pioneer dvr106d burns but won't mount dvds on my mac g5

[muscmp]

i've had this problem for a while and assumed that it was the dvd media but now the problem seems to point to the drive itself as i've tried various brands of media. i am able to mount them on my wife's intel imac with no problem, and, i can mount and play commercial dvds with no problem on my g5. i have searched this site and have found posts from a couple of years ago that provided "flash" updates but those links are not current.
any suggestions?
thanks,

apple mac g5, dual2.0, osx 10.4.11, pioneer 106d with a606 firmware

[rumplestiltskin]

Apple's experience with "bad" DVD drives shows that the primary cause is a dirty drive. Get one of those cleaner discs with the brushes on the bottom. You can use the cleaning fluid per directions in drawer-loading drives but slot-loaders should be cleaned dry (according to some old Apple documentation I came across).

Let us know what happens. Worst case: Replace the drive for $40.

[muscmp]

i had already tried the dvd cleaner with the brush and actually use it once a week.
where can i get the drive for $40? it is probably worth it instead of the continual headbanging i'm doing.
thanks,

[tomlee59]

Check around -- DVD writers are cheap. Don't be fooled into thinking that it has to be some Apple-blessed drive; Macs use standard IDE/ATA drives, just like PCs use. If you buy the drive from an Apple-specialty vendor, you will pay a premium (often a large one).

[piano632]

I have a 106D. Keep in mind that this is an old writer made in the days of 4x DVD media. From my own personal experience, the 106D has a hard time mounting any disc rated for more than 4x speed. It will burn 8x media at 4x but it won't mount the disc after it's burned (firmware upgrade does not solve the problem). Other newer drives are able to mount the disc made on the 106D however. So my advice is - if you must use the 106D, try to find some 4x media.

[tomlee59]

Don't bother hunting for old media. Even if you manage to find some, that's likely temporary, and even then, there's no guarantee that it will work with your drive. Your time would be better spent buying a new drive. Just saw an ad for an 18x Sony drive for 29.99 from Fry's today. That's less than a 100-count spindle of decent DVD media. Hard to beat that!

[budz]

Get a PIONEER 115D 20x speed drive instead of a 18x SONY drive which is a rebadged SAMSUNG or NEC drive.

PIONEER 115D, $32.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129018

or for $25.99 buy it from www.zipzoomfly.com
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10007364