PowerMac G4 (FW800) with Two SuperDrives

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Level 1

30 points

PowerMac G4 (FW800) with Two SuperDrives

I placed a second DVD writer in my PowerMac G4 (FW800) dual 1.25 Ghz, which runs MocOS 10.4.11 with 2 Gb RAM, and it will not recognize both drives.

I had the original CDRW in the slave position and a LaCie DVD+/-RW DL in the master position. It is a rebranded Philips DVD8651/39. I replaced the CDRW with a Toshiba SH-S202 DVD+/-RW DL that I bought from OWC.

If both drives are in the PowerMac, only the LaCie in the master position is recognized as a SuperDrive. If I unplug the LaCie and leave the Toshiba in the slave position, then the Toshiba is recognized as a SuperDrive. I have the jumper pins set as cable select on both drives.

I tried replacing the original Apple cable with a PC 100 Mhz cable with a red line to mark pin 1, a grey connector at the slave position and a black connector at the master position. Same results.

My question is whether the PowerMac can recognize two SuperDrives on the same cable or does one have to be a CDRW?

PowerMac G4 (FW800) dual 1.25 Ghz, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 2 Gb RAM

Posted on Oct 12, 2008 8:11 PM

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Answer 1

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Oct 12, 2008 9:48 PM in response to SnuffysPaw

Hi-

You can use two superdrives.
Try jumpers at Master and Slave, with the Master on the end connector, and the Slave on the middle connector.

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Answer 2

SnuffysPaw Author

Level 1

30 points

Oct 13, 2008 5:30 PM in response to SnuffysPaw

Update: I tried switching the jumper pins to master and slave with the master drive being the drive on the end of the cable with the black connector. It still would only recognize one drive. Again, I disconnected the master drive, then the slave drive would be recognized. I replaced the slave drive with the original CDRW and everything worked fine.

Here is the stats given by system profiler:

TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S202N: (the DVD+/- RW from OWC)

Firmware Revision: SB01
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Unsupported)
Profile Path: None
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RAM, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No

IDE-DVD DVDRW8651: (the DVD+/-RW from LaCie)

Firmware Revision: LT25
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Vendor Supported)
Profile Path: VendorSupport.drprofile
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No

PHILIPS CDD5301: (the original CDRW drive)

Firmware Revision: Z1.4
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 8192 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-Raw
Media: No

Any more thoughts?

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Answer 3

CEB II

Level 2

475 points

Oct 13, 2008 9:29 PM in response to SnuffysPaw

Apple prescribes that two optical drives can be run in the MDD G4. Both should be set to Cable Select. Apple doesn't make any distinction regarding a CD-RW -vs- DVD ROM -vs- DVDR, they just say two optical drives. So be sure both drives are set to Cable Select and the top drive is on the end connector and try again. It should work. If it doesn't, try a PMU reset, then try again.

If it still doesn't work, I'd try putting the newest (most technologically advanced) DVDR on top and the other DVDR on the bottom and try again.

Still doesn't work; I try stretching that IDE cable and connector from the ATA33 port on the MoBo to the ATA66 port (assuming you aren't already using the ATA66 for something else) and try again.

Good luck.

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Answer 4

SnuffysPaw Author

Level 1

30 points

Jun 15, 2009 4:20 PM in response to SnuffysPaw

I finally got the PowerMac to recognize the two SuperDrives. I can't remember exactly what I did to resolve this problem.

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