Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Trouble Shooting DVD Player Not Working

I've got a Sony DVD Player/Recorder and all the disks I put in to play are not - I'm getting an Error message with every disk I put in.

I know the first line fix is to use a cleaning disk so I bought one and that too is getting an error message and not allowed to do its thing.

What's the next option for trying to clean it which I really suspect is the issue?

Thanks.

The problem with cleaning discs is the device has to be clean enough to read the TOC in order to jump to the part of the disc that holds the brushes. Even then, the brushes clean only the center of the lens, leaving the edges relatively untouched. This works fine if the regular cleaning interval (every ten hours) has been maintained since Day One, but if you've never cleaned it the gunk at the edges eventually grows to cover the entire lens.

You could try cleaning the lens with a cotton swab moistened with denatured alcohol. A VERY light touch is necessary -- to the point where you're almost not touching it at all.

This requires removing the case or top so you can get at the lens. Before you clean it, pop in a disc with the cover removed and make sure the disc spins. (Keep your hands out of there while it's plugged in!) If it doesn't spin, or it appears to be unbalanced or not seating properly, take it to a repair shop.

I was having the same problem with a Panasonic DMR-E30. I finally went through an entire pack of Memorex DVD-Rs and about half of them gave an error message (disc scratched or dirty). I switched to Fujifilm DVD-Rs and haven't had a problem since.

Millie

I might have misunderstood your problem. I thought your player/recorder wasn't reading blank DVDs. If it's recorded DVDs, my previous reply didn't make much sense!

Millie