[Stoneybrae]

I have a G4 with "locked" zones. That is, since I bought it in Europe, I can read and burn zone 2 DVDs only. (In fact, you are offered the chance to change zones 5 times before the machine blocks changes). The guy in the shop where I bought it said "oh there are lots of places on the internet to download programs to enable you to read all zones" (and burn in different zones?). I have had a look, but they all sound difficult to install and most end with a very scary warning: THIS MAY DESTROY YOUR DVD PLAYER. Yikes! Anyone know of a good, reliable piece of software (doesn't have to be free) that could help me out?

[Ω]

Here is a good place to start if you have not found it already.....

[cszar2001]

They have to put those warnings in.
I updated the firmware on my PB17 - no problems so far.
Go for it!

[slimmy]

You'll need the firmware patch too:

http://www.powerbook-fr.com/dossiers...ndexGB.html#G4

I did this successfully on a 15" Albook. Just use the patch for your drive mechanism.

Slim

[wulf]

I think this was covered fairly well in this thread.

In short, the ideal is to only flash your drive if a copy of the original firmware is also available. That way you can always reset the drive to its original state if you need to repair or sell it.

In practice, I (and many others) have flashed numerous DVD drives and not had a problem. This doesn't mean it can't happen, but I think it's unlikely if you're careful and follow all the instructions.