How do you format or write to a DVD-RAM?

adric22 · #1 December 30th, 2008, 07:58 AM

I've recently switched to Mac from Windows. I use a lot of DVD-RAM for storage. I held my breath as I inserted a DVD-RAM into my new aluminum iMac (running Leopard) and saw that it mounted the disc and I could read it. But my heart sank when I realized I couldn't write to it, or even reformat it. The disc utility tells me I can't erase the disc, and I'm guessing the UDF format used by Nero's In-CD is incompatible for writing?

I've searched all over google and can't find much on this.

ElDiabloConCaca · #2 December 30th, 2008, 08:19 AM

I think support for DVD-RAM was dropped around 10.3 or 10.4. Apple used to include those drives in their early PowerMac G4 towers, but it was soon replaced by DVD-R and DVD+R.

I don't think Mac OS X natively supports writing to DVD-RAM anymore. You may want to look into Roxio's Toast software -- maybe contact them, as I couldn't find anything on their site with a quick search that led me to believe that Toast does indeed support writing to DVD-RAM.

You may also have luck re-formatting the DVD-RAM drive to the Mac-native format of HFS+.

Mikuro · #3 December 30th, 2008, 11:47 AM

I don't think the issue here is OS X so much as the drive. Most DVD burners do not support DVD-RAM, just R and RW. If you open System Profiler (in /Applications/Utilities) and go to the Disc Burning section, it should list all types of media that the drive can write to.

Apple makes no mention of DVD-RAM on their tech specs page. You might need an external drive. I know that most (perhaps all) Blu-ray burners support DVD-RAM.

MisterMe · #4 December 30th, 2008, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikuro

I don't think the issue here is OS X so much as the drive. ...

I believe that you are correct. MacOS X 10.4 supports floppy diskettes which are much older than DVD-RAM discs. To remove support for DVD-RAM would effectively remove support for the early Power Mac G4s while maintaining support for older G3s. That makes no sense and I don't believe that Apple did it.