AboutJeffrey J. Wrobel Expertise I can answer OS compatibility questions, from OS 7 to OS X 10.5.x Leopard. I have extensive experience in software installation, use, and troubleshooting as well as many aspects of high level hardware repair. Any questions about peripherals and their Mac-compatibility are also welcome. I am very current in all aspects of the Max OS, while having an excellent breadth of knowledge of older machines. My work keeps me in constant contact with Mac suppliers, products, and problems, enabling me to not only draw on my past experience, but also to add to that experience every day. Living in Rhode Island with family near Cape Cod, Mass has proven to be a bit lacking in Mac popularity (Yankees are slow to change), but momentum is building for Apple.
Experience
Past/Present clients My life experience has taken me from the US Army to working with the criminally insane. Pursued a philosophy degree while working in pyschology, then ended up doing graphic design, marketing modular construction products, and ultimately starting the computer business that I now own. At 41 years old, I plan to make my triumphant return to college and get a master's degree in philosophy.
Clients include a multi-million dollar international manufacturing firm, a nationwide jewelry/gemstone distributor, numerous town libraries, 2 school districts, a few celebrities, a famous author, a prominent film maker, Brown University & RISD faculty and students, and numerous small businesses and individuals in Rhode Island, Cape Cod, and Boston. I also have a nationwide Powerbook/iBook/Macbook repair program and I sell refurbished Mac parts. The growth of my company, which was a record-breaker in 2007, has been a direct result of my customer service and the experience gained through helping the folks that use All Experts.
Expert: Jeffrey J. Wrobel Date: 5/8/2008 Subject: Toast Titanium 8.0.1
Question Hi , I'm on an eMac OSX 10.4.11 .
When I put a DVD in to record Toast keeps spitting them out telling me to insert a recordable disk . I've tried many different brands all with the same problem . It plays pre-recorded it's only blank ones .
I have no problem with CD-R only DVD-R , are you able to help me please ,
with appreciation Wayne Rogers .
Answer Dear Wayne,
Before I get into the rest of my solution, I need you to do something for me and that is to go to the Blue Apple and select About this Mac. Once the little window shows up, click on the More info button. The System Profiler will open. Look at that and select Disc Burning from the left column. Look to the right and you should see in the center of the list
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
If there is no DVD write or there is nothing after DVD-Write, then you have a COMBO drive that only burns CDs and reads DVDs. See the end of the answer to upgrade for very little money.
This may have something to do with the CDDB prefs or another file in preferences, but it is a long shot. Go to your HOME directory (house icon) and find the Library folder in there. Open Library and find the folder named Preferences. In there, find and trash these files: CD Info.cidb and anything that starts with CDDB. Most times, there isn't a file name CDDB in TIger, but if there is get rid of it. Empty the trash.
The next thing you need to do is to go to the Utilities folder (GO/Utilities in the Finder) and open Disk Utility. In the left column of Disk Utility, you need to click on the second disk in the list (the FIRST INDENTED item, called Macintosh HD by default). Then just click on Repair DIsk Permissions button in the lower center of the window. Let it run until it is done and do a SHUT DOWN. Let it sit for about 15 seconds, then push the power button. Try it again. If it still does this, reinstall a new copy of Toast and see if that works (take the old copy OUT of Applications first, then install the new copy).
I'm curious, does iDVD work at all and can you burn a DVD in DIsk Utility? Burning in Disk Utility is easy. Just make a backup and burn it to DVD. Take your User folder (the HOME directory with your user name on it) and make a DMG of it. Do this by opening Disk Utility and not selecting ANYTHING then clicking on New Image. Save it as your user name and choose 4.7GB DVD as size, no encryption, and Read/Write Disk Image in the third selector. Then save it to your disk drive. Once you do that, double click on the dmg and it will mount as an empty disk on your desktop. Drag your user folder into the disk (there may not be enough room, so then just fill it up with as many folders from your user folder as you can (like Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, etc). When it is close to full, just eject the disk by dragging it to the trash. Then, take the DMG and drop it in the lower left column of the Disk Utility window. Click ONCE on it to select it, then click on the BURN button in the upper left of the window. It will ask for a DVD. Try putting one in and see what happens. If nothing happens and the disk is spit out, you need a replacement superdrive, which are inexpensive and easy to get from Otherworld Computing. Just go to this link and order one: (they are only $31.99! and come with instructions)
If you are fairly mechanical and can use a hex key and small phillips head screwdriver, the process is simple and doesn't take long at all. In fact, on the emac, the first thing you can see when you get the covers off is the DVD drive.
Good Luck and please ask any related lingering questions with a followup and I will get right back to you, okay?
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Wrobel
