iMac G4 700MHz Optical Drive Replacement

[Clinton]

It's been a while since I've worked on an iMac G4, and I seem to recall from years ago that there were some compatibility issues with optical drives.

Given the difficulty of replacement, there isn't a whole lot of documentation on what works and what doesn't, and what's out there are typically 10-15 year old forum posts with conflicting information.

Aside from physical size, what do I need to look out for when picking out a new tongue for my G4?

 

[macintosh2002]

I can highly recommend the optical drive from a PowerMac G5, worksgreat and fits into that place.

 

[Berenod]

I bought a:
NEC DVD±R/RW (+R DL) Rewritable Drive ND-3500A IDE Double Layer Writer black
a while back to replace the optical drive in my iMac G4 800mHz.
Works just fine...Just need to take off the front bezel.
Golden tip: be carefull with the metal sheeting used in the iMac, sharp as hell, cut my finger rather badly
9€ on eBay...

 

[Franklinstein]

Pioneer was OE for a lot of Apple's higher-end optical drives back in the day so they're usually a safe bet.

I'd probably avoid anything with extra buttons (play/pause/skip/etc) and/or from low-end manufacturers (AOpen, etc).

 

[alectrona2988]

One particular drive I remember using with a Power Mac G5 was the Sony-Optiarc AD-7220A which has 3rd party burning support. Unfortunately mine went out so I'm debating on recommending it or not. They seem to be reliable drives, but mine came from a recycler soooo... that could be it. It should also work in the G4 iMac as it's also IDE.