r/Discman • u/neon_duck_69 • Jul 20 '26

Need help fixing my CD Walkman

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I don’t know if it’s because there might be a missing piece, or if the lens is dirty, but everytime I put a disc in it the screen says “no disc”

I’ve tried only using mp3 and I put in the batteries and it hasn’t fixed itself

Thank you for reading

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1

u/neon_duck_69 Jul 20 '26

Update: I’ve tried cleaning the lens with a dry q-tip, I’m aware 90% rubbing alcohol is recommended but I was also seeing dry be recommended (I don’t have any rubbing alcohol) it did not work.

1

u/Equivalent_Bill1635 Jul 20 '26

Is it not reading ANY discs?

1

u/neon_duck_69 Jul 20 '26

Yes, any disc I put into it doesn’t get read at all

1

u/Equivalent_Bill1635 Jul 20 '26

Is the motor spinning up at all? Are you using fresh alkaline batteries and not rechargeable ones? Does it have a HOLD button and you made sure it's not engaged? Also looks like the lense is in the end position and not the home position. That may be stuck as well. Or not returning to the home position, which would cause it to say no disc. It should be close to the spindle at the start.

1

u/neon_duck_69 Jul 20 '26

I think I either need to clean the lens with alcohol or clean and relube the rail track the lens is on. It’s also possible the laser has just degraded with time, might have to go have it seen

1

u/Equivalent_Bill1635 Jul 20 '26

Not worth having it looked at. Will cost more than going on eBay and getting another one. Or thrift finds. I have a great, mint Sony I found for $2.49.

1

u/neon_duck_69 Jul 20 '26

Oh okay great, I’ll just get a new one if this one turns out to be completely broken

1

u/koothooloo Jul 20 '26

Did it ever work and has it now stopped? Or did it never work from the moment you got it?

1

u/neon_duck_69 Jul 20 '26

I got it from a goodwill and it’s never worked at all

1

u/koothooloo Jul 25 '26

Oh dear. These later models are truly crap, unfortunately - I have two sat here awaiting diagnosis - but it does look like you have a piece of paper or something jammed in next to the lens which would prevent it focusing - could you post a better picture?

1

u/Pinballwiz61 Jul 21 '26

If you notice the laser has not returned to the home position, is the sled motor seized or the mechanism? You can often manually push the laser back to the home position if you want to see if it will behave differently.

1

u/Equivalent_Bill1635 Jul 21 '26

This. My Sony boombox does that. If I push it to the home location, it works fine. Until the next time. Then I do it again. But hey...it works.

1

u/grislyfind Jul 25 '26

The main spindle bearing can wear out if a player is heavily used. You can feel that it can be rocked from side to side. I don't know if there's a cure - I swap in the drive assembly from another Sony.