Lanzillotta

Q: replacement UJ-875S reading only DVDs not CDs

I've just replaced my dead UJ-816-C with a UJ-875S superdrive. The drive is reading DVDs fine, but will not read CDs of any type. Oddly enough it will accept a blank CDR and burn to it. However, it rejects blank DVD-R media. I get the typical sounds of it trying to read and then it ejects the disc. I have gone though all the typical system resets (PRAM, caches, etc.) with no difference resulting. Likewise, I have tried the firmware DATs posted on rpc1.org for this drive. Any other ideas?

Here are the details from the system profiler:

MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ-875S:

Firmware Revision: 1.01

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, DVD-DAO

System Software Overview:

System Version: Mac OS X 10.4.11 (8S165)

Kernel Version: Darwin 8.11.0

PowerBook G4 17" 1.33 GHz, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Dec 26, 2010 6:42 PM

Close

Q: replacement UJ-875S reading only DVDs not CDs

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Page 1 Next
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Dec 27, 2010 5:28 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Dec 27, 2010 5:28 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    Welcome to Apple Discussions!

    Try http://www.patchburn.de
  • by Lanzillotta,

    Lanzillotta Lanzillotta Dec 27, 2010 7:52 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 27, 2010 7:52 PM in response to a brody
    Thanks. I gave that a shot. Sadly, it didn't change things. Is there anything I should check to see if the hardware is at fault?

    Here is the log from PatchBurn:


    12/27/10 7:48 PM
    PatchBurn version: 4.0.5
    gestalt call: true
    cpu type: G4 PPC 7450
    Mac OS X 10.4.9
    PatchBurn 4.0.5
    authorization ok!
    1 devices found
    -------------
    vendor: MATSHITA
    model: DVD-RAM UJ-875S
    Level of support: DRDeviceSupportLevelVendorSupported
    I/O Registry Entry Path: IOService:/MacRISC2PE/pci@f2000000/AppleMacRiscPCI/mac-io@17/AppleKeyLargo/ata- 3@20000/KeyLargoATA/ATADeviceNub@1/IOATAPIProtocolTransport/IOSCSIPeripheralDevi ceNub/IOSCSIPeripheralDeviceType05/IODVDServices
    Firmware Revision: 1.01
    Physical Interconnect: ATAPI
    Physical Interconnect Location: DRDevicePhysicalInterconnectLocationInternal
    Device Write Capabilities:
    Can Write: true
    Can Write CD: true
    Can Write CD-R: true
    Can Write CD-RW: true
    Can Write DVD: true
    Can Write DVD-R: true
    Can Write DVD-RW: true
    Can Write DVD+R: true
    Can Write DVD+RW: true
    Can Write DVD-RAM: true
    Can Write CD Text: false
    Can Test Write CD: true
    Can Test Write DVD: true
    Can Underrun Protect CD: true
    Can Underrun Protect DVD: true
    Status: 5: DRDeviceMaximumWriteSpeedKey -> 0, DRDeviceMediaStateKey -> DRDeviceMediaStateNone, DRDeviceCurrentWriteSpeedKey -> 0, DRDeviceIsBusyKey -> false, DRDeviceIsTrayOpenKey -> true
    IsBusy: false
    IsTrayOpen: true
    MaximumWriteSpeed: 0
    CurrentWriteSpeed: 0
    MediaState: DRDeviceMediaStateNone
    Burn Speeds: ? value is nil.
    default set to no
    -------------
    Listbox prepared
    ----------------------
    show all profiles
    calling ls -la command ...
    ----------------------
    sudo ls called
    parameter: /Library/DiscRecording/DeviceProfiles
    script created
    alter rights of script:0
    authorization ok
    run script
    script is running ... 0
    waiting for script, process-ID: 219
    script finished, error: 0
    script returns:
    [
    total 8
    drwxr-xr-x 3 root admin 102 Dec 27 19:37 .
    drwxr-xr-x 3 root admin 102 Dec 27 19:37 ..
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root admin 1062 Dec 27 19:37 PatchBurn-matshitadvdramuj875s.drprofile

    ]
    delete script
    MSB Reg ok!
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Dec 28, 2010 3:09 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Dec 28, 2010 3:09 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    It sounds like the drive is either dead on arrival, or needs a firmware update. Get one that is know Mac Compatible from http://www.macsales.com/ that is either Firewire or internal. USB will not boot PowerPC
  • by Lanzillotta,

    Lanzillotta Lanzillotta Dec 28, 2010 6:19 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 28, 2010 6:19 PM in response to a brody
    I'm doubting the dead on arrival judgement. I've been looking on the internet and it seems a lot of people have had trouble getting this drive to work with a Mac. That is despite people getting it from dealers like Mac Sales that claim the drive should be compatible. My guess is that these people must be selling it to some people that actually do get it to work, or they would stop offering them for sale. Besides is there really something mechanically different from reading a burnt or pressed DVD and recognizing a blank DVD-R? It has no problem with the former, but just spits out the latter. Settings in the CDs & DVDs preference pane don't make a difference. Isn't it the same laser that reads both to determine what it is?
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Dec 29, 2010 2:58 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Dec 29, 2010 2:58 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    No, the laser is different for each kind of media. One of the heads may be damaged or dirty.
  • by Lanzillotta,

    Lanzillotta Lanzillotta Dec 29, 2010 10:03 AM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 29, 2010 10:03 AM in response to a brody
    So there are 4 lasers in a burner like this?
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Dec 29, 2010 10:32 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Dec 29, 2010 10:32 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    At least. I'm not sure if the + standards add anything more.
  • by Lanzillotta,

    Lanzillotta Lanzillotta Jan 3, 2011 2:39 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 3, 2011 2:39 PM in response to a brody
    So it actually uses a different laser to read burnt and blank CDRs?
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Jan 4, 2011 5:16 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jan 4, 2011 5:16 AM in response to Lanzillotta
    As best as I can tell, it is the same head, but basically two different lenses and two different lasers for CD and DVD because a DVD has higher density of tracks.
  • by Lanzillotta,

    Lanzillotta Lanzillotta Jan 4, 2011 2:00 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 4, 2011 2:00 PM in response to a brody
    I know that DVD and CD are different, so this makes sense. But it doesn't explain why my drive will read accept a blank CDR, but spit out one with data on it.
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Jan 5, 2011 5:15 PM in response to Lanzillotta
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jan 5, 2011 5:15 PM in response to Lanzillotta
    The one with data on it may be scratched, or has aged. If the one with data on it works in another machine, it is possible it was burnt at too high a speed for the drive to handle.
  • by Lanzillotta,

    Lanzillotta Lanzillotta Jan 5, 2011 5:33 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 5, 2011 5:33 PM in response to a brody
    EVERY CD or CDR I put in has the same problem. Blank CDR mounts fine, shows up on the desktop. ANY CD, whether audio or data, gets spit right back out. No scratches, and these are discs that worked fine on my old drive before it died.
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Jan 5, 2011 5:39 PM in response to Lanzillotta
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jan 5, 2011 5:39 PM in response to Lanzillotta
    A blank CD needn't read more than the master directory block of the CD.
    A data or music CD needs to scan the entire CD for contents to determine the extent it has to randomly access. This sounds like something is wrong with the laser that scans the CD for data and/or its lens, in that it may not be able to entirely pickup what is on there, so it balks and complains. It could even be the track that holds that lens is not entirely in good shape.
  • by Lanzillotta,

    Lanzillotta Lanzillotta Jan 5, 2011 7:54 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 5, 2011 7:54 PM in response to a brody
    If that is true, why do I have the opposite problem with DVDs? It reads video and data DVDs fine, but a blank DVD-R get spit out.
Page 1 Next