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Apple PowerCD - not spinning

Byrd

Well-known member
Hi all,

I've an Apple PowerCD I'm trying to get functional - I bought it some time back and never tried it out, it appears to be fully intact.  When I slide the CD in the little cradle/holder thing and click the lid in, it tries for a moment to spin the CD but ceases.  The display just stays at the usual --:-- and sometimes displays an er (error) code if I press some of the buttons.  No other noises happen eg. lens head moving.

The circular spindle the CD sits on doesn't move freely, it feels "gritty" - can others check to see if theirs does the same?  I'm hoping it's a clean/re-lube job instead of a laser adjustment or replacement.

Thank you!

JB

 
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MOS8_030

Well-known member

Byrd

Well-known member
Thanks for help - I've just been trying a few audio CDs, not hooked up to anything.  It detects fine when plugged into a Mac.

 
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MOS8_030

Well-known member
Ah, ok. I've found the PowerCD to be slow and finicky.

As a stand-alone CD player it usually picks up audio CD's fairly quick.

There is a thread here somewhere about having to replace some of the caps in the base I think.

 

Byrd

Well-known member
Thanks MOS8_030 ... does the spindle on the centre of your drive spin freely?

 

KnobsNSwitches

Well-known member
I've got a PowerCD with a similar problem. My center spindle spins freely.

Pushing in the on the latch spring button (the hole inside the 'ring' nearest the pause button) has my laser assembly do a little shimmy in and out, which I believe means it's attempting to focus, but with a CD installed, nothing ever happens. Just a display of --:--, or an 'err' if i start pushing buttons fast enough. 

But that tells me the latch switch seems to be working, and the laser assembly is partly functional

It shows up on the SCSI bus but nothing ever loads.

 

mjhagen

Active member
The spinning part can get pushed in and it then catches on the housing, you should be able to wiggle it free. I don’t remember if you need to disassemble most of it before you can reach that part, but I know I did. I used one of those iPhone repair kit plectrums to get between the housing and the spinner.

 
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