I just received a great email.
Richard:
I’m writing this to thank you for your help with my MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857D problem. I followed your advice and wrote to Steve Jobs at his Apple e-mails and I got an answer; they fixed my superdrive for free. They realized that it was a worldwide problem and fixed it, no questions asked.
So thank you for the advice.
It’s times like these that I’m glad I wrote up a detailed article on fixing these SuperDrives. The entire SuperDrive saga is in the Matshita SuperDrive category of the blog.
Countless Macintosh users have been troubled over the last year by a firmware-corrupting update that Apple Inc. released for Matshita disc drives in MacBook and MacBook Pro computers, SuperDrive 2.1 Update. Possible solutions were premiered, but none proved permanent. I wrote this post to help those affected by this problem; if you’re lucky enough not to be plagued by this issue, skip this post.
My complete personal saga with this issue lives in the Matshita SuperDrive category of this blog. I encourage you to read the buildup to my permanent solution. Through these personal experience and heartache, I have determined that the only solution for this problem is a SuperDrive replacement.
First, a recap of my experience. In August 2007, after applying to SuperDrive 2.1 update, I realized that my MacBook Pro wasn’t recognizing or burning certain types of media. I sent my MacBook Pro in for a drive replacement. Unfortunately, Apple’s technicians only reinstalled Tiger on my computer, which didn’t solve my issue. Although I was outraged, I decided to deal with the issue another time. In late December 2007, I came across a firmware patch for my drive and applied it. It was only a temporary fix, as many users have found out. Come late January 2008, I finally decided to try Apple Support again. After two phone calls, I arranged a drive replacement.
After twelve days, I had my computer back with a brand new HL-DT-ST DVDRW GWA4080MA drive.
I believe that the only solution for this problem is to call Apple Support and demand a SuperDrive replacement. As far as I know, Apple have not officially recognized the SuperDrive problem. Here are my tips:
- Take names of your support agents.
- Stay consistent with your story.
- Don’t admit any firmware hacks, period.
- Don’t take “no” for an answer.
- Call back if you don’t get what you want.
- Mention all of the articles you’ve read online of people saying its a corrupted firmware caused by an Apple update.
- If you’re told to reinstall your operating system, tell the support agent you’ll do so and call back in an hour.
- Email all of Steve Jobs’ email addresses. I’m serious. (steve@mac.com, sjobs@apple.com, sjobs@mac.com). Tell your story and show your disappointment in the company. You’ll likely get contacted by Apple’s Executive Office.
Please leave any thoughts and experiences in the comments. I hope every last person affected by this issue gets his or her SuperDrive replaced.
My dearest MacBook Pro’s SuperDrive is at it again: it won’t burn discs. To save you from reading up on my two past experiences (one, two), I’ll summarize them.
A long time ago, I applied the SuperDrive 2.1 Update from Apple, as anyone who runs Apple’s Software Update utility should. Essentially, that update has been either bricking or severely limiting the function of drives everywhere. I sent the MacBook Pro to Apple, and rather than replacing the drive, they reformatted the drive and reinstalled Mac OS X Tiger. Eventually, some enterprising coders wrote a firmware patch utility, which actually solved my problems for a limited period. This last week, the problem reappeared, and I spent most of my day working to solve it. I twittered my experience with Apple Support:
- On with Apple Support to fix SuperDrive. 15 minutes waiting, starting now, for a rep.
- Hold music is awful. Surprise! But, I can forgive that. So far, no strikes against Apple.
- My problem? The infamous SuperDrive 2.1 Update hosed my drive. Apple refuses to acknowledge it online… let’s see if they do on the phone.
- I sent it in for a drive replacement in the past… instead, they reinstalled Tiger. I’m angry and finally have enough time to deal with it.
- Hold music stopped… I’m just sitting alone, cold, and scared.
- I feel like my call has been dropped into a bottomless pit. Calling again. >:/
- Extended wait time. “You may prefer to call back later.” – How about no.
- Current hold music: Coldplay – In My Place … I love that song! That almost makes up for my disconnection and extended waiting.
- Connected to an agent. Let’s see how it goes.
- “Let me see what I can do here.” I bet you that you can’t do anything. I’ve tried all the standard troubleshooting steps. The drive is bad!
- “Let’s see if I can cure this somehow.” I’d be overjoyed.
- “I think it’s a software issue.” It’s not!
- He wants me to reinstall Leopard! It’s. Not. Software.
- They refuse to acknowledge that the SuperDrive 2.1 Update firmware was corrupt. Off the phone. I was told to reinstall Leopard… AHHHHH!
- I’m going to have to reformat my system this evening. Of course, it won’t fix the problem. Then I’ll call back for more bogus advice.
- Guess what? A Leopard reinstall didn’t fix the corrupt firmware on my MacBook Pro’s SuperDrive. Calling Apple again.
- Estimated wait time, fifteen minutes. Here we go again, twitter friends. Let’s hope that I’ve now proven it’s not an OS issue.
- On the phone with a technician.
- 32 minutes on the phone, they’re sending me a box. Promised me they’re replacing the SuperDrive this time.
As you can tell, it took three phone calls and two support agents before I was given what I want: a box sent to my house to send the computer to Apple and the promise of a new SuperDrive.
I’ll keep everyone posted.
This fix has been proven temporary. Many users have used it and had a working drive. After reboots, however, the drive firmware is corrupted again. Only try this method as a last resort.
A more detailed post on this issue is coming soon.
A little backstory… Many months ago, Apple released a software update titled “SuperDrive Update 2.1″ for MacBook and MacBook Pro computers. Unfortunately, the update was flawed. It bricked many drives, and severely limited the function of others. Here’s a quick article on the matter:
Following close on the heels of our recent report that Apple’s SuperDrive Firmware Update 2.1 for MacBook and MacBook Pro is causing widespread failure of optical drives (as witness, for example, the plethora of reports on Apple’s own discussion boards), Apple has apparently pulled the update from circulation. The previous information URL … now leads nowhere. Neither does the download link.
My drive was damaged in that it no longer would recognize CD-R media (blank CDs). Back in July, I sent my MacBook Pro to Apple for a SuperDrive replacement, and they sent it back with a new installation of Tiger. Although I was outraged, that fixed my problem for a few months – until I installed Mac OS X Leopard. Again, my drive would not recognize cd-r media, and would report voltage errors in disk utility.
Again, Apple has shown us the company that they are. They refuse to officially acknowledge the issue to spite the outcry of thousands of users whose computers have been damaged.
Luckily, a very talented hacker (in a good sense) has released a tool to fix the problem. In this thread on Apple’s discussion boards, someone re-posted the fix. In hopes of spreading the remedy, I’m reposting it here. Continue reading ‘Possible MacBook Pro SuperDrive 2.1 Fix’