Adding DVD-/+R RW Drive to a MDD Dual G4....

[robins2001]

Hi, I am buying a dual 1.25 g4 with combo drive soon and i want to add a dvd writer to it too...

i am considering.,,,

pioneer 106 in black
sony 4x dvd dual format, black

is there any issues with any of these drives or will they both work properly on a mac..?

i know that superdrives use the pioneer hardware, but is there problems at all using a normal pioneer or sony ide drive?

thanks

 

[krimson]

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com has an extensive section on reader reports/experiences of those drives.

 

[Calliander]

Re: Adding DVD-/+R RW Drive to a MDD Dual G4....

Originally posted by robins2001
Hi, I am buying a dual 1.25 g4 with combo drive soon and i want to add a dvd writer to it too...

i am considering.,,,

pioneer 106 in black
sony 4x dvd dual format, black

is there any issues with any of these drives or will they both work properly on a mac..?

i know that superdrives use the pioneer hardware, but is there problems at all using a normal pioneer or sony ide drive?

thanks

The G4 allows you to add a second optical drive in the config page. Are you buying a prefconfigured one from a reseller or second-hand?

The 106 Pioneers are good drives, but I've been hearing that iDVD does NOT work with them. This isn't verified, but it's something to look into. Check Pioneer's web site.

 

[dschwab]

I have a Pioneer DVR-106 and it works fine as a SuperDrive in iDVD. AFAIK, the Sony will not work in iDVD as a SuperDrive.

 

[robins2001]

thats good news..

dschwab, thanks for that.

did u get the black version of the 106? this is what im looking for as i think it would match the rest,, is the combo drive black when it pops out too?

did you have to do anything to the drive to make it fit properly or is it basically the same as installing it into a pc tower?

many thanks

 

[dschwab]

Glad to help. I have the 106 with the black bezel. I have a Quicksilver, which required me to remove the very front of the bezel on the 106 since the Quicksilver has the small, rounded opening that the entire bezel wouldn't fit through. This was a simple process, it's just snapped onto the drive tray. I'm not sure if the MDD would require the same thing, but it wasn't a big deal. The color also didn't matter in my case since the drive is hidden behind the "flap" on the Quicksilver, I believe the MDD would be the same. I basically purchased black since I'm sick of the beige color of my PC. Afterall, this is a Mac, it's supposed to be more stylish And yes, the combo drive that I replaced was black, but again, this was only visible when the drive was ejected.

As far as installation, exactly the same as replacing a drive in a PC: remove screws, pull drive, add new drive, screw to bay, plug cable, boot machine. The main difference is that there is no visible POST process when booting into OS X like there is on most PC's, so you don't get confirmation right away that your drive is properly installed, at least not until you get into the OS.

 

[robins2001]

ok great...

i have decided today to maybe wait for the DVR-107 which is due soon..

do you think it would work on a mac though?

thanks

 

[IndyGopher]

Originally posted by robins2001
ok great...

i have decided today to maybe wait for the DVR-107 which is due soon..

do you think it would work on a mac though?

thanks

I put a Pioneer 106D in my MDD G4 a couple weeks ago. You have to either trim the upper corners of the drive door, or just remove it.

As for the DVR-107 working, I wouldn't be surprised either way. I dunno how much forward-thinking the folks at Apple do as far as support. The reason the Sony 105 and Pioneer 106 (and 105, 104, 103...) work is because Apple has used those drives in their machines. (As well as some weird Hitachi model that was in my old eMac with SuperDrive) but I don't know if the current OS (and iApps) have support for drives that aren't released yet. I would like to think so, but I honestly doubt it. Sorry for being almost no help.

 

[dschwab]

I've not heard either way regarding Mac support for the 107, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work until Apple officially shipped 8x drives (perhaps in the Rev B Powermac). There may be a software update required to support the drive. Also keep in mind that there's a signifcant price difference between the 106 and 107 right now.

 

[Rod Rod]

installing the pioneer 106

is it better to install the dvd burner in the top optical drive bay? and how do you set the jumpers on each drive (are both dvd burner and combo drive cable select, is one master and the other slave, and which one, etc.)? thanks!