Hi all,
we have an LG hdd/dvd recorder that doesn't record at all,and only plays some dvds. It used to work perfectly until we moved it to a different location for a while. We cleaned it, brought it back to the shop, but they are not really interested in fixing it and tell us it's probably the laser and we should buy a new one. We don't believe it is, as it plays some dvds.
We've tried resetting it to factory settings, but it didn't work either. Any idea?
Thanks for your help,
Maybell.

What's the model number of the recorder? I may be able to find a service manual for you.

What model numbers, part numbers, etc can you read from the labels on the HDD and DVD loader?

A weak laser may play some discs but not others. Burnt discs have a lower reflectivity than pressed ones. The optical pickup will have two lasers, one for DVD and one for CD. Does the machine play CDs and CD-Rs?

The interface of the DVD is most likely IDE (same as hard drive), although it could be in the form of a mini-flex. If so, then you could use a standard IDE optical drive, with an IDE-miniflex adapter PCB. You can cannibalise the adapters from other LG recorders, or possibly from Panasonic DVD recorders.

Thanks for reply fzabkar

Its an LG HDD/DVD Recorder, Model RH266.
It plays all music cds ok and some DVDs but not all. For the DVDs that at it does play the quality is perfect so would this mean that the laser is ok?

It wont play DVDS that are multi-lingual, once you put it in the disc spins for about 1 min and then an error comes up on screen saying "Unknown Disc" and it is automatically ejected. Could it be a software problem???

I suppose it could be a firmware/software problem, but I can't be certain. I expect that a weak laser would have more trouble with dual layer discs (DVD9). You may also want to check whether the recorder can play the discs that it burns.

If the DVD loader has a PC style IDE interface connector, then you could test it in a PC. This will eliminate the decoder board firmware as a reason for the misbehaviour.

I haven't been able to find a service manual for the RH266, but here are LG service manuals for the Australian market:
http://www.jordansmanuals.com/default.a ... ct=DVD-VCR

Perhaps the RH265 is similar.

you main problem is a weak laser as it takes more power to burn onto dvd blanks.
the other option could be a weak power supply which has broken down

I don't intend to be rude, but this is a Hard Drive forum, not a DVD forum.

Try http://forum.videohelp.com/forums/16-DV ... ay-Players

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Data Recovery Ireland

Thank you everyone, and particularly fzabkar for the time you spent looking up manual. The problem isn't to do with burnt dvd, as we've never watched/ burnt any, but we'll explore your solutions.
I'm no expert at all in this area, and wasn't aware that hard drive doen't mean dvd player. I'll look up your link, CK, and see what they can do for us.
Thanks again,
Maybell.