Burning DVD+R DLs on 10.5.7 -- no more!

Question

Burning DVD+R DLs on 10.5.7 -- no more!

I know this is just another version of several of the questions that have been asked in this forum, but I think it is more particular than most. I have an original MacBook Pro 17" 2.16GHz. I'm running the latest (10.5.7) version of Leopard. Recently, I have needed to burn some movies to Dual Layer DVDs. So I pull out my handy spindle of Verbatim 8x DVD+R DL discs, as I've used successfully, for a while, and I keep getting the same errors in the same places: it's some version of "Hardware Error, Sense Code 0x03," always right around 50% of the burn.

Before the usual suggestions come pouring in, here's what I've done so far:

*I've tried burning with Toast, Disk Utility, and iDvd.
*I've tried saving as a disk image first and then burning in a subsequent step with Toast or Disk Utility.
*I've blasted my SuperDrive (Matshita UJ-846, Firmware FQ3T/MMC-3) with canned air.
*I've successfully burned both data and VIDEO_TS folders to single layer DVDs.
*I've tried switching brands, using both Verbatim (which always worked before) and Memorex. (I haven't been able to find Maxells yet, but as soon as I do I'll give them a try too.)
*I've tried slowing the burn speed down as far as it will go (2x in Toast).
*I've deleted the prefs for Toast and Disk Utility.
*I've successfully read single and dual layer DVDs by playing them in Front Row or copying data from them.

Based on these experiments, I've arrived at a couple of conclusions:

*The problem is confined specifically to burning DL DVDs. It does not affect burning single layers, nor does it affect reading from the SuperDrive, which (mercifully) suggests it is not a hardware problem.
*The problem only seems to have cropped up since the problematic 10.5.7 upgrade. Admittedly, I don't remember when the last time I tried to burn a DL disc was, perhaps back to 10.5.5 or so, but in any event it seems to be of recent origin.
*The hardware error is usually indicative of incompatible media, but I am using one of the brands (Verbatim) most highly recommended in the forum, and one that has always worked reliably in the past. I did think to try switching to DVD-R DLs (as opposed to DVD+R), but those are nearly impossible to find retail.
*The error at 50% might suggest that the burner isn't "turning the corner" onto the second layer of the media.

So I guess what I'm asking is:

*What am I missing? (I'll get started: I haven't zapped the PRAM yet, and I haven't tried more extreme cleaning methods like a cleaning disk or the credit card swipe).
*Are other users having this kind of problem? I've heard elsewhere in this forum and on the interwebs about software upgrades changing the conditions and compatibility of their burners: suddenly certain media types are no longer supported, speeds have to change, etc. But is that case specifically attested with 10.5.7 or even 10.5.6? (By the way, System Profiler still lists DVD+R DL as compatible.)
*How do I get back to burning Dual Layer DVDs?

Any and all help is appreciated in advance. Cheers.

MacBook Pro 17" 2.16GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Jun 2, 2009 2:09 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 2, 2009 4:11 AM in response to Mark Pedretti

All DVD players can read DL disks. Long movies are released on DL disks. My original 15" MBP (2006) does not have the capability to burn DL disks. I would have thought that an original 17" also would not have had that capability but since I've never seen one I'm just guessing.

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Answer 2

Jun 2, 2009 3:38 PM in response to Retired Engineer

Uh, the original MBP 17" Superdrive did have DL burning capability: it was advertised that way, my drive has those specs in System Profiler, and, like I said, I've burned them many, many times before. My question had nothing to do with the ability to play DL DVDs on a stand-alone player; of course that's true, and the DLs I've burned in the past work just fine. That's not the issue. My post concerns the fact that all DL media is not created equal: different brands seem to work better with different drives and models, but all of a sudden I can't find any DL media that will work, and it seems to be tied either to a system upgrade (since that has been known to affect media types in the past) or something I'm not seeing, and it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue because everything else about the drive -- reading, burning single-layer DVDs -- works just fine. I hope that clarifies what my problem is. Obviously, the more extensive explanation is in my original post.

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Answer 3

iVmichael

Level 6

13,740 points

Jun 2, 2009 5:16 PM in response to Mark Pedretti

I know you've blasted the drive with canned air, but try using a good quality lens cleaner disc with multiple (8) brushes such as the Allsop Ultra ?

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Answer 4

Jun 2, 2009 5:53 PM in response to iVmichael

iVmichael, I see that you are quite an advocate of Allsop, and I'll be sure to give it a try as soon as I can track one down. But -- and I'm speaking on a purely hypothetical level here -- wouldn't I notice dirty lens errors when performing other operations with my SuperDrive? As I mentioned, I'm having no problems reading CDs, SL or DL DVDs, or burning SL DVDs. I'm sure the optics for DL burning are slightly different, perhaps more finely tuned, but it would make common sense that a dirty lens would register in some of these other operations as well.

I'm sorry for playing devil's advocate here and rebutting the helpful suggestions being offered, but I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this, and I think that only comes from scrutinizing certain options on either empirical or theoretical grounds. Nonetheless, I'm making a list with every suggestion and will work through them in order, so keep 'em coming!

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Answer 5

iVmichael

Level 6

13,740 points

Jun 2, 2009 6:52 PM in response to Mark Pedretti

Debate and questioning is good/healthy 🙂

I believe that some recent firmware/software updates Apple made have caused the drive/lens to be far more sensitive to dust and dirt _in some situations_ (not all that's the odd bit) and a bit pickier about media quality (I always use Verbatim).

I'm not associated with Allsop in any way just found those particular cleaners have 'rescued' many a drive Apple said was "dead" or needed replacement.

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Answer 6

Mark T1

Level 1

35 points

Jun 3, 2009 5:28 PM in response to Mark Pedretti

Hmmm, I've just found a problem with my 2.16 MHz MBP... I also cannot burn DVD's. I just tried to backup some files from my computer to DVD and it just keeps stopping and bringing up the dialog box that asks what you want to do with the blank DVD.

I know it's not the DVD's, I've been using these DVD's from the same package for lots of backups.

Maybe a restart will work...

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Answer 7

Stvbrn

Level 1

0 points

Jun 3, 2009 9:39 PM in response to Mark Pedretti

I'm having problems too.. So you aren't alone. I have tried everything. Im almost to the point of purchasing an external case and pulling out my Sony drive from my dusty PC just to burn these disks. I am very happy with my MBP - But I must say for what its worth if I knew it was going to be this hard to do this simple task that a windows machine could do I would have bought the MacBook Air and just gotten an external drive.

I really hope Apple will look into this matter.. I don't have much hair left now that I pulled it all out.

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Answer 8

Stvbrn

Level 1

0 points

Jun 6, 2009 10:44 AM in response to Mark Pedretti

I called Apple Tech Support. I went through several processes with them, a power reset, and an archive reinstall to 10.5.6. I tried to burn the ISO to a DVD+DL and still no such luck. They instructed me to have the drive replaced. So that's what I am going to have done.

Thats all the information I have at this time.

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Answer 9

Jun 7, 2009 10:37 PM in response to Mark Pedretti

UGH!!!

I had the problem that I couldn't read DVD-Rs (specifically DVD-Rs with back up data) briefly on my sturdy old Mac 12" - used a CD lens cleaner and it's worked fine ever since.

I started having the same trouble with my new MacBook Pro less than a year after purchase and after several security updates. It seemed every so slightly better after using the lens cleaner; but after the last two security updates, I'm hard pressed to get a data DVD to read. I've done everything and I KNOW it's not the drive itself, because I've been able to resurrect readability of some DVDs - using every trick possible, including creating a secondary user profile.

Thankfully, my little 12" keeps on working and I have access to the backup data, but it really stinks that the firmware issues, from what I have seen, not only haven't been addressed, but continue on into 10.5 -

Has anyone found any solution beyond actually replacing the Superdrive? Because I don't think that will help - I think the problem will come back after a while, with moderate use of the superdrive.

What I've done:

- zapped PRAM
- reset SMC
- used CD laser/lens cleaning disc
- used a DVD laser/lens cleaning disc
- blasted compressed air into the slot drive
- created a secondary user profile and attempted to access discs from there (which works in some cases)
- tried a variety of brands - at first, any brand worked, but bit by bit I've been reduced to just one that the DVD-writer will recognize - Philips (Verbatim worked for a few months, now they are unrecognized, Sony used to work too, but no more, others are hopeless, black discs are hopeless)

I'm clueless and absolutely frustrated. Regular DVDs (i.e. movies and software discs) load just fine. CDs work just fine. It's a bust because I produce audio/visual events and back my work up to disc for archiving - but the inability to read archives has been a pain in my a** - ergh!

Drive is this:

HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N:

Firmware Revision: AP09
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -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

Any input and/or insight will be hugely appreciated!

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Answer 10

vishman

Level 1

0 points

Jun 9, 2009 12:26 PM in response to Mark Pedretti

I too am facing the same issue after updating to OS X 10.5.7. I also updated the firmware to "MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.5.1". Since, than I'm not able to burn Dual Layer DVDs. Another strange thing I noticed is that, my system profiler doesn't show DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL as the options, also the cache is 0 KB. I'm wondering if something else is wrong with my drive.

*HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N:*

Firmware Revision: AP12
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 0 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

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Answer 11

vishman

Level 1

0 points

Jun 9, 2009 1:46 PM in response to vishman

I got it work. I zapped the PRAM and then rebooted Mac and somehow it started to work.
I use the DVD drive under OS X and Windows (uing VMWare Fusion). Sometimes, I've noticed that the drive gets confused after using it in Windows. So, I've to sometimes log out of VMWare and then reboot Mac. Strange.

Another problem that I've on this Mac is that I'm not able to use the drive under OS X when VMWare is running. VMWare seems to take priority on the drive and doesn't give up control to OS X. Another strange behaviour.

Thanks

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Answer 12

Jun 11, 2009 4:53 PM in response to Mark Pedretti

Mark,

I found out recently (under 10.5.6 and now under 10.5.7) that I am having the same exact problem you describe. The same problem also occurs when I attach a very new (less than 8 months old) Lacie External DVD+DL drive (the one with LightScribe). So, using the internal Matshita or the new Lacie, it fails to write the DL disc onto Verbatim media. I used to burn dual layer discs without any problem at all (using the burn from video_ts option in Toast Titanium 7). This is definitively a new issue with some software settings or updates on my computer because I have burned many DL discs in the past. On my 3 year old MBP, the error happens immediately, then Toast burns leadout (which makes an expensive coaster with no video data on it). I tried this on my wife's newer MBP and the error occurs halfway through, just as you describe. In that case, the DVD will play the first half of the content, but it is not acceptable!

What has Apple done in the last 9 months to firmware and/or software updates that would cause DL burn functionality to fail?

I tried updating to Toast 10 Pro and the same errors occur. (Makes me think that Toast 10 is basically the same as Toast 7 under the hood.)

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Answer 13

Shege

Level 1

0 points

Jun 15, 2009 1:08 PM in response to Mark Pedretti

I had problems burning CDs and DVDs. Then I followed another Macuser's advice, got iDefrag and did a complete defrag of my MBP. Hey presto! It all works again!

Check out this post:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1818377&start=0&tstart=0

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Answer 14

Jun 16, 2009 10:37 AM in response to Mark Pedretti

Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions and commiserations. I haven't made any headway on this issue myself lately, but I'm going to give some of the suggestions here (PRAM zap, defragging, etc.) a try, and I'll report back when I do. I just wanted to express my gratitude for the thoughtful discussion around this question.

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Answer 15

Jul 18, 2009 1:11 PM in response to Mark Pedretti

Mark,

any luck with any of the suggestions? I am in the same boat with you, started having problems with DVD+R DL on 10.5.7. I am in the middle of archiving my old 8mm tapes to DVD via iMovie/iDVD. I've had plenty of success with DLs up until about a month or so ago.

i have a 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, plenty of RAM, HD space etc. I thought my problem was a fluke and changed to Verbatim even i had no problem with Imation and even Pengo disks for years. the problem showed up in Toast, iDVD, and even using disk utility.

i tried deleting the pref files, updating Toast, etc...with the same results. CDs and single layer DVDs ok, but lno luck on DL DVDs always the same error message:

Sense Key = Hardware Error
Sense Code = 0x03

last month after initially discovering my problem was limited to DL disks, i tried blowing air thru the DVD slot and bought a scotch brand CD/DVD cleaner (the ones with the brushes on the DVD). After that "cleaning" i was able to make a DL DVD right away so thought problem solved.

today after burning a CD, a single layer DVD, i've had two back to back fails writing data on a DL DVD. toast 10 reports:

Sense Key = Illegal Request
Sense Code = 0x30, 0x05
CANNOT WRITE MEDIUM - ILLEGAL FORMAT

i think my applecare might not have run out, maybe i can get a new drive installed. it seems strange that the troubles started right about the time 10.5.7 showed up though.

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