A CD just exploded in my DVD-RW

[Viper0329]

I put in a CD-R into my DVD-RW drive, and when it spun up, the CD exploded. The CD was already burned. I was trying to read the data. What's the odds that it damaged the drive? I'm gonna take it apart in about an hour to dump the pieces out. Anything else I should know?

Verbatim CD-R btw.

 

[Budman]

taking it apart will void your warranty,get it replaced if you can but if it's out of warranty then go ahead.

but dvd-rw drives are so cheap right now you're just better of buying a new one.

 

[Sandan]

The same thing happened to me about a month ago. It did destroy my drive (lite-on 811s). It wouldn't read anything after and kept open and closing.....I replaced it with a BenQ LS DW1655 and haven't looked back. It was kind of old and needed replaced anyway. Always a silver lining.

 

[neutralizer]

Originally posted by: Viper0329
I put in a CD-R into my DVD-RW drive, and when it spun up, the CD exploded. The CD was already burned. I was trying to read the data. What's the odds that it damaged the drive? I'm gonna take it apart in about an hour to dump the pieces out. Anything else I should know?

Verbatim CD-R btw.

Damage might depend on how lucky you were. The shards of the CD might have just ended damaging the drive enough that it doesn't work.

 

[slugg]

happened to me with a windows disk a lonnnggg time ago

 

[imported_Imp]

I doubt theres much a chance it got away undamaged. The smaller shards probably got wedged in the gears or screwed up the laser.

 

[Talcite]

Yeah, happened to my friend. The drive's probably dead, maybe a 90% chance? I'd say even if it works, it'd be nowhere near to how well it was before. Just replace it... an LG drive is 38.99 cdn at my store so...

 

[Vesper8]

wow.. exploding cds eh ? that's unbelievable !

i noticed the people that claimed this happened to them all had cheaper brand dvd drivers.. like lite-on.. benq.. even LG is iffy in my book.. that's why y'all should spend a few extra dollars and get some quality drives like a pioneer or nec.. or even go all out and get yourself a plextor

 

[Talcite]

it has nothing to do with actually "exploding". If the cd has a surface defect or a crack, then spinning at high RPM causes it to shatter.

 

[Sandan]

Yes the DVD I had in my burner was cracked to begin with. It was a blockbuster movie. I returned it in shattered pieces. As I said before it destroyed my drive and I don't think it had anything to do with the price I paid for it Vesper8.

 

[Talcite]

Originally posted by: Sandan
Yes the DVD I had in my burner was cracked to begin with. It was a blockbuster movie. I returned it in shattered pieces. As I said before it destroyed my drive and I don't think it had anything to do with the price I paid for it Vesper8.

LOL! good job =p what did they say? did you demand for compensation for the drive? hahaha

 

[jackschmittusa]

Vesper8

If they had had a more expensive drive when a defective disk destroyed it, they would just be out more money. Your assumption that it was the fault of the drive is without merit.

 

[essasin]

I knew someone whose CD launched right out of the drive bay.

 

[bX510]

This is the first time i ever heard of a cd exploding... AND a cd LAUNCHING?!?!?

 

[cleanerupper]

Wow, amazing. I think I read one time that if you put super glue inside a floppy disk, it will set the drive on fire.

 

[Powermoloch]

lol did the mythbusters tested the same problem ?

 

[iamaelephant]

Yeah I remember the Myth Busters episode about exploding CDs. They were testing whether the next speed CD drives would be too fast for an average CDs. As it turns out you have to spin them at some ridiculous speed before a CD will break (unless it's already damaged of course). They build a pretty cool machine that was able to spin up to some huge RPM for the test.

 

[Mikey]

yep. the problem is not on the drive, but on the discs themselves. btw, what optical drive did you have before it went boom?

 

[Stumps]

Originally posted by: essasin
I knew someone whose CD launched right out of the drive bay.

I remember when I got my first CD drive, a brand new(back in 1996) creative 8X model, it was a great drive and I still have it somewhere, but it hated my Ultimate DOOM cd and would launch it at me when I opened the drive...it always brought new meaning to "duck and cover"

 

[oynaz]

If the drive fails to spin down the CD, the CD will launch like a frisbee when you open the drive. My brother cracked open his eyebrow that way once.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

my cousin once put a CD in the drive tray...not realising the tray already had a disc in it. When windows autoplay kicked in, things got crazy (he says it sounded like a saw cutting metal...prob an exaggeration). Both CDs were reduced to bits and pieces. It was an aging LG CD-ROM drive so he just tossed it in the trash.

Thankfully, he doesn't hate or blame Microsoft for incorporating Autoplay.

 

[Sunner]

I remember when Diablo II was released, there was a fairly large batch of discs that were defective, many(relatively speaking that is) of them exploded, I even remember one example where one of the disc splinters actually blew a small hole in the front of drive.

Also, putting labels on discs can cause this since labels often end up somewhat uneven on the surface.

 

[Geomagick]

Originally posted by: Powermoloch
lol did the mythbusters tested the same problem ?

Yes the mythbusters did indeed look into this. It seems to have little to do with the drive and more to do with the disk. I do remember they destroyed a very large number of disks in pursuit of the reason for the disks exploding - well shattering at least.

Many disks aren't balanced and thus they wobble in the drive if they reach a resonant frequency in this wobble due to the spin speed they can easily destroy themselves.

 

[corkyg]

A shattering disk in a CD/DVD drive is not all that rare. It happens whenever there is a defect in the disk that causes a crack at high RPM. While there are other disadvantages, a good paper label can help prevent this sort of accident. In most cases, the drive is kaput - but not always. Open the case and clean up the shards as best you can. Then try a scrap disk to see if it works mechanically - then a try an unimportant one for data. If it works - smile. If not - smile anyway and get a new drive.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Vesper8
wow.. exploding cds eh ? that's unbelievable !

i noticed the people that claimed this happened to them all had cheaper brand dvd drivers.. like lite-on.. benq.. even LG is iffy in my book.. that's why y'all should spend a few extra dollars and get some quality drives like a pioneer or nec.. or even go all out and get yourself a plextor

Several years ago, my Pioneer 16x/40x DVD-ROM/CD-ROM drive blew up my Giants: Citizen Kabuto Disc 1. Pioneer DVD drive, professional CD - it still blew up. The drive lost three little pieces of plastic inside that appeared to be supports of some kind, but it still worked.

Namebrand or not, it seems that CDs can blow up in any drive. Some Plextor drives even have reinforced faceplates to prevent pieces of CDs from escaping at high speeds. Seems that even a quality brand like that is made with the understanding that CDs may explode.

Originally posted by: iamaelephant
Yeah I remember the Myth Busters episode about exploding CDs. They were testing whether the next speed CD drives would be too fast for an average CDs. As it turns out you have to spin them at some ridiculous speed before a CD will break (unless it's already damaged of course). They build a pretty cool machine that was able to spin up to some huge RPM for the test.

Something complex, like a Dremel ought to do the trick.
Long story short though - from my own experience with the Pioneer drive, spinning at close to 40x is enough to blow up a CD.