Do-it-yourself laptop sd drive repair

The drive is a rather complicated mechanism, but you can fix it yourself. It is enough to understand a little how a CD or DVD-ROM works. Naturally, laptop repair is best left to professionals, but if you are confident in your abilities, you can try to do everything yourself. If the disc is not readable, then there can be many different reasons, from mechanical problems to software failure.

To get to the drive in any laptop, you first need to disassemble the device. To do this, the back cover is removed, and the screws are unscrewed in a certain order. How to do this correctly, it is better to look on the Internet, where there is a video for almost any laptop model with detailed disassembly instructions. It should be noted that if the device is still under warranty, then it is not recommended to disassemble it yourself. It is enough to contact the store or the manufacturer with a breakdown.

Quite often in laptops, the device for extending the drive breaks down. If we look more closely, this function is performed by a separate mini-motor, which is connected to the drive itself by gears. The teeth are often erased, so you just need to restore them. To do this, a small amount of straightened plastic is dripped on top, and then wiped with a needle file to give shape.

If it is the disc reader that is faulty, then you need to check if the laser is working, and also if there are any impurities at the landing site. Most often, problems begin precisely because of dirt, and therefore you must first carefully wipe all the elements of the system.

The drive device is very complex and highly accurate, so it may not be possible to repair it. But the cost of this mechanism is not so big, therefore it is better to purchase a new part and replace it. It is quite easy to do, just look at the instructions on the Web.

Laser disk drives are widely used in electronics. Any DVD-player, CD/MP3-radio tape recorder, music center incorporates a laser drive.

In most cases, such devices get into repair just because of the breakdown of laser drives.

The malfunctions caused by the breakdown of the laser drive are quite similar, and come down to one thing - the laser disc is either not readable, or music (CD / MP3) or video (DVD) playback fails.

It should be noted that the service life of a laser diode, which is part of any disk apparatus, is on average 3-5 years. It's naive to think that a DVD player will last 10 years or more! Take a look at your DVD player's manual...

In general, the first thing to ask when a disc device is brought to you for repair is how old the device is and how intensively it was used. If the answer is 3 or more years, then the probability that the optical unit is faulty increases dramatically. How often the device was used is also important, because the laser drive is an electronic-mechanical device. The number of miniature motors in one laser drive is unlikely to be less than 2-3.

First of a trio - spindle drive. He is responsible for spinning the laser disc. A very large number of malfunctions are associated with it. Here is an example.

Second – drive of the optical block. This drive is responsible for positioning the laser head along the disc. It rarely fails.

Third – loading/unloading drive (LOAD). Unloading and loading a disc into the drive. Malfunctions of this engine are quite rare, and are usually easy to repair.

In practice, such a malfunction occurs. Mainly at CD/MP3 car radio.

Sound often cuts out during playback. Appears abruptly and also disappears. There is a "stutter".

At DVD players The error appears as follows.

The disc is read for a very long time, after which the display shows (ERROR or NO DISK). It is possible that the disk may freeze randomly. Re-inserting the disc solves the problem and the recorded disc plays normally.

The reason for such “incomprehensible” behavior is not associated with a malfunction of the optical laser unit, but with a malfunction of the spindle drive.

The fact is that the spindle motor must spin at a certain speed. The number of revolutions is adjusted by the feedback system. So do not think that the disk is spinning by itself. I applied 3 volts to the engine and that's it! Not! The disk rotation frequency is regulated by a complex adjustment system. If the spindle motor is defective, then even the correction system does not cope well, and failures occur. The engine does not produce the desired speed, it “fails”.

Therefore, if the following malfunction occurs, do not rush to replace the optical laser unit!

It is cheaper to replace the spindle drive than buying an optical laser unit. You can temporarily replace the drive with a motor from another machine or find a suitable one in the store.

Very often there is a malfunction in CD / MP3-cassette recorders with a vertical disc installation.

The disk spins up, but the disk does not boot. Writes ERROR or NO DISK.

The optical laser unit is afraid of dust and dirt. A thin, fine dust coating on the upper lens is enough to stop the disc from being read. Vertical disc recorders are more vulnerable to dust, the disc is loaded from above and the amount of dust entering increases.

Disc car radios in this case are more protected, they have a slotted disk loading.

Fine dust deposits can be removed from the surface of the lens of the laser unit with an ordinary cotton swab or just a piece of cotton wool. Wet cotton wool with cleaning products no need, you can ruin the lens! In a circular motion, we draw on the surface of the lens with a cotton swab 3-4 times. We are convinced that there are no residues of coarse dust on the lens and that's it!

You should not press the lens, it is attached to the spring wires! They supply power to the focusing electromagnet. They are quite strong, but with excessive force, they can be damaged.

It is not uncommon that after such a simple cleaning, the operation of the device is completely restored.

The main difficulty in this operation is to correctly disassemble the device and get to the laser head. The most difficult thing to do is with music centers with a 3-disc loader or changer (when discs are placed in a box - like plates in a dryer), as well as car CD / MP3 players and DVD players with a slot-loaded disc.

Therefore, on the pages of the site I posted information on disassembling all kinds of CD drives:

These techniques will help if you need to disassemble a CD drive, but there is no experience in this matter.

Sometimes cleaning the lens does not help. The reason is that there is a prism inside the optical unit, dust will also settle on it over time. There is no point in disassembling the optical unit. It is better to replace the entire block.

When repairing electronics with malfunctions that clearly indicate a defect in the laser drive, you can use the following techniques:

Check the mechanical part of the laser drive for the presence of jamming of the gears, the carriage, the serviceability of the connecting flexible cables. It is better to “ring out” flexible cables with a multimeter, but it is better to check with a replacement. Very often, the cable “rings” with the multimeter as serviceable, but since it bends during operation, the bad contact again makes itself felt.

In DVD players, the “weakest” cable is the one that connects the laser head and the main board. Its replacement often eliminates a malfunction with a “freeze” of the disk, poor or long loading of the disk, and playback failures.

Check if there is a glow of the laser. After inserting the disc, the red laser turns on (only for DVD) for a few seconds. At this moment, it is necessary to check the presence of a glow from the side. Remember! The laser is harmful for health! Direct hit of the laser beam in the eyes is fraught with loss of vision. Be careful!

Clean the lens of the optical unit. How to do this has already been described.

Visually track the loading of the disk, its promotion. Replace the spindle drive using the substitution method.

If possible, replace, at least temporarily, for verification, the laser optical unit. Here's how to quickly replace the laser in a DVD.

In addition to the laser, there may be other reasons for the malfunction. I have already talked about the main malfunctions of DVD players.

The topic of repairing disk devices is quite extensive, here are just a few recommendations and tips. For a deeper understanding of the operation of laser disc players, it will not be superfluous to familiarize yourself with the general principles of operation of such devices. I think the book “CD-players. Circuitry ”Avramenko Yu.F., will be very useful for understanding the operation of disk devices.

Everyone knows the situation: we insert the disc into the DVD player, but the disc is “unreadable”.

Two possible reasons:

2. Malfunction in the DVD drive.

On the example of DVD HYUNDAI consider one of the options for repairing a DVD drive with your own hands. At first, the DVD “stopped reading discs”, and the malfunction either manifests itself or disappears, and as a result, it stopped working altogether.

First, we always check the output voltages from the power supply. Is the voltage normal? Next, we look at the disk drive, for this we unscrew it and disconnect all connectors.

We visually check the connectors, cable, soldering, etc.

If the visual review did not give anything, move on.

Next, you need to ring the cable that goes from the board to the head.

During operation, the drive head constantly moves from place to place. As a result, it turned out that the four extreme conductors of the loop were in a cliff, the rest were also ready to come off just about. Pry off the insulation with a needle. You can see the broken path here.

If there is a break at the very beginning or end of the cable and its length allows, then you can carefully cut the tip of the cable with scissors and insert the cable into the connector.

But sometimes it is useless to repair the cable, it is constantly in operation, moves and bends, if soldered, then after a while it will break again. We must change. That's just the problem to buy exactly such a train is very difficult. But there was a way out! At hand was an old unusable drive from the computer. True, the train from it is wider and longer, but the distance between the conductive lines and their thickness is the same.

But it's even good that it's longer, because. will bend less, and there is enough space for it. Contacts fit perfectly, one to one!

We accurately measure the required width of the train, it is better to make it a little wider, and then carefully trim it to the desired width. Everything must be done carefully, especially the edges of the train. Now we put it in place.

We check the operation of the drive. So that the loop does not cling to anything.

Assemble the DVD player in reverse order. We put the drive, board, cable and connectors in their places, close the case, and enjoy watching your favorite movies 🙂

Good luck with the repair! Come to our Forum.

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Drive repair. Prevention and treatment.

The main causes of drive failures are mechanical failures. They make up about 75-80% of the total number of malfunctions and repairs associated with it. Moreover, most often the reasons for the failure of DVD drives (any, not only computer ones) are contamination of the moving parts of the disc transport mechanism and dust accumulated on the optics. The repair of the drive is almost guaranteed to be adequate to the cost of a new one, so we carefully read and weigh whether the skin is worth the candle.

Repairing a drive is not a trivial task.

The presence of dust and dirt on the moving parts of the mechanism, especially on the edges of the movable carriage slide, makes it impossible to lock the drive mechanism that holds the disk, as a result of which the device does not fix the disk and constantly ejects it. If, on the contrary, the drive ejects the tray and immediately takes it back, then most likely the cause of the defect is the failure of the tray position sensor. The fact that the tray is thrown out, the drive determines with the help of a contact sensor, which should be found, try to correct its position, repair or replace. Repair of the drive as such is not necessary here, from time to time just look to ensure that dirt does not accumulate in the places where the sled moves.

In order to clean the drive drive from dust, you can first limit yourself to its partial disassembly (pull out the tray and remove the front panel), and then blow the inside of the drive with a vacuum cleaner set to blow out the air flow. This is not about repairing the drive.

The optical drive system often fails due to dust built up on the focal lens or prism. If blowing out the device does not help, you can try to wipe the dust off the lens with a soft flannel or a brush with a stick, as in the figure.

Remember, never use alcohol or solvents for cleaning!

The focus lenses of most modern optical drives are made of organic plastic, and the solvent will permanently damage their surface. A heavily soiled lens is best wiped with a piece of hard paper (at worst, with a cotton swab, trying not to leave lint). This operation is carried out with extreme caution, as it is possible to damage the suspension of the laser itself. Repair of the drive in this case will turn out to be expensive, almost in the amount of the cost of the drive itself.

The situation is more complicated with the prism that stands behind the lens - it is extremely difficult to get to it. Moreover, the head, as a rule, is non-separable, but even if it is disassembled, then you can knock down its settings. Therefore, in most drives, lens contamination means its complete unusability. Sometimes the optical system fails even because of an ordinary hair that has fallen on the prism - in this case, again, you can try to blow the system with a powerful air stream. Otherwise, the repair of the drive (its cost) will be unreasonably high.

By the way, it is not recommended to use special disks for cleaning optics, supposedly specially designed for this. Most of them not only won't clean your drive, but can even seriously damage it. After all, modern optical drives spin the disc to a very high speed and at the same time have a very delicate read head, so if your device is dear to you, then do not clean it with the help of such devices. This will no longer be repairing the drive, but almost deliberately disabling the drive.

However, most drives operating under normal conditions do not survive to the point where excessive dust can cause failures. Most often, the lens plastic simply becomes cloudy from time to time and / or from overheating of the drive in the system unit.Repair of the drive consists in an expensive replacement of the reading laser head. However, such a malfunction accounts for no more than 10% of cases. Here one can, of course, advise to increase the intensity of the laser glow. To do this, adjust the variable resistor installed on the carriage with the laser. The slider of this variable resistor is turned clockwise by 20-30°, after which the rotation of the drive motor is checked when the disk is installed. If the disk does not begin to rotate, then turn the variable resistor engine by another 20-30 °, and so continue until the engine starts (it should start and for some time - about 10-20 seconds - rotate at a constant speed) .

The need to rotate the variable resistor that regulates the intensity of the laser glow is due to the fact that over time the power of the laser light flux decreases (aging of the elements, clouding of the lens, etc.), however, after such an adjustment, the optical system usually still does not last long. This supposed repair of the drive is no longer practiced.

You are unlikely to be able to eliminate other malfunctions of the optoelectronic information reading system on your own. Although small in size, the optical system of a DVD drive is a very complex and precise optical device, including servo systems for disc rotation control, laser reader positioning, autofocus, radial tracking, as well as laser diode reading and control systems. Repairing the drive in this case is not worth it.

The characteristic signs of a malfunction are either the absence of disk rotation, or, conversely, its constant acceleration to the maximum rotation speed. When you try to remove a disk from a failed drive using the controls, the carriage opens with the disk rotating on it.

In the operation of a working system, the following phases should be clearly traced:

• start and smooth acceleration of the disk;

• steady rotation mode;

• braking interval to a complete stop;

• Removing the disk by the carriage tray from the motor spindle and taking it out of the disk drive.

You can verify that the drive's optical system is working properly by opening the case and observing how it works. You can make sure that the disk spins up after installation by connecting only the power cord to the drive (the data cable is not connected). If the disk does not rotate after installation, then it is checked whether the laser glows when the carriage is placed in the working position, but already without the disk. Sometimes the glow of the laser in daylight is not visible, so it is necessary to darken the room. The laser lens should be observed from different angles.

In modern optical devices, the presence of a disk is controlled by the laser itself. If the photo sensor installed in the laser carriage receives a reflected signal from the disk, then the electronic circuit perceives this signal as “the presence of a disk” and only after that it generates a command to turn on the main rotation motor. Therefore, if the intensity of the laser glow is insufficient, then the disk will not spin up and repair of the disk drive will become inevitable.

The servo system for positioning the head of information reading ensures a smooth lead of the head to a given recording track with an error not exceeding half the width of the track in the modes of searching for the required piece of information and normal playback. The movement of the reading head, and with it the laser beam along the disk field, is carried out by the head motor. The operation of the motor is controlled by forward and reverse motion signals from the control processor, as well as signals generated by the radial error processor. Characteristic signs of a malfunction are both erratic movement of the head along the guides and its immobility.

Visually, you can also check the correct operation of the focusing system.At the moment the disk starts, the control processor generates correction signals that provide multiple (two or three attempts) vertical movement of the focal lens, which is necessary for accurate focusing of the beam on the disk track. When a focus is detected, a signal is generated that allows the reading of information. If after two or three attempts this signal does not appear, then the control processor turns off all systems and the disk stops. Thus, the operability of the focusing system can be judged both by the characteristic movements of the focal lens at the moment the disk starts, and by the signal for starting the disk acceleration mode upon successful focusing of the laser beam. Other parameters of the correct operation of the optical system are not visually determined.

Optical drives also have many mechanical components that require lubrication of rubbing parts. The lack of lubrication leads to the fact that the drive hardly ejects the carriage with the disk, and the carriage lock may jam altogether, and then the use of the disk drive will become impossible at all. Lubrication must be applied carefully, after completely disassembling the device (the places where it is required are usually clearly visible). Before lubrication, it is useful to clean the lubrication points from dust and dirt. The fact is that if you miss the moment when you need to apply lubrication, then the difficulty of sliding will lead to mechanical breakdowns of the parts of the transport mechanism or violation of its adjustments, which, in turn, will entail either stopping the carriage mechanism in an intermediate position, or slipping the disk in rotation time.

A similar situation can also arise due to clogging of the friction surfaces of the disc holder due to the frequent use of dirty DVDs, which ultimately leads to unreliable operation of the drive, up to its complete stop.

Contamination of the disc drive seat and poor disc contact with the seat can be eliminated by cleaning the disc seat with any cloth soaked in alcohol.

You can check whether the pressing force of the disc to the seat is sufficient when trying to play a regular disc. If there are no errors or failures during disc playback, and the disc with computer data still reads unstable, you can take additional measures - bend the springs or increase the weight to increase the pressure on the disc from above.

Other mechanical failures include jamming of the disc on the transport carriage (in this case, the disc does not spin at all). Sometimes this happens because the seat of the disk spontaneously falls along the motor shaft and the disk touches the elements of the transport carriage. To eliminate this defect, the seat is moved up the shaft and its height is selected using the “poke method” so that the disk rotates without touching the structural elements, and also so that the drive ensures stable reading of all disks. After that, the position of the disk seat is carefully fixed on the shaft.

However, the listed mechanical faults mainly concern simple mechanisms of relatively cheap drives. Expensive models, as a rule, have complex mechanisms, for which the main type of mechanical failure is the fatal failure of the mechanism parts. Most often this happens due to the fact that the user, instead of using the control buttons, pushes the carriage with the disc into the drive with his hand. The consequences of such actions can be the most unpleasant. If the dirty and running mechanism is sufficiently cleaned, wiped and lubricated so that it again properly performs its functions, then rushing and applying excessive force to the disc tray can cause breakdowns that will cause expensive and time-consuming repairs to the drive.

And finally, malfunctions of electronic components are possible. However, their share is unlikely to exceed a small fraction of all breakdowns.Unfortunately, modern optical drives are very complex electronic systems, and a faulty microcircuit does not differ in appearance from a serviceable one. Accordingly, repairing a drive at home without preparation is impossible.

Now drives may cost less than some network card or video card, but this does not mean that they are just as simple. The optical drive has a rather complex design and, in addition to the mechanical part, contains at least two microcontrollers, a signal processor (DSP), a secondary voltage source, circuits for controlling the mechanics, etc. Moreover, most of the microcircuits used in modern drives are specialized, and therefore, repairing a drive in its electronic part is hardly advisable.

Note that in an optical drive it is quite difficult to diagnose electronics failure even with a sufficient degree of reliability. After all, depending on the error correction strategy chosen by the manufacturer for a particular model and, accordingly, on the complexity of the processor and the device as a whole, in practice, a particular drive can work with different disks in different ways. This, by the way, explains the common situation when your disk is easily read on a colleague's machine, and your own PC does not even see it. In cheap models, the correction system can correct only one or two small errors in the information frame, while a complex expensive system can restore even serious and extended information destruction, and it does this in several stages according to a complex algorithm. So the repair of the drive in this case will not work due to the absence of a malfunction as such.

Each manufacturer uses its own chipset or completes it with products from different manufacturers, and, of course, does not include descriptions. Due to the fact that for each specific device it is necessary to look for specifications for almost each microcircuit separately, often even service center specialists cannot always restore the functionality of your device. If only because the repair of the drive will not be economically justified.

In short, if after cleaning, checking all the wires and connections, as well as system settings, your DVD drive does not work, and the warranty has already expired, you may end up in a situation where you just have to throw out the old one and buy a new one.

DVD-ROM is one of the most "fragile" devices that can fail. This is not even connected with the user's actions, but rather with the design. The multitude of mechanical parts that must be electronically coordinated, the high frequency of operation and the need for precise positioning are all factors that greatly affect the ultimate durability of the actuator.

In addition to the design itself, the constant race between the manufacturers of blanks and the DVD-ROMs themselves has a negative impact on performance. Some are trying to release recording discs as quickly as possible, others are trying to catch up with them, forgetting to update already released devices in time. By the way, this is the first problem that can occur when using a laptop for a long time - the lack of the correct firmware. To fix this problem, you can do the following:

• Search for a new firmware that eliminates incompatibility on the website of the manufacturer of the laptop model;
• Search the Internet for sites whose subject is the removal of zoning of drives.

Using this advice, you can either fix the problems that have arisen in the drive, or just keep up with the times by installing new firmware.

It happens that the drive still starts to “jump”, or refuses to work at all. To identify and fix the breakdown, you can use the following step-by-step instructions:

If after performing the above steps there are no changes, you must take the drive to a service center, or replace it yourself.

In the case of replacing the old drive with a new one (in case of fatal breakdowns, updating the laptop), there may be a problem with the operation of the drives in two modes: primary slave or secondary master. You can solve the problem by updating the firmware, which will change the mode, or fix the defect manually by setting the cable select jumper. But often, the installation of a jumper is not provided constructively, then it is necessary to put it on manually. For this you need:

• Disassemble the laptop to access the DVD-ROM;
• Remove it from the laptop, carefully disconnecting the connections;
• Unscrew the fastening screws from the drive housing;
• Using a thin wire, pressing the hole in the drive, open the tray;
• Remove the cover and pull out the tray;
• In the IDE connector of the laptop, it is necessary to put a small jumper between pins 47 and 49 (the count should be taken from the corner closer to which the connector is located);
• Assemble back, checking the operation of the drive.

In addition, when replacing the drive, a problem may arise in that you can damage the old sled or adapter. You will have to look for a similar one on the market, or order an original drive with all the setting elements. Therefore, the main rule when replacing a drive is not to throw out the fasteners and handle them carefully. Also, do not throw out the front panel, because. in some laptop models, it is not straight, but has an original shape (curved or bent). More often than not, a new analog drive will have a standard straight faceplate that will either look unsightly or prevent the drive from being installed properly.

How to repair a CD-DVD drive yourself?

This is a short story with pictures about how you can revive a CD-DVD, and probably a Blu-Ray drive, without resorting to expensive help from specialists. There are several common reasons that can lead to complete or partial inoperability of the drive. The elimination of these causes is not a repair, but rather a maintenance of the CD-DVD-ROM, and may well be performed by a user with some skills in working with electronic equipment. Read more at my.housecope.com/wp-content/uploads/ext/1284

1. Deterioration of the drive belt (belt).
2. Increased friction in the loading mechanism.
3. Dirty laser lens.
4. Reduced laser efficiency.

To eliminate any of these causes, partial disassembly of the drive is required. The design of the drives may vary, so the accompanying pictures should not be taken absolutely.

For preventive work, we need the following tools, materials and components. my.housecope.com/wp-content/uploads/ext/1284

1. Stationery clip.
2. Phillips screwdriver.
3. Medium sized brush.
4. Coarse calico (cotton fabric).
5. Silicone grease SI-130.
6. Belt.
7. Cleaning cloth.
8. Thin screwdriver.
9. Tweezers.

Begin. Disconnect the cables from the drive and unscrew the fixing screws. We take out the drive from the case of the system unit.

Disassembly of any CD-DVD drive begins with the extension of the tray. To pull out the tray, you must first make a simple fixture from a paper clip.

Carefully, inserting the end of a paper clip into the technological hole on the front panel of the drive, we feel for the part of the mechanism that is responsible for blocking the tray. This part is located strictly opposite the hole. We press it and the tray extends slightly. Now it can be pulled out with your fingers.

We press the latches securing the front panel of the drive. First, we squeeze one of the side latches.

Then, we press the latch located at the bottom of the drive, and the other side latch.

We put forward the front panel, unscrew the four Phillips screws and remove the metal casing panels.

We press the latches and separate the tray from the main mechanism.

Thoroughly clean the mechanism of dust and dirt with a brush.If the old grease is heavily contaminated, then remove it with coarse calico and apply new grease.

We replace the worn out belt with a new one. Then we wipe the belt and the inner surfaces of the pulleys with a cleaning cloth or coarse calico soaked in alcohol.

Wipe the laser lens with a cleaning cloth. Dust deposited on the upper surface of the lens may not be visible to the naked eye, but it is almost always present there.

If the drive is very old, or known to have had too many discs written to it, and there is a read or write problem, then you can try to increase the laser current. This rather delicate operation requires patience and can take quite a long time. Do not start this procedure if your drive simply does not read a few old discs or discs recorded on other people's drives. This can be caused by a lot of different reasons, and the value of the laser current here is in 38th place.

It is best to adjust the laser current when the drive is in a semi-disassembled state.

To run the drive without the shroud and front panel, you will have to remove the front wall of the disc tray.

Somewhere on the carriage with the installed laser there is a small-sized potentiometer, the position of the slider of which determines the laser current. The location of this potentiometer depends on the design of the drive.

Before turning this screw, be sure to sketch the position of the slot in order to have a reference point, and indeed, so that in case something happens, we can return it to its original position.

Turning the screw 10-15 degrees, first in one direction and then in the other direction, each time we check the quality of reading in some program, for example, Nero DiscSpeed.

It is only desirable to check on several types of media at once, for example, CD-R and CD-RW or DVD + R, DVD + RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, etc. It's probably not necessary to check all supported media types, but check at least the ones you use all the time.

Multi-purpose universal drives are rather compromise products and therefore they often read some types of discs better, and some worse. For example, by increasing the laser current, you can get perfect CD-R reading and make half of your CD-RWs unreadable.

Assembly is not difficult, except for one moment. When inserting the tray into the loading mechanism, the latch of the loading mechanism slider must be aligned with the guide slot located at the bottom of the tray.

The slider is usually spring-loaded, so you need to fix the slider in the correct position using tweezers or other suitable tool before inserting the tray into the guides. In the photo, the position of the slider is fixed with an awl.

If, quite by chance, you have at your disposal a small set of belts of different diameters, then you just need to choose the right copy. If there is no such set, then you will have to buy a belt.

And although the era of video and audio tape recorders has passed, you can still buy rubber belts in assortment on all kinds of radio markets.

When buying a belt, you need to pay attention to several of its parameters at once, such as: cross-section, diameter, elasticity and quality of vulcanization of the rubber from which it is made.

The section of a belt can also be determined by eye, since the probability that you will be able to find a belt of a strictly corresponding section is small.

The diameter of the belt can be determined by attaching the old belt to the new one and making sure that the diameter of the new one is slightly smaller than the old one.

Elasticity can be measured using an improvised stand, like the one in the figure.

I usually check the properties of the belt by touch without any dynamometers.

The quality of rubber vulcanization can be determined by color and tactile sensations. The color of the "wrong" rubber is deep black, and the surface is smooth and highly reflective. While the "correct" rubber has a slightly grayish tint and a more matte finish.

Also, the quality of rubber vulcanization can be determined by the recovery time of the original size.For the test, you need to strongly stretch the belt with your fingers and very quickly drop it flat on a flat surface. The faster the belt takes its original size, the higher its quality. If you can notice by eye how the diameter of the belt changes, that is, it seems to shrink, then such a belt will not last long and it is better not to use it at all. However, it is not a fact that you will find a high quality belt in the bazaar, and even exactly the same as required. Therefore, for lack of a better one, you can buy what is, but adjusted for diameter, cross section and elasticity.

And so, all these four parameters affect the properties of the belt. When choosing a belt, you need to consider all of them. If the cross section of the belt is slightly smaller, then you need to choose a slightly shorter belt and vice versa. If the quality of vulcanization is low, then you need to choose either a slightly larger section or a slightly smaller diameter.

If the belt is pulled too tight, it can lead to jamming or premature wear of the disc loading mechanism. If the belt is too loose, it can cause it to slip relative to the engine pulley.

If there are several belts with similar properties in the market, then it is better to immediately buy several different ones in order to choose the most suitable one at home. The price of a belt for a CD-DVD drive can range from $0.3 to $0.7.