Problems mounting burned DVDs under Mac OS X with Pioneer 106D SuperDrives (#3): Symptoms, Possible solutions
We continue to receive an overwhelming response to coverage of an issue where optical media (CDs or DVDs) fail to mount -- primarily with the Pioneer 106D drive mechanism used on several PowerMac G5s and other models.
For most users experiencing the problem, the inserted disc remains in the drive or is ejected after a few seconds, but never appears on the Desktop nor becomes accessible by any Mac OS X application. In some cases a drive error message is presented. Interestingly, in many cases a disc burned using Toast, iTunes or another program will appear on the Desktop and function normally while it is still inserted directly after the recording session, but fail to mount as soon it is ejected then re-inserted.
MacFixIt reader Remko Strobel writes: "I've had my system for almost 2 years now, and the Superdrive worked fine in the beginning. Then it stopped accepting self-made dvd's (all other media worked fine), expensive brands as well as el-cheapo's. When Toast has finished burning a dvd it will verify it correctly and it will also mount it. But after ejecting the system will keep spitting it out. Also booting with the dvd inserted will spit it out. There was still some warranty left, and the service center replaced the 106d with another 106dD This one worked fine again in the beginning, until some time ago. Now it won't accept any self-made dvd, from whatever brand, regardless of R or -R. Exactly the same problems as before. Even my 7 year old iMac will accept the DVDs the 106D won't."Eric Garrison adds:
"I have been having struggles with the Pioneer 106 D drive mentioned in your recent article of 12 December. The drive will inexplicably stop working and fails to mount any disk at all including the Apple system disk for Tiger. It will on occasion begin working as well though not for long. The drive is detectable by System Profiler and no errors are reported by other utilities. I have checked the cables and there do not appear to be any hardware struggles with them. Working in fits would seem to indicate some sort of loose connection internal to the drive or maybe heat issues, but this does not fit with the evidence that the problem occurs after an upgrade to Tiger. Considering the machines I have control over have only displayed this problem after such an upgrade, I would rule out the simple hardware error."
MacFixIt reader Carsten writs:
I am experiencing exactly the same problems with my Pioneer DVD unit in my 2x1.8 G5 as described on MacFixIt. I have tried a deep cache clean and to reboot with the DVD in, nothing helps. It began a few weeks ago (possibly after a security update?) and only affects burnt dvd's. The DVDs work perfect in my brand new Quad G5."
Worse under Mac OS X 10.4.x? A handful of users report that the problem is more frequent under Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger), though we don't have any undeniable confirmation for this notion.
Will Deatrick writes:
"I had the problem intermittently with 10.3.9, but it is much worse with 10.4. I submitted feedback to Apple but no response.
Early '04 PowerMac G5s more susceptible? It seems that systems most likely to succumb to this issue are various PowerMac G5s produced in early 2004 that make use of Pioneer 106D mechanism.
If you are having the problem, please let us know what Mac you are using and when it was manufactured.
Apply most recent firmware Make sure that your G5 has been updated with the G5 Uniprocessor firmware (if applicable), and if you've exhausted other options, try updating your Pioneer drives firmware using this patch for the Windows version of the firmware installer.
Drive cleaning A number of users have reported temporary relief from this issue through cleaning of the Pioneer 106D's drive mechanism. The easiest, least intrusive method for cleaning the drive is to use a DVD cleaning disc, available online or through various retail outlets including record stores.
MacFixIt reader Aaron Trinder writes:
"I was experiencing exactly the same problems with my Pioneer 106 (bought from OWC) in my old Digital Audio Dual 533 (upgraded with a Giga 2.0Ghz). I would burn a DVD either with toast or with the Finder, it would mount, then i would eject it, put the disc back in and it refused to mount (the drive would spit out the disc repeatedly).
"Eventually after searching around a lot of forums i spotted a mention of DVD cleaning discs, so i bought 1 (from Amazon), and low and behold, the last years worth of discs that i hadn't been able to use, started to mount again!!
"I recently swapped the drive over to a 108 Pioneer anyway, but at least i had a couple more months of use out of the 106D."
Getting the unit replaced under warranty/AppleCare By far the surest solution for resolving this problem is to obtain a replacement drive through an Apple warranty or (more easily) through AppleCare.
Several users report receiving normally functioning replacement drives.
Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.
Previous coverage:
- Problems mounting burned DVDs under Mac OS X (#2): Pioneer 106D SuperDrives particularly prone to problems; Solutions; more
- Problems mounting burned DVDs under Mac OS X
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hours of use, lasers become progressively weaker.
Try burning the same DVD at half speed -- that means that the laser will sit
on the same spot for twice the time and the greater exposure to the
photosensitive surface will produce darker spots. With better contrast
between the dark spots and the light spots, the DVD (or CD) can be read
more easily. That means a lesser reliance on error correction so the DVD (or
CD) reads back faster.
You can also try buying a higher quality (higher speed) media -- the
photosensitive surface is more sensitive and becomes darker more quickly.
This is not a cure-all: As the laser wears out, the laser (when writing or
reading) emits less coherent (less focused) light that spreads out and
produces blurrier edges between the dark spots and the light spots.
Just a thought...
/dev/disk1 on /Volumes/Rosenkavalier_Act1 (local, nodev, nosuid, read-only)
but the finder won't show it, and neither DVD-player nor vlc will be able to open it since they can't find the hidden /Volumes directory.
On the other hand DiskUtility or Roxio Toast or Popcorn see the disk, allow you to erase it (I use DVD+RW) or to eject it.
One workaround is to log in as another user, or to reboot.
I remember some utilities which allow Finder to see hidden directories -- can anyone recall the name?
OnyX is one utility that will do this.
- by schacter1 December 14, 2005 2:53 AM PST
- Many thanks to your contributor who recommended PatchBurn. It fixed my mounting problem with a Pioneer DVR-104 in a Quicksilver (2002) and OSX10.4.3. All my DVDs burned with Toast now mount. I recommend that all your readers try it.
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(4 Comments)Peter Schachter