08-01-2008, 10:42 PM

I'm trying to see if my old PCs DVD drive will work in my G4 Quicksilver.
I have it in there now, just looking the world over for a driver. I've read all over the place that people use Pioneer drives in their Macs or else I would never have bothered putting it in there.

Any help would be great. It's a Pioneer DVD 104 S ...
Thanks!

08-01-2008, 11:03 PM

I don't believe a driver is needed. If the drive isn't being recognized, it might just be that the jumper isn't set right. Did you check that?

08-01-2008, 11:09 PM

It is a pretty old device and your problem maybe the firmware driver if that had been updated to version 2.06 for windows only. Pioneer's are native supported in Mac's but that update is not.

08-01-2008, 11:12 PM

When I installed it in the G4, I set the jumper as the master.
And I did have it running in a PC so the firmware was all up to date on that box. Does that matter? It is pretty old, yeah...

08-01-2008, 11:22 PM

And in the System Profiler, the drive is recognized. I do see it, it just isn't functional...

08-01-2008, 11:23 PM

Originally Posted by jankind

When I installed it in the G4, I set the jumper as the master.
And I did have it running in a PC so the firmware was all up to date on that box. Does that matter? It is pretty old, yeah...

Optical drives - at least those made in the past 15 years or so - all conform to the ATAPI standard and shouldn't require a driver, period. There may be specific drivers needed to perform write operations, but it should still appear on the bus. Try reseating the cable and check for bent pins, make sure the power connector is fully seated and if all else fails, experiment with setting the jumper to cable select (CS).

08-01-2008, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by cwa107

Optical drives - at least those made in the past 15 years or so - all conform to the ATAPI standard and shouldn't require a driver, period. There may be specific drivers needed to perform write operations, but it should still appear on the bus.

The Mac does seem to be recognizing it, as it is visible in the System Profiler. I just can't get it to function. The drive door won't open for starters...

08-02-2008, 12:17 AM

Sounds like power connection problem. I tell you jankind those power connectors are tight and hard to close! As CWA107 said try reseating.

08-02-2008, 12:19 AM

I tried switching out the jumper to CS. No real difference...
I tried the eject command in the terminal and I get "Could not find a valid device".

08-02-2008, 11:31 AM

Solved. Thanks for your help and advice.
Turns out it was the last thing I was looking at. The drive I put in was a feeding type and not a tray loading one so of course it wouldn't force the Mac's door open. I simply pulled the spring off the door so it opens freely.
That's typical of me. Messing around in the terminal trying to force it to eject before I even look at the drive door. Duh...