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Initial DVD DMA-710 says "no disc"
A couple of years ago we bought three, yes three, DVD bookshelf units from Wal-Mart. THe model? THe Initial DMA-710.
We loved these units because they were a great price. We didn't expect the height of hi-fi performance, we just wanted something to put in our offices and bedroom. At first they were great. Then things went downhill. Here's the letter I just wrote to Initial Technology, Inc., about these units and their "problem":
"Hi -
I have three Initial DMA-710 units. They all exhibit the same symptoms. They were fantastic for a while, then after time passed eventually they would all start to say "no disc" when a DVD disc was inserted. CD's would play fine at that time. But then eventually these machines all started saying the same thing for CD's as well. As even more time passed, the occurrence of the "no disc" message became more and more frequent, until now, none of the players will play any discs at all. They all say "no disc" when any disc is inserted.
How can this be fixed? I can assume that this is a flaw in the system design as I have three of them that all did exactly the same thing in exactly the same manner. I've also found that many users have written about this same problem in various places online, so it appears to be common. Is there a known remedy for this obviously known issue with these units?
Thanks,
Bill Haenel"
I don't have any really big complaints with the company or anything. After all, we paid only $89 for each unit. However, I think it's worth writing this post and following it up with any suggestions offered by Initial, as I have seen lots of folks online not knowing what to do about the problem when it happens to them. So if I get any good info on the problem, I'll be sure to come back here and post what I've learned.
Bill
Anonymous said:
Thank you for posting this information. I have the same model and have the same problem. I agree that, overall, it is a good unit for a great price. However, it's also a non-working unit! If you have any additional info, I (and likely others) would appreciate hearing it. Thanks! (posted 11:06pm, 29Sep08)
Administrator said:
FYI to all who are dying to know... I never did get a response back from Initial. I guess they aren't available. - Bill (posted 4:25pm, 02Oct08)
Anonymous said:
I had the same problem, used an inexpensive Magnavox CD Laser Lens Cleaner (CD disk) and solved the problem. It took 2 tries for the disk to feed successfully. (posted 6:00am, 29Dec08)
Bill Haenel said:
Thanks for the tip. I did try that, and with one of the units it made a difference. Trouble is, to use those cleaners the disc needs to spin up, which the unit won't do, so it winds up being a no-go. (posted 1:51pm, 29Dec08)
Anonymous said:
Had the same problem with mine took it apart over a year ago and cleaned the lens myself with a q-tip with camera lens cleaner on it and it has worked great since then. The lens was very dirty I attributed it the the large candle burning by it all the time. (posted 11:20pm, 05Jan09)
Anonymous said:
Hi, I have the same unit and I love it and really don't have any issues with it. Well just one...I moved and misplaced the AC adapter and now it appears they have gone out of business. Do you know where I can get a new AC adapter? Thanks. (posted 6:09pm, 05Feb09)
Bill Haenel said:
I don't know about the adapter, honestly. Mine came with a pretty standard AC cord. I'll bet you could find it in most hardware stores and such. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like a standard type cord. (posted 6:17pm, 05Feb09)
Anonymous said:
Ok mine does the same thing.. I was hopin it was something simple.. I will try a lens cleaner and see if it works. Thanks for the help Bil (posted 7:52pm, 14May09)
Anonymous said:
I'll buy non working units in good cosmetic condition. Hit me at dcsleeper at gmail dot com (posted 9:03pm, 18Aug09)
Anonymous said:
I have one all so you have to take it apart then get to the laser eye. then you have to take a cue tip and rubbing alcohol and wipe the dust off the eye then you have to do this several times then put it bake together. Or when you put a disc in hit the top repeatedly tell it spines up. I hope this helps you. (posted 10:59pm, 15Dec09)
Anonymous said:
I have one all so you have to take it apart then get to the laser eye. then you have to take a cue tip and rubbing alcohol and wipe the dust off the eye then you have to do this several times then put it bake together. Or when you put a disc in hit the top repeatedly tell it spines up. I hope this helps you. (posted 11:03pm, 15Dec09)
Anonymous said:
I have all the same issues but can still use my unit after almost 10 years. However, I have lost the remote control. Is there anyone out there that has a remote for this unit that they would be interested in givin up? I have been unable to reach the manufacturer as well. Would be greatly appreciative. (posted 2:11am, 16Dec09)
Anonymous said:
I maybe a little to late for this blog, but I also have the same unit..with the same problem 'No Disk' message. I've looked to take the unit apart, but am having trouble. I'm not mechanically challenged, but, I still haven't got this thing apart after an hour of trying?? If anyone can give me a little direction would be greatly appreciated (posted 3:55pm, 08Mar10)
Anonymous said:
As far as taking the unit apart, remove the 4 side screws (2 each side) then the 8 srews on back, (3 for each side panel, and to for top cover) remove side panels by pulling them to the rear of unit and then down. Remove two screw from top cover one each side near front. with a little down pressure on front of top cover lift rear of top cover and pull back. to get to lens remove 4 small screws on metal plate covering carage assembly. reverse procedure to reassemble (posted 1:27pm, 26Apr11)
Anonymous said:
as far as the No Disk, if lens cleaning does not work try reseating the flat ribbon cable between the lens assembly and the main board, pull back on the brown clip of the connector and remove cable, clean with an eraser and replace, push brown clip back in and check to see if cable is secure (posted 1:30pm, 26Apr11)
Anonymous said:
On mine, the DVD motor won't start to spin up. I guess the motor has just gotten weak. While opening it to clean I noticed it wasn't dirty at all but the disc would not start. I gave it a little push and it started right up. Now, if it doesn't startup I just give the unit a slight bump on the top and it starts fine. (posted 6:54am, 03Jan13)
Anonymous said:
I cleaned the lens and reset the cable that attaches to the DVD motor (probably why bumping the top by the comment before mine worked). Did this when I saw the motor begin to spin then stop. Been testing with CDs and DVDs with no issue since. I've always reset cables in computer systems when I tech (and clean connections) and it tends to fix intermittent issues. (posted 2:10am, 07Jan13)
Anonymous said:
I bought one of these units at a Thrift Store for $10. It looked almost new but when I finally got around to hooking it up I too got the dreaded "No Disc" message. Took it apart as per the suggestions in this thread, dipped a Q-Tip in some alcohol, swabbed the laser eye a few times, and BANG!!! I got me a finely functioning machine. Thanks for the help..... (posted 12:34am, 14Mar21)