Pioneer DVR-117F/BK won't burn Verbatim DVDr

I had a Pioneer DVD burner in a Formac enclosure and tried to burn 3gb of photos on a Verbatim 4.7gb DVD-R. I tried to burn with toast, but as soon as I put the disk in, the colour wheel came up and the drive was just churning. So, I thought I needed to fit a new burner and bought the DVR-117f/bk.

But, this keeps doing the same! Why won't it work? I'm at my wits end and am pulling my hair out over this. Is it the media; the software; or even the firewire cable I'm using? Please, can anyone give me any suggestions?

Depends on your model Mac which you have not given us. You may need a Firewire connection as USB, even USB2 may be just too slow. Also try another brand of media. Never had a coaster (touches wood) with an Imation disc.

Also what version Toast and is it Titanium?

Hi - thanks for your reply!

The Mac I've got is G4 - Os10.3. I am already using Firewire cable. Also, I am using Toast Titanium.

If anyone else has any ideas, please don't hesitate to pass them on to me.
I will meanwhile, try using a different media.
Thanks!

I have had the best luck with Verbatim DVD media over the years. I have tried most major brands and keep coming back to Verbatim.

On the new pioneer you purchased, it went in the external case correct? I am wondering since you have tried 2 different DVD drives in that case if maybe something is wrong with the interface board in the external enclosure? I have tried a Pioneer 18X both inside on the IDE bus and externally in a FireWire case with my PowerMac G4 Digital Audio and not an issue burning with Toast.

Only other thing I can think of is 10.3 Panther is rather old. I wonder if there is some issue with the install? Just guessing here.

Does the Spinning wheel happen as soon as you insert a blank DVD into the Pioneer or later when you try to burn with Toast?

Can I just put the DVD burner into the Mac?...

How easy is that to do? I'm not that familiar with opening Macs up!
I'm not sure if my Mac G4 is SATA or ATA. Would it be possible to get connections?

What does anyone think? Your advice would be greatly appreciated. I need to get this thing up and running so I can back up my photos and install 10.4.

On Panther it may be worth uninstalling Toast and installing a brand new version of what you have, presume it is Toast 8, and updating from the Roxio web site.