Creating an external DVD drive for a G3 iBook

December 28, 2005 11:30 PM

For Christmas, my roommate bought me an internal LG DVD+R/RW drive. The trouble is that I have a G3 iBook (900 MHz, the last model produced before they went G4). From my scouring, it seems that Roxio Toast 6 is the latest bit of software to support G3 Macs. Will that, along with a firewire/USB2 enclosure to make it act as an external drive, be all I need to pirate like mad? Follow up question: Where would I be able to find an enclosure in downtown Manhattan? Is it as simple as going to Radioshack? Please say it's as simple as going to Radioshack. Also, if forced to choose, is firewire or USB2 preferable?
posted by incomple to computers & internet (11 comments total)

Honestly, I think your best bet is to return the internal drive, and buy a proper external DVD burner. It's certainly possible to get an enclosure, but I think you'll be better off with something that works out of the box.

And as I don't believe your G3 has USB2 ports, you'll definitely want to go with a firewire device.

As for software, you should be able to run any OS X software on your G3. Handbrake and Roxio Popcorn should be all you need to "pirate like mad." While both apps will run faster on a better processor - it takes a lot of horsepower to rip and compress video - they should still work on your machine.
posted by aladfar at 11:38 PM on December 28, 2005

I definitely agree, though he bought it off an apparently seedy retailer online, and it arrived in a cardboard box with no invoice (and no manual or software for that matter). At this point I don't want to seem ingrateful.

It seems like a pretty good drive, all considered. Though the faceplate only mentions burning in +R, I just researched the model number, and it handles +/- and can burn dual layer. Now it seems to be a matter of finding software that will be both compatible with my G3 (as seemingly everything up-to-date has a minimum requirement of a G4) and will allow me to take full advantage of the drive's capabilities.
posted by incomple at 12:05 AM on December 29, 2005

I just took another look at macupdate, and it doesn't look like a G4 is required for Toast or similar software, just recommended. When you've got the drive working download a demo or two and see what works.
posted by aladfar at 12:28 AM on December 29, 2005

After digging through some results and trying some random phrases in Google, I came upon the following....

Well, I can report that the LG GSA 4163B internal burner with
external firewire case does work with my iBook G3 running 10.3.8.
I've only done two data burns, but they appeared to go swimmingly.

I also purchased Toast 6. I realize I probably could have got along
just using 5 and the updates, but for various reasons I decided to
upgrade.

At this point, it appears that the only hurdles for me to overcome will be those of my own stupidity. Thank you so much, aladfar, for all of your help.

Now if I can just find where to buy an enclosure below 23rd and above Canal...
posted by incomple at 12:38 AM on December 29, 2005

AFAIK (and i'm writing this on a 700 G3 iBook) there was no USB2 on those, only firewire. Saying that, a DVD Burner in an external firewire case will work fine in Toast.
posted by oliyoung at 2:27 AM on December 29, 2005

I don't think the 'shack' has enclosures.
CompUSA will. J&R Music World, likely will too. (call both)
The apple store likely won't.
posted by filmgeek at 4:58 AM on December 29, 2005

What about Tekserve in Chelsea? They probably have some firewire enclosures. Personally I would buy one from someplace like OWC Computing since then it's guaranteed to be Mac compatible and (even with overnight shipping!) probably cheaper than New York retail.
posted by bcwinters at 5:17 AM on December 29, 2005

You might also be interested in Patchburn(freeware), which will tinker your machine into doing iTunes/iMovie support for your spiffy new 'unsupported' writer.
posted by Orb2069 at 5:50 AM on December 29, 2005

I've used an "internal" Sony DVD burner in a generic external firewire enclosure with Toast and Disk Utility to burn discs. I'm not sure if it was the drive or the enclosure, but the burning was always unpredictable.

I then got a Plextor internal DVD burner to try out in the same enclosure - since I've had very good experiences with the Plextor brand in the past. Same flakey problems!

Finally, I got the -same- Plextor drive inside an official Plextor firewire enclosure, and my problems disappeared.
posted by odinsdream at 6:47 AM on December 29, 2005

I currently have a NEC DVD burner working in an external enclosure, with little worries. Avoid the Prolific PL3507 chipset -- it is flaky, and quite probably the cause of odinsdream's problems. What that means in practice is that you can't get the $30-$50 Firewire enclosure, but instead must get the $70-$90 enclosure.

That said, mine works just fine. It does not seem to be able to handle burning at 8x, and fails quite ungracefully if asked to, but otherwise it works with no problems. I have not had anywhere near the problems with my bargain basement PL3507 as some have had.
posted by teece at 9:38 AM on December 29, 2005

1. Toss it in an external firewire case, as previously stated
2. Try looking online for the FW case.
3. There are "computer shows" in New Jersey on the weekend where you should be able to find cheap odd computer gear, like FW cases.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:10 AM on December 29, 2005