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Help! Burned DVDs Won't Load

C

cornfedgrowth

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 17, 2004
65
0
Hi there.

I have a PM G5 that won't load burned DVDs. Every burned DVD i've tried (and i've tried quite a few) sounds like it spins up, plays around for a while, then spins down and ejects. Of course, if i put a real DVD in, or any other type of CD or blank DVD-R, then it is loaded right up and there are no problems. Is there any good reason this is happening? and any advice on how to fix it?

Thanks
-Alex
 
cornfedgrowth said:
Hi there.

I have a PM G5 that won't load burned DVDs. Every burned DVD i've tried (and i've tried quite a few) sounds like it spins up, plays around for a while, then spins down and ejects. Of course, if i put a real DVD in, or any other type of CD or blank DVD-R, then it is loaded right up and there are no problems. Is there any good reason this is happening? and any advice on how to fix it?

Thanks
-Alex
Click to expand...

Have you tried the dvds in a stand alone player to see if they play or in a different Mac/pc? Did you try a different brand of dvd then what you burned on now? What did you use to burn them with (Finder, Toast, DragonBurn)? What type of dvds (brand such as TDK, Ritek, Verbatim)? Did you let them verify at the end of the burn and/or did you choose the correct setting to burn them to play back on any player?
Give some extra info ;) :)
 
Artful Dodger said:
Have you tried the dvds in a stand alone player to see if they play or in a different Mac/pc? Did you try a different brand of dvd then what you burned on now? What did you use to burn them with (Finder, Toast, DragonBurn)? What type of dvds (brand such as TDK, Ritek, Verbatim)? Did you let them verify at the end of the burn and/or did you choose the correct setting to burn them to play back on any player?
Give some extra info ;) :)
Click to expand...

All of the DVDs i've tried work fine in a standard DVD player. For the most part they were compressed and burned with Toast 7 (some were compressed with DVD2oneX and then burned with toast). The DVDs are a variety of brands. A few TDKs, a few no name brands, some Staples brand, and some HP brand. All were DVD-R.

I think this has occasionally happend to me before, but usually i just popped the disc back in and it loaded. Now it wont load at all. I havn't changed anything that i know of or installed any programs that would interfere with the DVD drive recently.

Let me know if you need more info. I'm not sure what else to include. Thanks for your help!

-Alex
 
I thought there was an update that just came out that was giving people troubles. Did you just update your drive by chance and this started after that? If not my eMac did something funny and all I did was repair permissions (I never knew about that and the eMac was my second Mac) and that worked like a charm. You might want to try your Hardware disc and see what happens. If that is on the restore dvd see if it will read it. I know that on my new iMac (Intel 20") my SD was DOA but would only read cds, not even the Hardware disc would work. Other than that I'm not sure what would be wrong with your SD :cool:
 
good question

Ok, so i tried burning a new disc. The first few i tried gave me "hardware failure errors" even when burning on the slowest speed. Then, i bought a pack of verbatim discs, they gave me the same error when burning at 8x, 4x, and 2x, but seemed to burn fine at 1x. Its in the process of burning right now, and i have to run to work, so i'll update you on whether it will load after being finalized when i get back. Thanks for all your help!

-Alex
 
Wont read newly burned disc

I burned the disc in the above post and it can't be read, and the drive just spits it back out like before. Its a Verbatim disc, so i doubt its disc quality (and i've used a variety of brands so if it were disc quality, it should like at least one of them).

Could it be a problem with the OS? Maybe a fresh install would have some effect? The only other thing i can think of is that i have a bad super drive, which sucks because i'm way out of warranty.

Any other thoughts?
 
cornfedgrowth said:
I burned the disc in the above post and it can't be read, and the drive just spits it back out like before. Its a Verbatim disc, so i doubt its disc quality (and i've used a variety of brands so if it were disc quality, it should like at least one of them).

Could it be a problem with the OS? Maybe a fresh install would have some effect? The only other thing i can think of is that i have a bad super drive, which sucks because i'm way out of warranty.

Any other thoughts?
Click to expand...

It sounds like a drive issue. A new Superdrive (4x) can be had for $40 on ebay. So all in all, not a huge deal, but a bummer nonetheless.
 
This has been a problem with PM users. If you check the apple message boards, you'll find a lot of complaints. I can't remember off hand the model that was giving everyone trouble - OK, checked, Pioneer DVR 108. Which model do you have? If you have applecare, I'd get on the horn to apple. If not, a replacement would not set you back too much and would probably be better than what you have there anyway.

As for replacement models, you'd best check the apple boards.. or around here I know the issue has come up before. I think there is another Pioneer model that is supposed to K.A. I think it's the 110D ?? something like that. DL+- etc. Pioneer usually make great drives (aside, obviously, from the 108).

...Not sure what they were smoking over there at apple when they were putting drives into G5 PM's. Mine burns + media, but doesn't read it!:confused: Apparently, it's 'supposed' to be like that...obviously well thought through.:rolleyes:
 
Thanks Guys!

My system profiler says i have a Pioneer DVR-107D. either way, i think i'm going to start looking for a new DVD-RW drive. Would you say that going with one of apple's chosen super drives (a.k.a the Pioneer DVR-10x) is better, or that any decent drive should work? I'm way out of warranty so keeping apples support isn't high on my list of priorities.

Thanks again for everyones help. The support you can get on these type of forums is one of the best parts of being a mac user!

-Alex
 
Well to answer a yes and no. Yes since it should work fine and if not you might need to install Patchburn, not sure what ver. they have as of late. I do know that NEC 3500 and up models work and work very well with Macs as does mine that came with/in the LaCie FW drive I have.
I know on here http://forum.videohelp.com/viewforum.php?f=9&sid=0bb90c8cd410153dc02a3331eeb53782 a lot of people have the Pioneer units so give them a shout as these guy/gals answer this type of Q all the time.
I hope this helps you out some and good luck :)
 
Update

Thanks for everyones help. I replaced my pioneer drive with a new NEC-3550 (without even realizing artful dodger had recommended NEC drives until just now). It works great with no problems. I no longer have problems with loading burned discs. Thanks again, for everyones help!
 
cornfedgrowth said:
Thanks for everyones help. I replaced my pioneer drive with a new NEC-3550 (without even realizing artful dodger had recommended NEC drives until just now). It works great with no problems. I no longer have problems with loading burned discs. Thanks again, for everyones help!
Click to expand...

Cool, did that one have the LightScribe or not? if not you may want to see if it can be unlocked as the 3550 and up had LS built in. All that needs to be done now is the dvd makers to make faster LS discs (the top coating is what controls the cover label speed). I'm sure heat plays a factor with that but for now my R300 does just fine ;)
 
Artful Dodger said:
Cool, did that one have the LightScribe or not? if not you may want to see if it can be unlocked as the 3550 and up had LS built in.
Click to expand...

No, It didn't say anything about Lightscribe, but that would be freakin awesome if it could be unlocked! Any ideas on how to see if its possible and/or how to unlock it?
-Alex
 
Not lightscribe, Labelflash

Hey, I did some research, and it looks like the 3550A can be upgraded to a 4551a. The only thing is, its not LightScribe, its LabelFlash. I've never heard of labelflash before, but it sounds cool. Here is a quick review/tutorial of labelflash. So far it seems like their are two problems with Labelfish. Expensive discs, and no mac software. If i find a piece of software that can burn labelflash discs, it may just be worth finding a friend with a PC to flash my drive.

The flashing utility and instructions can be found at http://nechack.host.sk/
-Alex
 
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