SOSD: New Superdrive Woe

Welcome Hussein & thanks for joining. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who is helping me with this issue; I am more grateful than I can say. Regrettably, the solution still eludes me.

I should also apologize for my epic posts, but I am trying to include as much info as I can to inform my situation. Thank you for bearing with me.

Where to start...

1. I created a new user, as per Gary's suggestion. The problem didn't go away. I should also add that there are two normal accounts on my QS (thanks for the ID) and both of us have been effected by the NEC/Finder issues.

Also, when my problem first appeared, right after installing the NEC drive, I was in a position to do a clean install of Tiger from the retail version of the DVD. Even with a completely clean HD & new version of OSX, the problem remained.

One oddity is that when I was loading software after the OSX install, there was a message to the effect of 'startup files have been rewritten & you need to restart the computer for it to work properly'; that is my best recollection of the message (it was about two weeks ago). I did not get a similar message when I was reloading my G3 (500MHz, dual USB) iBook with the exact same programs (minus the ones that require a G4). I don't remember what programs prompted that restart message, but I got it at least twice, maybe three times. I got the same message a year ago when I loaded Norton System Works (onto Panther), but I did not install that program (or anything like it) with the new install of Tiger... I may (?) have gotten the 'startup disc changes' message when I loaded something as benign as iLife. I could be misremembering, but I also may have gotten it when I loaded on Toast 7 (I might just be connecting imaginary & convenient dots in my head). In any event, I thought the message was odd because I didn't imagine that any of the programs that 'prompted' it had anything to do with the startup. (I apologize for not including this information sooner, but it only occurred to me as I recently finished reloading all my programs into the iBook).

2. Different media: the NEC drive didn't like my verbatim DVD-R's or CD-R's. Nor did it like my khypermedia CD-R's or generic types of DVD's & CD's. So far, the HP DVD-R's are the only thing it has accepted for burning (and the lucky first Imation CD-R). Last night, I tried a verbatim DVD-R with iDVD and it spent the night (8 hours) multiplexing and burning; when I canceled the burn, the disc hadn't been written on & as far as I can tell, is still blank.

3. This morning, I re-installed the Pioneer DVR-103. First test was an Imation CD-R for data (burned with Finder) & it worked without a hitch (as it always had). I next tried to burn a DVD using iDVD & things got familiar.. first try was with a Verbatim, and it didn't work; I should add that before I replaced the Pioneer, it didn't like the Verbatims, which are rated as 8x... I didn't think much of the Verbatim's rejection by the Pioneer, same old same old. (FTR, the firmware for the drive to work with higher speed media was updated long ago.) Next, I tired my old standby generic DVD-R's (1-4x) which I have been using for over a year with the Pioneer. Interestingly & surprisingly, that burn didn't work either. The big difference between the Pioneer & the NEC failure however was that the program trying to burn the disc (iDVD) didn't crash/freeze when it encountered a problem (i.e. the blank media). In both reject cases (with the Pioneer & iDVD) the program recognized the blank media & proceeded through all the steps up to the burn.. the disc was ejected (unwritten) at some point *well into* the 'burning' process (which was odd), and the program prompted for a blank DVD. When I put in a new DVD, Finder would pop up saying a blank DVD was inserted and which program would I like to use with it (this never happened in the past: simultaneous iDVD & Finder prompts). I told Finder to open iDVD (which was

(continued...)

I told Finder to open iDVD (which was already opened & running) and iDVD reset the burning process for the new disc.

After the benign failure of the Verbatim & generic DVD-R's, I tried the HP's. About an hour (?) into the multiplexing/burning step, the disc ejected, although iDVD didn't blink (no prompt for a new disc, no spinning beach ball of death); iDVD continued as if it was still burning. After playing tennis with the disc, reinserting it & having it spit out various times, I finally took the DVD out. When the DVD drawer was in, with no media, iDVD happily continued with no error message. I tried to cancel the burn (using the on screen/built in prompt) with no luck. I then resorted to finder, to see if iDVD was "not responding" but Finder didn't think there was a problem (unlike with the NEC, when I always got a "program not responding" message). I ended up Force Quitting iDVD after some more time (to see if it would sort itself out; it didn't). The HP disc had been partially written. So, here was my first coaster after the Pioneer reinstall. The HP's are rated as 8x, like the verbatims. I had never tried an HP disc before I had the NEC drive, so I have no precedent (like the no-go Verbatim 8-x's) to know whether or not the partial burn was an anomaly or something new.

After the HP DVD-R failure, I tried another Imation CD-R, using iTunes to burn music, and it worked no problem.

I can try another HP or generic DVD-R, or another program to try and burn something, but at this point, I figured I had better post & see what everyone thought. For the record, after reinstall, the Pioneer will not work with DVD-R's, but will work with CD-R's (based on a very limited sample).

Again, sorry this is so long, and I would be happy to post a summary of everything I have tried, if it will help. Now that the Pioneer is back in the G4, I'm not sure how to troubleshoot the NEC. The NEC was never out of its original packaging between purchase and installation, so no chance that dust got on it somewhere. I'm inclined to think that I just got a bad NEC drive, but now that the original Pioneer no longer likes burning DVD's, I have to wonder. On the plus side, with the Pioneer, the Finder issues seem to have gone away, but it has only been running since this morning. If something odd happens, with the Pioneer & Finder, I will post it.

Although I am happy I can again (apparently) burn CD's, I really need to burn video DVD's for work related projects; it's why I upgraded the superdrive in the first place. At this point, I have already missed two deadlines and even with the Pioneer, I can't burn DVD's at all. I can do another clean install of Tiger if anyone thinks it will help.

My next move is to head to the computer store tomorrow to get a new ATA cable... any other suggestions?

PS -- the most chronic problem I had with the NEC drive & Finder is that almost every time I needed to eject a disc after a program crash, I had to do a cold reboot to be able to get the disc out.

A close number two is that once the drive caused (?) a crash in a program, finder would also crash in short order, forcing a reboot to be able to do anything (relaunching finder didn't work in these instances).

Both of these problems were frequently simultaneous.

(apologies) one last thing for today:

I just noticed that Gary said the ATA cables have master & slave settings...

also, the cable going to the superdrive has a pretty intimidating trajectory through the case...

1. Can I just get a single ATA cable, or do I need a master/slave pair (I have no intention of doing any more upgrades on this G4)?
2. Any reason why I should try to reproduce the same route as the original cable?
3. Is an ATA-133 cable OK for my QS?
4. Should I plug the cable into the same position on the logic board, or should I get a new card?

I will be getting a rounded cable if possible, as per Jeff's suggestion.
5. Anything else to look for, consider or avoid in the selection of cable?

At this point, I need some hand holding... frustration, doubt & lack of sleep have gotten the best of me.

Thanks again.

The new ATA cable didn't work. Same behavior as before...exactly. Including the lovely Finder side-effects and one Imation disc burning without problems (with iTunes) before the drive started acting its old self. (Gary, does that reinforce the bad file theory?)

At this point, I'm inclined to think the drive is bad, but that doesn't explain why my old pioneer suddenly stopped writing on DVD's.

New suggestions?
Any reason to think that another clean install of Tiger (closely monitored for anomalies) would be worth the trouble?

Thanks in advance again, everyone.

ps-- Hussein, I looked at the link for the firmware update & was a bit intimidated. I can try it, but I would need to be walked through the steps. I couldn't find any firmware updates for the drive on the NEC site.

Jeff & Gary -- Thanks for sticking with me through all this. You guys deserve medals.

I hadn't reset the PRAM during this process. Not sure if that's cause of it all. I am about to do it now (reading all the articles I can find). I am also reading up on the binflashing process (thank you Jeff for the link) before trying that as well.

Gary -- My question before I do all this relates to your penultimate post. I downloaded OnyX and will try that before the OSX re-install, but if I get to the resinstall, you mentioned that the drive should be properly configured.. does this relate to the binflashing/firmware issue or just making sure the cable settings are OK...or something else...

Just so I'm clear, what configuration?
and
Won't an OS reinstall obliterate any firmware updates I may do prior to the OS reinstall?

Also, with the new ATA cable, I reinstalled the NEC drive. I omitted that detail in my last post. All of the binflashing & firmwaring will be done on the NEC in hopes that I can get it to behave.

I'll post again with a progress report asap. Thank you both again.

Hi everyone.
Perhaps the final chapter on my doomed drive. Since I last posted...

1. I reset PRAM/NVRAM -> no effect on drive
2. I cleaned my System Cache, etc. with OnyX -> no luck
3. I flashed the firmware to version 1.W6 -> no luck (thanks Jeff for the great Link!)
4. I did an archive & re-install of Tiger -> no luck

I have not yet tried to reinstall my old Pioneer, but will instead buy another new superdrive with the hope that I just got a bad batch of technology on the last one. [NEC's warranty policy is to return the merchandise to the retailer. No RMA for me, as it would cost more to ship it back to the US than the drive cost in the first place. I now have a lovely paperweight and a LOT of coasters. Money well spent on learning a **** of a lot of new info on my QS & getting schooled by you guys.] ; )

I will have to go with Hussein's theory that I just have crappy luck (my editorial) and that the Pioneer stopped working coincidentally, because of a dust issue. We'll find out when I install the new drive, hopefully by the end of the day... I may be back. Well, I will be back, one way or the other... I only hope that I have some good news to post for a change!

Thanks again to all, especially walking me through the basic stuff during some of my darker/gloomier hours. If you have any new theories, send them on, but I think I have probably tapped the well at this point.

If you ever need a tour guide in Madrid, drop me a line; the least I can do is buy you all a round of drinks for your incredible help: mark@y1y.org

I'll be back....