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My Lite-On 40x/12x/48x just exploded! (Edit: Pics!)

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Geez I wish there was a lightbulb image.

Just a thought that came into my thick skull. In the early days of cds there was an issue with moisture getting into the cds and "rotting" the reflective layer. Perhaps this could be a moisture issue combined with a stronger laser. Under the right circumstances it might be possible for the laser to heat trapped moisture and convert it to steam. And then like a kernel of popcorn.........boom.......leading to a horribly unbalanced cd........and utter destruction of said cd.

As I said just a thought.
rolleye.gif
 
I've seen that happen before.

Seems to happen mostly with CD's that people have put their own labels on.
Hasn't happened to me, so I never looked into it, but I read at some manufacturers site that it was supposedly to poor quality CD's, or CD's with labels that haven't been applied correctly.
What happens is the disk loses it's balance, maybe doe a defective disc, or due to an air bubble under a label, and starts wobbling, which is a Bad Thing(TM) when the CD is spinning at ~9000 RPM.
You know the rest of the story 🙂
 
You know, I'm really pissed! :| The daughter-in-law that I "love to hate" just trashed my stepson's newly built computer (yes, I built it). The main part of the evidence of the "trashing" (I say "evidence" because she denies it all) that occured is a broken CD in the CDROM. I'm talking about hundreds of very small pieces. Drive is toast. Game, Set & Match! Intentional trash job. BTW, there were other things that took place, like formatting a perfectly good WinXP Home installation (w/software) and installing Win98 just so she could run her game better.
Now you're telling me that it MIGHT NOT have been her fault??!! At least the CD part? Come on, I've accidently put in a CD in my drives (crooked) before and they have NEVER "blown up" like that. The first thing that happens is that either the drive re-opens to reject the CD or the drive "sticks" in a partially closed state untill you clear the CD out of the drive. Neither have I ever heard of a CD that shattered while spinning in the drive.
Please don't tell me I have to rethink my anger on this! After all, I've just gotten warmed up. We haven't had the "confrontation" yet with her but I certainly don't want to "do a dam-dam" on her if there's a good possibility that she is telling the truth.
 
I know theres been reports at the Neverwinter Nights forums that some of the CDs have been exploding.. no one knows if it's a defect or SecureROM it seems, and many more CDs are getting cracked I hear as well.. :Q Makes me want to backup my copy.. but backup copies don't tend to work write for some reason.. atleast for me. 🙁
 
I had a CD that I didn't want read, so I tried to break it. Well, I folded it in half and it looked like a taco. But it wouldn't break! I had to work it back and forth about 20 times until it got to the point where I could tear it. A resilient ah heck indeed!
Then there were other CDs that would break if flexed less than 90degrees. I mean they would shatter and send plastic and glittery bits flying everywhere.
I guess it's the hardness of the material.
 
The CDs are not exploding, but shattering. Cheep one do that! This is usually a CD defect and not the drive. Cheep CDs will shatter if they become unbalanced while they are being read at high speeds. Improperly installed labels or paint that has not been evenly applied can cause the CD to become unbalanced.

You could say that the CD-R manufacture should have made a drive that keeps CD balanced under all circumstances. But everything is becoming cheaper and mass produced as cheep as possible now in days.

Too bad each company is probably going to blame the other one in your experience. 🙁

Let us know what became of it all. I wonder when there will be the first law suite made from a CD "exploding"? There are currently no warning lables about this I am aware of. Remember the old lady how got millions from McDonalds because she spilled her coffee in her lap!

 
Originally posted by: Buz2b
You know, I'm really pissed! :| The daughter-in-law that I "love to hate" just trashed my stepson's newly built computer (yes, I built it). The main part of the evidence of the "trashing" (I say "evidence" because she denies it all) that occured is a broken CD in the CDROM. I'm talking about hundreds of very small pieces. Drive is toast. Game, Set & Match! Intentional trash job. BTW, there were other things that took place, like formatting a perfectly good WinXP Home installation (w/software) and installing Win98 just so she could run her game better.
Now you're telling me that it MIGHT NOT have been her fault??!! At least the CD part? Come on, I've accidently put in a CD in my drives (crooked) before and they have NEVER "blown up" like that. The first thing that happens is that either the drive re-opens to reject the CD or the drive "sticks" in a partially closed state untill you clear the CD out of the drive. Neither have I ever heard of a CD that shattered while spinning in the drive.
Please don't tell me I have to rethink my anger on this! After all, I've just gotten warmed up. We haven't had the "confrontation" yet with her but I certainly don't want to "do a dam-dam" on her if there's a good possibility that she is telling the truth.
Click to expand...

It doesn't happen cause you put the CD in the drive the wrong way, but cause for some reason or the other(mostly defect CD or improperly placed label) the CD loses balance and begins to wobble, and at the speeds modern CD-ROM's spin(often at 8-9K RPM) the plastic can't handle it and cracks, and when it cracks at those speeds, it cracks big time.

 
Believe me, it's not an experience I want to re-live. 😉 The disc was a DLink (MGI Software Corp.) disc, was installing some cheapo photo software. Come to think of it, everytime I accidently put in a disc not flat, it just get's stuck and doesn't spin. I buy the story here from many that the disc may have had a tiny crack already or was defective (unbalance) somehow - I don't blame Lite-On in any way.

So should I go through the trouble of trying to RMA this drive? Hey if there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I did get it at Newegg! I did however open up the drive to remove the pieces (voided the sticker - do not break thing). The software I can live without, it would be nice to let MGI know and maybe they'll send me a replacement? Probably can find the software (Photowave or Photosuite something?) online for free perhaps?


- VTrider
 
Originally posted by: VTrider
It's not my night, just when I thought this disaster was over....

About 2 minutes after that first post, A Big-O-White spark jumped out of the back of the CDRW (accompanied by that electric crack noise!) and everything turned off - shorted the computer.

Promptly through that thing in the garbage and booted my system back up, lucklily everything seems to be working okay, phew! :Q This must be a Karma thing or something?

-VTrider

BTW: I thought about RMA it but I've already broken that 'void if broken' sticker on the case when I took it apart to clean it. Even if I did RMA it, they would find about 1,000 CD-ROM pieces floating around inside and probably blame me or something?

-VTrider
Click to expand...
If you e-mail Lite-on for an RMA, they will respond a week later telling you you need to take it back to the store you bought it from. When you explain you got it from an online retailer and the 15 or 30 days is past, they will respond another week later, telling you you need to return it to the store you bought it from. After a third e-mail, they MIGHT send you an RMA form so you can pay to ship it to them, then pay to ship it back. $20 shipping to repair a $60 drive...I just bought a new one (NOT Lite-on). Just FYI.

 
I had a CD that I didn't want read, so I tried to break it. Well, I folded it in half and it looked like a taco. But it wouldn't break! I had to work it back and forth about 20 times until it got to the point where I could tear it. A resilient ah heck indeed!
Then there were other CDs that would break if flexed less than 90degrees. I mean they would shatter and send plastic and glittery bits flying everywhere.
I guess it's the hardness of the material.
Click to expand...

My boss was flexing a cd and it shattered firing bits all over my desk....and me.....won't be flexing any more disk now!

I have heard about someone having this problem years back so it isn't new, a friend of mine had a 12x drive and a disk shattered in it, he thought it was making a funny noise, put his ear near the case...CRACK!....brown trousers.

I had a SQL Server 7 disk that had a bit of a crack in the centre, so I thought I would try and copy it at low speeds before it went completely, didn't work and crack had gotten bigger, so threw away pronto.

Corm
 
Someone posted a similar incident online on his hardware site, but it was with an IL-2 Sturmvolk disc and an Aopen 52x. Lousy drive? Defective disc? They never did find out, but it is pretty funny.

I thought Liteon's load-balancing bearing system would prevent discs from vibrating and tearing themselves apart....guess not.
 
Originally posted by: PreDatoR
I think you guys are taking the wrong approach. I'd be calling the software place wanting the cd replaced. After all its more than likely the cd's being defective and exploding. Then bitch and make them replace your drive. It isn't lite on's problem the cd blew apart.
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Thing is, this CD, as well as many others I own, survived my Acer 50x CD-ROM drive, which I assume must spin faster than my 16x/40x DVD-ROM drive which blasted my Giants Citizen Kabuto disc1. The imperfections in the CD's don't have to be major - it could be a microscopic crack that is worsened by the spinning and vibration. Plus, I'd tend to think it up to the drive makers to be sure that their product won't destroy that which gives them reason to exist.

think it has to do with people switching cd's more often now. If i dont burn a cd, I can pretty much leave the same cd in there for a long time, as in a game cd. If i wanna burn, than i start swapping out cd's. But a cd in a bit off when your not paying atten, and it somehow jams, laser tries to move in, crushes cheap cd while spinning and shattering i guess. i dunno.
Click to expand...

I doubt that - the CD that blew up in my drive had been there a few days. I wasn't even accessing the drive either - it just started to spin for whatever reason, then CRACK.🙁


but backup copies don't tend to work write for some reason.. atleast for me.
Click to expand...

CloneCD and ClonyXL. Done deal.
Click to expand...

Hasn't worked for me. My copy of Giants disc1 gives a CRC error during the install. Any copies I try to make of Homeworld: Cataclysm are no good either - when the game starts up, it checks the disc for the copy protection, doesn't find it, and just goes right back to the desktop.

There are currently no warning lables about this I am aware of.
Click to expand...
Yes, there are, and it's not good. I've seen new Sony 52x drives that say something to the effect of:
If a CD shatters in this drive, you weren't careful enough about checking for slight imperfections in the CD. A shattering CD may void your warranty.
So basically, as far as Sony's concerned, if a CD goes to pieces, and kills your drive in the process, go buy another Sony drive!:|


Come on, I've accidently put in a CD in my drives (crooked) before and they have NEVER "blown up" like that.
Click to expand...
If you put it in crooked, the drive probably isn't able to spin it up at all. This shattering happens with properly inserted discs that have slight, often invisible imperfections, that cause the disc to go to pieces at high speeds. Plus, with the hundreds of tiny pieces you are describing, Buz2b, it is very likely that this was another shattering CD. What speed was the drive in question?
 
Well guys (and gals) I'm thinking I might just have to eat this one and get another CDRW outta my own pocket? I just checked my records and I didn't get it from Newegg, but got it from Dell - anybody know how RMA friendly Dell is?

Is it worth a shot to RMA it? If I tell them a disc exploded in it, they might just say 'oh well' - contact the disc manufacturer. It's not worth my time to be calling/e-mailing all over the web, spending $$ on shipping and/or repairs, ect. I could always just say it just stopped working? That's just more bad Karma for me though?

-VTrider
 
Originally posted by: Buz2b
Buz2b, it is very likely that this was another shattering CD. What speed was the drive in question?
Click to expand...
52x.
Click to expand...

Yup, that could shatter a CD no problem.

As for RMAing the drive, it's worth a shot. Getting a replacement for the cost of shipping is better than paying for a whole new drive.
 
Originally posted by: MadRat
If you want to force the issue just put two in there at the same time, one on top of the other. 😉
Click to expand...
I've done that once when I was burning a CD after a really late night. 😱 The worst that happened was the bottom CD being a coaster. There was nothing wrong with the top CD and it burned just fine. Nothing wrong with the drive either.
 
holy smokes...i will just stick with 32x burners then...40x or 48x only gain about 30sec-60sec most in burning a cd...
 
A couple of months ago some guy on these forums was saying how this same thing happened to his dad. I couldn't imagine trying to explain this to someone who knows nothing about computers.
 
Yeah I can see it now......

[dreamy sequence]

{IT guy strangely looking at office manager} "What do you mean your disc, er 'exploded'??"

[/dreamy sequence]


Yeah, you should of saw the look on my neighbors face when I told him! I think most people are shocked, just thinking about 1000 tiny sharp shiny shards flying outta their computer spinning at 10,00RPM!! That's it! All we have to do is send Sadamm and his buddies free computers (bill you listening?) all loaded up with Lite-On 40x drives and cheap MGI software! My god, can it be that easy? I know, we'll throw in some AOL discs just to be sure 😉





-VTrider (still has all fingers)
 
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