I have a Pioneer BDX-XD05B optical drive that has been really reliable until recently. A couple of days ago, it started losing connection constantly. I've tried different USB cables, but that hasn't helped. I even took the drive apart, but I couldn't find anything I felt confident fixing. The only way I can get it to work is by lifting the USB plug where it connects to the drive. Propping it up allowed me to burn a 25GB Blu-ray, but my next attempt failed. I suspect there's a damaged connection somewhere. While I'm decent at soldering, I think this may be beyond my skills. Should I try to squeeze more life out of this drive or just buy a new one?
2 Answers
Honestly, I'd just replace it. You can find affordable ones online for around $20 or even less. You’ve made a solid effort trying to fix it, but for that price, it’s way easier to get a new one instead of continuing to troubleshoot this one.
That 'lifting up' issue is a big clue. It sounds like you might have cracked the solder joints where the USB port connects to the circuit board. Since you're comfortable with soldering, it’s worth a shot! Open it up and reflow the main anchor legs on the USB port. There’s a good chance that’ll stabilize the connection and get it working again. If it doesn’t work out, you were going to replace it anyway, right?
Thanks for the tip! I think I’ll give that a try!
Totally! And hey, they’re pretty cheap nowadays if the solder doesn’t do the trick.