Powerbook Superdrive self-install

The DVD/CD-RW drive in my laptop started malfunctioning due to a crapped out CD laser, probably from burning too many SVCDs! After some research I replaced the faulty drive with a Matshita UJ-815 CD-RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM drive. Getting the new drive to fully integrate with OS X was tricky, so I took a few notes along the way...

Installing a UJ815 DVD-RAM drive in a Powerbook G4 under OS X 10.3

This was inspired by djjuice at the SpyMac.com forums and AirForceRed at the MacNN.com forums. AirForceRed's original post was here. djjuice's original post was here, but djjuice himself has apparently edited out the revealing passage. It was so difficult finding information about this procedure but in the end so satisfying getting the drive to work under OS X 10.2 and later OS X 10.3 that I wanted to save the method for posterity (and in case the original thread at MacNN ever vanishes!)

Important Note: Before you start this process make sure you have the DiscRecording.framework mentioned by AirForceRed and djjuice.

You will also need a T8 Torx (star-shaped) screwdriver. I ordered one online, but in a pinch a set of mini flat-head screwdrivers will do the job.

The Hardware

First you need to obtain a Matsushita UJ-815 (also known as a Matshita UJ-815 or a Panasonic UJ815) DVD-RAM drive. I got mine at DFWDepot for a grand total of US$342.96 (which included the approximately $60 charge for next-day UPS delivery to southeast England). I dealt with Terry Harrison and apart from what I believe to be an honest mistake with shipping charges (albeit still unresolved - watch this space) everything went smoothly.

Update: the mistake DFWDepot made may have been honest, or maybe not, but in any case in addition to the UPS charge of approximately $60 for shipping from the US to the UK, UPS tacked on another $75 charge for the local delivery from the local airport to my house. This second charge was apparently to pay for a local courier company (it wasn't UPS who actually delivered it to my door). I had to pay the second charge in cash on delivery.

The next step is to install the drive. There is a slick installation instruction document (in PDF format) available from MacResQ. The document for older (400-667Mhz) SVGA Powerbooks is here, while the one for newer DVI (667+Mhz) Powerbooks is here. My torx screwdriver took a lot longer than the drive itself to arrive, so I ended up opening my Powerbook with the 4th largest screwdriver in a typical set of 6 mini-flathead screwdrivers. After that it was easy, with the possible exception of the power cable (unplugging it is slightly fiddly, I used to screwdriver to carefully lever it out), and the whole process only took a few minutes.

The Software

Once you've installed the drive you need to find out what it's called by your system. Fire up Terminal and type

drutil info

The drutil tool will display the name of your newly installed drive. For the UJ815 you're installing this should be 'DVD-RAM UJ-815A'. Remember this information exactly (copy and paste it into TextEdit if you think you can't be exact).

Now turn your attention to the DiskRecording.framework you acquired earlier (you did remember to acquire it right?). Control-click it and select 'Package Contents'. Dig down through the folders and find a file called DeviceSupport.drprofile (it's located in Versions / A / Frameworks / DiscRecordingEngine.framework / Versions / A / Resources). Launch TextEdit and open the DeviceSupport.drprofile file and do a search for 'DVD-RAM'. The first instance you find should look like this:

<key>DRDeviceProductName</key>
<string>DVD-RAM SW-9571</string>
<key>DRDeviceVendorName</key>
<string>MATSHITA</string>


You will be replacing the text DVD-RAM SW-9571 with the text that the drutil tool returned earlier (DVD-RAM UJ-815A). Once you've done that, save the file.

To finish the procedure you need to replace the existing DiskRecording.framework with the one you've modified. The easiest way is to boot into OS9 and then just replace the old version (found at /System/Library/Frameworks) with your modified one.

Reboot into OS X and you're done! Disc burning in the Finder should work now.

Notes

The drive is very noisy at first when you eject discs, and the disc doesn't eject all the way (it 'sticks' a little so you have to give it a light pull to get it out). However after using it for a few weeks the mechanism loosens up and both of these problems go away. The drive is now considerably quieter than the old combo drive it replaced.

Note that if you later update your system software you may have to repeat this procedure (if the update replaces the framework), although hopefully Apple will recognise this drive in the next version of OS X 10.3.

Update: I recently upgraded to OS X 10.3.2 on a fresh install of Panther and copied over my old home folder, including preferences etc. Somewhat surprisingly, the DVD-RAM drive works in the iApps and the Finder under the new install. It seems that it is now supported in 10.3.2, although the framework seems identical to the old one, and System Profiler still claims the drive is unsupported. YMMV.