Author Topic: G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!  (Read 2195 times)

Offline Mayo

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« on: September 07, 2006, 02:42:31 PM »
I wanted to burn a CD for the first time today and the CDs I purchased at Costco some years back won't even show up on the desktop. I cannot tell what brand they are since the label is long gone, but they aren't some strange off-brand, I can tell you that much...

I tried loading another brand of CD and it showed up just fine, but it already has been burned so that doesn't help much except to determine that the drive seems to be working fine.

They also don't show up on my G4 iBook, but it does apppear on the desktop of a MacBook Pro... Very Strange.  Since I want to use a CD to move a large amount of data to the MacBook Pro I am rather stuck at the moment... I'll try installing DropCopy on the MacBook Pro and see if I can transfer the data that way.

Any suggestions for CD brands?  I am rather perplexed running into this problem...

Offline kbeartx

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2006, 03:18:37 PM »
Two words:

Ver Batim coolio.gif

Offline Mayo

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2006, 04:09:41 PM »
I discovered the problem and it isn't the disks...

Since I have never burned a CD using the G5 iMac the default setting for handling CDs was to open iTunes. For some reason the CD would not appear on the desktop in that situation...

I changed the CD/DVD preferences to ask me what to do and I told it to Open Finder. Voila! A CD appeared on the desktop.

Offline RobW

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2006, 05:35:58 PM »
Even so, IAWKbear. biggrin.gif (I also like TDK from time to time--but Verbatim is my first choice.)
-Rob
A couple of IMacs, an iPad, a bunch of iPhones...two of which don’t live here, but I still pay for. Oh yeah, wife, daughters, and yes—a grandson!

Offline Xairbusdriver

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« Reply #4 on: September 08, 2006, 09:15:04 AM »
I thought a CD with absolutely no indication of who made it is the exact definition of "some strange off-brand". dntknw.gif However, I'm glad you found a way to use them, anyway. I didn't even know you could get such CD's until a wek ago. My wife brought a CD that was given to ex-WWII POW's that doesn't even have a 'label' side to it! I could not ell which side was "up"! Naturally, I put it in the drive upside down the first time. Fortunately, I could still eject it. Turned it over and it immediately showed on the Desktop; it was a CD full of images!
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Offline Mayo

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« Reply #5 on: September 08, 2006, 12:07:12 PM »
The CDs came in a 100-count package and I removed the label.  I recall that they were probably TDK or similar well-known brand.

Offline Xairbusdriver

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« Reply #6 on: September 08, 2006, 02:26:52 PM »
I'm aware of 100 packs, that's the way I buy mine, also. But I've never seen a CD ( until last week ) that didn't have info on the 'label' side, at least with the brand name, MB size, etc. It is usually silver-on-silver, but it's readable. The CD I saw last week was completely blank on both sides, couldn't even tell there was a recorded side which usually shows a 'rainbow' when held just right...oh well.
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system
CAUTION! Childhood vaccinations cause adults! :yes:

Offline Parker

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« Reply #7 on: September 08, 2006, 06:09:25 PM »
I bought CD's once without a label on the side
and i tried to burn something on both sides...

didn't really work out that well :\

yea i had a CD hatrid problem with some CD's i bought at CompUSA once
but for some reason after a while they started to work...

weird mucho... wink.gif
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« Reply #8 on: September 08, 2006, 07:12:24 PM »
QUOTE
i tried to burn something on both sides...
Maybe if you turned the burner upside down...Nah! The electrons would probably just fall out...wallbash.gif
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system
CAUTION! Childhood vaccinations cause adults! :yes:

Offline Paddy

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G5 iMac Doesn't Like My CDs!
« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2006, 01:07:00 AM »
What's even more annoying is buying a music CD and there is NO information on it at all. Which way is up? Who knows? Forget which band or artist it is...then you have to put away all the other CDs first to figure out which cover it belongs with. dry.gif

Verbatim CDRs and DVD-Rs are rated highly - if they're made in JAPAN, because then they're really made by Taiyo Yuden who are generally considered top of the heap. If they're made in Taiwan, then they're not Taiyo Yuden, but probably CMC or ProDisc. Apparently the best ones of all are the Verbatim made in Singapore - but I've never seen any of those in my hunting.

Fuji and Maxell made in Japan are also Taiyo Yuden - made in Taiwan or elsewhere and they're probably Ritek. It is difficult to find ANYTHING made in Japan in brick and mortar stores - I've looked. You can, however, find them online - and yes, they will cost a bit more. The Taiyo Yuden CDRs and DVD-Rs can be found online however and are supposed to be second only to Mitsui in archival quality. Mitsui is pretty much impossible to find except online and they're at least twice the price of the Taiyo Yuden from my brief comparison. They also aren't sold by some of the biggest media dealers, like http://www.rima.com

There are people who spend hours and hours discussing the merits of the various brands - it's really quite amazing. I went looking last week to try to decide what to buy in the way of DVD-Rs...

If you really want to get into it, try the forums at http://club.cdfreaks.com

And in the end, I got impatient and just got some Verbatims made in Taiwan from Best Buy! (the shipping costs on some of the online stores was sending the cost of the Taiyo Yuden disks through the roof - I could find good prices, but free shipping only came with purchases of $50 or more - and just how MANY DVD-Rs do I need?? 200 seemed a bit excessive!) tongue.gif
« Last Edit: September 09, 2006, 01:07:33 AM by Paddy »
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