Card
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Intel®Pentium®II processor 400 Mhz or faster (or equivalent)
CPU, 64 MB RAM, 1 GB available hard disk space
recommended. Microsoft®Windows®98SE, Windows®
Millennium Edition, Windows®2000 Professional, or
Windows®XP Home/Professional operating systems
WARRANTY One Year Limited
*Buffer underrun protection technology is conformed to Sony’s Power-BurnTM drive specifications.
**Requires Ultra High Speed Plus CD-RW Media
(opensourceuser note: datasheet(s) supplied with images
of the recommended Sony media disc(s) - however on
closer inspection at the local store - Made in Taiwan)
Still we did find TDK media disk - Made in Japan - at
the same store and apart from the DVD-RAM media discs,
the only one type CD-R, everything else from China to
Singapore.

SuperDrive spins CDs too fast - noise issue

When I listen to a CD the SuperDrives spins so fast that there is a considerable noise (however no vibration). Is there a way to slow it down while listening to CDs?
Thank you!

Okay then. Seems to be too 'old' or too 'beta'...
Only other app I could find is Scharping http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/30309/scharping
Maybe this one works.
Regards
Stefan

Superdrive makes horrible noise when burning

My Super drive makes this horrible noise when burning cd's or dvd's. Its like a vibration w/ loud noise.. Sometimes when I play dvd, i can hear this noise a little bit as well. Now I've only started hearing this noise once I started ripping dvd w/ a dvd rip program... I dont know if this can be the cause of this noise, does anyone have any advise on how to solve this problem. now I am afraid of burning any cd's, dvd's because I do not want to cause any damage to the computer itself.. Help.....

Hello Muntasir
Maybe try a different brand, the superdrives are very picky about media. I normaly buy only Memorex, Maxell, Sony DVD's and Sony or Fujifilm CDs for the cars CD players. I just think your better off buying them in the 5 packs untill you find out which one's the drive likes.
Dennis
17" iMac Intel Core Duo - 2GB Ram - Mac OS X (10.4.10) - Maxtor 300GB FireWire - Creative Inspire 2.1 - 2G Nano

Jumpin' / vibrating iMac G5 display --- can this mac be saved?

My G5 display shifts or vibrates a few pixels (all 4 directions) especially when I move the mouse. This is annoying to me and my oldest daughter says it gives her motion sickness. The machine is in otherwise good condition (except for a noisy superdrive). Installed OSX 10.5.5 recently and that did not help. Is this a sign of this faithful iMac's impending "retirement"?
Phil
1 gb ram
serial W85415gu70
purchased Nov 05

Hey, Phil-I have no answer for you, but wanted to let you know that this exact thing just started happening to me today. I have no idea what caused it; I shut it down last night rather than just putting it to sleep and when I logged in today this started. Only the desktop display moves-if I have a window open in which I am working it doesn't seem to happen.
Have you had any luck finding an answer to this issue? If so-or if you do in the future, would you please post it here? I'll do the same.

Disappearing SuperDrive

My SuperDrive stopped accepting CDs/DVDs. The motor simply wouldn't activate and "grab" them. Following advice elsewhere in these threads, I zapped the PRAM. I thought it worked, because it accepted the first DVD I inserted after the restart.
Then...it disappeared. There's no icon onscreen indicating an onboard DVD. Pushing the Eject button does nothing. I can't "Trash" the disc because there's no icon to drag.
I looked for the optical drive in System Profiler > Hardware > ATA and the system reported "No information found." Under Disc Burning, it said "No burning device was found. If you are using an external device please make sure that it is connected and powered properly."
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Matthew

Well I'll be doggoned. The DVD optical drive on my iMac "woke up" and is functioning normally again, after a coma that lasted several days. I was able to retrieve the DVD that it "ate," and play DVDs and CDs normally. It reappeared in the System Profiler menu also.
Now, by "normal," I don't mean healthy. It has always had a tendency to vibrate and rumble much more loudly than any other optical drive I have used, and often expels CDs/DVDs at an a alarmingly high temperature. I had always attributed this to the hot-running G5 processor, but could it be the drive itself needs a tune-up? Is that much vibration and rumbling a sign that something really is wrong?

Text vibrate options?

I have an iPhone 4S OS ver 5.1.1. Is there any way to make the phone vibrate more than once upon an incoming text? I know you can do this through accesability for incoming voice calls but the text vibrate seems to be set to once and once only.

When I do that, it neither vibrates or chimes (even when the silent mode switch is off).

Vibration in superdrive

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