Making a full 4.7Gb dvd

Well about the brand, is Sony DVD+R ! And if I choose to open a blank DVD with Finder it shows DVD-R

I think the "DVD-R" is just a cosmetic bug in the Finder. The mini does in fact know that it is DVD+R. I just duplicated the bug with good TDK +R media, and Get Info does show a DVD-R icon for the disk. Nonetheless, it burns fine as +R.

So your real issue is just a misunderstanding about the real size of a 4.7GB disk, which is in fact only 4.38 GB, because the Mini uses binary math and the DVD makers use decimal math.

Welcome, Samcor!

If you use DiskUtility and burn from an .ISO file of 4.7 Gb, it should work OK.

(The Superdrive in the Intel Mini is fussy about which brands of DVDs it likes. You might have to try a different brand.)

Boece may be correct, I've never had an ISO file to burn. It will depend on the format of the disk image. If you're burning a DVD formatted with HFS+ ("Mac OS Extended") format for files and folders in the Finder, the DVD will be formatted as if it were a hard drive. This includes some file directory formatting and blocks of 512 bytes. UDF disks (like a DVD video) are formatted differently and don't include this kind of back-end formatting.

-Doug

If your budget allows, you may consider purchasing a Sony external DVD dual layer burner. Then you wouldn't have to worry about what brand of DVDs to buy.

I HAD to get one because my old Powerbook G4 wouldn't burn Dual Layer DVDs.

My 2 Cents,
Dan Uff

Sorry...but making a full 4.7 GB DVD is impossible. The DVD's actual capacity is 4.38 (Binary) GB. The "GB" labeled on the disc is like the hard drive GB, so actual capacity is less than stated. It doesn't matter what brand of DVD+R you buy, it's the standard DVD capacity. The SuperDrive is not that picky.
See this for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD%2BR

What are you trying to burn onto the DVD?

Part of the problem seems to be one of definition of GB. From Wikipedia:

There are two slightly different definitions of the size of a gigabyte in use:
* 1,000,000,000 bytes (or 10 to the 9th power) bytes is the decimal definition used in telecommunications (such as network speeds) and most computer storage manufacturers (such as hard disks and flash drives). This usage is compatible with SI. Quotes from Seagate: "The storage industry standard is to display capacity in decimal", and "One gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity", and similar quotes are found on the websites of other storage manufacturers.
* 1,073,741,824 bytes, (equal to 1024 to the 3rd power), or 2 to the 30-power bytes. This is the definition used for computer memory sizes, and most often used in computer engineering, computer science, and most aspects of computer operating systems. The IEC recommends that this unit should instead be called a gibibyte (abbreviated GiB), as it conflicts with SI units used for bus speeds and the like. HP states that Microsoft normally adheres to this definition.

I hate to think that an apple can't use a 4.7gb DVD.

The Superdrive can use 4.7 GB DVDs. But it doesn't like all brands of them. If it thought your DVD+R disc was a -R, then it certainly didn't like that brand.

Generally, though, when it doesn't like a brand, it just limits the burn speed to 2x. Yours is the first case I've heard of where it misidentified +R for -R, if that is in fact what happened.

"I was just trying to copy some files with pictures and songs for backup purpose, and the size was 4.66Gb.That's when I saw the problem"

OK, so the problem appears to be mainly a confusion about the definition of gigabyte.

If you keep your total size under 4.38 GB you should be OK.

4.38 GB (using binary math, which is what your Mini uses) equals 4.7 GB (using decimal math, which is what the storage industry uses).

Ok! if you are correct, is this also true for pc's? I
hate to think that an apple can't use a 4.7gb DVD. I
haven't try to use a DVD-R to see what will it show
(just because I haven't bought one ;)! ),
but if the theory of the 4,38 gb is true I have to
say that it's a dificult thing to soalow.

Happy new year guys 😀

Yes, this is also true to Windows, Linux, etc. DVD-R is the same thing, too.

quick question. you mention having an external dvd burner on your mini. i just got one and for some reason its not recognizing that the dvd burner is connected. any suggestions?