>>It looks like low level ATAPI works properly (drive reacts properly to
>>commands) but returns unusual sense info.
>>Could you enable SCSI commands debugging instead, to see which commands
>>are failing:
>>
>
>Done, here is what I see when I try to mount the drive:
>[...]
>Jan 17 13:42:27 rover /netbsd: code 0x70 valid 0x0 seg 0x0 key 0x2 ili 0x0 eom 0x0 
>fmark 0x0
>Jan 17 13:42:27 rover /netbsd: info: 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 followed by 10 extra bytes
>Jan 17 13:42:27 rover /netbsd: extra: 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x4 0x1 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 

I believe this is "Drive not Ready - Device in the Process of Becoming Ready".

If this is the same problem _I_ ran into on my Sony, the CD-ROM drive
doesn't receive power until you mount it, and it takes some amount of
time (approximately 7-8 seconds) until the spin-up is complete and
the drive can be used.  There's no retry in the CD-ROM driver in the
case when you get this sense code.  Sure did make the install I did on
my laptop quite interesting :-)

I _did_ make a patch for this (similar to what was done for the hard
disk driver) that retries the command and it fixed my problem.  I'll
send it to you, if you want (I'd send it now, but it's on my laptop 
at home).  I was going to commit it, honest ... I just got working two
days ago, and I've been struggling with getting XFree86 4.0.2 working
in the interim :-/

--Ken