From Sony DVD RW DW-U10A to Pioneer DVR-111

Hi,

I have an original 1.6Ghz Power Mac G5, that still
has the original Sony superdrive. I am finding it too
slow now, so plan to upgrade. I am thinking of the
Pioneer DVR-111. Should this drive work OK?

As regards installation, will the drive come with its
own standoff screws, or should I use the ones
currently attached to the Sony drive?

I downloaded Apple's PDF for replacing a superdrive,
and it looks quite hard. They talk about replacing
the EMI shield. Again, shold this work moving from a
Sony drive to a Pioneer?

Thanks

Should work just fine. If you buy a retail kit (rather than a bare drive), it'll probably come with the screws. If not, just run down to a Radio Shack or something. I don't think the screws that came with the Sony will work.

I haven't swapped the drive in a G5, but I have done it in an older PowerMac, and it wasn't too difficult. Just take your time, and post back here if you have difficulty.

You may need to run Patchburn to create a profile for the drive, enabling it to be used with the "iApps" since it's a very new model. You can download Patchburn at http://www.patchburn.de

I have the Pioneer DVR-110D, which the 111 is a slighly upgraded model of (although I haven't been able to see enough of the specs on the 111 to do a full comparison). It's been a nice drive so far. I think this is a good choice for you.

Scott,

Keep in mind to jumper your new drive to "CS"
Don't forget to remove the tray bezel
I'm not sure if the standoff screws from your old drive have the correct dimension for your new drive - you may have to fiddle around a little bit to make the tray open properly
disable "put hard disks to sleep" in energy saver panel - this might affect especially Pioneer drives: tray does not open
take the older 110 into consideration: It also writes DVD-RAMs

I am having the same problem as scott. How do I set the jumper to CS?

Your drive's manual should tell you where to place the jumper clip. You will also likely need patchburn if you are using 10.3.9.

Regards,

Sony and Pioneer DVD-R drives use differant mounting standoffs in the G5. The sony standoffs (screws) have a phillips head, while the Pioneer standoffs have a hex allen head. Use of the wrong standoffs can cause a mis-alignment that causes the tray to rub against the case ( even after the removal of the tray escution ).

The standoffs will only come suppled with a drive purchased from Apple directly ( though in most cases both type standoffs are included ). Your loacal mac repair center will sell you one set or the other by itself but at an inflated price `$20.00.

A little help please.
I've searched the Apple online store and can't find these standoffs.
Do you know the App[e part number for these?

Sorry I dont have the Apple part number. IF you call 1-800-WEFIXMACs and describe the standoff they will be able to get them for you ( usually I go to the Santa Clara store and strongarm one of the repair techs in person )

I installed a 111 today. To set the jumper to CLS simply move it from pin1 to pin 3.

Apple optical drive stand-offs ( pioneer ) 922-6305

I just installed a DVR 111 into my G5, replacing the original Sony. I was able to simply use the standoffs on the Sony with the DVR 111. You will need a small hex wrench.

And you do need to take the front bezel off the tray. Believe it or not the most difficult part (which took about 20 seconds to solve) was to figure out how to disconnect the ribbon cable on the Sony from the G5 board when removing the drive! I am leery of simply grabbing the cable itself and it is in a position where you cannot see it when working on it. It turns out there is a small flap on the mounting plug. The other "problem" with stubby fingered people is to get the ribbon cable rethreaded when installing the new drive.

Actually, a breeze to replace the drive.