Powermac G5 Superdrive will only read music

Alan42 · 02-19-2010, 05:21 AM

Hi, I just acquired a G5 2.0 with 2 Gb ram and a nice fresh Leopard 10.5.8. The Optiarc has the following characteristics:
-Reads and imports audio CDs
-Burns audio and photo CDs, but gives message 'verification failed', yet they load and read fine on another 'puter. This machine will not open the files, though.
-Identifies some data CDs and DVDs as blank even though they load fine elsewhere. This includes manufacturers' disks eg iLife
-Shows other data DVDs on the desktop with some characters in the title replaced by what appears to be a Chinese character. On opening, files are visible but will not open. Some files are labeled .exe files. All these disks work fine on another machine.
-The Leopard install disk shows on the desktop labeled 'Boot Camp' (although the a is replaced by a sort of squiggly thing) and contains .exe files amongst others, none of these files will open. On my other machine it shows as 'Mac OS X install disk'.

I have tried the following:
Download drivers from Apple - none were needed or appropriate.
Replace the optical drive with a new Samsung which Scrumpymacs kindly sent me - no difference.
Replaced that with a known good Pioneer 117 - exactly the same symptoms.
Swap the jumper from Master (the original and new drives were both set to Master) to Cable Select - no change.
Permissions Repair - no difference.
Set up a new admin user account - still the same.

Apart from this the computer is great. Scrumpymacs have offered me a replacement when they get one, can't fault their service at all, but if there is a fix I would like to hang on to this one. Any ideas, anyone?

appleman_design · 02-19-2010, 07:19 AM

download the 10.5.8 combo update and install it...

Alan42 · 02-19-2010, 06:50 PM

Been there, done that already. Sorry I forgot to mention it.

LouCioccio · 02-19-2010, 08:44 PM

I picked up a used G5 2.0 Ghz from ebay a couple of years ago. Even though everything worked I pulled out the 160GB drive replaced it with two 500GB WD drives, removed the original DVD-writer with a Pioneer 112D.

You can check http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ database for DVD drive that will work in your G5. Thats what I did. I also added a SeriTek SATA card and mounted 3- 500GB WD with a fan in that space in the front. The power supply handled it but my UPS was choking I had to get a bigger UPS.

Ciao,
Lou Cioccio

DeltaMac · 02-19-2010, 09:19 PM

Try checking the _other_ end of the IDE cable, where it plugs into the logic board. Pull it out, and check the pins as carefully as you can. Make sure the cable is then plugged in securely.
AFAIK, a single CD drive would always be set to master, and not cable-select. That shouldn't be causing your issue, in any case.
If you have tried several different optical drives, and all behave in the same way, then I suspect a hardware problem with the IDE controller. But, verify that software is not an issue by reinstalling OS X with an erase and install. You can easily put in a second hard drive for a completely clean install, or swap the existing hard drive out, so you only have one hard drive in place. The Erase and install is really the only way to rule out software.

Alan42 · 02-20-2010, 11:00 AM

OK, thanks all. I have a second 160 gig HD but can't install the OS on that because the DVD drive won't read the install disk. I tried rebooting while holding the C key but I get a gray screen and, eventually, a circle with a diagonal line across it. My other computer uses ATA, not Sata drives so I can't swap them. I think I have a HD caddy somewhere, if I put my ATA drive with 10.5.8 on it in that, will my Mac boot via USB? Meanwhile I am going to try a different IDE cable.

Alan42 · 02-20-2010, 02:23 PM

Update - I put in a known good IDE cable - no change. I installed Leopard on a Firewire external drive using another computer, using a disk that I already had, and booted from that, it's still the same. Inserting the Canon MP560 disk should, and on my other machines does, open an installer but on this machine it offers a folder named win and other bits labelled AUTORUN.INF, CHECESUM, MSETUP.CEECKSUM and MSETUP4.EXE although some of the E's have accents over them.

I reckon the optical drive is suffering under the illusion that it's attached to a PC. Unlikely I know, but I can believe 3 impossible things before breakfast, in this case even easier because my knowledge of computers is so limited. That's why I use a Mac. Twenty-plus years of Applehappiness with barely a crash and now this....

DeltaMac · 02-20-2010, 02:36 PM

If you go to your System Profiler (Apple menu/About this Mac - then More Info...), click on the ATA tab - what does that tell you about the DVD drive? compare that to the Disk Burning tab...

Alan42 · 02-20-2010, 07:02 PM

Hi Deltamac, the two reports are copied below. Does this help at all? Someone pass me the large hammer, please...
ATA Bus:

Optiarc DVD RW AD-5200A:

Model: Optiarc DVD RW AD-5200A
Revision: 1.05
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
Low Power Polling: No
Power Off: No

Optiarc DVD RW AD-5200A:

Firmware Revision: 1.05
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Generic Drive Support)
Profile Path: None
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

DeltaMac · 02-20-2010, 07:47 PM

And, does an unused, blank CD or DVD-R show available burn speeds on that Profiler window? You have to refresh that screen after inserting the disk.

Alan42 · 02-21-2010, 05:51 AM

Yep, done that, here's the result:
Optiarc DVD RW AD-5200A:

Firmware Revision: 1.05
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Generic Drive Support)
Profile Path: None
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media:
Type: CD-R
Blank: Yes
Erasable: No
Overwritable: Yes
Appendable: Yes
Write Speeds: 8x, 16x, 24x, 32x, 40x, 48x

Thanks for your help in this.

DeltaMac · 02-21-2010, 06:42 AM

If your Leopard is a black DVD, put that in, and check that it still simply says Boot Camp (as in your first post here)

Alan42 · 02-21-2010, 07:16 AM

Yes it does. This is a copy of it ( I only just worked out that I can copy and paste file names, D'OH):

Boot C聡mp

And the Canon disk is labelled

CANON_聉J

Odd characters replace the 'a' and 'I', I'm sure they must mean something to someone.

Alan42 · 02-21-2010, 09:42 AM

Wow, this internet is a wonderful thing. Look what I found:

聡 is a Japanese boy's name meaning fast learner.

聉 is Han or Mandarin Chinese, pronounced wa or wai, and appears to mean foolish or crazy.

A question from the depths of my ignorance - is it possible to have a virus in one's bios? If so, is there an antiviral and can I get it on prescription?

BTW, I tried zapping the PRAM to no avail. I also found that inserting a purchased pre-recorded DVD causes DVD Player to open, but the 'play' option is shaded and no files are found on the disk, which plays fine elsewhere.

Alan42 · 02-21-2010, 11:00 AM

OK, sorry I sullied the good name of Mac by thinking it had a bios, I know better now. My firmware version 5.2.4f1 is up to date according to Apple. I just tried a safe boot, it was just the same in safe mode and there is no change now I am in normal mode. Clearly the problem is not with the OS or the HD, since it persists when running from a clean install on the external HD. Is there any place in a Mac a bug can lurk outside the HD? If not, do we suspect a logic board fault?

DeltaMac · 02-21-2010, 11:18 AM

So, to recap
Optical drive not reading disks properly.
different drives makes no difference.
different IDE cable - " "
Probably not a RAM issue.
Software doesn't appear to affect the problem.

How about a good reset?
unplug the power cord.
Remove the battery (near the IDE connector at the top of the logic board). The battery should test between 3.3 & 3.7 volts DC. Can you test that?
When you are sure that battery is good, reinsert in the holder.
press the PMU reset button - Once only, do not press that reset a second time, as the PMU chip can crash.
Wait 10 seconds, and plug the power cord back in. Try out your drive tests again, see if there have been any change...

Alan42 · 02-21-2010, 11:37 AM

Here are some console result - I found hundreds of repeats of

12/02/2010 20:16:59 com.apple.metadata.mds[45] error reading directory: Invalid argument

lasting for about a minute. This happens on a frequent basis. Is this significant?

DeltaMac · 02-21-2010, 12:17 PM

Probably not related to your issue - that log entry is related to spotlight.
Do you have a second hard drive installed? Try removing it for a test. Any other external storage?
Try resetting your spotlight database. Easiest way to do that is to drag your hard drive into the Privacy pane in the Spotlight pref pane. Close that pane, then re-open, and delete the hard drive from that pane. In a few moments, you'll see that spotlight is redoing the search database. That can take an extended time to complete. Again, probably not affecting your situation, but that should clear out that log entry that you get.

Alan42 · 02-21-2010, 12:48 PM

And the next thrilling installment - I did the reset, the battery reads 3.6v but I replaced it with a known good one anyway - still the same. I'll now do what you suggest with spotlight and removing the second drive. Thanks again.

Alan42 · 02-21-2010, 03:21 PM

Done all that. Plus ca change... plus sa meme chose. I just wonder what's generating those oriental characters. Many thanks anyway.

02-19-2010, 05:21 AM	#1
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	Powermac G5 Superdrive will only read music Hi, I just acquired a G5 2.0 with 2 Gb ram and a nice fresh Leopard 10.5.8. The Optiarc has the following characteristics: -Reads and imports audio CDs -Burns audio and photo CDs, but gives message 'verification failed', yet they load and read fine on another 'puter. This machine will not open the files, though. -Identifies some data CDs and DVDs as blank even though they load fine elsewhere. This includes manufacturers' disks eg iLife -Shows other data DVDs on the desktop with some characters in the title replaced by what appears to be a Chinese character. On opening, files are visible but will not open. Some files are labeled .exe files. All these disks work fine on another machine. -The Leopard install disk shows on the desktop labeled 'Boot Camp' (although the a is replaced by a sort of squiggly thing) and contains .exe files amongst others, none of these files will open. On my other machine it shows as 'Mac OS X install disk'. I have tried the following: Download drivers from Apple - none were needed or appropriate. Replace the optical drive with a new Samsung which Scrumpymacs kindly sent me - no difference. Replaced that with a known good Pioneer 117 - exactly the same symptoms. Swap the jumper from Master (the original and new drives were both set to Master) to Cable Select - no change. Permissions Repair - no difference. Set up a new admin user account - still the same. Apart from this the computer is great. Scrumpymacs have offered me a replacement when they get one, can't fault their service at all, but if there is a fix I would like to hang on to this one. Any ideas, anyone?

02-19-2010, 08:44 PM	#4
LouCioccio Prospect Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 3	SuperDrive I picked up a used G5 2.0 Ghz from ebay a couple of years ago. Even though everything worked I pulled out the 160GB drive replaced it with two 500GB WD drives, removed the original DVD-writer with a Pioneer 112D. You can check http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ database for DVD drive that will work in your G5. Thats what I did. I also added a SeriTek SATA card and mounted 3- 500GB WD with a fan in that space in the front. The power supply handled it but my UPS was choking I had to get a bigger UPS. Ciao, Lou Cioccio

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02-19-2010, 07:19 AM	#2
appleman_design Hall of Famer Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 2,550	download the 10.5.8 combo update and install it...

02-19-2010, 06:50 PM	#3
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	Been there, done that already. Sorry I forgot to mention it.

02-19-2010, 09:19 PM	#5
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,941	Try checking the _other_ end of the IDE cable, where it plugs into the logic board. Pull it out, and check the pins as carefully as you can. Make sure the cable is then plugged in securely. AFAIK, a single CD drive would always be set to master, and not cable-select. That shouldn't be causing your issue, in any case. If you have tried several different optical drives, and all behave in the same way, then I suspect a hardware problem with the IDE controller. But, verify that software is not an issue by reinstalling OS X with an erase and install. You can easily put in a second hard drive for a completely clean install, or swap the existing hard drive out, so you only have one hard drive in place. The Erase and install is really the only way to rule out software.

02-20-2010, 11:00 AM	#6
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	OK, thanks all. I have a second 160 gig HD but can't install the OS on that because the DVD drive won't read the install disk. I tried rebooting while holding the C key but I get a gray screen and, eventually, a circle with a diagonal line across it. My other computer uses ATA, not Sata drives so I can't swap them. I think I have a HD caddy somewhere, if I put my ATA drive with 10.5.8 on it in that, will my Mac boot via USB? Meanwhile I am going to try a different IDE cable.

02-20-2010, 02:23 PM	#7
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	Update - I put in a known good IDE cable - no change. I installed Leopard on a Firewire external drive using another computer, using a disk that I already had, and booted from that, it's still the same. Inserting the Canon MP560 disk should, and on my other machines does, open an installer but on this machine it offers a folder named win and other bits labelled AUTORUN.INF, CHECESUM, MSETUP.CEECKSUM and MSETUP4.EXE although some of the E's have accents over them. I reckon the optical drive is suffering under the illusion that it's attached to a PC. Unlikely I know, but I can believe 3 impossible things before breakfast, in this case even easier because my knowledge of computers is so limited. That's why I use a Mac. Twenty-plus years of Applehappiness with barely a crash and now this....

02-20-2010, 02:36 PM	#8
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,941	If you go to your System Profiler (Apple menu/About this Mac - then More Info...), click on the ATA tab - what does that tell you about the DVD drive? compare that to the Disk Burning tab...

02-20-2010, 07:02 PM	#9
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	Hi Deltamac, the two reports are copied below. Does this help at all? Someone pass me the large hammer, please... ATA Bus: Optiarc DVD RW AD-5200A: Model: Optiarc DVD RW AD-5200A Revision: 1.05 Detachable Drive: No Protocol: ATAPI Unit Number: 0 Socket Type: Internal Low Power Polling: No Power Off: No Optiarc DVD RW AD-5200A: Firmware Revision: 1.05 Interconnect: ATAPI Burn Support: Yes (Generic Drive Support) Profile Path: None Cache: 2048 KB Reads DVD: Yes CD-Write: -R, -RW DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO Media: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

02-20-2010, 07:47 PM	#10
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,941	And, does an unused, blank CD or DVD-R show available burn speeds on that Profiler window? You have to refresh that screen after inserting the disk.

02-21-2010, 05:51 AM	#11
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	Yep, done that, here's the result: Optiarc DVD RW AD-5200A: Firmware Revision: 1.05 Interconnect: ATAPI Burn Support: Yes (Generic Drive Support) Profile Path: None Cache: 2048 KB Reads DVD: Yes CD-Write: -R, -RW DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO Media: Type: CD-R Blank: Yes Erasable: No Overwritable: Yes Appendable: Yes Write Speeds: 8x, 16x, 24x, 32x, 40x, 48x Thanks for your help in this.

02-21-2010, 06:42 AM	#12
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,941	If your Leopard is a black DVD, put that in, and check that it still simply says Boot Camp (as in your first post here)

02-21-2010, 07:16 AM	#13
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	Yes it does. This is a copy of it ( I only just worked out that I can copy and paste file names, D'OH): Boot C聡mp And the Canon disk is labelled CANON_聉J Odd characters replace the 'a' and 'I', I'm sure they must mean something to someone.

02-21-2010, 09:42 AM	#14
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	Wow, this internet is a wonderful thing. Look what I found: 聡 is a Japanese boy's name meaning fast learner. 聉 is Han or Mandarin Chinese, pronounced wa or wai, and appears to mean foolish or crazy. A question from the depths of my ignorance - is it possible to have a virus in one's bios? If so, is there an antiviral and can I get it on prescription? BTW, I tried zapping the PRAM to no avail. I also found that inserting a purchased pre-recorded DVD causes DVD Player to open, but the 'play' option is shaded and no files are found on the disk, which plays fine elsewhere.

02-21-2010, 11:00 AM	#15
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	OK, sorry I sullied the good name of Mac by thinking it had a bios, I know better now. My firmware version 5.2.4f1 is up to date according to Apple. I just tried a safe boot, it was just the same in safe mode and there is no change now I am in normal mode. Clearly the problem is not with the OS or the HD, since it persists when running from a clean install on the external HD. Is there any place in a Mac a bug can lurk outside the HD? If not, do we suspect a logic board fault?

02-21-2010, 11:18 AM	#16
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,941	So, to recap Optical drive not reading disks properly. different drives makes no difference. different IDE cable - " " Probably not a RAM issue. Software doesn't appear to affect the problem. How about a good reset? unplug the power cord. Remove the battery (near the IDE connector at the top of the logic board). The battery should test between 3.3 & 3.7 volts DC. Can you test that? When you are sure that battery is good, reinsert in the holder. press the PMU reset button - Once only, do not press that reset a second time, as the PMU chip can crash. Wait 10 seconds, and plug the power cord back in. Try out your drive tests again, see if there have been any change...

02-21-2010, 11:37 AM	#17
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	Here are some console result - I found hundreds of repeats of 12/02/2010 20:16:59 com.apple.metadata.mds[45] error reading directory: Invalid argument lasting for about a minute. This happens on a frequent basis. Is this significant?

02-21-2010, 12:17 PM	#18
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,941	Probably not related to your issue - that log entry is related to spotlight. Do you have a second hard drive installed? Try removing it for a test. Any other external storage? Try resetting your spotlight database. Easiest way to do that is to drag your hard drive into the Privacy pane in the Spotlight pref pane. Close that pane, then re-open, and delete the hard drive from that pane. In a few moments, you'll see that spotlight is redoing the search database. That can take an extended time to complete. Again, probably not affecting your situation, but that should clear out that log entry that you get.

02-21-2010, 12:48 PM	#19
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	And the next thrilling installment - I did the reset, the battery reads 3.6v but I replaced it with a known good one anyway - still the same. I'll now do what you suggest with spotlight and removing the second drive. Thanks again.

02-21-2010, 03:21 PM	#20
Alan42 Prospect Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 22	Done all that. Plus ca change... plus sa meme chose. I just wonder what's generating those oriental characters. Many thanks anyway.