Unsupported PB Superdrive Firmware

interesting indeed. is there a way i can look at some number on the drive inside the powerbook and look it up online to see if it has more potential. i remember someone did it with the powermacs to realize that they did have usb 2.0, although apple didnt enable it.

iJon

It sounded like that was more rumor than fact, though.

I mean the USB 2.0, it just seems like I've heard lots of rumor but no concrete facts on it actually being a part of current chipsets just waiting to be turned on.

acutually i do believe this. those people in japan are some smart guys overseas.

iJon

I'd be very cautious before hacking my firmware with a third party patch...if something goes wrong, I would feel quite the fool explaining to Apple tech why I need them to bail me out of a hardware problem that I caused.

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
I'd be very cautious before hacking my firmware with a third party patch...if something goes wrong, I would feel quite the fool explaining to Apple tech why I need them to bail me out of a hardware problem that I caused.

Click to expand...

tell them it was your silly kid's fault. If you are obviously too young to have a child old enough to operate a computer like that, just tell the tech anyways and give him a nice long stare because, hey, who is he to decide that you cant have a kid....

This issue is pretty ambiguous to me - when I was purchasing my 17" PB the first Apple literature I got was a one pager spec sheet which stated 16x CD-R and 2x DVD.

I then waited 2 months for the machine to arrive during which time the printed specs changed to 8 xCD-R and 1x DVD yet the mechanism remained the same.

Then it arrived and it burns 16x in toast and 1 x DVD!!

I would be keen to know if this patch works safely - but I sure don't want to trash my drive and void the warranty - I eagerly await some brave or loaded Mac trailblazer's feedback.

Re: Unsupported PB Superdrive Firmware

Originally posted by NavyIntel007
http://superdrive.cynikal.net/

I haven't tried this for myself. He says he's getting DVD-RW support and 2 X DVD-R speeds. Also allows 16X burning for CD-Rs in 12" and 15" powerbooks.

He didn't say anything about it working with the iapps so I'm waiting to try it out.

But if anyone feels like trying it out for me... I'd love to know about it.

Click to expand...

There is a reason Apple slowed the drive down and it was not just to piss people off. I suspect that if you did use the firmware of the drive most of the CD/DVDs you created would just be coasters. If the discs get too hot inside the drive they can explode and damage you computer (it has happened to me).

explode!?!?! CDs?!?!?!!! I've got to try this!

so much for keeping the firmware from spreading around wildly before it's tested by a dozen people or so.. i really don't want anyone breaking their drive just in case.. i've only releasing this because i've been looking for something like this for so long, and maybe someone else is too..

it seems to work with iDVD 3, though i didn't go all the way burning the disk.. i didn't want to spare the DVD-R disc cuz i'm short on them

I'm personally just crossing my fingers in hopes that the superdrives in the new revisions will come preset by Apple to burn faster so I can take advantage of higher speeds without casing hardware issues or voiding my Applecare. If I pay $300 for it, I'd rather be able to keep it.

hehe, no it's alright.. it's good that it's making it's ways around, i just hope people don't just jump into this without thinking about the consequences..

that's what i'm afraid is going to happen if someone posts this to the frontpage of major mac news sites like macnn.com.. it'd rather people discuss it in private and post their experience

what's weird is since i posted it on aug 11th (two days ago),

Top 3 of 8 Total URLs By KBytes
# Hits KBytes URL
1 121 9.21% 87085 79.28% /files/PB_SD_FIRMWARE_UPGRADE.dmg

i've had over 120 downloads, and no one has told me if it broke their drive.. you'd think they'd be pissed and voicing it.. one guy did email me saying it worked..

but ideally i guess you have to use it for a few days to decide whether it works instead of just seeing your powerbook still detects the drive

Here is the confirmation you may be looking for, including a good warning i realized:

http://forum.rpc1.org/viewtopic.php?p=68197

And I did email the guy telling him to post for the sake of other people's confidance.

Good luck if you decide to go through with it, and let me know if it works (or it doesn't work).

Look on the bright side--if it doesn't work, you'll be the proud owner of the coolest paperweight in the world!

yah, bed, pillow, anything that doens't allow any air circulation around the underside of your powerbook (this is actually mentioned in the manual that came w/ the pb).

While the air circulation doesn't do MUCH, it is a lot better than when you put it on cloth or other material that insulates heat. The material gets warm and then there's no place for the heat to dissappate to so the heat accumualtes.

This may be the very reason apple decided to cripple the superdrive..

then again, how many people burn on the bed? probably not all of them, but maybe enough to decide to reduce the max speed to 1x so they don't have to handle warranty cases because the superdrive overheated and broke down.

god forbid that happens to anyone as a result of my firmware patch.

It might come in handy as a space heater during the winter..."Hey, burn another DVD, I'm freezing my ass off here!"