[all2ofme]

I've just tried burning my first ever DVD-R and got a coaster. The burn got about halfway through then gave me an error code of:

-2147352480

Long error code, eh? Does anyone have any idea what this might be?

Background - I'm using Apple's media and I had 4.25GB of data going onto it. I had a few other things running:

Mail, Safari, iTunes, Preview, Terminal, Proteus and Textedit.

Thanks a heap for any help.

FWIW: here's a guy who got a very similar error code - http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...d+burn+problem

[tikki]

I dont know if the superdrive supports the burn-proof stuff, so maybe try shutting off your apps while you burn the disc. A $2.00 coaster is not something you want to make a habit of getting.

[all2ofme]

I wish it cost me $2! A pack of five Apple discs costs �14 here, which is about $23...

I'll try it again now with another disc and nothing else running. Mind you, if that fixes it I'll be disappointed since an hour is a long time to not be able to use your machine.

<off_topic>Is that picture you have in your sig of a NZ wood carving? I'm from there and if so - and if there's not another reason for it having two k's - it's spelt with one k. Nice picture, too, BTW!</off_topic>

[adamberti]

Well, to tell you the truth all2ofme, I've had the *EXACT* same error when burning through the finder on my supplied apple media disk. I was in pretty much the same situation as you, a few other apps open.

So then I tried it in Toast, cause with 10.2.3 it has to copy all the files before it acutally burns them, which is a real waste of time. Toast made me a nice matching coaster so I could start to make a set. (I think I read that 10.2.4 changes that - it doesnt have to copy all of the files before it burns.) I think I was getting an error because of a bad file - I had an MPEG of an old video I made that seemed to have acquired some problems and wouldnt play the whole video succesfully. However I cant confirm that because I havent tried since, and dont want to spend another $10 narrowing down a problem. So for now I have yet to burn a DVD successfully.

[mginsberg]

I have burned 30 DVD-R's with my PowerBook 12 inch and I have had 3 coasters. The first 2, were from bumping my PowerBook while it was burning. After the bump, the DVDR ejected with an error. The 3rd time, I must have been typing to hard and that caused it to happen. So, while I am burning a DVD, I just leave it along and all is fine.

[all2ofme]

Hmmm. Well at least the problem's easy to recreate

I just made another coaster by trying to burn with nothing open. I restarted the machine from cold and tried to burn the same files.

I got the same result. The machine spits the disc out just before it starts the verification stage.

Same error code as well.

Is there some way to verify the files without going through them one by one?

What a pain in the arse and wallet.

- I can't see that this has anything to do with the media.

- The same files have been on CDs until recently (I'm backing up my music) also, so I would be surprised to find out that the files weren't ok.

- I'm also (of course) within the specified limit that a disc should take (and besides, it should warn if that could have been a problem).

- I went off and did something else while the machine was burning, so I can't see how I could have bumped it, either.

Perversely, I'm happy to hear that Toast does it too. Thanks for the feedback so far.

Ben

[shantustarsun]

I have been using Toast for burning DVD's and have burned 4 without a hitch and had no problems with iDVD2 either. For data, I would recommend Toast 5, the data buffer works great, never had a problem with Toast, ever.

[n_lim]

Just got my 12" and have not burned a thing and would like to burn some back-up dvd's. I have heard that the superdrive is quite fickle as to what brand of media to use and I was wondering what I could do to avoid the dreaded coaster. What brand of media and what speed have you had the most success with? Also, where is the best place to buy media online?

TIA, and I hope that all2ofme figures out what is going on with his also.

[all2ofme]

Well it looks like I'm not the only one. I found the following links on the Apple discussion boards.

It seems as if Apple's media doesn't handle a full disc worth of data:

http://discussions.info.apple.com/[email protected]/7

http://discussions.info.apple.com/[email protected]

http://discussions.info.apple.com/[email protected]

I wonder what Apple's policy on the return on these discs is should this turn out to be the case.

Anyone else had any other experience of this sort?

[Eug]

Maybe it's time to call Applecare. I have made many full DVD-Rs with my TiSD, with no problems (except when I use uber-cheap media).

[all2ofme]

Eug, have you done that with Apple's media too? Some of those links say that things can burn more successfully from iDVD than from anything else (including Toast), but the reports I've read are still inconclusive.

Yes, I'll call Applecare tomorrow. Hopefully it's nothing serious. Though if it is, they can check out the fans while it's in there!

[Eug]

Originally posted by all2ofme:
Eug, have you done that with Apple's media too? Some of those links say that things can burn more successfully from iDVD than from anything else (including Toast), but the reports I've read are still inconclusive.

Yes, I'll call Applecare tomorrow. Hopefully it's nothing serious. Though if it is, they can check out the fans while it's in there!

For my important stuff I use almost exclusively Apple media now. Burned from the Finder, Toast, and iDVD 2 with no problems.

[riverfreak]

Originally posted by n_lim:
Just got my 12" and have not burned a thing and would like to burn some back-up dvd's. I have heard that the superdrive is quite fickle as to what brand of media to use and I was wondering what I could do to avoid the dreaded coaster. What brand of media and what speed have you had the most success with? Also, where is the best place to buy media online?

TIA, and I hope that all2ofme figures out what is going on with his also.

details: 10.2.4
burning with: toast
burn speed: 1x
discs: princo and ritek
sources: shop4tech and rima.com


I've now burned over 70 DVDs (mostly as data but a few as DVD-video). I initially purchased a batch of Princo DVD-Rs. I had maybe a 10% failure rate (5 / 50). At $1 each though, that's not *too* bad (although the wasted time is annoying). Furthermore, they weren't the nice matte finish which makes labelling much easier. These discs had noticeable inconsistencies in them when viewed from the side (ie looking at the discs on the spindle). These looked like little blobs of plastic resin.

I recently bought a spindle of 100 Ritek DVDs with the white printable surface from rima.com. Visually, these discs seem to be of much higher quality than the Princo.

However, even with the Riteks I have had some failures. I think the overriding factor is trying to place too much data on the disc. Toast will not warn you when you are in the grey area for a safe burn.

-->I find that exceeding 4.3 GB really makes the success of the burn much more questionable.

By the way, I *always* continue to work on my machine while burning, using the buffer under run prevention provided by Toast. Honestly, I think with decent media (read, super expensive is not necessary) and paying attention to data amount, that you can have a high success rate. Expect some failures. You'll have them even with apple branded media. It's the nature of the beast, just like CD burning when it was in its infancy.

[Eug]

I find that exceeding 4.3 GB really makes the success of the burn much more questionable.

Well, a disc only holds 4.37 GB.

[Spheric Harlot]

Oh, bah!

- they do the idiotic "1 GB = 1 billion bytes" (rather than 1024*1024*1024) on DVD-R media, too?

That is such bullshit.

And why will neither Toast nor the Finder warn if that is exceeded?

Total idiocy - which explains everything.

-s*

[all2ofme]

Eug, were the discs you burned anywhere near approaching full?

I've called Applecare and they've given me two things to try:

1) create a new user and burn from there to see if there are any corrupted preferences.

2) try burning from iDVD and iTunes.

I'll try that this evening and report back.

[Eug]

Originally posted by all2ofme:
Eug, were the discs you burned anywhere near approaching full?

I've called Applecare and they've given me two things to try:

1) create a new user and burn from there to see if there are any corrupted preferences.

2) try burning from iDVD and iTunes.

I'll try that this evening and report back.

Many were not but several were definitely over 4 GB, with maybe a few in the 4.3 GB range. This is burning with Toast and iDVD.

I've only used the Finder for burning a couple of times. The Finder only supports HFS+ DVDs.

[all2ofme]

Are data DVDs made from the Finder not readable on a PC, then? From what you say it sounds as if Toast makes this possible. Is this the case?

Does the machine *reading* these discs have to have a DVD-R drive or will a standard DVD-ROM suffice?

I'm to call back Applecare today again so that they can go through a few more things on the phone with me.

Fingers crossed,
Ben

Originally posted by Eug:
Many were not but several were definitely over 4 GB, with maybe a few in the 4.3 GB range. This is burning with Toast and iDVD.

I've only used the Finder for burning a couple of times. The Finder only supports HFS+ DVDs.

[Eug]

Originally posted by all2ofme:
Are data DVDs made from the Finder not readable on a PC, then? From what you say it sounds as if Toast makes this possible. Is this the case?

Does the machine *reading* these discs have to have a DVD-R drive or will a standard DVD-ROM suffice?

DVDs made from the Finder are HFS+. They are unreadable by a PC. (I suppose it would work if MacDrive was installed. I'll try it - I have MacDrive on my PC.)

Toast and iDVD will make discs with PC-readable data.

[all2ofme]

Does the machine *reading* these discs have to have a DVD-R drive or is a standard DVD-ROM enough?

I think I'll buy Toast on Monday. Sounds worthwhile.

[riverfreak]

Originally posted by Eug:
Many were not but several were definitely over 4 GB, with maybe a few in the 4.3 GB range. This is burning with Toast and iDVD.

I've only used the Finder for burning a couple of times. The Finder only supports HFS+ DVDs.

Eug -

I had thought, in this and other related threads, that you *were* burning full discs. This was back in the day of $5/disc, when you were espousing the quality of expensive media over less-costly options, when I was bemoaning the apparent inconsistency of the cheap media I had purchased. (I hadn't had the funds to experiment properly with the Apple branded media).

Personally, I think that burn success rate drops significantly when you approach max capacity, regardless of media expense.

Every single disc I've burned (on the order of 70 now) has been in the 4.2 to 4.3 GB range.
My success rate drops when I hit 4.3GB, and this includes the top dollar Apple branded media.

[Eug]

Originally posted by riverfreak:
I had thought, in this and other related threads, that you *were* burning full discs. This was back in the day of $5/disc, when you were espousing the quality of expensive media over less-costly options, when I was bemoaning the apparent inconsistency of the cheap media I had purchased. (I hadn't had the funds to experiment properly with the Apple branded media).

Personally, I think that burn success rate drops significantly when you approach max capacity, regardless of media expense.

Every single disc I've burned (on the order of 70 now) has been in the 4.2 to 4.3 GB range.
My success rate drops when I hit 4.3GB, and this includes the top dollar Apple branded media.

I was using an external drive before with an iBook, and had no problems burning full discs with Apple media. Drive is a Panasonic LF-D321. I had major problems with generic media, and the problems were more pronounced esp. over about a 3.8 GB-ish (just a guess for the size). It does sound like you've burned more 4.3 GB discs than I have though.

As for this thread, I only got TiBook SD in December. But again, for the few completely full discs I've burned on the TiSD, they've been fine.

By the way, I'll be doing testing some more with a different drive over the next few weeks. I just bought a Panasonic LF-D521 DVD-RAM/-R/-RW to replace the LF-D321.

[adamberti]

All2ofme, I'm curious as to what AppleCare has said to you - do they expedct you to keep trying DVD's and if they fail will they replace them for you? At $5 CDN a DVD-R, they better be!

I'm going to try one more before I call Apple - had 3 fail so far - but I'm pretty sure 2 were because of a bad file.

Adam

[all2ofme]

They've given me a few thigs to try, such as burning from iTunes and iDVD. I've yet to make time to do that, but I did ask whether I would see anything in return for my troubles should a fault lie at Apple's door with either the blanks or the drive itself. The Applecare person I spoke to said that that was something I'd have to take up with Customer Service. That didn't sound promising, but I'll make sure I don't get brushed off with this. I'm persistent, which should get me there eventually!

It's heartening (oddly) to hear that other people are having this problem. Makes me think that there's something wrong with some settings somewhere, or that this sort of thing can be rectified later with a firmware update or something.

Can anyone tell me if data discs burned from my Ti with Toast (in a format readable by PCs) are readable only in machines which have DVD-R drives, or will a standard DVD-ROM be ok?

Originally posted by adamberti:
All2ofme, I'm curious as to what AppleCare has said to you - do they expedct you to keep trying DVD's and if they fail will they replace them for you? At $5 CDN a DVD-R, they better be!

I'm going to try one more before I call Apple - had 3 fail so far - but I'm pretty sure 2 were because of a bad file.

Adam

[Eug]

Can anyone tell me if data discs burned from my Ti with Toast (in a format readable by PCs) are readable only in machines which have DVD-R drives, or will a standard DVD-ROM be ok?

Most DVD-ROM drives should be OK. By the way, I find the readability decreases with cheapo media too. Another reason to use good quality media.

[all2ofme]

Great, thanks Eug.

I've posted this in another thread that seems to have been revived, but wanted to post it here too in case people aren't checking both:

Could someone please explain how I should test a <b>full-disc</b> burn with iDVD? I don't mind what the content is, I just want to know whether or not my Superdrive works selectively with DVDs or not at all. I've not used iMovie or iDVD before. Even if it's 60 minutes of photos with some background music...

I burnt my third Apple media coaster this evening (that's 0/3 with my attempts at using this Superdrive with DVD-Rs) and I've been told by Apple to try to burn a full-disc from something other than the Finder.

I've tried:

1) The Finder twice with the same data. Two coasters. I've done this without anything else running also, but I get the same results.

I got this error code: -2147352480

2) Different data but using Toast. Another coaster with this error message:

Sense Key = HARDWARE ERROR
Sense Code = 0x03, 0x01

The drive reported an error:
Sense Key = ILLEGAL REQUEST
Sense Code = 0x30, 0x05
CANNOT WRITE MEDIUM - INCOMPATIBLE FORMAT

If anyone else is having similar problems it'd be great to hear from them.

Cheers,
Ben

[all2ofme]

I've now tried to burn a full(ish) disc from iDVD and after a bit longer than half an hour the machine spat the disc out. I had to force quit iDVD. Another coaster.

I'll call Applecare again today and see what they say, but I've done all the things they suggested. I'd imagine this machine needs a doctor.

[Eug]

You my find my post about DVD-RW reads on the UJ-815 interesting.

DVD-R burns continue to work fine, although I must admit that my last burn was not a full disc.

[all2ofme]

Apple are taking my machine back to be fixed. Trip to either the Netherlands or Germany for it

They told me that error number -2147352480 means that data is not reaching the device, though how this tallies with discs being half burnt and then failing just before the verification stage I don't know.

When I insert discs that I've tried to burn using the Finder I can see that the things I was burning to the disc are there, but it won't read them. I need to force quit the Finder to get back to work.

Anyway, it should be back in around ten days once they've picked it up. They're also going to look at the loud fans I've got. The Applecare guy said that "the fan noise is something that Apple is aware of". I hope I get the same techie that Petra did

I'll be back here then to let you know what was replaced/repaired.

[slugslugslug]

Originally posted by all2ofme:
Apple are taking my machine back to be fixed. Trip to either the Netherlands or Germany for it

They told me that error number -2147352480 means that data is not reaching the device, though how this tallies with discs being half burnt and then failing just before the verification stage I don't know.

...

So wait, they're admitting you actually have a problem? That's great, since I have similar results anytime I try and burn a CD above 4x (and, last time around, at 4x). I haven't tried burning a DVD yet, but maybe if I get the same error as you, apple will actually admit there's problems with my drive. (I already sent the thing in once, and they sent my 'Book back, saying it was fine (see this thread and this'un)).

keep us updated as to how it's going..

cheers.
y.

[adamberti]

Originally posted by all2ofme:
Apple are taking my machine back to be fixed. Trip to either the Netherlands or Germany for it

They told me that error number -2147352480 means that data is not reaching the device, though how this tallies with discs being half burnt and then failing just before the verification stage I don't know.

I'll be back here then to let you know what was replaced/repaired.

Good to hear all2ofme! I hope it comes back and works great. Did you ask the AppleCare people about any other error numbers? I've got a number I would like to know about, so maybe I'll call to find out. I did finally burn a DVD through the finder and iDVD, but they were both about 3-3.5 GB. I thought that my iDVD would be longer - it was about 55 minutes, but I reused video in it to fill it up, so I guess it wasnt actually a full disc. I'll try one more full burn from the finder, and if that dont work, I want to send this thing in!

Please keep us posted as to what happens with it.

[all2ofme]

I only asked about the error messages I'd had myself, but yes, they did admit that it sounded as if I have a problem. After 4 coasters under different circumstances I'd be inclined to agree with them! I was happy to hear that they acknowledged the fan noise also.

I don't think that we should be fobbed off with less than a full disc burn. If we're using good media (especially Apple's so the issue falls entirely at their feet) and can't get 4.3GB (or whatever the actual amount possible on a 4.7GB disc is) on them, then we should cry foul.

I've burned normal CDs on my machine just fine. Do iTunes and the Finder default to the full burn speed? If so I've had no problems with my drive APART from with DVDs.

[Eug]

I assume you're still using Apple media?

Just because I had some leftover generics lying around I decided to test those again with an absolutely jam-packed DVD.

Makes it thru the burn process but fails the verification near the end. Furthermore, when I try to play the disc in my PC, it locks up at the end of the disc.

OTOH, Apple media continues to work fine.

Ironically, my Panasonic DVD player plays that cheapo failed disc fine, all the way to the end.

[all2ofme]

Yep, I have nothing but Apple's discs. Puts me in a stronger position when I speak to the Applecare people, too!

Very interesting to hear that your cheap discs fail at verification also. Your DVD player plays the whole failed disc, though?! Odder and odder. What's failed for one drive is just fine and dandy for others.

Originally posted by Eug:
I assume you're still using Apple media?

Just because I had some leftover generics lying around I decided to test those again with an absolutely jam-packed DVD.

Makes it thru the burn process but fails the verification near the end. Furthermore, when I try to play the disc in my PC, it locks up at the end of the disc.

OTOH, Apple media continues to work fine.

Ironically, my Panasonic DVD player plays that cheapo failed disc fine, all the way to the end.

[nsxpower]

I have been watching this thread for a little while and was kind of hoping that I would not have to post here. Well ... here it goes.

I have not experienced any difficulty burnning DVD-Rs, yet. I only burned one, using the supplied Apple DVD-R disk. Experementation with DVD-R can be a bit costly in Europe.

However, I think there is a major issue with burning CD-Rs! I tried burning an audio CD through iTunes. Write failed and iTunes spit out that -XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX error occurred (will try another CD-R soon and not down the error #). So, I tried Toast 5.2 and got a "MEDIA ERROR". A normal person reading those errors would just make the assumption that the media was crappy. I examined the disks and they were the same Samsung 40x Premium CD-R that burned fine in my iBook (R.I.P.).

>> Fast-forward 5 coasters, a few ciggies and two glaces of wine >>

I decided to burn at 4x in Toast 5.2 and its burns fine, albeit at a slow 4x.

I will try a few more times with the Samsung 40x media through Finder, iTunes and Toast 5.2 using 1x through 8x and note the error codes. Hehe, I have a whole fcuking 50 CD-R spidle to go through ...

I am just dissapointed that I can not seem to burn at 8x w/o going through this bs! And getting anything fixed here in EU, is a bit of a $%&/$ in the $%&�. If the problem persists, I will put my bitchy secretary on the phone with Apple Espa�a (cuz I don't speak good enough spanish and using sign language over the phone does NOT work). After they get a load of her they will replace all shutty SD in PowerBooks all over the world

[Eug]

Try Mitsui 24X CD-R. They are more reliable than almost anything out there. Unfortunately 24X Mitsui costs about 2-3X as much as 40X media from other brands.

My friend gave me some "40X" Verbatim CD-R which wouldn't burn reliably on either my UJ-815 SuperDrive or my Teac 24X drive.

Strangely enough, my ultra-cheapo 16X off-brand media works fine in both drives.

[nsxpower]

Hmm, it seems as if the SD has difficulty with media rated for higher speeds (such as 40x in my and Eug's case) and deals quite nicely with slower rated media.

I am going to pick up some 16-24x media and try burning at 8x over the weekend.

[Eug]

Originally posted by nsxpower:
Hmm, it seems as if the SD has difficulty with media rated for higher speeds (such as 40x in my and Eug's case) and deals quite nicely with slower rated media.

I am going to pick up some 16-24x media and try burning at 8x over the weekend.

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that the Verbatim 40X my friend bought is not good media. Two different drives I had (including the TiSD) wouldn't work well with it. His own drive wouldn't work with it consistently either.

[Hozie]

Well dang. I have the exact same Toast error:

The drive reported an error:
Sense Key = ILLEGAL REQUEST
Sense Code = 0x30, 0x05
CANNOT WRITE MEDIUM - INCOMPATIBLE FORMAT

This happened on a 12" PB w/SD when trying to burn on non-Apple media (Sentinel DVD-R). It wrote fine but failed to verify and gave me the error. Funny thing is, I burned a 4.3 gig DVD and the VIDEO_TS folder on the DVD that I burned shows 4.3 gig as well. However, the burned DVD only plays up to a certain point and then stops. The original VIDEO_TS plays fine and dandy on my HD.


Weird.... Do you guys think it's a hardware problem? CD's write perfectly...

[Simon X]

Originally posted by nsxpower:
I have been watching this thread for a little while and was kind of hoping that I would not have to post here. Well ... here it goes.

I have not experienced any difficulty burning DVD-Rs, yet. I only burned one, using the supplied Apple DVD-R disk. Experementation with DVD-R can be a bit costly in Europe.

However, I think there is a major issue with burning CD-Rs! I tried burning an audio CD through iTunes. Write failed and iTunes spit out that -XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX error occurred (will try another CD-R soon and not down the error #). So, I tried Toast 5.2 and got a "MEDIA ERROR". A normal person reading those errors would just make the assumption that the media was crappy. I examined the disks and they were the same Samsung 40x Premium CD-R that burned fine in my iBook (R.I.P.).

>> Fast-forward 5 coasters, a few ciggies and two glaces of wine >>

I decided to burn at 4x in Toast 5.2 and its burns fine, albeit at a slow 4x.

I will try a few more times with the Samsung 40x media through Finder, iTunes and Toast 5.2 using 1x through 8x and note the error codes. Hehe, I have a whole fcuking 50 CD-R spidle to go through ...

I am just dissapointed that I can not seem to burn at 8x w/o going through this bs! And getting anything fixed here in EU, is a bit of a $%&/$ in the $%&�. If the problem persists, I will put my bitchy secretary on the phone with Apple Espa�a (cuz I don't speak good enough spanish and using sign language over the phone does NOT work). After they get a load of her they will replace all shutty SD in PowerBooks all over the world

Sounds similar to my problems. 4xTDKs worked fine on my ext.QueFire 4x4x24x attached to my B&W G3. On the TiBook SD not even at 1x did a burn work. Which is really pathatic. These TDKs are everywhere.

Next I tried some Sony 1x-40x which worked at the full 8x in both the Finder and Toast. I then went out and bought a 50 pack only to stupidly not notice they were 700MB, and not the same 650MB as my test. These ones once again will not burn at the full 8x. 4X works ok and a single test at 6x woked too. The 700MB Sony media are a from a different manufacture as their 650MB.
So I too have a 50 spindle that is fecking annoying me.

What is going on with the SD? I've never seen such a temperamental drive as this. Never! What do you do when you're out and about with the TiBook and need to burn a CD, and can't find the mystical brand that works? Doesn't leave you many options, having to constantly test brands to be prepared for any situation.

[nsxpower]

Well the drive itself is a kick ass drive to begin with, the OEM versions of it can write CD-Rs at 16x, DVD-Rs at 2x, DVD-RWs at 1x and DVD-RAM at 1x ... but Apple chose to cripple the firmware for BECAUSE THE DRIVE WAS NOT PRODUCING RELIABLE BURNS AT OEM SPEEDS SPECIFIED. So it could be that Apple's messing with drive's firmware thats causing the problem, cuz there are same drives operating at higher speeds.

Personally, I am hoping for someone to post a firmware updater that would get rid of Appl's messing and allow me to burn at 16x and 2x for CD-Rs and DVD-Rs respectively.

I also came across information that Apple maybe using *BAD* drives in these PowerBooks. Like bad RAM can be purchased for less and bad sectors can be patched up in kernel - the same way Apple get drives that were unreliable to begin with and patches them to operate at lower speeds and thus achieving acceptable *coaster* rate in most drives shipped in the PowerBooks. It is also odd that Apple is willing to change the drives so easily (in the US at least). If I was still leaving in the US - I would be screaming class action lawsuit at Apple for using crap components in machines that its charging upwards of 4000 USD for!

My drive has the D04C firware ... 17" and 12" shipped use D0BC firware. And I have not seen any reports of too many coaster's in those. The 867Mhz PB seems to be using D07C for the same drive?! And there have been reports that the same firmware has been used for newer 1GHz 15". And I am beginning to wonder how long my PB lied in sorage at FNAC before I picked it up? Personally, I am just pissed after spending 3200� on this machine ... anyhow.

Going to look for that Sony 650Mb 1-40x media you talked about. And I think I am going stick to buying 5-packs for now

[Eug]

Originally posted by nsxpower:
Well the drive itself is a kick ass drive to begin with, the OEM versions of it can write CD-Rs at 16x, DVD-Rs at 2x, DVD-RWs at 1x and DVD-RAM at 1x ... but Apple chose to cripple the firmware for BECAUSE THE DRIVE WAS NOT PRODUCING RELIABLE BURNS AT OEM SPEEDS SPECIFIED. So it could be that Apple's messing with drive's firmware thats causing the problem, cuz there are same drives operating at higher speeds.

Personally, I am hoping for someone to post a firmware updater that would get rid of Appl's messing and allow me to burn at 16x and 2x for CD-Rs and DVD-Rs respectively.

I also came across information that Apple maybe using *BAD* drives in these PowerBooks. Like bad RAM can be purchased for less and bad sectors can be patched up in kernel - the same way Apple get drives that were unreliable to begin with and patches them to operate at lower speeds and thus achieving acceptable *coaster* rate in most drives shipped in the PowerBooks. It is also odd that Apple is willing to change the drives so easily (in the US at least). If I was still leaving in the US - I would be screaming class action lawsuit at Apple for using crap components in machines that its charging upwards of 4000 USD for!

My drive has the D04C firware ... 17" and 12" shipped use D0BC firware. And I have not seen any reports of too many coaster's in those. The 867Mhz PB seems to be using D07C for the same drive?! And there have been reports that the same firmware has been used for newer 1GHz 15". And I am beginning to wonder how long my PB lied in sorage at FNAC before I picked it up? Personally, I am just pissed after spending 3200� on this machine ... anyhow.

Going to look for that Sony 650Mb 1-40x media you talked about. And I think I am going stick to buying 5-packs for now

It's possible Apple limited the firmware burning speeds BECAUSE of the problems of the drive at high speeds. And that info that Apple is using "bad" drives, sounds like bull to me. The slot drives are extremely rare (except at Apple), so it would essentially be impossible to get a selection of "bad" ones. ie. Apple gets most of them anyway.

Firmware updater here. I have not tried it though, because quite frankly I dunno what DDBC does or how the program works. Use at your own risk. Don't blame me if you fry your drive using this.

As for media, I have found if you buy good quality media, it essentially always works in every burner you try. It's the lower quality media that is problematic. For important stuff, I only use Mitsui 24X media. It works in every burner I've tried, and often up to 32X with zero problems. Furthermore, the burnt discs work in every CD-R compatible drive I've tried.

Noname media or even second tier media is simply unreliable. It's more unreliable in some drives than others, but the bottom line is that it IMO is simply not good enough quality to trust with important data.

It's no surprise that Mitsui 24X media costs several times more than even some other types of name brand media (like Memorex or Verbatim). You get what you pay for.

[nsxpower]

Eug,

I've seen your posts on Mac Firmware page about the updater for Matsu SD. Its good to know that xvi is looking into making it RPC1, but I am not holding my breath. My iBook w/ a Sony 800E combo drive died before RPC1 firware was produced for it. And that drive has been out there longer the Matsu SD and the firmware for it is still on the 'to do' list ahead of Matsu SD firmware Anyhow, the whole region locking is just retarded.

Anyhow, I've conducted some tests and concluded that SD burns DVD-Rs fine at 1x w/o problems using Apple's own 2x media (5-pack for �20 at FNAC this weekend). I also picked up Sony CD-R 1-24x disks like this > burn at 8x from iTunes/Finder/Toast w/o any problems. They were �0.60 a piece from FNAC. At least I am now confident that there isn't a problem with my drive . Its just that the drive is damn pissy about the media.

[Eug]

Well, I just burned two 4.2+ GB discs over the weekend, on Apple media.

One of them did not burn correctly (in iDVD 3). However, for the one that didn't I'm not sure if it was my fault or not.

When I came back to the machine, the computer was asleep. When I woke it up it was on the burning finished dialogue boxed so it should have worked, but who knows.

The movie played fine, but the last 1.6 GB file in the DVD-ROM section could not be read. So I reburned it in Toast and it was fine this time.

My iBook w/ a Sony 800E combo drive died before RPC1 firware was produced for it. And that drive has been out there longer the Matsu SD and the firmware for it is still on the 'to do' list ahead of Matsu SD firmware

I should point out that it seems they didn't have a Matsu SD firmware at all, and I suspect the same was true for the Sony. You can't make a usable RPC-1 firmware if you don't have a firmware or the Mac firmware flasher for it.

[cgmpowers]

I found a cheaper supply of inexpensive DVD-R's that work fine with my Apple iMac. I haven't tried it with my Powerbook (as I've yet to receive it from Apple).

Gus.Com (or via Yahoo Shopping and due a merchant search). I bought 50 DVD-R's for under $50...and that's including shipping!

Christopher

[Eug]

Originally posted by cgmpowers:
I found a cheaper supply of inexpensive DVD-R's that work fine with my Apple iMac. I haven't tried it with my Powerbook (as I've yet to receive it from Apple).

Gus.Com (or via Yahoo Shopping and due a merchant search). I bought 50 DVD-R's for under $50...and that's including shipping!

Christopher

"Work fine". Well that's a loaded term.

Many people find that out of a spindle of 50 cheap discs, maybe 10 will not work properly. Or else out of two spindles of 50, 3 won't work in one and 15 won't work in the other.

Also, the discs often have less reliability in other drives.

I've personally given up on the cheap stuff for now, because the reliability just isn't to my liking. Even the Apple media isn't perfect.

Fortunately, as time goes on, media quality is gradually improving overall.

[Jacket]

is there anyone who's received their new PB17 and tried burning DVDs yet? if anyone has, please give us the heads up on it's performance.

[all2ofme]

Well, just to keep anyone who's interested up to date...

Apple Europe are doing a terrible job of fixing my TiBook so far. They've said that they thought it was noisy and have replaced the fan and the logic board (wahoo! Hope it's quieter), so that's good.

The bad thing (and the piece of this posting which is on topic ) is that they're still waiting on the Superdrive assembly to arrive so that they can install it.

I've been a month without my machine so far. Probably nothing to be read into the difficulty that they seem to be having getting the drive, but just in case I thought I'd post it here.

[adamberti]

Originally posted by all2ofme:
Well, just to keep anyone who's interested up to date...

Apple Europe are doing a terrible job of fixing my TiBook so far. They've said that they thought it was noisy and have replaced the fan and the logic board (wahoo! Hope it's quieter), so that's good.

The bad thing (and the piece of this posting which is on topic ) is that they're still waiting on the Superdrive assembly to arrive so that they can install it.

I've been a month without my machine so far. Probably nothing to be read into the difficulty that they seem to be having getting the drive, but just in case I thought I'd post it here.

Maybe, Just maybe, they're actually waiting for the new 15.4" AluBook and they're going to send that one back to you as a suprise! I mean, how hard can it be to get a SuperDrive.....?

Actually on that note, I finally got an AppleCare CD today that I've been trying to get since December - just a CD!! Let's hope your drive doesnt take that long!

[pamelah]

Originally posted by Eug:
DVDs made from the Finder are HFS+. They are unreadable by a PC. (I suppose it would work if MacDrive was installed. I'll try it - I have MacDrive on my PC.)

Toast and iDVD will make discs with PC-readable data.

not to be totally off topic. but what is the latest version number of macdrive?