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n8mac

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 25, 2006
431
48
Ohio
I am confused. I was under the impression that certain components like optical drives would work in a Mac regardless of what comp they were made for. I am looking for an internal drive to replace my dead one in my G4, so I looked on ebay. Looking under the Mac section there were few internal tower drives and the ones I found were pulls. So I went under the PC section and every used drive I looked at said it requires Windows. So I did a search for 'Mac' and only found one drive and the description said "will function only as a CD player under Mac OS". What the?! All I want is a cheap internal combo drive.

Will these generic internal drives work in my G4?

If not, where can I get a used internal drive for my Mac that isn't some ancient expensive pull?

Thanks
 

svndmvn

Guest
Nov 6, 2007
1,301
0
Italy
You're talking about a G4 PowerMac, right?
either way, check this site out, look for your exact machine and you can either buy the drive you're looking for or just see which one's your best and look on ebay.
 

stayupforever90

macrumors newbie
Dec 27, 2008
1
0
I had a power mac G4 awhile ago and swap'd the optical drive for a DL Samsung Lightscribe drive (even had the lightscibe function working). Have also used an LG drive in the same machine and that was fully supported. If you dont use an apple drive it may show in system properties as having generic drive support but if it does the job what's the problem. I have even put a sony note book drive in a hackintosh project for a friend and that work'd. I personally use only samsug now but thats my choice hope you find the right drive for you :)
 

pilotError

macrumors 68020
Apr 12, 2006
2,237
4
Long Island
There are Mac suppliers that will sell you a drive for the older Mac's.

Do a google search. I found a bunch when I was looking for a Wireless antenna for an old Mac. Prices vary wildly, but for an optical drive, you shouldn't have an issue.
 

sickmacdoc

macrumors 68020
Jun 14, 2008
2,035
1
New Hampshire
Assuming you are talking about a G4 PowerMac tower, virtually any standard optical drive will work fine as long as it is an IDE/ATAPI drive, not one with a SATA interface.

You just need to check the jumper settings on the drive you pull out and set the new one the same and off you go- certainly no need for some exotic drive of any type.

An example of a current model excellent Pioneer drive can be seen here at
image-3160356-10521304
newegg.com for less than $25-- including double layer burn support and 20x burn speed.

If you really just want a combo drive (which will only save about $5) the ones on
image-3160356-10521304
this newegg page will work.
 

CastrolSyntec

macrumors newbie
Jul 7, 2008
29
0
iFixit

iFixit.com is the best for spare, genuine parts. But I can't be sure they have parts for all computers.
 

Greenjeens

macrumors regular
Aug 25, 2005
158
0
California
I'm using Pioneer drives in my G4. Models 112,109 and 115. Dual layer DVD Recordable. Won't burn RAM discs. Ruined the 109 drive copying Garth Brooks Box set CD's with some kind of anticopy guard that stalled the CD inside the drawer. I accidently removed the disc manually,`forgetting to turn off the computer, so the disc was still spinning.... oops. It never worked again!

Otherwise, the Pioneer 112 is working fine in an external case and the 115 in the G4 Sawtooth optical drive bay. It's important to download PATCHBURN, a little patch that allows many drives to work in older Macs. Just get the address from OWC computers. A great source for every kind of G4-G5 upgrade. They sell Pioneer CD/DVD drives as well, for around $25. Very good price for a very reliable drive. Seems like a no brainer. The couple of other drives I have tried didn't work at all.
Get a couple of Pioneer drives for internal and external use! (I'm thinking about cutting out some metal out of the old floppy drive bay, widening the slot, so another CD/DVD drive will fit inside the case, but am afraid of dropping metal fragments or filings onto the circuit boards:-(

The CD Freaks website rated Pioneer drives very highly. I've burned a lot of CD's and DVD with few problems. Just use good quality media, which is compatible with your drive. Taiyo Yuden Media is some of the best media for wide compatability and extremely reliable burns, every disc. I use the Ink Jet printable white ones. Verbatim Data Life Plus use to be very good, but is manufactured in various plants, and _may_ have variations in quality.
 

n8mac

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 25, 2006
431
48
Ohio
The link provided by svndmvn has my answer.

Any replacement internal 5.25" IDE CD unit will install into this PowerMac, and should work to read data. However, unless there is an Apple ROM on-board the CD unit, the computer cannot be booted from the CD, and the unit will not integrate with Finder burning and Apple software like iDVD. Burning can still be accomplished by third party software such as Roxio's Toast.

I am using a PowerMac G4 and forgot to mention that I want full Apple functions like iTunes burning and Mac OS CD booting as I only have one optical drive slot. I thought that was a given so I didn't mention it.

So if Nvidia and ATI can make graphics cards with apple roms on them then why aren't there third party companies who sell optical drives with an apple rom on them :confused:

EDIT: I just found a few who do sell them with apple roms, my mistake. Ebay is still skimpy on them though.
 

Greenjeens

macrumors regular
Aug 25, 2005
158
0
California
I'm not sure about the boot drive function. I thought I had that capability but am not sure? I have external hard drives for emergency booting . I installed Tiger no problem with the existing Pioneer drive and Patchburn. I just yanked a DVD ROM from a G3 someone gave me, perhaps I will keep it and do some experiments if there is some added functionality. Thanks!


http://www.patchburn.de/

"PatchBurn is a tool to patch existing CD/DVD-drivers (under Mac-OS X 10.2.x) or to generate and install new device profiles (under Mac-OS 10.3.x and later)
It allows many, otherwise unsupported burners to be used directly with Mac-OS X, iTunes and DiscBurner."

[This is for the OWC complete drive version, AFAIK the $25 Pioneer 116 will work the same. You could call and find out if they can guarantee all original apple functionality with the OEM bare drives and Patchburn. Support is pretty good]

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MRFWU2D116/

Apple iTunes Support
Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther":
This drive fully supports burning using Apple iTunes when PatchBurn 3 (available here) is used. Installation is a simple one-click process.
Apple DiscBurner Support
Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther":
This drive fully supports burning using Apple DiscBurner when PatchBurn 3 (available here) is used. Installation is a simple one-click process.
Mac OS 9 Notes:
This drive is not supported under Mac OS 9 or earlier.
Operating System:
Macintosh with FireWire Interface and OS X 10.3 and above or PC with FireWire interface and Windows 98 or other OS with FireWire Support. USB 2.0 requires Windows 2000 or later, or Mac OS X.
 

rpaloalto

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2005
733
2
Palo Alto CA.
Any standard ide dvd burner will work. preferably a pioneer. If you have 10.3 or lower you will need patch burn for compatibility with iLife apps. It will work fine with out patchburn for burning from finder.

If you have 10.4.4 or higher you will not need patch burn at all.
I have a emac with 10.4.10 that has a non apple pioneer 112d. With out patchburn. It works with all apps including reinstalls of OS X.
 
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