Dead dvd drive but laser working?

[vickdu31]

Hi all,

I tried a xenogc install on a gamecube and noticed it did not play any game after that even originals.
I forgot to test it before attempting the Xeno install.

Since I have few gamecubes left and especially extra dvd boards (the PCB that hold the Xenogc) I decided to try out stuff.
I swapped the 3 drive boards I had and they all work fine with another drive part (the laser and motor part) and my Xeno install is just fine and read burned games with other top part.

On the faulty top part, the laser is working fine but it is not able to launch any game. For originals it tries to read it and the lens will go all on top after a while and the disc will stop spinning (sometimes up to 15-20 second trying to read game).
- I can see the laser beam so it is not burnt completely
- Discs spin normally so motor is fine
- the board is fine, tested all my 3 boards with a different laser block and they all work and read games fine.
- All other boards behave the same way using this laser block. (always same result no matter which board is used)

What could possibliy be the issue? Should I try to swap the lens? Can a laser be dead even the red light still show up normally?

[emu_kidid]

On the faulty top part, the laser is working fine but it is not able to launch any game. For originals it tries to read it and the lens will go all on top after a while and the disc will stop spinning (sometimes up to 15-20 second trying to read game).
- I can see the laser beam so it is not burnt completely
- Discs spin normally so motor is fine
- the board is fine, tested all my 3 boards with a different laser block and they all work and read games fine.
- All other boards behave the same way using this laser block. (always same result no matter which board is used)

What could possibliy be the issue? Should I try to swap the lens? Can a laser be dead even the red light still show up normally?

I've seen 100's of dead lasers and maybe 1 or 2 ever from those didn't have any visible light. So yes, your laser is dead/out of calibration/worn out despite you still being able to see the red dot. It's alive enough to be able to detect that there's something there but not quite alive enough to be able to read back anything it can use.

As for swapping the lens for another, the ones from eBay are hit and miss and need to be calibrated (a unknown process that is mostly guess work for us all even at this stage) so you could try your luck but it might not help at all. Best off just using your lasers that work as little as possible to preserve them.

[vickdu31]

Thanks! Since I had extra disc block drive I just swapped it. Now I have 2 extra optical drive boards, 1 dead laser but all my consoles are working