CD loading forever, never finishes

[Elrinth]

Hi!

So I think my cddrive is broken or something. It just keeps spinning forever... Never finishing loading the game... Any tips? I've tried using a cleaner cd without success.

[SamIAm]

Hello.

What you're seeing is a very common problem. Fortunately, there is also a very easy fix.



Open up your system, find the row of three white potentiometers, and turn the middle one 1/8 of a full rotation counterclockwise. Check and see if it works. If it doesn't, give it another 1/8 turn (you want to do this as few times as possible). If it doesn't work after it's been turned 4/8 of a full rotation, it's probably not going to work, and you'll need a new laser.

Good luck!

[Elrinth]

Oooh! This excites me! Thank you for the tip! I'll give it a whirl!

[GohanX]

Make sure you mark the position with a marker or something before you start fiddling with it so you can reset it if need be.

[incrediblehark]

I haven't owned may pc-fx systems, but the cd drives do seem finicky and prone to read issues. would be nice if we could source a more reliable replacement.

[thesteve]

actually a weak laser in these is finicky, but a good laser reads almost any setting from my experience

[Elrinth]

I hadn't really have time or take time until now. But I can confirm this worked like a clock! Only 1 1/8 counter clockwise...
One thing to note is that the potentiometers' text appeared upside down for me compared to your picture. I just looked at the text so it was read correctly and turned the potentiometer from that.

[_joshuaTurbo]

forever is a long time.

[ruinatokyo]

Cool info, thanks SamIAm.

I just tried replacing the laser pickup in mine but it made reading worse, no idea. Will try pot adjustment with the old laser and keep the new one around just in case.

[esteban]

forever is a long time.

Is that TMBG or Pixies reference?

TMBG... In the nighttime of the the sullen moon...