If you have an Apple DVD-RW, then you *have* a "Superdrive". The
Superdrive* and all other Pioneer-made DVD-RW drives can play and
record CD, DVD and VCD. The only (logical) reasons you would/need to
replace one you already have are:
1) The current one no longer works.
2) You have one of the original 1X models and want to upgrade to a 4X
one.
As to whether you use an Apple-branded OEM "Superdrive" A0x drive, a
Pioneer generic OEM A0x drive or a Pioneer retail 10x drive, it doesn't
matter. They all perform the same basic functions, albeit at different
speeds, and all bootable are in any Mac that can startup from an
ATA/IDE CD-ROM drive. Regardless of what specific drive you have, all
but the A05/105 models need to have their firmware updated or you risk
destroying the drive by unknowingly recording on a 4X disk sold to you
as 2X. There are 2 Mac issues related to that. First, the Mac flash
utilities are different based on which drive you have. Apple provides
ones for Apple-branded OEM A03 and A04 drives and Pioneer has one each
for the A03, A04, 103 & 104. And, then, regardless of what model you
have, you can't flash the firmware if the drive is connected via the
FireWire bus. They must be connected to the IDE bus.
The FireWire issue came up, because, once you'd put your question out
to a public list, it ceased to be Albert-centric. All of these Pioneer
DVD-RW drives are natively ATA/IDE. Those that connect via FireWire do
so via a case that contains its own IDE bus, as well as a FW interface.
Like you, another reader was interested in knowing if his ATA/IDE
DVD-RW (currently located in a FW case) could be used to replace the 5
1/4 inch optical laser disk drive originally built in to his Mac. The
answer is, yes. The drives are all ATA/IDE whether they reside in a FW
case, a shipping carton or the drive bay of a personal computer, such
as a Mac. There are even advantages in the other reader's strategy on a
Mac, as that placement will allow the firmware to be updated.
Now, as we recall, your original question just asked if this project
would work in an upgraded B&W. You didn't specify that it had to work
with Apple's free DVD tools. It certainly will work, but you may need
to use 3rd party software, such as Toast, to burn DVDs or vlc to watch
movies, as some of the free apps sniff for installed hardware
components such as an AGP video adapter, which you will never have in a
B&W. In many cases, there are hacks for the free apps to make them work
in unsupported environments and these may work for you. I know that
some won't work for me using the drive via FW, but I have yet to test
it installed internally.
----------------------------
*The only other thing Apple has called "Superdrive" is the high-density
floppy drive in a certain percentage of later Mac SEs. Most of these,
however, were branded FDHD, not Superdrive.
On Sunday, December 22, 2002, at 02:21 PM, Albert W D'Amanda wrote:
> On Sunday, December 22, 2002, at 10:19 AM, James S Jones wrote:
>
>> FireWire
>
> ???. what's this FW stuff ?
>
> I think there is a disconnect in the thread from my original post
>
> My understanding is the the Apple Superdrive , shipped with the new
> G4's is a IDE interface, right?
>
> What is all this talk about Firewire?
>
> I want to remove my Apple DVD-RW from the case and replace it with the
> Apple Superdrive which I believe can record/Playback both DVD's & CD's
> ; right ?
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