Sony RDR-GX300 disc error on all discs?

FF3D · #1 07-29-2020, 01:54 PM

Purchased a Sony RDR-GX300 DVD recorder in early 2006. Worked well enough for what it was until 2017, when any disc inserted would generate a "DISC ERROR" message after about thirty seconds of the flashing "LOAD" indicator. This was a gradual issue, around early 2016 I'd start to see the "DISC ERROR" display on one out of every five new DVD-Rs inserted (but after opening and re-opening the disc drawer, sometimes multiple times, the RDR-GX300 would eventually complete the load process and would record without any issue)...by mid-2017, every inserted disc generated the "DISC ERROR", including silver commercially-produced DVDs.

Life finally slowed down here in 2020 and I broke out the RDR-GX300 from storage today. Same issue. I opened up the unit and I don't see any leaking/swollen capacitors or anything else suspect.

I suspect this is simply an issue of the laser mechanism simply no longer working or being miscalibrated. Any other thoughts before I scrap this as a "parts only" deck? Would just hate to scrap the deck if there's any chance of an easy fix, such as a pot which can be tweaked to adjust laser strength.

Thanks in advance.

lordsmurf · #2 07-31-2020, 08:00 AM

The drive is failing. Your suspicion is likely correct. Not unusual.

Bogilein · #3 07-31-2020, 11:05 AM

You should try this:

https://www.fixya.com/support/t60083..._model_dw_u15a

This worked for my Sony RDR-GX7.

Sony Screw.jpg

lordsmurf · #4 07-31-2020, 03:03 PM

My RCA DRC8030N drive failed this year, and had been faltering for years. I need to try this on it.

Thanks to jwillis84 and ISOBuster, I'm just dumping the HDD these days, no more discs.

FF3D · #5 07-31-2020, 08:46 PM

Bogilein, thanks for that link and image! I'll give that a shot and report back.

FF3D · #6 08-01-2020, 05:34 PM

Thank you - I opened up the RDR-GX300 and found the screw, and tweaked it as described in the article.

I reassembled everything (ensuring that all ribbon connectors are back in their respective places and pushed in all the way)...unfortunately, I get the "Welcome" message followed by the word "Close" which blinks for a minute or so before returning to the "Welcome" message. The eject button doesn't respond, so I can't eject the tray. There isn't a disc in the drive. This has never happened before on this deck.

I read that sometimes these machines get error codes, and if you leave them alone for a few days, they'll subside. Also tried holding down the Power button for 15 seconds, that kicks it back into the "Welcome" message from "Close", but it goes back to "Close". The manual doesn't make any reference to the "Close" error, nor does the service manual (at least that I can find). There's a way to manually force the drawer open per the service manual, but I'd prefer to not do that if I can avoid it.

Any ideas would be welcome - otherwise, I'll just leave it unplugged for a few days and hope for the best. Thanks again for the advice on bringing the drive back into alignment!