"weird" DVD in my AGP G4

here is one i have never experienced before. i just got this G4 AGP, and when i start up the machine, the DVD's tray opens up and stays open [probably when the system detects the drive on boot-up]. if i don't shut it myself, it will stay open, and then shut on its own after probably 10 or 15 minutes. the player works...after a fashion [takes a while for it to start up when i put a disk in]. what i find irritating is if i want to access the OS boot disk directly, it takes an act of some unnamed deity to get the system to boot off the disk.....because the DVD wants to open up at start-up. i have tried a couple different hard drives, with OS 10.4 installed, so i don't think it is a software issue. anyone ever experience this?
do you think its the drive, or something in the POST, or some firmware issue? i haven't tried a different CD/DVD drive for comparison, just seems like an odd malfunction.

Hi, rtabish -
One known cause for that behavior (optical drive tray opening at startup) concerns a feature of the Mac's hardware-based command set - if the mouse button is held down during boot, it forces the ejection of all removable media. This action will open the optical drive's tray regardless of whether there is a disk in it.
The problem comes when a USB device inadvertantly generates a signal that the Mac interprets as being a mouse-down signal. A device doing this can be most anything USB; items which have been reported as being the culprit include - iMate adapter; dongle; digitizing tablet; printer; and even the extension cable that came with the machine, intended for use with the keyboard.
Try reducing the USB items connected to just the keyboard and mouse, ideally Apple-label ones. Then add one or two items back in and test until the problem recurs.
Sometimes a powered USB hub will filter out such a signal; this may not be a suitable solution for a dongle.
Relatedly, if you have anything plugged into the keyboard, try relocating it to a different port.
Article #TA26015 - Apple Pro Keyboard: Devices Connected
My experience includes a dead keyboard, caused by an optical mouse connected to it. Reconfiguring the USB scheme such that the mouse was plugged into a powered port on my monitor fixed the problem.

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Hi and welcome to Discussions,
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You can use an alternative media player like VLC http://www.videolan.org/vlc
But this should not affect the usage of Windows Games, since usually a Games manufacturer puts all needed software to run his games onto the games CD/DVD, so it has to be something else preventing Fallout 3 from running.
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Check for that.
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Help me, please! I speak english very bad.
My notebook: Toshiba Satellite A200-1N1, OS: Vista
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How Did I Burn This Weird Disk ?

In another post I described how I had come across a weird DVD I had made a year ago that would not play in anything. When put in the Mac and double-clicked it displayed a Video_RM and a Video_TS folder - BOTH EMPTY!
Yet on using "Get Info" it was revealed there was 3.7GB of video on the disk.
PT showed me how to play it by using the "Open Video_TS Folder" command.
However, the other puzzle remains. Why was there a Video_RM and a Video _TS folder both apparently empty?
Also how did I burn this weird disk? It is actually a copy of a standalone DVD Recorder disk.
I believe I used Disk Utility to burn it, but why can I only access the video by using the “Open Video_TS” command in DVD Player?
Ian.

It is actually a copy of a standalone DVD Recorder dis
my guess is, this is a non-finalized dvd...
after recording which such a device, in many cases you have to finalize the disk ... that has to be ignited "manually" (on my Pionerr standalone....)
a videoDVD within specs has two folders VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS (which is empty, because only in use for socalled SuperAudio disks....)
inside the video_ts you normally find some .iso and .vob files, which contain the mpeg2 encoded audio+video... (you can rename a .vob to .mp2...)
video_rm seems to be something non-standard..
the "emptyness" is just a sign of your Finder, which has no clue, what this disk contains => the whole file-management is missing... like in a book without directory: the story is in, but you are not able to find a specific chapter...
you should have told us about the "from standalone" in your first post, I could have told you earlier...

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MOTHERBOARD MSI 645e MAX SIS645DX
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had that problem..

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aantalip: 0
Serial number: XA0482M3J3B
Name: Power Macintosh G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
Model: M7891(?) PowerMac G4 400MHz/450MHz-DP/500MHz-DP Drive=DVD-RAM BTO
Bus speed: 100MHz
Family name: M5183
Factory: XA (ElkGrove/Sacramento, California)
URL: Technical specifications by apple-history.com codetonumber: 2M3 - XA0482M3J3B
Model introduced: 2000
Production year: 2000
Production week: 48 (December)
Production number: 3029 (within this week)
Uitbreidingen: Uitbreidingsmogelijkheden van dit apparaat
Please enter any (extra) information you have on this model in the box below. (Type of Mac, CPU speed):
this is what the result was when I used the link where you put in your serial #. if this is a gigabit ethernet it is a good model right? would I be able to upgrade the processor to a dual?
this is what the system profiler says about the machine.Hardware Overview:
Machine Name: Power Mac G4
Machine Model: PowerMac3,3
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (2.9)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 400 MHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 1 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 100 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 3.3.4f1
Serial Number: XA0482M3J3B
Sales Order Number: M7891LL/A
Message was edited by: kenbarto

Macbook not reading internal or external drives?

I have a weird DVD issue with my Macbook Po 2.16
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Thanks
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MEGA PC 865 - detailed problem description

System Configuration
Bios Version
1.3
Hardware
MEGA PC 865 Deluxe Barebone
2.66Ghz Celeron D (FSB 533)
2 * 256MB PC2100/DDR266 RAM (crucial matched pair) - also tested with 1 * 512MB DDR400 (crucial)
250GB Western Digital HD
Phillips DVD/RW
No AGP or PCI cards
Software
Windows XP Professional SP2
Problem
Step 1
Reset CMOS
Plug in power and switch on at wall
Result
LCD flashes
clock appears on LCD
PSU and CPU fans start
HiFi and PC buttons on front panel are unresponsive
nothing displayed on monitor
system does not POST
Step 2
Switch off at wall
switch on at wall
Result
LCD is blank (no display)
PSU and CPU fans start
HiFi and PC buttons on front panel are unresponsive
nothing displayed on monitor
system does not POST
Step 3
Switch off at wall
switch on at wall
Result
LCD is blank (no display)
PSU and CPU fans start
HiFi and PC buttons on front panel are unresponsive
nothing displayed on monitor
system does not POST
Step 4
Switch off at wall
switch on at wall
Result
LCD flashes
clock appears on LCD
PSU and CPU fans start
PC button lights up
System halts at POST with a CMOS error
Step 5
Edit bios settings
Save bios settings
Result
PSU and CPU fans start
System posts
Windows loads
clock still visible on LCD
Step 6
Restart windows
Result
PSU and CPU fans start
System posts
Windows loads
clock still visible on LCD
Step 7
Shutdown windows
Press PC button on front panel
Result
PSU and CPU fans start
clock appears on LCD
PSU and CPU fans start
HiFi and PC buttons on front panel are unresponsive
nothing displayed on monitor
system does not POST
Step 8
Switch off at wall
switch on at wall
Result
LCD is blank (no display)
PSU and CPU fans start
HiFi button is lit
nothing displayed on monitor
system does not POST
Step 9
Press PC button
Result
LCD is blank (no display)
PSU and CPU fans start
HiFi and PC buttons on front panel are unresponsive
nothing displayed on monitor
system does not POST
Step 10
Switch off at wall
switch on at wall
Result
LCD is blank (no display)
PSU and CPU fans start
HiFi and PC buttons on front panel are unresponsive
nothing displayed on monitor
system does not POST
Step 11
Switch off at wall
switch on at wall
Result
LCD is blank (no display)
PSU and CPU fans start
HiFi and PC buttons on front panel are unresponsive
nothing displayed on monitor
system does not POST

Try disconnecting the card reader cable from the mainboard. You may have connected it to the wrong socket.
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As I recall, Sony's internal DVD burners are made by Lite-On, but as far as the G4 is concerned - the drive's firmware indicates a Sony product. A compatibilty problem for burning a disk occurs, when the CD/DVD drive is newer than the supporting profiles for Apple's Disk Burner software. Have you checked into "PatchBurn?" Other than that, your friend could purchase Roxio's "Toast," which has more user settings than Apple's software.

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Anyone know what this is?
I would guess a hardware failure.

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If only five months old it is still under warranty. Take it back.

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Bob

Bob:
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Do you Twango?
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"weird" DVD in my AGP G4

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