Should I have my superdrive checked out?

[techlover828]

I have had so many failed burns and I literally went through 15 disks, which all failed, all dual layer. I figured it just had a problem with dual layer. Now I've tried about 5 regular DVDs and they are all failing, I haven't had a successful burn in like 40 disks. Should I get the superdrive checked out? I'm not near an apple store so it would have to wait till the summer and go with my lcd replacement.

 

[Nermal]

It seems to be a common(ish) problem, mine's doing the same thing but it's out of warranty. I can't even find a replacement drive online! 😱

My drive is a Matshita UJ-857D, what's yours?

 

[techlover828]

It seems to be a common(ish) problem, mine's doing the same thing but it's out of warranty. I can't even find a replacement drive online! 😱

My drive is a Matshita UJ-857D, what's yours?

not sure, is it in system profiler, maybe it's in here somewhere

 

[alphaod]

That's your drive model:

 

[Nermal]

Hmm, so it's a different drive exhibiting the same (or a similar) problem. That's interesting 😕

 

[techlover828]

Hmm, so it's a different drive exhibiting the same (or a similar) problem. That's interesting 😕

I'll probably mention it when I go for my lcd replacement and see what they say.

 

[gwsat]

It seems to be a common(ish) problem, mine's doing the same thing but it's out of warranty. I can't even find a replacement drive online! 😱

My drive is a Matshita UJ-857D, what's yours?

Nermal -- Although my MacBook Pro is nearly brand new, it was built in late January and I bought it in late March, I have the same disk player/burner as yours, which is in an, apparently, older machine:

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-85J:

Firmware Revision: FBZ8
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
Media: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

How does this drive differ from the one in the OP’s laptop?

I did some disk burning years ago, when I first got my old PowerBook G4, but haven’t done any on my new MB Pro.

 

[thomasjon]

DID YOU ever find a drive online?

It seems to be a common(ish) problem, mine's doing the same thing but it's out of warranty. I can't even find a replacement drive online! 😱

My drive is a Matshita UJ-857D, what's yours?

I have the UJ-857D as well. Sometimes mine reads discs, other times not. Not having any luck burning. If you find one online, let me know.
Jon

 

[UltraNEO*]

I have had so many failed burns and I literally went through 15 disks, which all failed, all dual layer. I figured it just had a problem with dual layer. Now I've tried about 5 regular DVDs and they are all failing, I haven't had a successful burn in like 40 disks. Should I get the superdrive checked out? I'm not near an apple store so it would have to wait till the summer and go with my lcd replacement.

Mine's a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857E with patched firmware.

Question...

Are they ALL the same brands? IF so, what brand?? Are they the same batches even? Why??

Cause some manufacturers sometimes change the dye on the disk, this can cause the drive to 'mess up'. The MBP's Superdrive seems to be bleedin' fussy!!

For instance...

I've been burning loads of disks on my machine, through the year and I've discovered I can buy the exact same brand and get failures, yet on other purchases the discs will work just fine!! And they're all the same brand! Just made in different countries.

Personally I fine Verbatim (European Made), Aone (Made in Japan) to be reliable, for RW i use the Sony discs which are (Made in Taiwan).

 

[alphaod]

I just found that some discs just don't burn very well. Verbatim always works for me, Memorex breaks 1/5 discs, Sony is okay so far with 1/25.

 

[UltraNEO*]

I just found that some discs just don't burn very well. Verbatim always works for me, Memorex breaks 1/5 discs, Sony is okay so far with 1/25.

I find some discs, Just don't Burn!
Instead, I get loads of odd errors. 🙁

 

[techlover828]

hey, just wanted to revive this thread to say that I got the drive replaced, but it still didn't work on memorex dl dvds. So I bought some verbatim disks and it worked perfectly. Bottom line: Don't buy memorex, go with verbatim

 

[JML42691]

hey, just wanted to revive this thread to say that I got the drive replaced, but it still didn't work on memorex dl dvds. So I bought some verbatim disks and it worked perfectly. Bottom line: Don't buy memorex, go with verbatim

I have always had issues with Memorex's products, as far back as I can remember, I gave up on them a year or two back when they wouldn't record in my DVD camcorder. Too bad, they always seemed to have the best prices of actual-named products (not the crappy no-name stuff).

 

[iBunny]

Whats weird is I was going to come on here to search for this and it was the top post...

I cannot burn Dual Layer DVDs. I get a "Medium Error" and it makes the disc a coaster.

And sometimes Burned DVD's (Burned from this Machine) dont read... sometimes they do?

I love my MBP but this drive totally sucks 🙁

BTW SR MBP Purchased Late July 07. No GPU issues as of yet tho

 

[TwinCities Dan]

hey, just wanted to revive this thread to say that I got the drive replaced, but it still didn't work on memorex dl dvds. So I bought some verbatim disks and it worked perfectly. Bottom line: Don't buy memorex, go with verbatim

I have always had issues with Memorex's products, as far back as I can remember, I gave up on them a year or two back when they wouldn't record in my DVD camcorder. Too bad, they always seemed to have the best prices of actual-named products (not the crappy no-name stuff).

Good to know, thanks! 😀

P.S. Yay, my first "Nested Quote" on MacRumors! 😎

 

[alphaod]

Well so far I've burned a hundred or so DL DVDs. Maybe 6 fails? I've been using Verbatim for a while, until I got a pack of Sony and Memorex which have each failed a couple times.

I'd do with Verbatim--think they cost a bit more, but at least they work!

 

[JML42691]

...
P.S. Yay, my first "Nested Quote" on MacRumors! 😎

But you messed up on the user name tags, you have me saying what the other user said, and him saying what I said 😛 Don't worry, it takes a little practice and time, haha.

 

[techlover828]

Whats weird is I was going to come on here to search for this and it was the top post...

I cannot burn Dual Layer DVDs. I get a "Medium Error" and it makes the disc a coaster.

And sometimes Burned DVD's (Burned from this Machine) dont read... sometimes they do?

I love my MBP but this drive totally sucks 🙁

BTW SR MBP Purchased Late July 07. No GPU issues as of yet tho

I have the same computer as you, they replaced my GPU when it was most likely a logic board issue, I think there really paranoid about it 😀.

Anyway, I was having the same burning errors, here's how to fix it:

1. Purchase Verbatim DL DVDs from amazon (or wherever) - link
2. If verbatim disks still don't work, bring it to the apple store/send it in, they'll replace it
3. enjoy problem free dvd burners!

P.S. Yay, my first annoying list of obvious steps on MacRumors! 😎