PowerBook G4 doesnt read Optical Discs

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Level 1

8 points

PowerBook G4 doesnt read Optical Discs

Hello, so my powerbook g4 doesnt read optical discs so i bought like 1 PowerBook G4 with a optical drive

i put it in it makes fart noises and then ejects. After i burned Mac OS X Leopard to a dvd i tried it on a second PowerBook G4 that reads Movies/Cartoons dvd . but the thing on the second it spins for 30-40 seconds and spits it out. I tried it it enters (on some way) something goes up stops for 3 seconds down for 3 seconds and spits it out.

I would appreciate help beacuse i need to fix it for 2 days and then the owner is going to get it.

Sincerely

-Luigi

MacBook Pro, macOS High Sierra (10.13)

Posted on Dec 10, 2017 4:19 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,606 points

Dec 10, 2017 9:40 AM in response to LuigiBros02

I've found that a lot of older Macs I've worked on with what appear to be dead optical drives turn out to have merely dirty optical drives. Slot-load drives don't get a lot of protection from that little fringe of fiber that is supposed to keep the dust out. It's like installing a screen door to keep dust out of your house.

I use a dry drive-cleaning disk. On at least three occasions I had PBs and MacBook Pros whose drives had been pronounced dead, useless, and in need of replacement by a certified Apple tech. One pass with the drive cleaning disk and they were back to full function. Two were still working fine when the owners moved on to newer models.

After i burned Mac OS X Leopard to a dvd...

That's a different issue. Burned OSX install disks usually fail miserably. So do downloaded versions of OSX. 10.4 was never released for free distribution, and pirated copies often have more that you want, like malware, pre-installed. That's how some pirates make their money. You need to find a genuine 10.4 full retail install disk set.

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Answer 2

K Shaffer

Level 7

34,966 points

Dec 10, 2017 3:45 PM in response to LuigiBros02

Another idea when you need to test and troubleshoot older PPC macs

would be to get and use external enclosures with FireWire connections

& these should have/use 'oxford-type' circuitry so they can boot OS X.

The enclosure should also have an external power supply to support

the startup sequence of the system even though the Mac may not be

ready to run yet. Some of these enclosures have several adequate ports

so they could be used with more than one series of computer.

Software other than native Disk Utility can be useful when creating a

clone or disk image to backup a system. A fully bootable clone can

be made from a good clean installation by use of correct vintage

clone utilities; such as ShirtPocket 'superduper' & Bombich 'CCC'.

And for each full system clone, you'd need a separate partition with

free space for the incumbent system's virtual memory needs. A few

good examples of the external enclosure can be seen at owc esales.

{Saw your other threads, and noted similarities of issues.}

In any event...

Good luck & happy trails! 🙂

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