its a dvd dmr e55 panasonic ram recorder and its 3 years old and only now reconises cd disks when a ram disk goes in it crashes and connt read disks but plays pre recorded dvds and cd i played a dvd lense cleaner but no diffrent would you now how to fix i bought a new laser I was properly earthed with a anti-static mat and wrist strap but it would not read at all so i put the old one back and worked the same as before

jason hawkins, February 2008

Hi Jason

It is unlikely to be anything to do with the laser. I have only repaired one of these with a laser problem and even that one was repaired without replacing it. The lasers used in these machines are very reliable.

The problem you described is most likely caused by failure of a power board regulator. This regulator gets very hot during normal operation and usually packs up on nearly all of these machines after about two ot three years.

You can obtain the part online and repair it successfully but you need to be able to use a soldering iron and remove the board to fix it. My advice is do not attempt any further repair to the laser or dvd drive unit.

Cornish Tekbabe, March 2008