Please help solve Blu-ray burner problem

[Muse]

3+ YO external, slot-loading Pioneer BDR-XS07S Blu-ray burner (16X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X BD-ROM 4MB Cache Serial ATA Revision 3.0), used with Windows laptop.

Been using it to read and write CDs, read and write DVDs. AFAIK, the issue is just with producing copies of audio CDs. Problem has come up in the last year or so.

I have several Pioneer PD-F1007 301 disk carousel audio CD players. I always make CD-R copies of audio CDs because these players support CD-Text and I can write CD-Text of my own onto CD-R copies using Imgburn. One of these 301 disk players in particular with some recently made CD-R copies (on Verbatim blanks) has been freezing during playback, always at some spot, e.g. track 4 at 2:47. Some of the problem copies freeze in other of these 301 disk players as well at the same place that the other machine(s) freeze at.

I figure there's something wrong with the burner. Obviously there's something wrong with a disk that causes multiple machines to freeze at the same place (although usually it just happens with the "worst," most used, machine). I have tried slowing down the burning speed and the write speed. Slowed reading to 16x and this week tried burning at 4x, but that hasn't stopped this from happening.

I tried lens cleaning disks in the 301 disk changers, hasn't stopped the problem. I don't remember if I tried that in the burner. I saw info recently online to use a blu-ray specific lens cleaning disk in a blu-ray burner, was thinking of buying one, just today seeing info about Digital Innovations CleanDr for Blu-Ray Laser Lens Cleaner for Blu-Ray / DVD / PS3 / PS4 / XBOX / XBOX 360 / XBOX ONE (4190300).

The fact that one of the 301 disk players is having a harder time than the others on some disks has me thinking that part of the problem is with that player, but several machines having the problem with a certain disk suggests to me that the burner is a major issue here.

What do you think?

 

[tcsenter]

You have no other CD-R/RW burner to test? Just pick up a cheap CD-R/RW and non-BD DVD burner and see if it burns your CD-Rs that work well on the carousel units.

No need to buy some commercial 'cleaner' product. You can open the case/chassis and use a soft Q-tip slightly dampened with rubbing/isopropyl alcohol to swirl around clean the optical pickup/lenses they are usually reachable and easy to spot. Do it a few times (using a new q-tip each time). Then let air dry. Maybe give it a targeted blast of air to blow away any dust or fibers.

Also try a different batch/manufacture of blank media?

 

[Muse]

I do have another burner, it's an LG GE24NU40BK 24x DL USB 2.0 External Drive w/Software REFURBISHED I picked up off eBay in 2016. I did burn a few CDs on it and tested in the "problem" player. One time one of those burns DID freeze. Now, I believe that rip was done with the Pioneer external, or at least I'm not sure, so I figure I should now rip AND burn with the LG and see if there's still a problem.

I'll try cleaning lens like you say? Is there just one lens to clean or are there multiple lenses in blu-ray burners? They have to rip/burn BR/DVD/CD.

Just searched:

AI Overview



Yes, most Blu-ray burners and players have multiple lasers, not just one lens, to read different types of discs like Blu-ray, DVD, and CD. A single-laser system would not work because each disc format requires a different wavelength of light to read its data.

• Blu-ray laser: A shorter-wavelength blue laser is used to read the tiny pits on Blu-ray discs.
• DVD/CD laser: A longer-wavelength red laser is used to read the larger pits on DVDs and CDs.
• Dual-optics systems: Some drives use "dual-optics" which have separate lenses for different wavelengths, allowing them to read multiple types of media.
• Backward compatibility: Blu-ray burners include multiple lasers to ensure they can read older media, so you don't have to switch between different drives to play DVDs or CDs

 

[tcsenter]

clean the optical pickup/lenses they are usually reachable and easy to spot.

Yes the 'super writer' i.e. multi-format/media DVD burners will probably have two, the BD writers might have three. The carousels probably could use the same cleaning.

 

[Muse]

Yes the 'super writer' i.e. multi-format/media DVD burners will probably have two, the BD writers might have three. The carousels probably could use the same cleaning.

I have downloaded a service manual for the carousels. Haven't looked at that yet. They are pretty loaded with disks. Hope I don't have to take them all out! I was thinking of swapping the most problematic with another that works better, but yeah, a lot of work swapping all those disks and being careful while doing it. If cleaning the lens of carousel player fixes it, in particular if I can do it without removing the disks, that would be ideal.

 

[Muse]

I have a system for my carousels. I keep data being what disk is in what slot of what player and I print reports. Need to keep disks where they belong, of course. Not super challenging, but necessary, of course, to not put disks where they don't belong.

 

[Muse]

Service manual appears to not address cleaning the lens. Searching the PDF I get no hits for "lens" or "clean."

I suppose I can remove the enclosure and look for the lens. Could operate it and see where a disk loads and go from there if it's not apparent.

 

[Muse]

Yes the 'super writer' i.e. multi-format/media DVD burners will probably have two, the BD writers might have three. The carousels probably could use the same cleaning.

I removed the Pioneer external BR burner from its perch (I had it mounted above my bed). It has no external screws, so getting the case open was a matter of prying on all 4 sides to get the top to slide past many tabs. Once the top was off, there were 6 screws to remove to get a stainless steel cover off the guts. I couldn't see anything that looked like a lens. Just no idea where they are. I figured the thing to do was shoot multiple blasts of gas with Dustoff from every angle and put it back together and hope that had blown off particles or whatever that would interfere with reads and writes.

Once back in its perch I saw that the eject button was missing! Back where I did the work I spotted the button. I had missed the fact that it had broken off in the process, probably in removing the plastic top. I figure I can maybe jury rig it back in but won't try that yet -- It's a lot of work to get the top off and I don't know that the burner's going to be any good. So, I'm testing that now. Just did 2 new CD rips at 6x speed and burned them to Verbatim CD-R blanks at 4x speed. If the burns have issues, well, major issues, I figure I should stop using the pioneer BR burner and go to the LG and maybe get another BR burner so I have one upstairs and downstairs, i.e. near my two laptops.

Now to test the new burns.

 

[Hans Gruber]

This brings me back in time. I still have a Blue Ray burner. A PC setup just for it. Then I have a stack of DVD burners that all still work. Good luck getting your Blue Ray burner fixed.

 

[Muse]

This brings me back in time. I still have a Blue Ray burner. A PC setup just for it. Then I have a stack of DVD burners that all still work. Good luck getting your Blue Ray burner fixed.

Yeah, thanks. I tested a new burn by that Pioneer external slot burner this afternoon and it did freeze on track 10 around half way into the track. But just in the worst performing CD player, the other one I tested it in played it OK. So, as I suspected, there's good reason to believe it's not just one device that has problems. However, I think that disks burned a couple years ago by this burner don't freeze in the worst CD player. So, the burner likely has been getting worse. As I said in the last post, when I had it open today I couldn't find the lenses. I've never looked for burner lenses before, so maybe I didn't know where to look or maybe I wouldn't know a burner lens if I saw one. Hmm.

 

[Muse]

The eject button missing from the slot loading external burner. Well, if I can get it working OK, I'll look into putting the broken off button back in somehow. Meantime I can eject disks via the context menu for the drive accessed with File Explorer in Windows 11.

 

[tcsenter]

The objective lens or lenses should be fairly easy to spot. e.g. ripped these from the webs