Why doesn't anybody care about cd lens cleaning?

[audio]

I've had this thread up regarding the safest way to clean a cd player laser lens and nobody has any interest in the topic. Could I possibly be the only one in the forum who is perhaps interested in maintaining my cd player?

[ybe]

I have never done anything to the lens but,

Here's some info:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9517

[audio]

Thank you very much! I looked at that thread and that is definitely the information that I needed.

[ybe]

You're welcome! But I'm just the messenger. The archives here are amazing. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[-=Rudy=-]

I just read that other topic for the first time--good stuff! :)

When I first heard about them, I was always wary of those laser-cleaning CDs with a brush on them. However, I have heard of cleaning CDs that promise 'no contact' with the laser. I'm thinking these must be discs that, in effect, turn into a fan and attempt to blow the dust off of the laser using the spinning disc.

I could use compressed air, but using compressed air that is too strong could damage the laser assembly also. I don't think the compressor I use to inflate tires and pool toys, run the air rachet and blow out my in-ground sprinklers would have the finesse to do something delicate like a laser. ;)

[Grant]

I would say it's because it's rarely a problem for most people and it's highly NOT reccomended to clean the laser, as you can do more damage than good in the attempt to do so. Those discs made to clean lasers are NOT recommended by most manufacturers and can knock a laser out of allignment. I guess that's why no one responded to the first thread.

I live in a dusty enviornment and I have never needed to clean the laser on any of my many CD players, ever!

[Gary]

I've never had to clean my lense either, and I have a 10 year old CDP! I'd think lens cleaning would not fall under "routine maintenance" but be an "as required" thing to do because of possible damaging or misaligning the lens during "routine" maintenance.

And hey - if I told you to consider product X and it damaged your machine, you'd be pretty mad at me, huh?

[-=Rudy=-]

I have no desire to go ripping open all of my CD players and cleaning lenses. However, those players that *do* have a problem are worth opening and investigating. If they're dirty, can't hurt to clean 'em up because the player is pretty much a goner anyway.

In fact, the one good Sony CD player i've owned in my lifetime was retired due to what I thought was a weak laser. The CD player had years of hard use (a decade, I think) in the dashboard of two different cars I'd owned. I'm almost wondering if all that dirt and crud floating around inside the cars and in the environment may have crudded up the laser lens. I don't know if it has or not, but it might not hurt to take a look.

[-=Rudy=-]

Hey Grant--I dig the new A&M avatar! :D I should post a 45RPM single label as the counterpart. ;)

[audio]

I agree that I usually wouldn't, as a normal routine, decide it's time to clean my cd lens. However, I do wonder about it. The reason is that I regularly wipe a ton of dust off the outside of my system and I am SURE that a fair amount of dust gets inside the machine. Now I don't know about you, but I want top performance from my cd player. In order to acheive this, it is essential that the laser beam is unobstructed, is it not? Could one get that extra mile of sonic bliss out of their cd player by simply cleaning the lens? Another scenario: I have an SCSI burner that I use that recenly stopped working and wouldn't track or burn properly. Guess how I fixed the problem? I used one of those crappy carbon fiber drug store disc cd type lens cleaners and the burner works perfectly now. My computer is incredibly dusty inside also because of the fan sucking in all that dirt. Recently my computer burner has been creating more and more errors. It makes me wonder if it's time for a cleaning, which it probably is, and that is the reason for my original post regarding the subject.





Originally posted by Gary
I've never had to clean my lense either, and I have a 10 year old CDP! I'd think lens cleaning would not fall under "routine maintenance" but be an "as required" thing to do because of possible damaging or misaligning the lens during "routine" maintenance.

And hey - if I told you to consider product X and it damaged your machine, you'd be pretty mad at me, huh?

[Gary]

Yea, I've heard of computers shutting down and frying because they were killed by heat! They became boat anchors. The fan was too close to the carpet and got clogged up!

I'd get a screwdriver and carefuly open the case and blow it clean with a hair dryer set to cool if I were you. Or have it professionally done!

Afterwards, relocation sounds like a pretty good idea....

Good luck!

[audio]

Relocations impossible. My house is old and dusty. I don't care about the computer, just the quality of the cdrs I burn.





Originally posted by Gary
Yea, I've heard of computers shutting down and frying because they were killed by heat! They became boat anchors. The fan was too close to the carpet and got clogged up!

I'd get a screwdriver and carefuly open the case and blow it clean with a hair dryer set to cool if I were you. Or have it professionally done!

Afterwards, relocation sounds like a pretty good idea....

Good luck!

[Pinknik]

Just so ya know, I have actually used one of these lens cleaning CD's on a computer that was no longer reading discs. Worked perfectly. Reads discs fine now. Not that it couldn't harm something, but in this case . . .

[RetroSmith]

Geez, Ive had my Cd player for 8 years now, never had any lens problems.

If it aint broke, dont mess with it.