Other Slot Load DVD Keeps Ejecting

Hello all,

I need some hardware help. I bought a slot loading Sony Optaric DVD drive for my mod just over a year ago. I haven't used it much except for testing it when it arrived. Now that the mod is nearly finished, I've fitted it again but when I insert a disk (cd or dvd) it reads it for a second, then just ejects it. I've no idea why. Windows reads it in My Computer, it has the newest driver.

Any suggestions? This is a real pain as slot load drives aren't cheap.

Thanks.

 

Bad lens maybe? Check the mechanicals.

 

Just to be sure, have you done any modding to the drive it itself? Any change of it getting shorted or anything?

 

I can open it up but it would be a pain in the arse and I've no idea what to look for.

The drive itself is unmodified.

I've contacted ebuyer but as it's 13 months old now I doubt it'll be covered by any waranty.

 

Have you tried flashing the drive with new (or even the same) firmware?

Also, check that nothing has fallen inside, such as a screw etc, you never know. My slot loading DVD player at home did the same and I found half an ice lolly stick inside it. Damn those kids...

 

Using anecdotal evidence from the day job (i.e. my manager's opinion) DVD drives in the average bog-standard DVD recorder you stick under the TV will last around 3 years... but it's not uncommon for the mechs to fail much sooner. Unfortunately the cause can be one of many problems - sometimes it's a pickup lens, the motor that spins the disc, the motor that moves the laser across the disc... and I guess that each occurs a similar number of times..

...but thinking about it, with the slot-loading drives we see with the TV/DVD combi units it's usually the loading mechanism that fails and either locks the disc inside or spits them out without attempting to spin the disc.

The usual repair is to simply bin the old mechanism and replace the whole lot (as they're supplied as a complete mechanism). They're generally not worth taking apart, mainly for cost reasons (both the cost of the replacement mechanisms and the time cost - replacing a whole mechanism can take as little as 10 mins, striping one down takes at least an hour).

For that reason it'll probably be best to just buy a replacement - naturally it's not ideal but stripping the drives down isn't something I'd do myself, particularly if it's slimline. But it probably wouldn't hurt to try flashing/upgrading the firmware. If that doesn't do the job then