Matthewlopez

Q: What are some cheap compatible internal DVD drives I can upgrade on my powermac G3 B

i want to upgrade my powermac G3 B&W to Mac os x 10.4. To do so, I need a compatible DVD drive that will fit in my Mac. What are some cheap ones that will work?

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Posted on Nov 26, 2014 9:27 PM

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Q: What are some cheap compatible internal DVD drives I can upgrade on my powermac G3 B

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  • by kaz-k,

    kaz-k kaz-k Nov 26, 2014 10:14 PM in response to Matthewlopez
    Level 5 (5,794 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 26, 2014 10:14 PM in response to Matthewlopez
  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Nov 27, 2014 7:01 AM in response to Matthewlopez
    Level 8 (35,151 points)
    iPad
    Nov 27, 2014 7:01 AM in response to Matthewlopez

    Contact the people in the link kaz-k offers and ask them if the drive can be used to boot your mac model. I have an older model LG CD-R in a Beige G3 and it turned out to be a bootable drive. Not all models are. The firm he linked are very good about pre-sales support via eitehr phone or e-mail.

     

    You need the drive to be Mac-bootable in case you have to start your computer from an optical disk for maintenance/troubleshooting or to install software that is on optical media;

  • by Jeff,

    Jeff Jeff Nov 28, 2014 12:20 AM in response to Matthewlopez
    Level 6 (11,559 points)
    Nov 28, 2014 12:20 AM in response to Matthewlopez

    "What are some cheap ones that will work?"

     

    The problem with finding a "cheap" drive for your B&W G3 is that it needs an older ATAPI (not SATA) model, which are very scarce now and - if new - are higher-priced than they were a couple of years ago.  If you don't mind buying a used one, this Pioneer DVD±RW drive would definitely be bootable.  I installed a Pioneer drive in one of my B&W G3s, because they were very Mac-compatible, compared to other third-party drives.  The ebay-listed drive is less than half the price of the LG listed at OWC, so it may be worth buying.  I bought a pair of (new) ATAPI Pioneer DVD±RW drives to keep, just in case one of my older Macs needs a replacement.