User profile for user: DavidMac
DavidMac Author
User level: Level 2
418 points

Pioneer Superdrive Used To Burn Sony CD-RW Now It Won't!

Since I first got my eMac (Fall 2002) I never had any problems burning, or erasing the standard Sony CD-RW discs. This lack of any CD-RW disc problems was from my using the Sony 650mb CD-RW (Green Boxed).

Now I've been trying use the newer Sony 700mb CD-RW (Same discs, only 50 MB more now), and they won't burn on my internal Pioneer Superdrive. I am able to transfer material onto the 700mb CD-RW
disc's .... but everytime I attempt to burn the disc ...... with-in seconds the drive "spits" out the Sony CD-RW disc.

Any ideas why would this be happening? Is the extra 50mb's now a problem for the original firmware?

I've had no problems with the Sony 650mb CD-RW's until they raised them to the newer 700mb. I have been using Sony DVD, DVD-RW, CD-R, and CD-RW's exclusively for years. Now this problem with the newer Sony 700mb CD-RW's.

Any suggestions to what might be causing this? Is there any way to upgrade the "Firmware" on the 2002 Pioneer Superdrives (if this is the problem)?

Any assistance will be appreciated.

-David

800 mhz eMac/Superdrive Mac OS X (10.2.x) LaCie External Hard Drive, 1 GB RAM

Posted on May 28, 2006 8:12 PM

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11 replies
User profile for user: JMVP
JMVP
User level: Level 6
16,851 points

May 29, 2006 4:57 PM in response to DavidMac

Are you using the built-in Apple disk burner or are you using third-party software such as Toast? See what happens if you toss a generic el-cheapo 700MB Office Depot type data CD-R in the eMac --- your drive may simpley not be compatible with the dye layer in the latest Sony-branded blanks.

There's a SuperDrive Firmware Update but it's for USB 2.0 eMacs which leaves out your 800 MHz eMac (you can confirm that by looking at the USB port in Apple System Profiler; it'll show the USB bus speed as 12 Mbps, USB 1.1, nor 480 Mbps, USB 2.0).
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User profile for user: DavidMac
DavidMac Author
User level: Level 2
418 points

May 31, 2006 10:03 AM in response to JMVP

Yes, I am using the internal Apple (Pioneer DVR 104) Superdrive that
came originally installed with the eMac. Looking at the "layer coating" on the two (650mb & 700mb) Sony CD-RW discs, they both appear to have the same "silver" surface.

I guess, like you had mentioned, I have to go out and get some other
CD-RW (700mb) brands and test them to really be sure it is the newer
size that's the problem.

From what disc testing reports I've read: Sony, TDK, and Maxell are the best brands to use because of their similar high quality standards.
Looks like I'll be trying either one or both next.

Sony, you may have lost what was to be a "lifetime" customer!


800 mhz eMac/Internal Superdrive Mac OS X (10.2.x) LaCie External Hard Drive, 1 GB RAM
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User profile for user: JMVP
JMVP
User level: Level 6
16,851 points

May 31, 2006 10:39 AM in response to DavidMac

Sorry, I should've been more careful wording the question. By "built-in Apple disk burner" I meant the software used to burn discs that's part of OS X itself, what you launch when you control-click an unburned CD-R icon on the desktop and select 'Burn Disc" from the pop-up list. You might be using third-party disc burner software such as Tiast, in which case you'd control-click and select "Toast It" (or launch Toast from the Applications> Roxio Toast folder). If the latter, I'd suggest checking the publisher's website for any updates to your version of the software.

I also seem to be in the habit of suggesting running a CD lens cleaner through an optical drive that's begun to act strangely or differently in any way; doing so using any readily available CD cleaner kit shouldn't hurt.

Trying an alternative disc brand will at least give you a good idea if the problem is specific to the Sony brand or not. Buy the smallest lot size you can of alternative discs --- if you know someone who has a spindle of other brands, ask to 'borrow' one to test --- since you don't want to buy a 50 or 100 count spindle until you're confident it will work.
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User profile for user: DavidMac
DavidMac Author
User level: Level 2
418 points

Jun 1, 2006 2:09 PM in response to JMVP

The method of burning I am using is by copying (dragging) an item, or file to the Sony CD-RW disc icon on the desktop, then selecting "Burn disc" from the Apple OS menu bar.

Since posting this problem with the new Sony 700mb CD-RW discs, I notice that I don't have any problem burnig the standard Sony 700mb CD-R discs.

How would the problem be only with the new Sony 700mb CD-RW discs, and NOT the Sony 700mb CD-R discs.

This one I can't begin to figure out!
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User profile for user: JMVP
JMVP
User level: Level 6
16,851 points

Jun 1, 2006 2:28 PM in response to DavidMac

The dye layer that actually records the bit information is formulated differently for -RW than it is for -R, and in general is less reflective and hence more susceptible to a partially dirty lens in the burner. If a pass or two with a lens cleaner doesn't help, if may be that the particular optical drive unit in your Mac has a LED laser that's beginning to wear out sooner than it should. As the LED lasers age that begin to pump out less light, so -RW is the first to go. If you can write to non-Sony -RW discs, I'd point to the dye layer in Sony's CD-RW discs as the culprit. Just to make things even more confusing, manufacturers change dye formulations all the time, so a brand of discs that used to work may suddenly stop, and a brand that produced nothing but coasters may suddenly start to work.
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User profile for user: DavidMac
DavidMac Author
User level: Level 2
418 points

Jun 9, 2006 3:09 PM in response to JMVP

I just re-tried burning two new Sony 700mb CD-RW's (taken from a boxed set of ten - Sony 10CDRW700L), and they both burned and verified perfectly.

Then took another (third CD-RW) from the same Sony box, and it burned ok, but auto ejected halfway through the verify process. I then used Apple Disc Utility to "erase" that same (third) Sony CD-RW (Using full erase, not quick erase), and it zeroed the disc empty. I then reburned the same file I first tried on the third Sony CD-RW, and it burned and verified perfectly the second time.

What the he__ is going on here? By erasing out a new Sony CD-RW it burned and verified better than before it was burned (as brand new).

Would it be too much to assume that Sony has produced a very large bad batch of the 700mb CD-RW disc's. Especially since at least 3 or more of a new box of ten CD-RW discs is acting poorly.

This never happened with the Sony 650mb CD-RW blanks. But then again, I think a lot of the Sony CD-RW's used to be made in Japan (their best manufacturing facility), but now I see many are marked Taiwan or India. I would therefore assume that outside of Japan Sony CD-RW discs are not being manufactured as well as those originally coming from Japan a few years ago.

Another example of the overall deterioration of quality from "globalization"?
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Pioneer Superdrive Used To Burn Sony CD-RW Now It Won't!

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