CD stuck in B2

[Michael Duggan]

I have a CD stuck inside my B2 after receiving a message that the 'CD is unread'.

The front panel is now showing that the CD tray is empty and the B2 is not responding to the eject button!

I've left the B2 on in Compression Mode and would be grateful for any advice as to how to eject the CD.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Mike D

[Mark Fishman]

The usual advice around here seems to be to turn off the B2 (safely! press/hold the PLAY/STOP button until "Saving" appears, wait for the clock display to return, then turn off the power), wait at least 30 seconds for all the electrons to die :^), then press AND HOLD the Eject button while you turn on the power.

In many cases that's the easiest way to get the drive to eject whatever it's got.

[PMB]

Hi Mike D,

I would let the B2 finish compressing and then power it off as Mark describes. Then try the power on whilst holding the EJECT button.

If the display is showing 'No CD' or 'Cd Empty' - power off and turn the B2 so it is resting on its right hand side - wait 30s and power on. Does the B2 register that there is a CD in the drive?

You could also try - use the front control to go to Settings >> Maintenance >> Advanced >> Reset CD.

Let us know how it goes.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Michael Duggan]

Mark and Paul

Thank you both very much for your speedy and wise counsel.

I’m pleased to say that, at the third time of asking, Mark’s suggestions worked and the CD was ejected.

I had been following your previously-provided advice on this Forum of using a separate CD-Ripper to load CDs onto the B2, but, on this occasion, mistakenly put the CD into the B2 whilst the Cd-Ripper was still connected!

Lessons learned and thanks again.

Best Regards

Mike D

[Daniel Taylor]

While we're talking about this problem with the CD drive for the umpteenth time, is there a better, more reliable internal CD drive that will fit in the B2 that can be purchased after market, so we don't need an external drive?

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Daniel,

The B2 uses a good quality CD drive, also used in high end laptops such as Apple MacBook Pros.  I have two B2s and they are fitted with the Matsushita Panasonic CD/DVD UJ8A7 and UJ8A8 units (one is almost 5 years old, the other is about 1 year old) and they are working very well.  I have done almost all of my ripping on the older B2, hundreds of CDs, and have only has a problem with 5 - 10 CDs over that time and these boiled down to having video or web based sofware built in to them.  I have only had to use an external drive on a PC to rip those 5 - 10 CDs mentioned above.

I have, however repaired for friends a number of laptops fitted with these ultraslim drives.  Apple MacBooks are fitted with this type of unit.  Faults ranged from CDs inserted upside down, irregularly shaped (non circular) CDs, 3 inch CDs (that conversation went as follows: "how did you insert that?"; reply "Oh, I used a coffee stirrer to poke the CD further into the slot").

I would agree that the B2 does not handle 'non standard' CDs very well and it would be good if that aspect was improved, so that the B2 could continue gracefully after it encounters video or software content.

I think that the problem, when not a physical one, is likely to be within the Linux O/S and not within the B2 software.  But I haven't had an opportunity to look at this because I have not yet had a CD stuck in either one.

The slot drives are more delicate than the top loading drawer drives.  But the slot loaders are also more compact.  So careful handling goes a long way to having a trouble free CD unit.  I've watched friends 'pushing' CDs into the slot many times.  That is not good.  The CD should be gently inserted into the slot and the CD unit will draw the CD in at its own pace.

Anyhow, those are my thoughts on the subject!

Regards,

Peter.

[Daniel Taylor]

Peter,

I appreciate all that and agree.  However, when the drive will not recognize that a standard disc is present, that seems to me to be a physical problem with the drive.  If it were a problem with the software, then I'd think that if the unit had power cycled and rebooted, the software would then see the signal from the drive.  But if the drive does not send that signal, the problem is with the drive.

This is not an uncommon problem.  To tell a user to set the B2 on its right side and then cycle power with the Eject button pressed, seems like a kluge and should not be part of standard operating procedure to deal with a problem that should not happen - certainly not with a brand new unit.  

[Mark Fishman]

Daniel,

note what Mike D wrote: "I had been following your previously-provided advice on this Forum of using a separate CD-Ripper to load CDs onto the B2, but, on this occasion, mistakenly put the CD into the B2 whilst the Cd-Ripper was still connected!"

In other words, the B2 was looking to the *external* CD drive, which indeed had no CD in it. I don't think the internal drive is to blame in this instance.

-- m.

[Daniel Taylor]

Good point.  It's never my intention to blame the hardware for a user mistake.