SuperDrive won't reconize DVD's
 

I have tried 2 different DVDs and each time the finder tells me I have inserted a Blank DVD and wants to know what to do with it. The DVD's definitely have been burned properly and both read on a G4 powerbook with a Superdrive running OS10.2.? I had a kernel panic last week, ran all the hardware tests and memtest and everything checked out fine and no problems since then. Please help.

G5 1.6 single
768mb ram
80gig hd
superdrive
os 10.3.7

There are a couple of possibilities here… If you recorded to DVD+R media and your G5 doesn't have a drive capable of reading DVD+R recorded discs (This would include a Pioneer DVR-107 with original firmware.) or the drive in your G5 needs cleaning. I'm leaning more toward the first though.

Thanks, but I don't think either of these is the problem. The media is DVD-R and the media is the same media that I have used to burn and read before. My company uses the same DVDs to backup projects. All the DVD-R's work in my boss's Powerbook G4 and they used to work in my drive prior to having the kernel panic.

Additionally I just put a CD-R in my drive and it mounted perfectly normal. The problem seems to be isolated to DVDs.

I do have a Pioneer DVR-107D.

I also just cleaned it to no avail :(

1. Do the DVDs work from a newly created user?
2. What software related to DVDs do you have on your system? Like Toast for example.
3. What happens with pressed DVDs rather than burned DVD-Rs?

Trevor

1. Yes it works from a newly created user and when I switched back, the disc stayed mounted. When ejected and re-inserted, the DVD mounts. I switched to a new disc (same media type) and it mounted.

2. I have no 3rd party software for cd/dvd creation.

3. No one has a pressed DVD at the office so I can't try that right now.

So, what part of the problem still remains? Or has the problem been solved?

Trevor

In addition, I just restarted and the disc continues to mount! YAY!. Thanks for your help. BUT if you will indulge me, why did creating a new user fix it (I only had one user), and how can I find out what the problem was in the first place?

I want to undertand what the problem was, not just be glad it was fixed.

Thanks a ton.

Sorry, I don't know why that happened. I merely suggested it as a standard troubleshooting step: when you said that ...that hints that the problem could be software-related rather than hardware related. My first step in troubleshooting a software-related problem such as this is to see if it is isolated to a single user or is system-wide. So I suggested you create a new user merely to determine that fact.

That it seems to have fixed your problem is merely a happy side effect. Perhaps someone else can theorize about how it fixed the problem.

By the way, it is dangerous to only have a single user account on a computer. If one becomes corrupted, you have no easy way to log in to the computer. You may want to keep your newly created account around for future troubleshooting.

Trevor

I intend to keep it. Thanks for all your help.

Ok, that did not fix it. Now all of a sudden the DVD is being read as blank again. I tried both users and neither will read the DVD. Please help....again...

Hardware?
 

It's possible that it's a hardware problem.

On my G4 PB, the SuperDrive would see some commercial DVDs and would instantly eject others. It did the same thing with some data discs that it had burned.

I could put the suspect discs into drives in networked machines (can you try this?), and they would mount via the network, and, in the case of the commercial DVDs, they could be played with DVD Player from a network drive but not from the local SuperDrive.

With screen shots of all this, I convinced Apple the SuperDrive was defective and they replaced it.

I hope this helps.

That seems different than my problem. My computer sees the disks, but it reads them as blank when there is data on them. On a PB G4 the disks load fine AND I access them thru the network. I suppose I could try through the network, but I have a feeling since my computer sees them as blank, it is going to tell the network they are blank?

I guess I've been forgotten ;) I've discovered an additional problem. The drive doesnt do anything when I insert a blank CD-R, but all other CD's with data on them work.

You might want to try reseating the connectors to the DVD drive. Be careful not to bend them and be sure to ground yourself and have the computer off, but plugged in so that it is grounded.

Sounds like a plan.....How do I do it? I'm clueless when it comes to hardware. I can put in RAM thats about it.

Basically the same as RAM. There will be a ribbon cable going from the back of the drive to the mother board. Diconnect it carefully, then reconnect. It's a tight fit. You may want to do the same on the mother board side, but if this is the problem, I'm thinking it would most likely be the drive connection.

I have not tried reconnecting the drive cables cause I'm scared to ef something up. I did however put in an apple DVD-r which worked fine. But the memorex DVD-r are not working, but they used to. I'm going to attempt the cable thing I guess, but it seems like a software problem to me? Not that I know anything about that.

Me too. Especially if your other account can see the disks.

So what do I do? Should I take it to an Apple store or something?

Other account or other computer? If the later, the drive's firmware could explain the inability to recognize a brand of disc that was nonexistent at the time the firmware was written.

Well it is another account that it worked on...on the same computer. However, the other computer that the disks work on 17" G4 PB is a year or two older than my G5 and the Memorex disks have existed since the PB was purchased. I tried the cables but it did not work. I will have to go through a bunch of DVDs and take detailed notes. Perhaps that will help isolate the problem.

I'm just trying to get clear on this problem. So, the media does work on another account on the same computer but not this one? If this is the case, it would have to be something located within this account's Library. What, of course, seems beyond me! I would be looking in Preferences, PreferencePanes or Application Support.

Details, Details, and more DETAILS!
 

So I went through the all the different media I have available on both user accounts to try and isolate the problem. Let me restate my stats: 10.3.7, SP 1.6 G5, 768 mb, Superdrive Pioneer DVR-107D, GeForce FX 5200. My Boss uses a 1Ghz 17" PB w/ 10.2.?

These results are for both MY ACCOUNT and my TESTUSER account:
Maxell DVD-R : Works (Burned on PB)
Apple DVD-R : Works (Burned on PB)
Teon DVD-R 8x : Works (Burned on PB)
Maxell 650mb CD-R : Works (Burned on PB)
Imitation 700mb CD-R : Works (Burned on PB)
Apple Software DVD : Works (Printed DVD)
Adobe Photoshop Elements CD : Works (Printed CD)

Then the problems start:
Memorex DVD-R with data on it burned by the PB comes up as a BLANK dvd and the Finder asks what to do. This happens for both users

Memorex DVD-R (yes they are the exact same media) with data on it burned by ME on the G5 works fine. This happens for both users.

BLANK Memorex DVD-R (same as above) comes up as blank. I am assuming this means it is ok, but since the others come up blank I dont know. This happens for both users.

BLANK Memorex CD-R (black disk) the drive spins, stops, and then does nothing under MY ACCOUNT.
BLANK Memorex CD-R 52x Spins longer than the others but still does nothing under my account.
BLANK Memorex CD-RW does the same thing under my account.
HOWEVEr all the Memorex CD-R/RW's above come up as blank with the finder asking what to do under the TESTUSER account.

Also, all the disks that were burned have been burned with the Finder on either the G5 or the PB. The PB is at least 1.5 - 2yrs old.

So to recap, Memorex DVDs burned by the PB are being read as blank under both users. However I'm 90% sure that they used to work just fine about a month or two ago. The EXACT same Memorex DVDs burned by me on the G5 work fine. Memorex CD-R/RWs that are blank don't work on MY Account, but work on the TESTUSER account. All other DVDs seem to work whether printed or burned (by the PB) as long as they aren't Memorex.

I had a kernel panic about 2 weeks ago, I have had no other problems other than this. I appreciate all the help you guys/gals have given, perhaps this will help zero in on a problem. I checked the Memorex website but there wasn't anything that seemed applicable. There is data on these disks that I need access to. I won't use Memorex in the future but I still need to get at these. THANKS!
dappy

Okay then! It looks like we're dealing with different, but related problems. Let's take them one at a time.

Every CD and/or DVD burner has slightly different power being supplied by the burning laser. The laser burning power can also be effected by dust in the burning drive. Dust in the reading drive can also make a difference. Especially if the burning drive is weak too. Now, the fact that it's only Memorex discs simply indicate that the media is more sensitive to this problem. I do tend to have more successful burns with Memorex than most brands though.

What I would do in this case, with both the PB and this drive, is to use can air to blow out any loose dust in the drive. Then run a CD/DVD cleaning disc (The type with the tiny brushes) three or four times on each drive. This should be sufficient for most drives. If the computer is frequently or always in a dirty environment (smoker? :)), I might end up opening up the drive and manually cleaning the lens with isopropyl alcohol and a lint free swab. If you do the later, apply as little pressure as you can and still do the job. It's very easy to throw the lens out of adjustment with too much presure. Remember also that this does void the warranty.

This is a software issue. If changing your setting in the CD/DVD preferences pane doesn't solve it, open the file ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.digihub.plist in TextEdit (or your favorite XML editor), locate the entry that looks similar to this:and remove it. You should then be able to set it again in System Preferences successfully.

Note: You may want to backup this file before changing it. I don't recommend just deleting it because it determines how your computer acts for many things you might connect to your Mac, including USB and Firewire cameras.

Thanks for your help. Changing the preferences worked for the blank discs. I just have to get a CD drive cleaner and see if that fixes my other problem. I appreciate all your help so far :)