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Apple Posts Slot-Loading Drive Update
K-dog writes "Apple has posted a firmware update for the slot loading combo drives in Xserves and PowerBooks. 'This update installs new firmware on PowerBook and Xserve Combo drives. The update prevents Combo drives from intermittently failing to eject discs. It's recommended that you install this update to ensure that your Combo drive avoids this problem.' It's kind of ironic that I spent an hour on the phone with Apple trying to get one of our new 12" PB to eject!" I have a new-ish PowerBook G4/867, with a Combo drive, and it reports, "This hardware does not require this update." I wish Apple would be more specific about what systems this is actually for. Or maybe what the problem is.
Apple Tech:
*Waves hand*
"There is no problem with your computer"
You:
"There is no problem with my computer"
Apple Tech:
"This isn't the update you're looking for"
You:
"This isn't the update I'm looking for"
The best way I have found to deal with it is to go into the Terminal and manually view the files from there, and use umount to unmount the disk, and then eject the CD by using the eject button in the now-crippled iTunes.And I still get a message saying that I have not ejected the disk prooperly.
A really big pain to use a CD.
But I still prefer my Mac over ANY OS from the borg.
I mean, if Apple announced that a study found that there was absolutely nothing wrong with slot-loading drives, and did so while you were on the phone with an Apple tech, that'd be ironic. You sir (or madam, I really didn't bother to find out) experienced a coincidence. For more info, check out Dictionary.com's definition of ironic, specifically the "Usage Note".
I would guess that it has to do with the fact that Apple is the sole supplier of Apple hardware. So a problem with Powerbook drives is more likely to affect a larger percentage of the total users than would an incompatibility between Windows and a particular brand of 3rd party UPS (as per your example).
Quoteth the post:
... in Xserves and PowerBooks. The update prevents Combo drives from intermittently failing to eject discs.
:-)
.....
I wish Apple would be more specific about what systems this is actually for. Or maybe what the problem is.
Where's the confusion about what the problem is, or what systems are affected? Sounds like a number of slot-loading combo drives used in Xserves and PowerBooks have a problem with intermittently failing to eject discs. After reading the 3 sentence bit about this issue, I would have asked myself:
1) Do I have an Xserve or PowerBook?
2) Does the slot-loading combo drive of said Xserve or PowerBook have a problem with intermittently failing to eject discs?
It seems to me that answering these two questions would tell me whether or not I need to run this firmware update. Or maybe I'm missing something?
Perl - $Just @when->$you ${thought} s/yn/tax/ &couldn\'t %get $worse;
Think Different [Apple.com]
Roses are red, Violets are Blue,
I'm a dyslexic, Yap Slap Dibble.
Irony is not particularly difficult to understand. It occurs when an actual event is the exact opposite of what would reasonably be expected.
Given that there was obviously a problem with the slot-loading drives on these computers, it doesn't seem at all ironic that you would spend time working with tech support to solve that problem. Not just not ironic, but downright likely.
I love Apple too, but this is silly--how did this firmware update get on the front page? It doesn't even affect all that many Apple users...I don't see Windows updates on the main page, and I'm glad about that--because it isn't really news. In a category, certainly--but there MUST be something you can post to the front page that's more vital than this, isn't there?
I wish Apple would be more specific about what systems this is actually for.
The firmware update is for newer Powerbooks and Xserves that use the Matshita CW-8122 combo drive. It updates the firmware to version BA21. Previously used combo drives are not affected by the update.
Check out xlr8yourmac for further info and reports about the firmware update.
Twelve fingers or one, its how you play. ~Gattaca (Vincent)
I was listening to a CD, and it was, like, working fine. And then, like, there was an update to fix my problems. And I was, like ? heh?
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
What I really want to see is Firmware that upgrades my superdrive to a 2x or greater dvd burner. that would make me REAL happy.
Because Apple had the Good Sense to put the icons on the right side of the desktop. Therefore, everything they do is now newsworthy.
Because this is Slashdot, which is now a Mac site.
In 1997, most of the Slashdot crowd used Windows, but they wouldn't admit it.
In 1999, many of the people commenting used Linux. Well, probably only some of the time. But some of the most vocal Slashdot supporters were the biggest supporters of Linux.
Linux, however, only appealed to a small audience here on Slashdot. It lacked the hardware and software support that most Slashdot users wanted.
Most of Slashdot at the time was "Closet Windows" users. They really, really wanted to get away from Windows, but Linux just wasn't a great option (even more so at the time). They talked about how great Linux was, but never used it.
Then Mac OS X came out. It had UNIX features. You could run Apache or Bash (you can do this on Windows too, by the way). It supported all the hardware you wanted flawlessly (the only hardware you wanted already came with your computer). But most of all, it wasn't Windows.
Mac OS X was perfect for those who hated Windows but couldn't make the jump to Linux - a large part of Slashdot posters.
Macs have a cult-like following. This happens because they are "different". The're also more expensive, and cooler looking. Just like a sports car, Macs set their owners apart from everyone else. Here's a fact: few people actually need a sports car. Macs appeal to those who want to spend a little more money for the "extra touches" - the OS, the appearence of the hardware, and other such things. Mac owners often develop a superiority complex (as do most people with luxury products). They express this by trying to convince people how ultimately superior Macs are to PCs. As if they are trying to justify their slower hardware and $500 extra cost.
The editors of Slashdot all got Macs. They are now part of that cult. It's all about bashing Microsoft or Dell or whoever stands in their way. When an article about a cool new Dell laptop with a WUXGA screen, DVD burner, and GeForce4 Ti graphics comes out, the only comments are about how superior the 17" PowerBook is. How the 1GHz G4 is faster than a 2.5GHz P4. How the Dell is "hotter", even though the PowerBook gets extremely hot and the Dell does not (thanks to the fans). How Mac OS X is better than Windows. How Macs must be so much more durable. How the high-resolution screen is "unreadable" (it's not). And any praise gets modded into oblivion. When a new PowerBook comes out, the opposite is true. Our savior has come, crush those PC infedels.
Guess what? Most Slashdot users still use Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Last I checked, it was near 70%. But Windows users don't need to defend their platform. It gets the job done, like a car or a pickup truck. Many of us don't want sports cars. But those with sports cars are the ones that speek the loudest.
Welcome to Macdot. News for Mac users. Everyone else go away.
Let the flame war begin.
Physicsnerd
"Physics is like sex, sure it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it" - Feynman
One reason this update is very important is that there is no manual eject on the combo drives. If a disk won't eject you have to send it in for servicing. This would be extremely bad in the case of an Xserve.
From Terminal, you can open any folder (even supposedly hidden ones) with simply: /Volumes
/Volumes/cdname
open
My question is, is the CD in question listed in in the Volumes directory? If so, does open
work, and open a Finder window? If so, can you right/ctrl-click and choose Eject? I know you can do all of that using a standard CD, but haven't had any problem CDs I can try it on. I have a feeling it won't, but you didn't specify what path you use to view the files, if it is through Volumes or through a unix alias. Of course, if there is a path to a folder open may still work, though it might not be recognized as a CD for eject to appear.
Anyway, it's just a thought.
R: That voice. Where have I heard that voice before? B: In about 365 other episodes. But I don't know who it is either.
This makes me yearn for the days of the "ejectrode".
For those of you who don't remember/know, an ejectrode was a device (usually a stretched out paper-clip) that was used to manually extricate floppies out of their drive when they refused to pop out themselves. This was done by pushing the ejectrode into the small hole beside the floppy entrance, as there was no manual ejection button like on most modern floppy drives.
It was pretty funny, because you would see a few of those around any mac office (at least around our office in the mid 90's), and you knew EXACTLY what they were for.
It's too bad that the Combo drives have no such feature.
$0.02 (CDN)
I don't see why Apple bothered. I posted this cause I felt it was ironic that Apple made a Firmware update to in my own words allow the owner to eject their CDs.... uhhhh better!
I spent an hour on the phone with some chick at apple who had me hold down the mouse button at startup, hold dow the eject button at startup, Zap the PRAM, Reset NVRAM, Reset all parameters, reset the PMU, startup into the boot loader and try ejecting, and even load open firmware and type the command "eject cd". The Firmware told me "Can't OPEN the EJECT device" so then she gave me a dispatch number.
The next morning I'm updating a PB 12" and this update shows up!! The odd thing was that these PB's had Superdrives and not combo drives which makes me wonder if the update is for all slot-loader drives.
-the best is yet to come
I just hope I'm around to double-click on it-
...a fresh firmware, ready to be patched.
Thank you Apple, and please, please, release many more firmwares...
Considering this updates the drive firmware, this means that we now have a prog to flash those matshita drives under OSX ... :)
...
Plus the firmware is inside the app
This could be a good path to start modifying that patch so it can change the RPC setting on the drive
(maybe also to remove restrictions, like enable RW dvds, stuffs like that)
And I'm proud. *points at the clueless wintel loser* hehehe, silly :)
YarrRrr