Dear WAMUGgers with Superdrives
I just stumbled across this important update at
<http://www.apple.com/hardware/superdrive/>
It appears your drive might be damaged if you attempt to use the
superdrive with new high speed disks soon to be made available:
"Important information about using high-speed media with your
SuperDrive-equipped Power Mac G4 or iMac."
DVD media Apple is the industry leader in providing affordable and
easy-to-use DVD authoring systems. Although all SuperDrive equipped
Macs are compatible with all currently shipping 1x and 2x DVD-R media,
new higher speed media will become available later this year — it is
important that your SuperDrive be up to date before using this new
media.
Using new high-speed media.
The DVD Forum recently released specifications for new high-speed discs
for DVD recording (4x for DVD-R and 2x for DVD-RW). Media based on this
new specification is expected to be available later this year. All
SuperDrive equipped Macs can easily be updated to be compatible with
this new media. Apple is providing a quick and easy way for customers
to update their SuperDrive before this new media becomes widely
available. This update will be available as an automatic update and as
a manual update for both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X.
Why do I need this update?
We recommend that all SuperDrives have this update. Some SuperDrives
may already have it installed (see the section below which explains how
you can check to see if your SuperDrive needs this update). One of our
suppliers, Pioneer Electronics, Inc., has advised that some of its
DVD-R/CD-RW drives (including some Apple SuperDrives) may be unable to
recognize the new high-speed media, and that using this media may
permanently damage the drive. Additionally, this update enables you to
eject discs that do not comply with the CD specification or have
mastering errors.
How do I know if my SuperDrive needs this update?
That’s easy: If you have a 17-inch flat-panel iMac, an eMac with
SuperDrive or a new Power Mac G4 (introduced in August 2002) with
SuperDrive, your system is already compatible with the new media.
Models that do not have a SuperDrive do not need the update. If you
have any other SuperDrive equipped iMac or Power Mac G4, you may need
the update. You can easily verify if you need the update via the Apple
System Profiler application. In Mac OS X, you’ll find the Apple System
Profiler in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder. In Mac
OS 9, you’ll find it in the Apple menu.
To verify if your SuperDrive-equipped Power Mac G4 or iMac needs the
update, click the Devices and Volumes tab of the Apple System Profiler
application, and then click the CD-RW/DVD-R disclosure triangle to see
information about the device. If the Vendor Identification field names
a manufacturer other than Pioneer, you don’t need the update. If the
Vendor Identification field names Pioneer as the vendor, you may need
the update. For drives with the Product Identification DVR-104, no
update is required if the Device Revision number is A227 or higher. For
drives with the product Product Identification DVR-103, no update is
required if the Device Revision number is 1.90 or higher.
