BluRose
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Q: Replacing a Power Mac G4 DVD-Ram drive.

I just got a Power Mac G4 from a friend and the included DVD-Ram drive does not function, it makes weird noises like the cd/dvd is hitting the inside of the metal case. Therefore I would like to replace it. My question is:

Can I replace this mac DVD-Ram drive with any internal DVD or CD drive that uses the molex power supply and SCSI Cable? Or do I need to replace it with the same drive?

I have a few DVD drives laying around my work place that would let me have some. I just want to make sure it works before I get one.

 

Thanks!

Posted on Jan 24, 2016 3:06 PM

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Q: Replacing a Power Mac G4 DVD-Ram drive.

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  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Jan 24, 2016 5:39 PM in response to BluRose
    Level 8 (35,316 points)
    iPad
    Jan 24, 2016 5:39 PM in response to BluRose

    If the drive needs to be bootable, you need one with Apple ROMs


    The optical drive interface on even the earliest G4 towers is ATA/IDE, much easier to find than SCSI. Most internal drives offered today are SATA and will not work in your computer without a PCI card that is an SATA adaptor for internal drives. Your best bet is to find an Apple-braded unit someone has pulled from an older Mac. Often you can buy a used G4 with a working drive for what the drive alone would cost from some sources.

  • by Jeff,

    Jeff Jeff Jan 24, 2016 9:16 PM in response to BluRose
    Level 6 (11,559 points)
    Jan 24, 2016 9:16 PM in response to BluRose

    Occasionally, you may need to boot the G4 from the optical drive to install an OS or for disk maintenance.  For that reason, I'd recommend a Pioneer DVD±RW ATAPI/IDE drive, such as the now-discontinued DVR-109 model.  There are a couple of used DVR-109 drives available on ebay, such as this one.  NEC and Toshiba also made compatible models, but some third-party drives will not boot an Apple product, even if they function normally for CD/DVD playback and recording.