Big problem with Pioneer DVR-AO7

[kapemuna]

I recently installed a DVR-AO7xla in our G4 MDD. The Mac was able to recognize the dvd burner .The disc tray apparently would not eject because it is to large for the mirrored door.

The burner is functional within an external enclosure but we prefer it to be installed inside the Mac optical bay. Is there any work around to solve this?

[Henjie]

Originally posted by kapemuna
I recently installed a DVR-AO7xla in our G4 MDD. The Mac was able to recognize the dvd burner .The disc tray apparently would not eject because it is to large for the mirrored door.

The burner is functional within an external enclosure but we prefer it to be installed inside the Mac optical bay. Is there any work around to solve this?

Hi there!

There's a pretty simple workaround to your problem. You just missed one important step: before installing an optical drive inside a Mac tower (Quicksilver, MDD, G5), always remove the optical drive's drive tray bezel first. :-)

Here's what you need to do: take out the drive and manually eject the drive tray by inserting one end of a paperclip (or a pin) inside the small "emergency eject" hole located at the front of the drive (near the eject button).

UPDATE: For the Pioneer DVR-A07XLA, the "emergency eject" hole is located below the "8X8" logo on the left side of the drive face.

Then turn the drive upside-down and take a look at the bottom of the drive tray bezel. You'll notice a couple of small notches (the attachment points) between the bezel and the drive tray itself. Insert a screwdriver inside one of the notches and the bezel will easily come off.

Reinstall the drive inside your MDD and you're set. ;-)

Hope this helps!


~Henjie

[Edited on 5-15-2004 by Henjie]

[kapemuna]

Thanks, Henjie.

[Henjie]

Originally posted by kapemuna
Thanks, Henjie.

BTW, make sure that your Pioneer DVR-A07XLA (aka DVR-107D) is installed in the top optical drive bay of your MDD. Installing it in the bottom bay is not a good idea.

Explanation (repost from this thread):

"I believe that the DVR-107D's got a built-in fan at the back of the drive. Check if your drive do have one. If it does, better install it in the top bay of your MDD. The metal shield covering the optical drive cage only has ventilation holes at the top portion. Installing the DVR-107D (or even the DVR-106D) in the bottom bay will likely result in a heat buildup inside the drive cage since the hot air being vented out by the drive will be blocked by the metal shield."

Removing the metal shield is not a workaround:

"Ummm, I'm afraid that with the metal shield removed, your DVR-107D is now dumping hot air straight to your duallie's heatsink. The humongous heatsink occupies some space behind the bottom optical drive bay. I guess that's why the metal shield doesn't have any vent holes for the bottom drive. :-)

You can still use the Philips combo drive as the main drive even when it's installed in the bottom bay. What you do is set the Philips to "master" and the DVR-107D to "slave". The "Eject" key on your keyboard will always open the master device irregardless of the position of the drive. Option-Eject for slave. When both drives are set to "cable select", the top drive is always the master device."

Good luck! :-)


~Henjie