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  1. I set my DVD Recorder to flex record and left for work. When I came home, the display kept showing zeros, going across, one at a time, 0 0 0 0 0 0 . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0, while I could hear the machine reading the Disc inside. No matter what buttons I hit, it just kept churning and showing zeros. I couldn't eject the disc, no matter how many times I hit Open/Close. Finally, the machine said BYE and shut itself off. A few minutes later, it turned itself on, started showing zeros again, and after awhile shut itself off. It's been doing that for a few hours now.

    Here is what I have tried so far:
    1) Unplugged the machine and let it sit for awhile. As soon as I plugged it back in, it went through the zero routine.
    2) Hit the Reset Button on the Main Panel. This did nothing other than start the Zero process from the beginning.
    3) Forced Power Down by holding down Power Button for 10 seconds. After a few minutes, machine turned itself back on and started the zeros.
    4) With machine shut off, held down STOP and Channel Up (as per DMR EX Z28 Manual_Troubleshooting) to eject disc - this did nothing. I held it down for about a minute straight.

    Right now I have the machine unplugged, since the Powering On & Off and Disc Rotating is becoming annoying.

    Has anyone ever encountered this problem and more importantly, been able to resolve the issue?
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  2. Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Minneapolis MN
    Search Comp PM
    I haven't had this problem with my EZ-28 but I had many such problems with the previous EZ-27. With the EZ-27 the only cure was to(with the unit unplugged) physically remove the disc. This is done by first removing the unit cover and next the cover on the DVD drive itself. I believe 4 or 5 screws attach the drive cover. Take care to not disturb the tray when the cover is off and also keep the cover bottom down, don't tip it over and dislodge anything.
    Once you put the cover back on the drive I'd plug it in and make sure the tray moves in and out. My guess is your disc is damaged and I'd throw it away. If you put it back in you may need to repeat the above procedure.
    IMO a bug with the EZ recorders is in order to eject a disc the machine must first read it, if the disc is damage it can't read it so you can't eject it.
    Oh when you have the cover off the drive I'd take the opportunity to clean the spindle, which should be cleaned at least yearly to avoid other problems. The spindle is the part that the DVD sits upon when in the drive. It holds the DVD while it's spinning and tends to get dusty which causes disc slippage, which leads to failed burns. Iso alcohol and a Q-tip works well, personally I'd leave the laser alone unless it looks dusty. The laser is very delicate and I've caused more problems than good trying to clean it. For that I just use a cleaning CD(which does nothing to clean the spindle).
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  3. Ok, I was able to get the cover off, but once I tried to take the top of the DVD Drive, I hit a wall. Those little screws would not move, and all I managed to do was strip them in the process. What's worse is that it appears Panasonic has discontinued the DMR-EZ28, and I don't see a replacement/upgrade being offered. I rely heavily on Panasonic's Flex Recording functionality.
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  4. Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Minneapolis MN
    Search Comp PM
    Sometimes those screws can be on very tight if they've never been off. You need to use the correct Philips(#1) screwdriver, the common #2 Philips is too big and may strip the heads. If you find the correct size you may still be able to get the screws off, try and apply quite a bit of downward force as you turn the screws.
    AFA a new EZ-28, yes they seem to be discontinued and no replacement made. DVDRs are basically a dead product, most people don't archive and just record to a DVR(w/hdd) or just watch streaming on the internet.
    If you really want FR(which I also use almost exclusively) you're kind of stuck with Panasonic or the even harder to find discontinued Pioneers or Toshiba XS series.
    If you can't get the screws off yourself I'd try and fine someone else with more tools or a better selection of screwdriver sizes. Last resort would be to use a hack saw and saw slots in the top of the screws. Then you could use a regular screwdriver. You might also try and grab the top of the screw with a channel lock or vice grips but I haven't had much luck doing this since the heads are so small it's hard to get a good grip on them.

    Another idea might be to leave the drive cover alone but actually unscrew the drive itself. Once you do this turn the drive over and try and locate the manual eject slot. I haven't done this myself but I saw a repair shop do it and they used a regular screwdriver in the slot which manually opened the tray.

    Good luck, I really feel once you get the disc out your machine may be back to normal. It's up to you if you want to chance putting it back in, I probably wouldn't.

    Similar problem and solution:
    http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18427270&highlight=stuck+disc#post18427270
    With the EZ-28 you may not need to actually remove the drive if I read the post right.
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