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CD Player Repair
CD player repair is sometimes required for CDs to play properly. However, because of the technology involved most CD drive or CD player repair should be performed by a qualified technician.
It often happens that after inserting a CD into a player or drive the disc is unreadable. There are several reasons why the disc is not readable.
Problems with the CD
First, it could be an issue with the CD. The compact disk may be dirty, physically damaged, or chemically degraded. Also, there may be a problem with the CD that is not visible. For example, the error rate on the CD may be high, too high for the error correction system to deal with and thus for the CD drive or CD player to play the disc. Therefore, CD player repair is not always necessary when a disc does not play. Inspect the disc for dirt or damage and if noticed, use an appropriate remedy to restore the disc to good condition.
If the restored CD is still not readable, then it could be that the error rate is too high. If this is the case, then there is not much you can do to make the disc playable. The only option is to simply use another player or drive to read the CD. Whenever a CD will not play in a drive, one of the easiest things to do is to use another player or drive to attempt to read the disc.
There are no standards for players and therefore, player or drive performance or ability to read discs can vary widely. Some drives will be able to read discs with high error rates and some drives will not. Some drives can tolerate discs with some damage whereas others cannot. Older or bargain drives tend to have more problems with discs than many of the newer drives that are available.
CD Player Repair
Next, if the disc is not damaged and several drives will not play the disc, then it is likely the player that is the problem and it requires CD player repair or CD drive repair.
Unfortunately, there are few options to repair CD equipment unless you have experience in repairing this equipment or are a qualified technician in CD equipment repair.
Dirty Lens
However, before taking your drive to a specialist, one procedure to follow is to clean the lens of the equipment. The lens focuses the laser light onto the disc and if the lens is dirty then the laser light intensity may be too low and/or may be diverted away from the disc. Products to clean lenses are available and consist basically of a CD disc with some very small soft brushes attached to the disc surface. When inserting this disc into the drive, it spins and the brushes lightly wipe the lens clean. Avoid any home-made repair CDs as these can destroy your player and result in more extensive CD player or drive repair.
Non-Functioning Laser Lens
Another fairly common problem with a problematic drive is a non-functioning laser. Laser diodes in drives have a limited lifespan. Some laser diodes, especially those in cheaper drives, can fail prematurely. If discs are not recognized at all when placed inside a drive, and these discs function well in other drives, then this could be the issue with the CD drive. Note that drives that can read multiple formats have laser diodes for each format (CD, DVD, and Blu-ray). It is possible that one laser stops working and discs associated with that format are unreadable, whereas other format discs are readable because those lasers are still functioning.
Finally, if it has been established that the drive is the problem, it may not be worth pursuing CD drive repair or CD player repair. With the price of drives low and the option to purchase external drives being available, it may be a better choice to simply replace the equipment rather than having older equipment repaired.
All the above information is also applicable to DVDs and Blu-ray discs and drives.