# How to repair your defunct Optical Drive or. This will save 95 % of the ODDs.



## itsakjt (Nov 30, 2011)

*How to clean the lens of your optical drive. This will save 95 % of the ODDs.*

Here's an article I am writing that will tell you how to repair your optical drive or DVD player that is having problem in reading media or even recognizing discs.
1. Remove the cables. Take the drive out.
2. Remove the screws. Break any seal the screws have.







3.Open the metal cover and you will see the whole mechanism and circuitry.






4.You will have to open the tray to remove the top lid and have access to the lens. Push this white lever as shown.






5.The tray will partially come out. Pull it to remove it completely. Take out the outside decorator too on the perimeter of the tray.






6.Now you are free to remove the top lid. Remove it and you will have access to the motor and lens.






7.Clean the lens using a lint free cloth e.g. spectacle or lens cleaning cloth or use an earbud. Wipe it very softly over it so it does not get scratched. Dont touch it.






8.Close the top lid. Insert the outside decorator and the tray. Close the bottom lid. Replace all the screws.
9.Reconnect it with the PC. Test it and see the magic.
10.Enjoy


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## W1zzard (Nov 30, 2011)

i just drop it in the dishwasher with tray out


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## laszlo (Nov 30, 2011)

when the laser is dead than rip


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## dorsetknob (Nov 30, 2011)

So Sandblasting dont work  wondered where i was going wrong (snigger)


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## de.das.dude (Nov 30, 2011)

W1zz did you troll your own forum LOL?

mostly its the lazer that dies. or loses its power.

BTW @op, you should be studying for your sems instead of this


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## W1zzard (Nov 30, 2011)

de.das.dude said:


> W1zz did you troll your own forum LOL?



no. dishwasher works on almost everything. i have personally washed: keyboard, mouse, motherboard, (small) pc case, optical drive, floppy drive

and everything was clean and still worked. in the case of floppy and optical drive it was "repaired"


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## Deleted member 24505 (Nov 30, 2011)

So in the back of your pc repair shop, you would just have a bank of dishwashers


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## AsRock (Nov 30, 2011)

All so when doing this you should clean the lens rails as they get dirty and mess the lens travel which all so makes for big reading issue's.  I would take the lens off before washing it in anyway like that as often as not they make the lenses out of plastic these days and not glass.


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## de.das.dude (Nov 30, 2011)

true. the way described in this thread will definitely scratch the lens as they are made of plastic and not glass.

and as asrock said the lens rail and all other moving parts should be cleaned too.


or just toss it into the dishwasher like W1zz lol


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Nov 30, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> no. dishwasher works on almost everything. i have personally washed: keyboard, mouse, motherboard, (small) pc case, optical drive, floppy drive
> 
> and everything was clean and still worked. in the case of floppy and optical drive it was "repaired"



Did the case have a fan? I have a case that belonged to a smoker with a massive fan built into the side panel. It'd be impossible to clean with a blower with how tared up it is, wondering if the dishwasher would work or if it'd mess up the fan.


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## btarunr (Nov 30, 2011)

Or you could just use a lens-cleaning disc.


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## Sasqui (Nov 30, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> no. dishwasher works on almost everything. i have personally washed: keyboard, mouse, motherboard, (small) pc case, optical drive, floppy drive
> 
> and everything was clean and still worked. in the case of floppy and optical drive it was "repaired"



I washed a motherboard, long ago.  Put in the oven @ 150 F for a few hours after wiping down... and it worked.

What dish detergent?  I use Cascade, it's strong stuff.


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## digibucc (Nov 30, 2011)

the problem is in the potential soaking. just don't let them get wet spots, and don't let them get plugged in while still wet. it's not that water kills electronics, it's that water+electricity kills electronics.


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## W1zzard (Nov 30, 2011)

LAN_deRf_HA said:


> Did the case have a fan? I have a case that belonged to a smoker with a massive fan built into the side panel. It'd be impossible to clean with a blower with how tared up it is, wondering if the dishwasher would work or if it'd mess up the fan.



should work fine, give it PLENTY of time to dry out the fans


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## scaminatrix (Nov 30, 2011)

LAN_deRf_HA said:


> Did the case have a fan? I have a case that belonged to a smoker with a massive fan built into the side panel. It'd be impossible to clean with a blower with how tared up it is, wondering if the dishwasher would work or if it'd mess up the fan.



Just use a cable tie to keep the fins in place. If the fins start spinning, you'll lose the cleaning effect when the water hits them if you know what I mean.


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## W1zzard (Nov 30, 2011)

scaminatrix said:


> Just use a cable tie to keep the fins in place. If the fins start spinning, you'll lose the cleaning effect when the water hits them if you know what I mean.



i doubt the water in a dishwasher will make the fans spinning. anyone got a waterproof camera with lighting? or willing to cut up his dishwasher and put in a plexi window ?


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## OneMoar (Nov 30, 2011)

lol ????? OR http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000J1QK/?tag=tec06d-20
tbh: I have never needed to clean a laser ...


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## newtekie1 (Nov 30, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> no. dishwasher works on almost everything. i have personally washed: keyboard, mouse, motherboard, (small) pc case, optical drive, floppy drive
> 
> and everything was clean and still worked. in the case of floppy and optical drive it was "repaired"


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## de.das.dude (Nov 30, 2011)

i love that guys commentary.


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## Jstn7477 (Nov 30, 2011)

By the time my optical drives "die" they are usually quite outdated compared to the brand new ones. I have a whole stack of various CD-ROM, CD burners and DVD-ROM drives that are basically useless because they can't burn DVDs, read them at 24x or in the case of CD drives, even read them. Plus, they are all IDE so it's easy for me to get a $20 SATA burner on the egg. 

Nice guide, but probably not worth the effort in many cases.


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## itsakjt (Nov 30, 2011)

@de.das.dude-No it will not get scratched. As I said wipe it very softly and use lint free cloth or earbud. You have to be very gentle. I repaired numerous ODDs this way and even laptop ones.
@All-If the laser gets weak, there's a little trick too. In the flex PCB of the lens driver(the mechanism that holds the lens), you will see a number of variable resistors. Decrease them slightly and test it until it "just works". After you get that spot, decrease it again by a very very small amount to just keep the space of it till it gets weak again. :-D
And yes, you can lubricate the mechanism on your own


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## de.das.dude (Nov 30, 2011)

khub fine scratch holey you wont understand toh.


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## itsakjt (Nov 30, 2011)

Even I have tested mobos, mobile phone PCBs in water, cleaning them to perfection with soap and toothbrush and finally drying them to perfection using heater and blowing by vacuum cleaner at high speed to eject the water out of the small gaps :-D And most of them worked except my Nokia N73.


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## itsakjt (Nov 30, 2011)

de.das.dude-Yeah thats right but it can save the drive to work for another 6 months. For my case, it was 1.5 years :-D


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## scaminatrix (Nov 30, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> i doubt the water in a dishwasher will make the fans spinning. anyone got a waterproof camera with lighting? or willing to cut up his dishwasher and put in a plexi window ?



Depends how you have the fan I suppose. In every dishwasher I've seen, the water comes from underneath and if you have the fan straight above, then the water would make the fans spin, as if it was air blowing upwards and not water.
Please don't make me resort to one of my terrible paintbrush diagrams 

Oh, I have a waterproof camera but no dishwasher


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## de.das.dude (Nov 30, 2011)

itsakjt said:


> Even I have tested mobos, mobile phone PCBs in water, cleaning them to perfection with soap and toothbrush and finally drying them to perfection using heater and blowing by vacuum cleaner at high speed to eject the water out of the small gaps :-D And most of them worked except my Nokia N73.



when did u have an N73?


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## itsakjt (Dec 1, 2011)

My uncle gifted me his used n73 :-D


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## theJesus (Dec 1, 2011)

Does it matter what kind of soap you use when you put a part in the dishwasher?


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## DonInKansas (Dec 1, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> i doubt the water in a dishwasher will make the fans spinning. anyone got a waterproof camera with lighting? or willing to cut up his dishwasher and put in a plexi window ?



TPU: Where not even dishwashers are safe from modders!


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## de.das.dude (Dec 1, 2011)

theJesus said:


> Does it matter what kind of soap you use when you put a part in the dishwasher?



any liquid soap should work.


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Dec 1, 2011)

Round one didn't do much. It's still stained and now my dishwasher stinks. Trying again.


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## cdawall (Dec 1, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> no. dishwasher works on almost everything. i have personally washed: keyboard, mouse, motherboard, (small) pc case, optical drive, floppy drive
> 
> and everything was clean and still worked. in the case of floppy and optical drive it was "repaired"



I have washed VGA/Mobo's in the past works like a champ. I have also never used soap to do this didn't want and residue.


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## de.das.dude (Dec 1, 2011)

dishwashing soap is actually formulated to not leave residue. you dont want residue on what you eat


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Dec 1, 2011)

Round 2 might have killed the dishwasher. This popped off and got caught by the blade. Fried motor smell.


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## de.das.dude (Dec 1, 2011)

^ LOL poor 5.25" drive bay cover


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## Steevo (Dec 1, 2011)

I haven't been able to repair a drive in years, the diode dies or it gets weak from burning and it can't provide the powah anymore.


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## scaminatrix (Dec 1, 2011)

Steevo said:


> I haven't been able to repair a drive in years, the diode dies or it gets weak from burning and it can't provide the powah anymore.



My brother gets those all the time; he says if there's a pot, then to play about with it. From what I've seen there's 2 pots inside CD drives; one for the motor and one for the lens.

In my case, playing with pots has only ever ended up with a drive that was more dead than before 

For those who don't know, pot = potentiometer.


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