DVD tray won't stay closed

  • Thread starter Thread starter Darren Garrison
  • Start date Start date
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Darren Garrison

Today, out of nowhere, after taking one DVD out of my older burner and putting
in a new blank, the door started opening back seconds after I closed it. The
problem continues after trying different DVDs and trying no DVD. A reboot
didn't help, and the door opens whenever power is running to the drive, even
before the OS boots or POST completes. The drive is a dd0203. I have a newer
drive, too, but I'd really like to keep this one running because some discs can
be read by drive X but not by drive Y, and some can be read by drive Y but not
by drive X.

Any ideas what physically might cause the door to reopen like that? Is there a
sensor that could have became clogged?
 
Darren Garrison said:
Today, out of nowhere, after taking one DVD out of my older burner and
putting
in a new blank, the door started opening back seconds after I closed it.
The
problem continues after trying different DVDs and trying no DVD. A reboot
didn't help, and the door opens whenever power is running to the drive,
even
before the OS boots or POST completes. The drive is a dd0203. I have a
newer
drive, too, but I'd really like to keep this one running because some
discs can
be read by drive X but not by drive Y, and some can be read by drive Y but
not
by drive X.

Any ideas what physically might cause the door to reopen like that? Is
there a
sensor that could have became clogged?
Click to expand...

Possibly. Could be a mechanical switch or an optical sensor. Whatever it is,
the drive thinks that the tray is not closing completely.

As it is, it's hosed, so why not pull the cover and see if you can find the
sensor?
 
Today, out of nowhere, after taking one DVD out of my older burner and putting
in a new blank, the door started opening back seconds after I closed it. The
problem continues after trying different DVDs and trying no DVD. A reboot
didn't help, and the door opens whenever power is running to the drive, even
before the OS boots or POST completes.
Click to expand...

Some time ago I struggled with the same problem.
Out of frustration I finally played 'who is the boss'.

It's not an advice, but in my case: simply (physically)
preventing the door from opening solved the problem :-)
 
Some time ago I struggled with the same problem.
Out of frustration I finally played 'who is the boss'.

It's not an advice, but in my case: simply (physically)
preventing the door from opening solved the problem :-)
Click to expand...


That can work, usually due to the switch mechanism being
triggered by a spot on one of the gears, after the tray
position had gone out of sync with the gears then the tray
is not in the position it ought to be in anymore.

The risk is if some parts of the mechanism is weak, if that
might break it. The alternative is to take the drive apart,
pull the tray out, and while observing what position the
mechanism needs to be in to activate the switch, put it in
the corresponding position it should be in when you slide
the tray back into meshing with the gears.

If it's a belt driven mechanism, odds are better you can
just get the belt to slip without a problem, but some aren't
belt drive.
 
The risk is if some parts of the mechanism is weak, if that
might break it. The alternative is to take the drive apart,
Click to expand...

True.
But imho, 'blocked tray' is a normal operating condition from
which any drive should recover gracefully.
I.e. any damage caused should be covered by warranty.
Opening the drive and 'fixing' the condition may well void
warranty :-)
 
True.
But imho, 'blocked tray' is a normal operating condition from
which any drive should recover gracefully.
I.e. any damage caused should be covered by warranty.
Opening the drive and 'fixing' the condition may well void
warranty :-)
Click to expand...


Yes a blocked tray should reverse, but this is not a blocked
tray, this is physically forcing the tray to be relocated in
position on the gear assembly which is the opposite of what
the drive's tray blocking/reversal attempts (to prevent).

If the drive is under warranty still, just RMA it.
Technically doing anything more to the drive instead could
be grounds for voiding the warranty, though it "probably"
wouldn't be rejected for an internal breakage rather than
some more obvious external breakage like the tray snapping
off if someone tried to use it as a drink holder.
 
If the drive is under warranty still, just RMA it.
Technically doing anything more to the drive instead could
be grounds for voiding the warranty, though it "probably"
wouldn't be rejected for an internal breakage rather than
some more obvious external breakage like the tray snapping
off if someone tried to use it as a drink holder.
Click to expand...

The drive is antique. Made in June, 2003. It was the first DVD-burner I found
to break the $200 barrier. I attempted to open the case on it, but it is put
together in a way that it isn't possible (without OEM tools). At least, not
take it apart and get it back together again. And even if I did fix the door
problem, I can see that there are cracks in the belt that drives the gears that
close the door, so the drive is on it's way out no matter what.

So I'm shopping around for a replacement.
 
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