laser lifespan of burners?

[stretchweider]

i just read a post from lordsmurf on the topic of dvd-r's and why some brands wont read after 6-12 months,he said the problem may not be the discs but maybe the burner,the lasers having a limited lifespan.
what is the average lifespan of a laser?i have a lacie external -/+ burner which is burning 2-5 dvd's every day of the week,for the last year,any one let me know how soon before im having to release the moths from my wallet again?

[bazooka]

My burners have lasted two years so far.

[budz]

my plextor 708A is a year old now and still going strong....

[edDV]

my plextor 708A is a year old now and still going strong....

I had a BTC run fine for 8mo befor the laser died. Fixed via exchange of units.

[lordsmurf]

It really just varies. Few months, few years. Rarely does something with a laser last many, many years. Not if you give it lots of use.

My experience is that your burner laser starts to become more affected by dust and dirt, so you'll find yourself, in most cases, cleaning the unit more and more towards the end of its life. And then standalone drives simply die, usually after a series of odd behavior (mechanical or visual). But much like the length of time, the symptoms can vary too.

I forget the laser life of a burner, as given by most manufacturers, but it's under or at 10,000 or so. You're a high-volume user, burning 2-5 per day.

[Gregg]

I have 2 burners with over 1500 burns on each still working without any problems. A friend of mine has one with more than 3500 discs burned still working. This burner stopped working after the 2000th disc but after he cleaned the lense it started burning again.
If you don't use it too much your burner will last long enough before you buy your next one.
I hope this helps.

Enjoy!

[lbeck]

I can't confirm that it is my laser, or even my burner, but everything was burning fine until a couple of months age and I began getting errors. Especially with RWs. I've switched software, media, and cleaned the laser with one of those cleaning disks. The only variable left is the burner. I've ordered a new one and will try to remember to post here if it clears my problems. Nero error messages are SCSI target error or Errors associated with tracking.

If you consider read time (not just write) I'm probably in the thousands of hours, but under 10,000. The burner is about 3 years old.

[Capmaster]

It sounds like you did just wear it out, Ibeck Time for an upgrade

I wore out my Panny LF-D311 after about 2000 DVD burns or so. The symptoms were similar ...it got pickier and pickier about the media, dust on the lens, etc. It seems the laser(s) lost their power over time and it sensitized the drive until at the end, TY media was the only brand it would reliably write

[lordsmurf]

and cleaned the laser with one of those cleaning disks.

Huge mistake. Those things tend to scratch the lens.

[kenmo]

Lordsmurf, then how do you cleaner your burners ?

[edDV]

You can suspect the laser assembly is out if the writer-player won't even see an Audio CD on load, let alone play it.

[Skith]

Lordsmurf, then how do you cleaner your burners ?

The best way - a puff of compressed (canned). Make sure the canned air is electronic safe, some contain liquids (which turn into gas). Do not use an air compressor.

The above is what I have read (an plextor even states in their manuals).

DO NOT attempt to open/disassemble the drive.
-----

But the most important advise of all... If it's not broke, don't try and fix it!

[lordsmurf]

Remove and disassemble the drive.
Swab the lens with an alcohol-soaked cotton bud.

Cans of air don't do anything for something stuck to the lens. In fact, it may just blow more dust into the unit and/or circulate it around.

Go ahead and blow OUT the dust when it's disassembled. Swab the lens. Put it back together again.

Easy.

Those "cleaner discs" are make for newbies and those wimps that say "I'm afraid to open the computer". And it's more harmful than helpful.

[koolaidwa]

lol, yeah like smurf says, they hurt the lens more then clean it i have seen people ruin drives and players like that

[pluche]

Some comment on the cleaner disc: there are some differences in quality as well; I have 2 : one from 3M and one from another brand
the bristles on the 3M are better made (not so stiff/abrasive)
now: recently my sisters old P°anasonic A360 (1998 ?) started showing troubles in playback; I made 2 passes with the 3M disc and the good old Panasonic plays as new (including DVD-R)

but: I still agree with other comments: I only use the cleaning disc when the potential damage or risk is small like in the case of the old A360 because my sister was about to buy a new one

[Capmaster]

and cleaned the laser with one of those cleaning disks.

Huge mistake. Those things tend to scratch the lens.

Nonsense. The lenses are not coated (because they're only one wavelength), and are made of glass.

Something needs to be of a harder material to scratch it, so unless the cleaner brushes are impregnated with diamond powder, or the dust has diamonds in it, you won't scratch them.

You're liable to damage the laser more from the common isopropyl/water mixture they pass off as "alcohol". If some leaks around the lens into the laser internals, it'll defocus the laser. It could also corrode the laser die.

[lordsmurf]

Then go ahead and do it. Those things are abrasive. Those "cleaning" tape for VCRs were the same way. These are products made for people too scared to open and clean them the correct way (or afraid to break some worthless warranty).

I've had several authorized service centers, and even technicians at various companies (Nikon, Canon, JVC) show me in person and explain what should and should not be done to clean audio/video/photo equipment.

[Capmaster]

Then go ahead and do it. Those things are abrasive. Those "cleaning" tape for VCRs were the same way. These are products made for people too scared to open and clean them the correct way (or afraid to break some worthless warranty).

I've had several authorized service centers, and even technicians at various companies (Nikon, Canon, JVC) show me in person and explain what should and should not be done to clean audio/video/photo equipment.

The VCR cleaning tapes were abrasive, and I never used them, because you're dragging an abrasive over a softer material. Besides, I always preferred to demagnetize my heads with every cleaning.

All those CD/DVD lens cleaner discs are is nylon bristles on the data side. No abrasive. They sweep away the dust and since the nylon is softer than glass, you can pound away all day on those lenses and they won't scratch.

[lordsmurf]

But they only wipe off dirt. Any kind of film, goo or sticky is just spread around. Cigarette tar, for example. Cleaning discs are ineffective.

And if there REALLY IS dust in the unit, a disc just circulates it. You take out the cleaning disc, and it just settles again. You need to open the unit and blow it out (with "canned" air, not spit-laden breath!).

If those things worked well, I'd be using them myself. Sadly, they don't.

[Capmaster]

But they only wipe off dirt. Any kind of film, goo or sticky is just spread around. Cigarette tar, for example. Cleaning discs are ineffective.

And if there REALLY IS dust in the unit, a disc just circulates it. You take out the cleaning disc, and it just settles again. You need to open the unit and blow it out (with "canned" air, not spit-laden breath!).

If those things worked well, I'd be using them myself. Sadly, they don't.

Well, I agree with you on the disassembly and using compressed air. That's the preferred method for getting the crap out of the case

[koolaidwa]

well, second hand smokes seems to hurt dvd writers too then lol

[pluche]

one more comment on laser durability

I bought my very first CD player sometime in the mid 80-ties;

after 5 years I gave it to my son and got me a new, "much better" and more expensive one;

My son used the first one for another 4-5 years and the gave it away to his girlfriend; that machine (the cd player) finally died 1 - 1 1/2 year ago so it has worked well for +- 17 years intensive use

My second, so called better CD player, lasted barely 5 years

My first DVD recorder, Panasonic DMR E20 (oct 2001) is still working fine

I believe laser durability (players, writers, recorders) is largely dependant on : original quality and proper ventilation

[koolaidwa]

yeah, my first burner, put hundreds apound hundreads and still burns great

[lbeck]

On the issue of CD player life, my DVD burner still reads everything flawlessly and burns CDs consistently without error.

I'm hoping that I do have a bad laser or some other problem associated with the burner. I've ordered a new burner and it was shipped yesterday. I have my fingers crossed.