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badsey · Oct 9, 2006, 03:18 PM

Unlocking the full potential of your Mac Pro's Sony DW-D150A:

http://www.hardmac.com/articles/62/page1/

However the NEC burner has superior specifications than those of Sony. Here is the speed of the burner:

- DVD -/+R 16x
- DVD-R/ DL 8x
- DVD+RW 8x
- DVD-RW 6x
- DVD-RAM 5x
- CD-RW 32x
- CD-R 48x
It is particularly faster in burning CDs, 48 rather than 32, and in addition it supports DVD-RAM as well as DVD-R DL. The speed of reading is also superior. But perhaps even more important, it has region-free firmwares.

Note: Not all Mac Pros have this DVD drive = will not work with Pioneer.

rgkgraphix · Oct 19, 2006, 01:49 AM

I have the Sony drive, I'm sitting here debating if I should do it or not. Anyone wanna talk me out of it?

Dzokayi · Oct 19, 2006, 06:02 PM

It's always one of the first things I do on a Power Mac. Never had a problem.

rgkgraphix · Oct 19, 2006, 06:29 PM

Think it would void the warranty?

discotronic · Oct 19, 2006, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by rgkgraphix

Think it would void the warranty?

If the drive goes bad there is always possible that Apple would not replace it. A DVD burner can be purchased for $30 from NewEgg so it is worth it in my opinion. I have a Sony drive that I updated the firmware on. It went from a regular DVD-RW to a DL DVD-RW.

G-Force · Nov 21, 2006, 09:29 AM

Is anyone having trouble with this burner (before the firmware update)? I can't get it to read any of my blank sony dvd-r's or my sony dvd-r's that I burned with my MDD G4. These DVD's work fine in both my MDD G4 and my Powerbook G4.

Is it likely that the firmware update will fix these problems that I'm having or should I contact apple?

discotronic · Nov 21, 2006, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by G-Force

Is anyone having trouble with this burner (before the firmware update)? I can't get it to read any of my blank sony dvd-r's or my sony dvd-r's that I burned with my MDD G4. These DVD's work fine in both my MDD G4 and my Powerbook G4.

Is it likely that the firmware update will fix these problems that I'm having or should I contact apple?

I would contact Apple and have them send you another one. It could be a physical issue with the burner and not firmware related. If for some reason the new firmware doesn't fix the issue you might be out of luck if you can't flash it back.

I have the same burner and it works perfect.

iMacfan · Nov 21, 2006, 03:48 PM

Can I just ask if it makes the drive louder ?- I've heard that it does - and if so by how much and if it is possible to reflash or throttle the speed for quietness at some times.

David

brokenjago · 06:43 PM

I've had some weird issues burning DVDs and CDs with this drive, and I called Apple, but it turned out to be nothing more than a preferences problem. I'm gonna try out the firmware.

Edit: Done. Looks good so far!

spice003 · Nov 21, 2006, 08:42 PM

i love doing this kind of **** even though i dont have a mac pro.

brokenjago · 12:51 AM

Ok, nevermind. Did the firmware reflash, and now the burner can't burn anything that passes verification. Darnit.

Aslo, when I tried to reflash it, I accidentally replaced the original Sony firmware with the new one. Damn again.

Anyone have the original Sony firmware? It'd be much appreciated.

Oh, and it doesn't make the drive louder. It also makes the drive stop burning properly :-(.

brokenjago · Nov 22, 2006, 04:38 PM

No one has their old firmware to share? Please?

G-Force · Nov 22, 2006, 06:54 PM

Originally Posted by brokenjago

No one has their old firmware to share? Please?

I have the original firmware on my drive. Do you know the terminal command that I can use to download it to a disk?

G-Force · Nov 22, 2006, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by brokenjago

Ok, nevermind. Did the firmware reflash, and now the burner can't burn anything that passes verification. Darnit.

Aslo, when I tried to reflash it, I accidentally replaced the original Sony firmware with the new one. Damn again.

Anyone have the original Sony firmware? It'd be much appreciated.

Oh, and it doesn't make the drive louder. It also makes the drive stop burning properly :-(.

Alright you talked me out of doing the update.

brokenjago · Nov 22, 2006, 09:31 PM

Yeah, just go ahead and download the above NEC flash Utility, then follow the directions on this page UNTIL

"./necflash -dump oldfirm.bin A:" (without quotations)

This will dump your current firmware into a file named oldfirm.bin. Afterwards, type

"./necflash -flash oldfirm.bin a:" (without quotes)

This will reflash your drive with the normal Sony firmware.

Restart your computer.

Now, upload oldfirm.bin somewhere, and link me to it please!

Dzokayi · Nov 22, 2006, 10:19 PM

I've done this firmware upgrade on several Macs without incident, but if it's giving you trouble, put a Plextor in there already!

brokenjago · Nov 22, 2006, 10:25 PM

Bah, I can't just throw money at something for it to work. It's against my religion. Although I am planning to add a second drive soon, I want this thing to work 100% before I do!!

revox · Nov 23, 2006, 05:10 AM

FYI...bitsetting of DVD+R to DVD-ROM will not work if u update...the original firmware is set to do this by default.

brokenjago · 06:01 AM

What's Bitsetting DVD+R to DVD-ROM?

Edit: Nevermind, figured it out.

Anyone got that original firmware? Please?

G-Force · Nov 27, 2006, 09:01 AM

Sorry I offered to get you the firmware and I flaked out on you. Apple is going to send me a replacement drive so I don't want to risk screwing anything up with binflash. I hope someone else can help you.

brokenjago · Nov 27, 2006, 06:17 PM

Anyone willing to get me the original firmware?

brokenjago · Nov 28, 2006, 08:54 PM

Anyone?

brokenjago · Nov 30, 2006, 04:40 PM

No one is willing to get me the original firmware?

Jago is sad.

popstand · Dec 13, 2006, 07:20 PM

Originally Posted by brokenjago

No one is willing to get me the original firmware?

Jago is sad.

Hey Jago,
here's a link to the old firmware...

http://87.227.32.63/~Christer/superdriveupdate/

it's the oldfirm.bin file. I haven't tested it yet, but will update when I do.

popstand · Dec 13, 2006, 07:27 PM

Okay, just tested the oldfirm file and it works. Yay, no more bricked drive for me.

brokenjago · Dec 13, 2006, 07:41 PM

Popstand is my hero.

You hear that?

POPSTAND IS MY HERO!

nosajlr · Jan 27, 2007, 12:40 AM

Originally Posted by Dzokayi

I've done this firmware upgrade on several Macs without incident, but if it's giving you trouble, put a Plextor in there already!

I have 2 plextor burners from my old PC (PX 716sa-SATA, and PX716AL-Slot-loaded). Can I add any of these burners to my Mac Pro? I dont want to get rid of them being that there great burners.

Dzokayi · Jan 27, 2007, 01:13 PM

I haven't disassembled a Mac Pro yet... The first thing that comes to mind is that the slot load drie will present a problem. There's no drive tray to force the faceplate open. The disc would rub against the faceplate and get scratched. Might also place undue wear on the motor. I'm sure someone out there has tried it.... maybe even put a small felt strip on top of the faceplate. If it were me, and I could handle the look, I'd just remove the faceplate.

As for the SATA burner, I think I read that the Mac Pro has unused SATA ports somewhere on the motherboard. If so, there's nothing stopping you from routing a cable from one of those ports to your drive. If there aren't any unused ports, you could always buy a SATA card and run it off that.

Sorry I don't have anything concrete for you - I haven't had the pleasure of dismantling a Mac Pro yet.

John Gault · Jan 28, 2007, 12:34 AM

Originally Posted by nosajlr

I have 2 plextor burners from my old PC (PX 716sa-SATA, and PX716AL-Slot-loaded). Can I add any of these burners to my Mac Pro? I dont want to get rid of them being that there great burners.

I think all you have to do is remove the eject buttons and front face plates from burners and they should work just fine, it did for me.

brokenjago · Feb 2, 2007, 10:35 PM

I don't see why one would need to remove the eject buttons, unless they're overly large. Even the Sony Apple supplies with the Mac Pro has an eject button.