Miglia has had the same message posted on their site for months, ever since OS X Leopard was released:
“AlchemyTV and AlchemyTV DVR are not compatible with Mac OS X 10.5. We are currently working on an update that will be released as soon as it is ready for prime-time. As AlchemyTV DVR started its life in the 10.2 days (and works fine up to 10.4.11), the architecture needs profound modifications to enable 10.5 compatibility. The update is taking longer than we would really like, but rest asssured that we are working on it.”
I have rest assured for eight months now, still unable to use the card with OS X Leopard on my PowerMac G5. Whenever I try to run the software, a kernel panic happens and the little grey screen appears telling me to restart.
There is a workaround for anyone with this problem though. That is, to have a working copy of Tiger on a separate volume, so the card has an OS that will run it. Then, you could boot into Tiger whenever you want to use the card. I have this setup and it is rather cumbersome. First off, Leopard’s Spotlight constantly wants to index the other volume, so I had to exclude it from the search. And the fact that I have to boot into another OS is really inconvenient. If I wanted to do that, I would have installed Windows.
Why wasn’t Miglia testing out their card while Leopard was still under development? Miglia, please update the software for the Alchemy DVR to work with OS X Leopard!
The original Superdrive in my 2003 PowerMac G5 stopped burning DVDs quite awhile ago. Roxio Toast Titanium always would fail to start a burn, often resulting in a Medium Write Error. OS X is usually good at describing what an error is, unlike Windows. Most people don’t know what a Medium Write Error is. To put it simply, it means something about the burn process is not working with either the Superdrive, the brand or type of CD/DVD, or OS X. There are different types of Medium Write Errors, often proceeded with an Error number. Google this number and you will find out what the particular error means. Once a Medium Write Error occurred frequently on a MacBook Pro, but I figured out it was something in my User Preferences causing the problem, because when I’d log in as another user, burning would work fine. Creating a new user fixed the problem (this won’t always fix a Medium Write Error). Sometimes my G5 would not burn onto a particular brand of DVD, causing a Medium Write Error. The Sony DW-U10A that came with my G5 always was particular.
The Freeware Application Burn, an excellent App for burning I might add, notified me that my faulty Superdrive would not calibrate the laser for burning a DVD-R. But it would burn CDs fine. There are actually two different lasers in a DVD-RW drive, one for reading and writing CD media and another for DVDs. So, off to purchase another Superdrive. But there were so many to choose from…
I Took a gander over at Other World Computing (OWC), an excellent Authorized Apple Reseller. They shipped me the drive 2-Day FedEx from Illinois, for a fantastic price, under $40! The price was so well under what I expected, that I decided to pick up another 1 GB of RAM for my G5 too… Third Party RAM is always something to look out for online. Certain brands are not compatible with a Mac, even if they have the same specifications you need. OWC has a great listing of all the RAM that is compatible with your specific Mac.
I ended up purchasing a Pioneer DVD-115DBK, it can burn DVD-Rs at 16x and CD-Rs at 56x or greater (I burned a 440MB CD-R in a minute and a half!), and even records on Dual Layer DVD-RW. Needless to say, it is a vast improvement over the Superdrive that came with the PowerMac G5 originally, and for the price of $34.95!
I had to carefully pry off the front door of the drive so it could clear the drive bay in the G5, instructions for this were included with the shipment from OWC. I also had a Service Manual for my G5 handy with instructions for replacing the SuperDrive.
Buying RAM for an APPLE can be tricky but installing it is a piece of cake! Some RAM may have the correct specification but simply won’t work. Make sure when buying RAM it is certified for running on an Apple.
Where do I find out what RAM I need?
The online method below tells me the exact specification of memory I will need to purchase and give me a tutorial about installing the RAM as well. Instructions for installing RAM should be in the user manual that came with the computer too. The specification will be listed there as well.
Surf to www.apple.com and click the Support Tab.
On the left hand side of the Support Page, choose the model and the support page for that Mac will appear.
Click the How-To tab in the middle of the page. Click the How to install memory link.
Specifications for the RAM and an Installation tutorial will appear. Print these out.
What RAM is already in my Computer?
I can check this in System Profiler. Click the Apple in the top left of the screen. Select About this Mac. In the window that pops up, Click More info… Select Memory from the list of devices in the System Profiler window. A list of available memory will appear.
Each list item = a module of RAM. My MacBook Pro can only hold 2 DIMMS of memory, meaning two modules. Turns out my MacBook Pro holds 2 DIMMS of 512 MB each. So, if I wanted to upgrade to 3 GB I would have to buy a 1 GB DIMM and 2GB DIMM, since I only have two slots available. It is never a good idea to exceed the manufacturer’s recommended amount of RAM.
Where can I buy RAM?
I usually search for good prices for RAM on Pricewatch.com. Look for the correct specification found in the User Manual or on Apple’s support site. The specifications for RAM should look similar to these:
- 1.25 inch or smaller
- 512 MB or 1 gigabyte (GB)
- 200-pin
- PC2-5300 DDR2 667 MHz Type RAM
This is the specification for RAM in a 15 inch Intel MacBook Pro.
If you are nervous, pay the extra and by it direct from Apple. RAM purchased direct from Apple will work. Everything else is a gamble. It may seem like it works for a time, then when you try to install OS X the system just can’t handle it and CRASH! Buy the RAM that meet the specs and seems like a good deal. Double check it meets all the specifications listed. Make sure the website says it works with Apple.
Follow the instructions for Installation from the Apple support site or the user manual that came with the computer. Make sure you are grounded! It is really easy to do.
Ever wonder how you could turn your G5 into an oversized alarm clock? Anders Lundberg sure figured it out and illustrates on his website how to make one. You can purchase kits or fully assembled clocks to stuff right in your G5. They are completely autonomous, so no voided warranties.
http://www.paulanders.com/G5-LED/edel4.htm
