cd32 cd-drive flaky

[amigean]

Hello everyone!

I am in need of some help.

I recently got myself an Amiga CD32 (very very happy about it!!!).

The only drawback is its cd drive is unreliable - it will sometimes boot well and quickly  and sometimes (most of the time) not at all...

any ideas? Would using some kind of cd-cleaner work or could it make it worse? What are the chances of replacing the cd-mechanism? Does it use a standard ide cdrom?

Finally as a new cd32 owner, is there anything that I need to know with regards to bugs, fixes, easy upgrades and expansions (I know about SX-1 and SX32)...

many, many thanks in advance

[Cass]

any ideas? Would using some kind of cd-cleaner work or could it make it worse? What are the chances of replacing the cd-mechanism? Does it use a standard ide cdrom?

Might be a bit dirty. You have the advantage that the laser head is exposed, so you can clean it directly with a cotton bud. Use some isopropyl-alcohool on the cotton bud, and be gentle.
KEEP THE POWER OF WHEN OPERATING ON THE LASER HEAD. (Might damage your vision, the laser beam is invisible)

As for the mechanism, I think is a custom one by commodore.
________
Buy vaporgenie

[leirbag28]

Ive messed with these CD32 mechanisms many many times...........My advise: don't mess with it, but do clean it a little..................now there is one thing I have not messed with and its this little hack on aminet that shows you how to re-Allign the CD drive.

 I dont know the name of the file but just type CD32 in aminet and begin searching hehe.

I have always hope that someone would create a replacement drive thats fully 100% compatible yet can read and burn DVD and CD and at least read at 8x.

[lempkee]

vesalia sell them very cheap (new cd32 lasers/motors etc)

www.vesalia.de  i guess

cheers


pps:its to be spotted in the CHEAP section, so hurry up and grab some before its too late.

[amigean]

thanks a lot guys!

I have ordered a new cd-mechanism from vesalia -although I feel a bit uneasy about changing it myself.

I'll try cleaning it with cotton buds and isopropyl first as suggested and see if that helps.

You've been great help, thanks again!

[Stedy]

I wrote a guide on re-aligning/cleaning the CD32 lens.

On Aminet:
cd32-adjust.lha  hard/misc  312K  42  CD32 CDROM alignment  

Pictures and description included. I've realigned a couple of drives successfully now.

It is easy to replace the drive, just be careful not to break the CD drive connector, it is damn fragile.