Pioneer 105 problem

[turdburglar]

I dont have anywhere to turn for help, I dont know anyone else with a mac that can help and the Apple shops have no interest in my outdated Mac, I have just started getting a problem with some DVDs that I have just burned on toast succesfully, when I load them in the superdrive that they were burnt on, they will not mount and then after a while they eject, if I load them in the combo drive they mount fine? However when I try to back up photos from iphoto4 it all seems to work on the screen but when its finished the disc ejects and when I load it, I get a message "this disc contains no data that mac OSX can read, eject ,ignore?
If I try and use the matsashita cdr to burn photos or mp3 it just shuts down and cant retry but I can burn cds on the superdrive? what I want to know is can I replace the two burners with something else and will my apple apps still allow me to burn discs. heres what I am currently running

Power mac G4, dual 867 MHz, 768 MB, Pioneer -r105 and matsashita cdr, Jaguar 10.28
Thanks if you can help or advise!

[terryj]

Sounds like it might be the IDE controller for the drives.
Have you pulled the -105 and put it in a FW case to test it?
If it works completely in the FW case, then it
could be your IDE controller for the drives gone bad.
I've seen it happen more than once on Apple Logic Boards.

If it still performs crappy in the FW case, then I would test
the internal IDE cable by replacing it first.
IF the drives perform
normally, then it was a bad cable ( which it sounds
50% of what may be the problem, since you can
burn CDs in the -105). If a new cable doesn't jibe,
OR you get the same performance with a new cable,
but get good results with the FW case, then it is the IDE Controller.
IF you get bad results with the FW case, AND
the new IDE cable, then its bad drives.

I assume this is a MDD Dual 867? if so, then any pioneer
up to the -109 will work with Jaguar 2.8 and Toast 6.09;
any CD-R up to 52x speed will work with Jaguar.
You will need Patchburn 3 for the CD-R, and for
any pioneer drive over a -106 for iApps to recognize.

this is really simple to test, I can't believe your mac shops
wouldn't help you?

[turdburglar]

Thanks terryj,
I did forget to mention when I turn on my mac in the mornings recently I just get the grey screen with no apple and load indicator, I have to turn it off and on a few times, its a dual boot OS9 & OSX, last night I bought Tiger 10.4 and tried to upgrade my 10.28 but it failed to load, it kept telling me to retry.

Also can you tell me more about the FW case and the IDE controller, I dont know what they are or what they do. Is a MDD dual 867 also known as mirror door? I would like to know more about the inside of my mac and try to understand it more. Even if you know of a good web site about that sort of thing.

[terryj]

If you are getting the grey screen, it is time to wipe
your drive and install a fresh copy of the OS.
That screen points to the fact
that it cannot do pre-journaling (Apple and winding wheel)
because the drive's OS installation is not correct.

So for Tiger, you option would be to Erase and Install
to completely wipe the drive, as the Upgrade Option
is not working, because the older os is corrupted somehow.
(Read the Manual that came with Tiger for more info).

Yes, you own a MDD ( Mirror Dual Door) dual 867.
the IDE Controller is the little rectangle with the funny
shaped teeth inside of it that connects the hard
drives/optical drives to the mac.

if you have your Grey Manual that came with your computer,
pages 67-93, as well as this website will help
you understand your inner workings.

A FW (FireWire) external Hard Drive Case is a case you can
put an Optical ( your Pioneer DVR-105) or a Hard Drive
into and hook up externally through your FW port.
One of the best brands you can find locally are made
by ACOMData, and you can buy these at any local
Wal-Mart or Comp USA for around $80.

[turdburglar]

Thanks mate!
You have been a great help, it makes sense, everything you say adds up. very much appreciated.