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kmarketing · Apr 7, 2004, 08:56 AM

Hi,

Of course being the mac newbie, I am picking up so much new and exciting info from everyone here. So please don't bash me, because this may be an old topic, I just did a searched and did not find that much recent information:

I've been reading up on Cynikal's Superdrive Firmware Upgrade (thanks Cynikal, by the way) that doubles the burn speed: 16x CDR, 2x DVD, and adds DVDRW. This sound like a must-have!!

I was wondering how many of you 17" 1ghz owners have or had this upgrade.

My questions are:
Were there any problems associated with the upgrade?

Any issues with heat? (If there is, could I just lower the burn speeds to the original settings, would that eliminate any potential heat issues?)

A major concern is the warranty (apple care) that I have. I think without the downgrade path, this would be a huge issue, but since there is a downgrade path, I feel a little more secure.
Has anyone had warranty issues with it? Do you just downgrade before you send it in, and then there shouldn't be an issue? Does the downgrade work properly?

I apologize for the questions and concerns. This would be an invaluable upgrade to have, but since I'm still learning I just want to know what to expect.

Thanks so much!!

Eug Wanker · Apr 7, 2004, 09:01 AM

Which drive do you have? If UJ-815 then the upgrade works fine. I have a TiBook with the UJ-815 and there are no significant heat issues. I haven't had any reason to send in my laptop so the warranty hasn't been an issue for me, but like you said, the drive can be backgraded to an older firmware.

kmarketing · Apr 7, 2004, 09:10 AM

Hi,

I have the 815 also. No heat issues huh? Have you had ANY issues with your drive since the upgrade? I really want to get the upgrade, but I'm not too sure if at the expense of the warranty.

Any chance you would know if the downgrade works, and restores the drive to the original specs? Would an Apple technician know if the firmware was played around with?

Thanks!!!

SEkker · Apr 7, 2004, 09:13 AM

There are two downgrade options that work with different editions of the drive.

I really doubt there is any big deal with AppleCare and the firmware except regarding the drive -- if the superdrive is not a problem, they won't look at it. If the drive fails, tho, you may not be able to 'downgrade it' before you send it in. I consider the risk to be associated with the long-term warranty on the drive.

The firmware certainly seems to work, and the hardware is designed to burn at 2x DVD write speeds. The only issue, as mentioned earlier, is heat -- and the revA PB17 machines normally run very cool.

The only time heat was an issue for me with my superdrive was when I was burning 8 copies of a home DVD slide show for Christmas, and then the fan came on.

kmarketing · Apr 7, 2004, 09:16 AM

Hi,

So you have the rev a 17" 1ghz, and the superdrive with the firmware upgrade has give your system no problems?

Are there any issues that I should expect with the upgrade?

Thanks!!

SEkker · Apr 7, 2004, 09:24 AM

There's a thread link from the firmware page that has many individual testimonials with their experiences. My read is that most do not have any problems, but that a minority have experienced difficulties.

cszar2001 · Apr 7, 2004, 09:53 AM

It took me a while before I finally ran the upgrade. No problems whatsoever since then.

Heat is not an issue; waking from sleep is also no problem (some report that the drive starts twice after the update); and the update is still in effect after upgrading to 10.3.3.

kmarketing · Apr 7, 2004, 10:08 AM

Hi,

Have you ever tried the downgrade? Any problems there?

Also, has anyone with the upgrade (or downgrade) ever had any warranty issues?

Thanks!!

kmarketing · Apr 7, 2004, 04:03 PM

Hi,

I just did the upgrade. It seems fine, but I do notice that the drive tries to eject twice.

Is that going to be a problem?

I read through the entire thread for the upgrade. That was so interesting!!

But I think the positives that come with this upgrade are pretty substantial, now I feel my rev a 17" 1ghz is even closer to the newest powerbooks!!

But tell me about the double eject, any concerns there?

Also, other issues seem to be heat and battery life. Are those issues still there even if I'm not burning a cd/dvd?

In terms of the burning, if I keep the drive to the original speeds, are they issues anymore?

Finally, just in case, I made copies of the upgrade/downgrade and put it into my applecare box.

Has anyone downgraded the upgrade back to the original firmware? What were your reasons for doing so, and were there any problems?

Thanks so much!!!

angelmb · Apr 7, 2004, 04:18 PM

My 17" 1 GHz rev. a PB has also the firmware upgrade, no problems here, it has been on Apple Care service and they have not mentioned anything about the SuperDrive, was a RAM module bad, they said that the whole PB was OK

I have two 'Platinum' dvd+rw' the Al ejects, what brand and specification of rewritable dvd does people use?

kmarketing · Apr 7, 2004, 04:27 PM

Hi,

It is my understanding that superdrives have a problem with any + DVD media, I believe they can only work with - media.

Does your powerbook drive eject twice (double clicking sound) when it comes out of sleep?

Is this something to worry about?

Any heat and battery life issues?

Does using the original 8x cd speed and 1x dvd speed (while still having the upgrade installed) resolve any heat and battery issues? Or just the mere presence of the upgrade cause heat and battery issues?

Thanks for your help!

swimfan · Apr 7, 2004, 06:29 PM

i've been running the firmware upgrade for a couple months now. i never burn dvd's but all my cd's burn just fine. when the computer wakes up, the superdive does it's thing twice. doesn't seem to be a problem though. otherwise, it's a great piece of software!!

kmarketing · Apr 7, 2004, 07:12 PM

Hi,

I'll be looking to burn with my "NEW" superdrive tonight!!

Besides the 2 click thing, which I think is not very noticeable, or annoying (yet at least), is there anything else I should look out for with this upgrade?

How about the heat, and battery life? How is your powrbook in these terms with the upgrade?

Thanks!!

Eug Wanker · Apr 7, 2004, 08:03 PM

I have no heat issues. I have been running problem free. It does do that double eject thing.

Originally posted by angelmb:
My 17" 1 GHz rev. a PB has also the firmware upgrade, no problems here, it has been on Apple Care service and they have not mentioned anything about the SuperDrive, was a RAM module bad, they said that the whole PB was OK

I have two 'Platinum' dvd+rw' the Al ejects, what brand and specification of rewritable dvd does people use?

+ media is not supported by the drive. I use Apple DVD-R and Sony DVD-RW. The drive works fine with most top tier brand media. Low end media is not recommended however.

kmarketing · Apr 7, 2004, 08:12 PM

Just for future knowledge...

Have any of you downgraded back to the original firmware? Any issues there?

Thanks!!

angelmb · Apr 8, 2004, 02:36 AM

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
I have no heat issues. I have been running problem free. It does do that double eject thing.

+ media is not supported by the drive. I use Apple DVD-R and Sony DVD-RW. The drive works fine with most top tier brand media. Low end media is not recommended however.

Okay!, that was the problem, I will be try with dvd-r/w media these easter days.

Eug Wanker · Apr 8, 2004, 07:09 AM

Originally posted by kmarketing:
Just for future knowledge...

Have any of you downgraded back to the original firmware? Any issues there?

I've had about 4 different firmwares on this machine. They work fine. I don't think they have DWDB though, which is probably what you're running on your 17".

kmarketing · Apr 8, 2004, 07:13 AM

Hi,

Do you mean you haven't gone back to DWDB, or the downgrade version doesn't bring you back to DWDB? That was the one I had before the upgrade.

Is X101 the one that you are running now? Is that one the best one to have?

It sounds great that you haven't had to go back for any reason.
Thanks!!

Eug Wanker · Apr 8, 2004, 11:07 AM

I just checked. They DO have the DWDB firmware there now. I suspect the XWDB which they also have wouldn't have the double eject, but I dunno. Haven't tried it.

But yeah, I'm running X101.

kmarketing · Apr 8, 2004, 11:16 AM

Hi,

Is the double eject the only issue?

And does that cause anything abnormal with the powerbook besides the clicking sounds?

Thanks!!

Crusoe · Apr 13, 2004, 04:53 AM

I ran the firmware update that also included region-free. The patch worked great and doubled my recording speeds but the region-free didn't seem to work. I am set to region 1, but live in Europe region 2. I tried a region 2 DVD and DVD player prompted me to change the region etc. What can I do to reset the counter? Did I miss something in the FAQ?

BTW I had the double eject inconsistently when awaking from sleep before the firmware updates as well. I still have it inconsistently.

MarkyP · Apr 13, 2004, 06:36 AM

Originally posted by Crusoe:
I ran the firmware update that also included region-free. The patch worked great and doubled my recording speeds but the region-free didn't seem to work. I am set to region 1, but live in Europe region 2. I tried a region 2 DVD and DVD player prompted me to change the region etc. What can I do to reset the counter? Did I miss something in the FAQ?

BTW I had the double eject inconsistently when awaking from sleep before the firmware updates as well. I still have it inconsistently.

You need to download and install X Region too :
http://superdrive.cynikal.net/
It's in the last paragraph before the downloads.This lets you keep resetting your player. I've just done all this myself and it is all working well; thanks to this forum

Crusoe · Apr 13, 2004, 08:29 AM

Good deal that does the trick, Thanks!