I just received this powerbook. Bought it as is for parts. I plugged it in with the adapter from another model that fit. I tried it after a couple of hours, and it booted right up! It is a Lombard 333mhz, 192mb of ram, 6gb harddrive. The battery charged up too!! But instead of a cd rom it has the dvd in it. I think the DVD is from a Pismo, the dvd is marked made in 2000 while the powerbook is marked 1999. When I tried to use the dvd, I get a no hardware installed warning. I know that dvd was an option for the 333mhz model. So what do I need to do to get this dvd working in this Lombard???
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PowerBook 333mhz G3 dvd
- Thread starter 30pin
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tomlee59
Well-known member
Are you trying to watch a DVD movie, or are you trying to mount a data disc?
If you can't mount a data DVD, then perhaps you simply have a driver problem. Make sure that the CD/DVD extension is present and enabled.
If you can mount a data DVD, but cannot watch a movie, then it might be that the version of DVD Player you have expects hardware support for the MPEG2 decode. It's possible/probable that your Lombard lacks this hardware, and that the error message is complaining about that lack. As a workaround, you can try playing DVD movies with a later version of DVD Player, which performs the MPEG decode in software.
EDIT: Alas, as subsequent posts have shared, a 333MHz Lombard is too slow for satisfactory DVD playback. A special DVD decoder card is needed.
If you can't mount a data DVD, then perhaps you simply have a driver problem. Make sure that the CD/DVD extension is present and enabled.
If you can mount a data DVD, but cannot watch a movie, then it might be that the version of DVD Player you have expects hardware support for the MPEG2 decode. It's possible/probable that your Lombard lacks this hardware, and that the error message is complaining about that lack. As a workaround, you can try playing DVD movies with a later version of DVD Player, which performs the MPEG decode in software.
EDIT: Alas, as subsequent posts have shared, a 333MHz Lombard is too slow for satisfactory DVD playback. A special DVD decoder card is needed.
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beachycove
Well-known member
Didn't the early Lombards require the pcmcia dvd decoder card?
Unknown_K
Well-known member
I think lombards needed the PCMCIA DVD card while the Pismos didn't for viewing DVDs.
Are you running OS 9.2.x? It looks for specific hardware decoder cards on specific machines to play back DVDs. On my B&W with a G4 it would play back DVDs using the ATI rage 128 with DVD decoder card using OS 9.2.2 but not when I have a Radeon video card (which should be able to do hardware decoding but the OS doesn't know that without patches/hacks). I believe OSX does not recognize the older hardware cards (B&W G3 or Wallstreet/Lombard).
Are you running OS 9.2.x? It looks for specific hardware decoder cards on specific machines to play back DVDs. On my B&W with a G4 it would play back DVDs using the ATI rage 128 with DVD decoder card using OS 9.2.2 but not when I have a Radeon video card (which should be able to do hardware decoding but the OS doesn't know that without patches/hacks). I believe OSX does not recognize the older hardware cards (B&W G3 or Wallstreet/Lombard).
The Lombard is running O.S.9.2.2. I can put a music cd in and it plays. But when a dvd movie goes in I get the no hardware warning. I was hoping to be able to download a decoder, instead of searching for the dvd pcma card on ebay. Is 192mb enough ram to have the dvd play well??
Christopher
Well-known member
Well what is it intensive on?
TheNeil
Well-known member
I went through the same thing with my 333MHz Lombard. Hooked up a DVD drive, tried to get it to play DVD as a movie and...no dice. Did have some success using VLC under OS X but a frame rate of about 5fps was hardly great and it had a nasty habit of crashing.
To get it to play DVD movies you need, as everyone else has said, the DVD decoder card. Annoyingly the 400MHz model comes with DVD decoder hardware built into the graphics system. Grrrrr
And with 192Mb of RAM, OS 9 will play happily (wouldn't advise OS X though
)
To get it to play DVD movies you need, as everyone else has said, the DVD decoder card. Annoyingly the 400MHz model comes with DVD decoder hardware built into the graphics system. Grrrrr
And with 192Mb of RAM, OS 9 will play happily (wouldn't advise OS X though
)
Bunsen
Admin-Witchfinder-General
Here's the definitive answer, from another Lombard owner (me) who has researched it thoroughly.
The 400MHz Lombard has a hardware DVD decoder chip on the motherboard. The 333MHz Lombard does not.
The DVD decoder is supported in OS 9, but not in OSX. I believe the same is true for the PCMCIA DVD decoder.
Neither CPU is really fast enough for software DVD decoding without one or other of the hardware solutions.
Thus your choice are: find a motherboard from a 400 and swap it in, or find the DVD decoder PCMCIA card. In my opinion, the 400 motherboard is easier to find, but obviously more work to fit. Yes, it will work with your existing RAM and 333MHz CPU module (at 333MHz)
The 400MHz Lombard has a hardware DVD decoder chip on the motherboard. The 333MHz Lombard does not.
The DVD decoder is supported in OS 9, but not in OSX. I believe the same is true for the PCMCIA DVD decoder.
Neither CPU is really fast enough for software DVD decoding without one or other of the hardware solutions.
Thus your choice are: find a motherboard from a 400 and swap it in, or find the DVD decoder PCMCIA card. In my opinion, the 400 motherboard is easier to find, but obviously more work to fit. Yes, it will work with your existing RAM and 333MHz CPU module (at 333MHz)
Sludgedragon
Well-known member
I got the card from here
http://store.mcetech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=DVDMPG2&Category_Code=
when I wanted to watch DVDs on my Wallstreet, and it worked fine. I also used it with my Lombard.
http://store.mcetech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=DVDMPG2&Category_Code=
when I wanted to watch DVDs on my Wallstreet, and it worked fine. I also used it with my Lombard.
Christopher
Well-known member
Yeah, but it's upside down.
