I haven't used this portable much and it quit on me. a couple car trips
so it saw maybe 4 movies.
Symptom is the disk tries to start spinning but won't. then the unit
says NO DISK.
it spins freely by hand so its not stuck.

its a model PDVD172
any advice?
Take my lumps and not buy Akai anymore? Bought it at Walmart and they
pretty much said bugger off.

"Joust" wrote in message
oups.com...
I haven't used this portable much and it quit on me. a couple car trips
so it saw maybe 4 movies.
Symptom is the disk tries to start spinning but won't. then the unit
says NO DISK.
it spins freely by hand so its not stuck.

its a model PDVD172
any advice?
Take my lumps and not buy Akai anymore? Bought it at Walmart and they
pretty much said bugger off.


Make sure that the laser isn't stuck somewhere down its track, and refusing
to home. Quite common on players that are not used much, and that leave the
laser at the last played point when you take out the disc. Many portables do
this.

Also, make sure that the laser lens is not ' filmy '. It can get like it if
it is in a smoky atmosphere. Other than this, the " NO DISC " message is
very often an indication of a failed laser. Just for sport, try getting it
to play a CD. If it doesn't play it, suspect one of the problems above. If
it does play it, suspect a defective laser.

Arfa

Joust wrote:

I haven't used this portable much and it quit on me. a couple car trips
so it saw maybe 4 movies.
Symptom is the disk tries to start spinning but won't. then the unit
says NO DISK.
it spins freely by hand so its not stuck.

its a model PDVD172
any advice?
Take my lumps and not buy Akai anymore? Bought it at Walmart and they
pretty much said bugger off.

Do they still sell the same exact model? Do thet give a cash refund on
something the day after you buy it if you have the sales receipt?
If yes and yes then...
1. Go buy a new one with cash.
2. Put the old one in the new box.
3. Return it for a refund the following day.
They can go f**k off with their lack of customer support.

Make sure that the laser isn't stuck somewhere down its track, and refusing
to home. Quite common on players that are not used much, and that leave the
laser at the last played point when you take out the disc. Many portables do
this.

Also, make sure that the laser lens is not ' filmy '. It can get like it if
it is in a smoky atmosphere. Other than this, the " NO DISC " message is
very often an indication of a failed laser. Just for sport, try getting it
to play a CD. If it doesn't play it, suspect one of the problems above. If
it does play it, suspect a defective laser.

Arfa

The disk does not spin up.
i can see the laser moving up and downand back and forth a bit to try
to find track 0. but if the disk won't spin it cannot function.
.. I tried moving hte head to the outside track but it just moves back
and no disk spin.
The disk moves a bit, maybe a 1/4 revolution, then stops. If all else
fails i'll open it and look for a burnt resistor or somthing.

"Joust" wrote in message
ups.com...


Make sure that the laser isn't stuck somewhere down its track, and
refusing
to home. Quite common on players that are not used much, and that leave
the
laser at the last played point when you take out the disc. Many portables
do
this.

Also, make sure that the laser lens is not ' filmy '. It can get like it
if
it is in a smoky atmosphere. Other than this, the " NO DISC " message is
very often an indication of a failed laser. Just for sport, try getting
it
to play a CD. If it doesn't play it, suspect one of the problems above.
If
it does play it, suspect a defective laser.

Arfa

The disk does not spin up.
i can see the laser moving up and downand back and forth a bit to try
to find track 0. but if the disk won't spin it cannot function.
. I tried moving hte head to the outside track but it just moves back
and no disk spin.
The disk moves a bit, maybe a 1/4 revolution, then stops. If all else
fails i'll open it and look for a burnt resistor or somthing.

The normal sequence of events is that the laser homes, or checks that it is
already home, by the system control micro reading the laser home switch,
located under the deck in the middle. It will then turn on the laser, and
initiate the focus search. Most players do not turn on the spindle motor,
unless focus lock is obtained, so lack of rotation does not normally
indicate a spindle motor drive problem, unless you are sure that focus has
been obtained, and the focus servo is in lock.

I assume that when you say that the disc does not spin up, you are including
CDs as well as DVDs. The reason that I asked you to check this is that
optical blocks which are faulty for DVD play, often will still play CDs,
proving out large parts of the power supply, motor drive and servo
circuitry.

If it really does play nothing at all, and does not obtain focus, there are
many potential problems that it could have. Sadly, top of the list, is the
laser. It is unlikely with this type of fault, that you will be able to
physically see any defective component ( ie burnt ).

If you bypass the door switch, do you see the laser burn ( do not look
directly at it ) ? The laser diode's wavelength for DVD puts it in the
visible red region, and you can see it very bright and clear, even through a
disc. If you do not see it burn, check the connection ribbon to the laser.
Other than this, assume a defective laser. It could still be a laser drive
fault, but if it is, you are unlikely to find the problem.

Arfa