Disc Read Errors on About 1/2 of My Games

[dbqandrsns]

Good Day,

Within the past month or so, my Wii has developed an interesting problem that I'm trying to nail down.

About 1/2 or our game discs are un-readable by my system. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to which ones are or aren't readable. Some of the un-readable discs are older more used discs and some are newer ones that have only been played less than five times. Likewise, some of the ones that still work are older more used ones and others that still work are newer.

As as specific example, Wii Fit+ is one of the discs that does not work. I tried cleaning it off with alcohol and water, but my Wii still cannot read it. We took the disc to a friend's house and tried it in their Wii and it works just fine. This is the pattern with all the discs that do not work on my unit. They seem to work fine on someone else's.

I tried blowing air through the unit, thinking the lens might be dirty and while I seemed to blow some dust out, the problem still persists. I was able to get EA Active 2 working. I then tried another non-working disc and that failed. Then, when I tried the EA Active 2 again, it failed again after working literally less than a minute earlier.

Has anyone else ever heard of this happening? Since the issue is across multiple discs that work fine in other units, I'm leaning towards some kind of issue on my Wii itself. However, the inconsistency has me baffled. And help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill Anderson
Dubuque, Iowa

 

[Splash_King]

Yes, you certainly should be correct that the Wii itself is the center of the problem. Thus, we need to pinpoint why the console is having these disc read troubles...

When the games fail, do you get any specific error code or error message? Or does the Wii lock up and completely freeze?

Do you know if there's been any damage to the Wii? Blunt trauma or otherwise.

How old is your Wii?

 

[dbqandrsns]

Thank you for your reply.

The Wii will be two years old this Christmas.

As for any error messages, the only one I get is then I insert the disc. If on the disc channel, the disc icons spin for about 15-20 seconds and then disappear. A question mark appears with "Unable to read the disc." below it. Below that is the standard "Please refer to the Wii operations manual for troubleshooting." message. The error is the same on all the discs that do not work. Any help or insight you can offer is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[Splash_King]

Try reading through this thread friend, it may be a similar, if not the same problem to the one described.

http://www.wiichat.com/forum/nintendo-wii-chat/79139-disc-drive-error.html

If the thread doesn't relate to your problem, or you've any questions remaining, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[dbqandrsns]

Thanks for the link. I think the thread hits the nail on the head. Only problem is that I don't have the game mentioned that gets the free repair. I'm going to wrangle with Nintendo and ask them why only a single dual layer game gets the free fix and none of the ones I have do.

 

[Splash_King]

The dual-layer disc games (Metroid: Other M is also dual layered) supposedly puts more stress on the lens/laser, or whatever components in the drive. Something along those lines.

I doubt they'l give any lenience and give you the free repair unless you blame a dual-layer game, sadly. It'd be cheaper to buy a used copy of Metroid: Other M (Brawl is sold for near-new full price for a used copy, so Other M is much cheaper), get the repair for $35~ or so less, and even get a new game out of it.

Nintendo isn't having economical troubles like us, after all.

 

[CaseyJones]

This sounds like a problem with the laser. The repair would actually be quite cheap. You can pick up a new laser for about $10. The only other thing you need is a tri wing screwdriver. You can pick one up at http://nintendoscrewdriver.com for less than $5. They ship for free too.

 

[dbqandrsns]

Well, I just tried the cleaning kit/disc and it's no better...in fact, now none of my games work. * sigh * When I slide the discs in, I hear few odd clicking sounds before it spins up and tries to read the disc.

My next step in my mind was actually to get a tri-wing screwdriver and see what I can see on the inside and then go for the new laser. I've always been pretty good on electronics dis-assembly and re-assembly, just need to take the leap of faith. I'll keep the thread posted as to my progress. Thanks to all.

 

[Splash_King]

Sorry to hear the lens cleaner didn't work. =( Best of luck with the laser replacement.