[Lula] Resurrecting old systems... cd-rom drive lifetimes

[Dan Kegel]

On 1/29/07, Peter Benjamin <pete at peterbenjamin.com> wrote:
> At 02:33 AM 1/29/2007, you wrote:
> > but the cd-rom drive had read errors
>
> Or the CD did.  Clean the CD?

This happened with multiple CDs that were ok on other machines.

> The lens is mounted on a fine spring tray, and the
> rapid air can break, bend, twist, tweak, these
> fine springs.  So, if you must spray air, then
> hold the lens steady with one finger.  Oh, these
> springs are so fine, even that may break them.

When I squirted the lens with air, it did move impressively,
so I can believe this.

> Use a fine brush.  If that does not work, then use
> a soft lint free cloth with water on it, and lightly
> touch the wet cloth to the lens.  Work back and forth.
> Dry with a dry corner of the cloth.  Use soap, a super
> small amount, like 1 drop per cup of water.  Repeat.
>
> What the brush gets off is hair, and dust and other
> particles.
>
> What the soap and water gets off is grease.  Grease you say?
>
> Well, that is what the CDROM Repair FAQ said.  It even said
> where it comes from.  Off the bottom of the CDROM.  You
> touch that bottom with fingers, putting grease on it, and
> that grease must go somewhere.  All over the inside of
> your laser device.  50X rotation will do wonders for
> moving grease to the edge of the CD where it "drops" off,
> and splatters at high speed ...

I can believe this.  The dust on the top surfaces inside the
drive was pretty hard to get off, might have been held in
place by something like grease.

> Once the lens get slightly greasy, the focus goes off,
> and the speed control goes off, and errors start happening.
>
> My 200 disc CD Jukebox went this way.
>
> The first cleaning fixed it for about 50 CDs.
> The second cleaning for about 20.
> Then I stopped using it.  Sigh.

Thanks for the info!
- Dan