Disable ATA combo drive through Open Firmware console

[benmonypenny]

Hi,

If this is possible, I would be very grateful if somebody could let me know how.

I have a mechanical fault with my combo drive (cdrw/dvd) in my Powerbook 12" 1.5 GHz running Leopard which makes it noisy even when there is no disk in there. Is it possible to disable the device by removing it from the device tree in Open Firmware before OS X boots?

It sounds like the drive is checking for a disk. I am sure there is not a disk in there as it still accepts and ejects other disks. If it were to be removed from the device tree would this likely solve the problem, or would the power cable to the drive have to be physically disconnected?

Many thanks

 

[goMac]

Is it doing it all the time or just on wake? It's normal behavior if it's just doing it when you wake up the machine.

 

[benmonypenny]

It is the same noise that the drive makes when waking from sleep, but it seems like the combo drive is checking for a disk (and making the same noise) at irregular intervals while the computer is on. Could this be the result of a loose power connection to the drive?

Could anybody tell me if removing the combo drive from the device tree in Open Firmware would prevent it from doing this? I use the drive very infrequently and would be prepared to a) remove the device from the device tree every time I switch the computer on or b) restart the computer and add it to the device tree on the rare occasion that i need to use it.

I am reluctant to open the computer up unless it is absolutely necessary but if there is no solution in Open Firmware, I will disconnect the drive inside and potentially remove it altogether.

 

[goMac]

It is the same noise that the drive makes when waking from sleep, but it seems like the combo drive is checking for a disk (and making the same noise) at irregular intervals while the computer is on. Could this be the result of a loose power connection to the drive?

Could anybody tell me if removing the combo drive from the device tree in Open Firmware would prevent it from doing this? I use the drive very infrequently and would be prepared to a) remove the device from the device tree every time I switch the computer on or b) restart the computer and add it to the device tree on the rare occasion that i need to use it.

I am reluctant to open the computer up unless it is absolutely necessary but if there is no solution in Open Firmware, I will disconnect the drive inside and potentially remove it altogether.

I don't think it would fix it. The drive will still be powered. Removing it from Open Firmware would likely only fix it if it were a software problem, not a hardware problem.

Disconnecting it would be the only real fix.

 

[benmonypenny]

goMac, thank you for your replies. I agree with you. I think it is likely that it is a hardware issue.

However, in the interest of learning a bit more about Open Firmware, and in case opening my Powerbook can be avoided, can anybody detail the method for removing a device from the device tree?