Optical drive rejects DVDs

Question

I realize that there are postings about this problem elsewhere in these discussions, but the suggested solutions seem to refer to Powerbooks and iBooks, so I want to ask about it again in connection with my eMac. My optical drive plays commercial DVDs with absolutely no difficulties, but when I insert a DVD made from a blank disk, the disk is often ejected after a few seconds. One particular DVD, which was not made by a private individual, but was made for sale by an art gallery, is always rejected and I cannot play it.I have carefully cleaned the problem disk and I have cleaned the lens of the optical drive. The details of the drive are: Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-107D; this is, I realize, an old model, but it was installed by an Apple-authorized repairer only a year or two ago to replace the original one which had become faulty,and it has not had all that much use.I should be grateful for suggestions.

Alberto Ravasio · Answer

Check the optical driver firmware version. Latest for that model is 1.22Here the change historyhttp://pioneer.jp/device_e/product-e/ibs/device_e/dev00002r_e.html#f_107dAnd this is the firmware. Unfortunately is upgradable only with the optical driver connected to a PC.http://pioneer.jp/cgi-bin/device/download/file_get_e2.pl?file&#x3D;DVR107D_FW122.EXE

Michael Graubart · Answer

How do I find the firmware in my system, Alberto? All I can find (in the system profiler) is &#x27;Firmware revision A707&#x27;. I have  looked in the system profiler, the device profile for the drive and everywhere else I can think of, but cannot find a reference to the drive&#x27;s firmware apart from &#x27;Firmware revision A707&#x27;. And anyway, though I can download the .exe file for the latest firmware, and can even open it with Stuffit Expander, I then have two files that I can&#x27;t do anything more with, since I don&#x27;t have a PC.

Alberto Ravasio · Answer

This is Pioneer&#x27;s DVR-110D firmware revision that I bought 6 years ago.Before that I had the DVR-107D which was installed as a substitute optical driver of the original Philips, into my glorious eMac 700MHz.I remember that I did firmware update of the latter when it was already mounted inside the eMac.I used a PC, because that was the only option. But I didn&#x27;t dismount the optical drive because that would have been a tedious and long work.As a matter of fact it was an "extraordinary" task 🙂I put side by side the PC and the eMac. eMac was completely unplugged from main source outlet and the IDE connector unplugged from the eMac logic board.I put one loose PC&#x27;s power supply plug, and an IDE cable from the PC&#x27;s motherboard secondary IDE, into the Pioneer&#x27;s.I turned on the PC, made the update. Everything worked like a charm 😀

Alberto Ravasio · Answer

I forgot to mention that I bought both Pioneer&#x27;s models (107 and 110) from ordinary PC spare part suppliers. And probably the A707 you see of yours could be Apple custom firmware.

Michael Graubart · Answer

Thank you very much, Alberto. I am afraid I am not expert enough to undertake such a task. I have come across suggestions that there are applications that will update Pioneer firmware directly in a Mac, but there seems to be a considerable risk that things can go badly wrong.Your suggestion that A707 is an Apple firmware update, and the fact that my Pioneer drive was installed by an Apple-authorized agaent about 2 or 3 years ago, suggests, does it not, that my firmware is up to date?So is there anything else I could try to stop the drive from rejecting certain DVDs?

Alberto Ravasio · Answer

Your suggestion that A707 is an Apple firmware update, and the fact that my Pioneer drive was installed by an Apple-authorized agaent about 2 or 3 years ago, suggests, does it not, that my firmware is up to date?If my guess is true, updating the firmware with the original Pioneer&#x27;s one is not recommend. Such an operation could damage the unit.If your eMac has USB 2 ports the safest solution is to buy an external DVD recorder, whatever brand.

Allan Jones · Answer

Be aware that not all DVD media are created equally. There are some very high-quality stuff, and some that are useful only as coasters. This site:http://www.digitalfaq.com/reviews/dvd-media.htmprovides an excellent overview of the issue, along with a link to some Mac software that can read the manufacturer, not just the "brand name" of DVD media.Of course, the first thing I do is use an optical drive cleaning disk. It&#x27;s possible that a little dust is affacting the drive&#x27;s ability to read burned media. YOu can get teh sdisks almost anywhere for from US$5 to $15. Cheaper than anew drive.A friend has an older MacBook Pro that refused to burn CDs, but could read most other disks. The local AASP said the drive was bad and needed replacing. I loaned the guy my cleaning disk and now his drive works like ti did when new.

Michael Graubart · Answer

Thank you, Allan. As I said in my original posting, the problem I encountered was not with a blank recordable DVD (I only use good-quality ones) but with a DVD recorded and publicly sold by a reputable art gallery. As I also said in my original posting, the first things I tried were to clean the DVD very carefully and to clean the lens of my optical drive. (In fact I have two different cleaning disks, and I tried both of them in succession.)The information on the Digital FAQ website is interesting and useful, but when I downloaded the only manufacturer-reading software that is stated to be for Mac OS X, it turned out to be for OS X 10.3 only (mine is 10.4.11) and for specific models of optical drives, indeed including a Pioneer one, but an earlier model than mine. In any case, since my problem is that the DVD in question is ejected by the drive, the software would not have been able to examine it even if the software were to have worked on my OS and drive.

Michael Graubart · Answer

I have further information now about this problem. As I said originally, there are no problems with commercially pressed DVDs. What I have now discovered is that my drive will accept blank recordable DVDs and allows me to record material on them, but when I try to play the DVDs subsequently the drive rejects the disks a few seconds after they were inserted.To summarize:Commercial pressed DVDs: no problem.Blank recordable DVDs: no problem in making recordings.&#x27;Burnt&#x27; DVDs: drive ejects disks, even if just made on the same drive.

Alberto Ravasio · Answer

What about the same DVD you have just recorded, played in another computer, Mac or PC?There is also a CLI command (from Terminal app) to obtain info about optical driver and media drutilwithout arguments displays help on its usage. Here some exampledrutil infodrutil getconfigPost here infos it returns.

Michael Graubart · Answer

Firstly, may I ask what is probably a very stupid question? Is the lens configuration in my optical drive similar to that of an ordinary CD player? The reason I ask is that the cleaning disks I used in my computer&#x27;s drive are disks marketed as cleaning disks for domestic CD players. Could it be that they have not fully cleaned the lens?Secondly, I&#x27;m afraid I haven&#x27;t got access to another computer or DVD player at the moment, but I shall try my various DVDs in another drive as soon as I can get at someone else&#x27;s equipment.And thirdly, here is the Terminal output for both the inputs you have suggested. I am very grateful to you for the trouble you are taking over this problem.Last login: Mon May 23 15:34:27 on consoleWelcome to Darwin!You have new mail.unknown-00-0d-93-6e-ed-ce:~ michaelgraubart$ drutil info Vendor   Product           Rev  PIONEER  DVD-RW  DVR-107D  A707   Interconnect: ATAPI   SupportLevel: Vendor Supported   Profile Path: /Library/DiscRecording/DeviceProfiles/PatchBurn-pioneerdvdrwdvr107d.drprofile          Cache: 2000k       CD-Write: -R, -RW, BUFE, CDText, Test, IndexPts, ISRC      DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW, BUFE, Test     Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAOunknown-00-0d-93-6e-ed-ce:~ michaelgraubart$ drutil getconfig Vendor   Product           Rev  PIONEER  DVD-RW  DVR-107D  A707 Media: NoneGetConfiguration returned 104 bytes.  00&gt;  00 00 00 68 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 24 00 1B 00 00  10&gt;  00 1A 00 00 00 14 00 00 00 13 00 00 00 11 00 00  20&gt;  00 10 00 00 00 0A 00 00 00 09 00 00 00 08 00 00  30&gt;  00 01 03 04 00 00 00 02 00 02 03 04 00 00 00 00  40&gt;  00 03 03 04 29 00 00 00 01 00 03 00 01 04 01 00  50&gt;  01 05 03 04 03 00 00 00 01 08 03 10 44 45 44 4C  60&gt;  30 38 37 32 37 37 57 4CCurrent Profile: 0Feature 0000h: Profile List    Raw Feature Descriptor:        00&gt;  00 00 03 24 00 1B 00 00 00 1A 00 00 00 14 00 00        10&gt;  00 13 00 00 00 11 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 0A 00 00        20&gt;  00 09 00 00 00 08 00 00    Feature descriptor version: 0    Feature is persistent    Feature is current        Profile List:        001Bh    DVD+R                 DVD Recordable                                              001Ah    DVD+RW                DVD ReWritable                                              0014h    DVD-RW Sequential     Re-recordable DVD using Sequential recording                0013h    DVD-RW Restricted     Re-Recordable DVD using Restricted Overwrite                0011h    DVD-R Sequential      Write once DVD using Sequential recording                   0010h    DVD-ROM               Read only DVD                                               000Ah    CD-RW                 ReWritable CD capable                                       0009h    CD-R                  Write once CD capable                                       0008h    CD-ROM                Read only CD capable                                Feature 0001h: Core Feature Descriptor    Raw Feature Descriptor:        00&gt;  00 01 03 04 00 00 00 02    Feature descriptor version: 0    Feature is persistent    Feature is current        Logical Unit shall support the following commands:        GET CONFIGURATION        GET EVENT/STATUS NOTIFICATION        INQUIRY        MODE SELECT        MODE SENSE        REQUEST SENSE        TEST UNIT READY    Physical Interface Standard:        00000002h    ATAPIFeature 0002h: Morphing    Raw Feature Descriptor:        00&gt;  00 02 03 04 00 00 00 00    Feature descriptor version: 0    Feature is persistent    Feature is current    Logical Unit shall support the following commands:        GET CONFIGURATION        GET EVENT/STATUS NOTIFICATION        PREVENT/ALLOW MEDIUM REMOVAL        SEND EVENT (partial class 3 support)    Logical Unit supports only polling of GET EVENT/STATUS NOTIFICATION (Immed bit set to one).Feature 0003h: Removable Medium (Logical Unit contains removable media)    Raw Feature Descriptor:        00&gt;  00 03 03 04 29 00 00 00    Feature descriptor version: 0    Feature is persistent    Feature is current    Logical Unit shall support the following commands:        MECHANISM STATUS        PREVENT/ALLOW MEDIUM REMOVAL        SEND EVENT (class 4 fully support)        START/STOP UNIT    Loading Mechanism: Tray type loading mechanism    Eject bit is set (unit can eject media)    Prevent Jumper bit is clear (media can be inserted)    Lock bit is set (media can be locked in unit)Feature 0100h: Power Management    Raw Feature Descriptor:        00&gt;  01 00 03 00    Feature descriptor version: 0    Feature is persistent    Feature is current    Logical Unit shall support the following commands:        Power condition bit of START/STOP UNIT        Power Condition Mode Page (1Ah)        GET EVENT/STATUS NOTIFICATION (Power Management class)Feature 0104h: Microcode Upgrade    Raw Feature Descriptor:        00&gt;  01 04 01 00    Feature descriptor version: 0    Feature is not persistent    Feature is current    Logical Unit shall support the following commands:        READ BUFFER (Descriptor Mode 011b)        WRITE BUFFER (Download Microcode with Offsets and Save Mode 111b)Feature 0105h: Time-out    Raw Feature Descriptor:        00&gt;  01 05 03 04 03 00 00 00    Feature descriptor version: 0    Feature is persistent    Feature is currentFeature 0108h: Logical Unit Serial Number    Raw Feature Descriptor:        00&gt;  01 08 03 10 44 45 44 4C 30 38 37 32 37 37 57 4C        10&gt;  20 20 20 20    Feature descriptor version: 0    Feature is persistent    Feature is current    Serial Number: DEDL087277WL    Device Config complete.unknown-00-0d-93-6e-ed-ce:~ michaelgraubart$

Alberto Ravasio · Answer

I never used CD/DVD lens cleaning kit. So I cannot tell you if there is any differences at all.This page, report media compatibility with Pioneer drivers.In Safari use cmd+f to call the "find inside page" and type 107Dhttp://pioneer.jp/device_e/product-e/ibs/device_e/dev00003r_e.htmlI also found this thread which probably you have already seenhttps://discussions.apple.com/thread/2232419?threadID&#x3D;2232419Reading posts it seems possible to successfully upgrade the Apple customed firmware to OEM Pioneer firmware.This is the program to flash the firmware also available for Mac with version "DVRFlash v2.7.5 All Platforms"http://dvrflash.rpc1.org/You will also need the Pioneer .EXE file in which the updated firmware is included.http://pioneer.jp/cgi-bin/device/download/file_get_e2.pl?file&#x3D;DVR107D_FW122.EXERemember that flashing the firmware is a delicate procedure. So think twice and do it at your own risk 😉What is the program you use to burn discs?I have 2 programs, but I usually use thishttp://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/Pages/English/home.html

Michael Graubart · Answer

Thanks again for your information. First of all, I have now been able to confirm that the two video DVDs that will not work in my drive do work perfectly well in someone else&#x27;s DVD player, so the problem does not lie in the disks. I have not yet been able to try the data DVD that I recently recorded as I have not had access to another computer.The software I use for burning DVDs and CDs is Toast Titanium 9.0.7. But I shall have a look at the &#x27;Burn&#x27; application that you have given me the link for, Alberto.As far as Safari &gt; cmd + f is concerned, though, I am afraid that that just takes me to my home page, not to any inside page.And as far as flashing the firmware is concerned, there seem to be conflicting views as to whether my present revision A707 or Pioneer&#x27;s 1.22 is the later or the better one, and I have seen posts in other forums (should that be &#x27;fora&#x27;?) from people who have completely disabled their computers by trying it, so I am nervous about the procedure. I have now contacted Pioneer to ask them whether A707 or 1.22 is what I should have; so far I have only had a reply giving me a link to a website that does not answer my question, so I  have e-mailed again.

Michael Graubart · Answer

After posting the above and searching for more information on the Net (where I discovered that the Pioneer firmware revision 1.22 is more recent than A707, which is what I have at the moment), I finally decided to take my courage in both hands and update to 1.22.The drive records and plays CDs and plays commercial (pressed) DVDs perfectly well, but DVDs burnt onto recordable disks (including ones recorded on the same drive) are ejected a few seconds after being inserted.I downloaded the Pioneer 1.22 upgrade and DVRFlash. The Pioneer folder contains two black files: R7100107.122 and UPGR107.exe. Using the Mac version of DVRFlash, I followed the instructions (&#x27;for Mac users with little command line practice&#x27;) very carefully, at first dragging both black files into the Terminal window. The result was the following:Last login: Wed May 25 18:43:03 on ttyp1Welcome to Darwin!You have new mail.unknown-00-0d-93-6e-ed-ce:~ michaelgraubart$ /Users/michaelgraubart/Desktop/DVRFlash/dvrflash -f PIONEER /Users/michaelgraubart/Desktop/DVRFlash/R7100107.122 /Users/michaelgraubart/Desktop/DVRFlash/UPGR107.exe -bash: /Users/michaelgraubart/Desktop/DVRFlash/dvrflash: Permission deniedunknown-00-0d-93-6e-ed-ce:~ michaelgraubart$I then repeated the process, but only dragging R7100107.122 into the Terminal window; but I again received the &#x27;Permission denied&#x27; message. (NB: I have administrator&#x27;s privileges over the account I am using.)I should be very grateful for any suggestions or help with this &#x27;Permission denied&#x27; problem in using DVRFlash.

Alberto Ravasio · Answer

You must ignore UPGR107.exe. That is the MS-DOS executable file needed to burn the R7100107.122 firmware onto Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-107D.Put it simple UPGR107.exe (MS-DOS executable) &#x3D; dvrflash (Mac OS X executable)Probably you got &#x27;Permission denied&#x27; because your admin user doesn&#x27;t have enough privileges and require sudo to be executed.So the command read like thissudo dvrflash -f PIONEER R7100107.122Type in your user password when requested. That is a short example. So drag and drop files over the Terminal windows add the full path to the command line.If you downloaded DVRFlash_v2.7.5 there is no need to specify -f as stated in Readme.txt.Read through all the Readme.txt before flashing the firmware.