Dear Forum: I have a 12" 867MHz PowerBook, 640 MB DDR SDRAM (maxed) OS 10.3.9,combo drive only, iMovie version 4.0.1, DVD player version 4.0., Panasonic PV-GS300 digital video camera (FireWire.) I can't afford a new laptop, and I want to burn some iMovies to DVD. Would you recommend an external DVD burner compatible with my system? I don't want to upgrade software or OS, as the machine is comfortable with what it has. Thank you in advance!

www.otherworldcomputing has several that I believe should work. you can always call them and ask before you buy. they're nice!

Thank you – I will contact them haste, post haste!

I agree with rahja about OWC. I go further to recommend Pioneer brand. The latest that will burn dual layer dvds is the 116D (ATA) and the 216D (SATA). Pioneer works very well with MacOS. You can use them 'bare' (ie. no enclosure) via a USB adaptor, but firewire is definitely faster and smoother. For f/w you need an enclosure.

With those two you have recommended above, do they perform all the same task as a Superdrive does? Read/write CD and DVD?

The issue I'm having is with the Superdrive that came in my G5 tower is that it can burn DVDs, but if i burn data on a DVD, when I pop it back in, it doesnt even recognize the disc. Will the above listed drives solve this problem?

Welcome to these forums, spicedrack! The drive mechanisms listed do what you want (they are 'superdrives'), and will fix your current problems. For detailed drive specs, check out the OWC or Pioneer web sites.

spicedrack, you might also try using a lens cleaning disk. It is common for optical drives to get just enough dust/road-film on the lens to cause problems.

Yes.

Should do. Naturally I can't guarantee that, but the likelihood is strong. My promotion of the Pioneer brand arises from my own experience and that of numerous others.

Thanks for the great info thus far. Now for another, it looks to be that these are internal drives. I have changed out a CD drive in a Mac G4 before with few problems, but this being a new machine and me not having cracked it open even once, is there anything I should know or be wary about when installing this bad boy? Also, are the ribbon cables already in my G5 sufficient to provide optimum performance for the drive?

Not quite "internal" but 'bare'. One would usually put them in an enclosure of some sort, including a desktop or tower machine. You would not try to put one inside a PowerBook. For that you need the slimline model of either Pioneer eg. KO6, or Sony (I cannot recommend Matshita).

Your original post said "external" so if you buy something like the 116D or 216D, it will look just like the pics of them on the websites. You can use them like that (I do*) using a cheap ATA-USB adaptor, or you can put one in a powered firewire enclosure, which will give you faster i/o.

*Because I tend to hoard my various gadgets, I have 7 optical drives, ranging from CD-ROM and CD-RW, to DVD-ROM and DVD-RW. The older ones are not worth trying to sell. At any time I can hook them up with the adaptor to a USB port and transfer data, play music etc.

Hugh, thanks for the info, exactly what I was looking for. I'll be grabbing the SATA drive and leave it external.

And, of course, one last question:

Any brand suggestions for the adapter cables, or are all brands pretty much going to work fine?

A brand name may be of little use to you, 1) because it doesn't have one (made in China) and 2) it's likely to be different in your country. I would attach a pic of one but I don't think this forum permits attachments, so here's a link to view one: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/Peripherals/Other/auction-191733450.htm.
That dollar figure is NZ, so if you're in the US it'll be about $16-$18.

Just make sure the adaptor is either SATA>USB2 or a combo ATA/SATA>USB2 (I have both, but don't need the SATA). Be aware too that the term IDE is still used in place of ATA. The units come with their own power supply, cables, plugs etc.