Replacing HD-A2 HD DVD Drive?

[crazzeto]

Anyone ever give this a shot before? I have an HD-A2 which started acting up after I gave it to friends. Actually once you get a disc loaded it works fine, but the problem is loading and unloading discs. It seems like whatever sensor monitors drive door obstructions is screwed. It'll open so far, then just stop, then start closing again. Perhaps the motor is just fried or something.

Anyway I think if I were to crack it open and replace the drive it'd be just fine. So anyone have any exerpience here? Where might be a good place to find an HD DVD drive cheap? I checked ebay but I'm unsure of what model would best fit an HD-A2. And people seem to want $50+ for these suckers.

[Viking61]

HD-A2, HD-A20 and HD-XA2 all have the same HD DVD drive. Look for a cheap broken unit with something other than drive related defects. A unit with the shutdown bug is a sure bet. That is caused by an error on the motherboard.

http://desc.shop.ebay.com/items/DVD-...86Q2ec0Q2em282

http://electronics.shop.ebay.com/ite...d=p3286.c0.m14

[crazzeto]

thanks for the heads up, I'll spend see what I can find there. Thanks.

[dmrichar]

Yes, Viking61 is right. I have done this a number of times now. Ebay is the best bet for broken ones but shipping sometimes kills the deal. Make sure the drive you get still plays HD-DVDs and DVDs. Sometimes one or the other laser has gone out. Other than that it is a super simple swap. You only need a Phillips screwdriver to accomplish this task. It will probably take you less than ten minutes. Just make sure you use some precautions regarding static electricity because you don't want to fry anything else while you are in there.

[crazzeto]

Originally Posted by dmrichar

Yes, Viking61 is right. I have done this a number of times now. Ebay is the best bet for broken ones but shipping sometimes kills the deal. Make sure the drive you get still plays HD-DVDs and DVDs. Sometimes one or the other laser has gone out. Other than that it is a super simple swap. You only need a Phillips screwdriver to accomplish this task. It will probably take you less than ten minutes. Just make sure you use some precautions regarding static electricity because you don't want to fry anything else while you are in there.

Yeah, I've been a PC home builder for well over a decade now so I understand stadic isn't your friend I figured it couldn't be any harder than swapping out a PC DVD drive, but I did have questions about which drives might be compatible as well as where to get them. Thanks for the input!

[Rich86]

Just a thought . . .
It would seem to me that if a disc plays OK once inside the player, the issue really could be an obstruction of some sort in the tray or door mechanism, or someone may have forced something in the player and caused the tray to jump a tooth in the gearing. I had this happen with a computer DVD burner accidentally, and solved it by resetting the tray correctly in the drive making sure the tray and wheel gearing lined up correctly.
If it was me, I'd open that puppy up and see what I could see before swapping drives. Try loading and unloading discs with the cover off to see what is hanging it up? Just a suggestion.

[crazzeto]

the bay door opens with no problem what so ever, if there was an obstruction I wouldn't easily be able to get my nail between the door cracks and pull it down. More over it gets confused both durring open and close operations. But thanks for the thoughts.

[Cochise]

I just checked - I have a good working drive from an A2, I'll send you a PM.

[crazzeto]

Thanks cochise!

[Cochise]

Originally Posted by crazzeto

Thanks cochise!

No problem.

I thought I'd post the instructions as it's easier to see, and might be of interest to any others who are intimidated at the thought of replacing a drive in an HD DVD player; it's really quite simple.



There are just 5 screws holding the drive in place - one in each of the 4 corners of the drive base, and one on the bracket at the top. They're indicated by the red lines in the photo above. And then there's two cables to remove, indicated by orange lines - the audio/video cable on the left and the small power supply cable at the bottom.



That audio/video cable connector has a plastic clamp at the top securing the cable in place, you flip it up and the cable comes out easily.



Like above. It's pretty hard to tangle the audio/video cable up, but the blue end goes on top. And the small power connector has a flange at either end, and comes out quite easily by putting a finger nail under each end and pulling up.


And in 5 minutes you have the drive out of the player, ready to reverse the above and install a new drive in your player.

[crazzeto]

is that laptop IDE? Interesting choice....

[Rich86]

I wonder if the guts of that hd-dvd drive unit is the same drive sold as an internal computer component. I actually picked one of those drives up for $15 in a fire sale - maybe it is a spare for a HD-DVD player that I did not realize . . .
Can you see a Toshiba drive model number on the top of that drive case by any chance?

[Cochise]

Originally Posted by Rich86

I wonder if the guts of that hd-dvd drive unit is the same drive sold as an internal computer component. I actually picked one of those drives up for $15 in a fire sale - maybe it is a spare for a HD-DVD player that I did not realize . . .
Can you see a Toshiba drive model number on the top of that drive case by any chance?

It says:
Toshiba HD DVD ROM Drive
Model No. SD E802A

I know this same drive was used for both the A2 & A20, and others have said also the XA2, and presumable the Onkyo & Integra XA2 clones. But I've only seen the inside of A2s & A20s, so I can't confirm.

Originally Posted by crazzeto

is that laptop IDE? Interesting choice....

I don't think it's an IDE drive. As I recall the A1/XA1 used IDE drives from NEC, but Toshiba made the drives specifically for the 2nd & 3rd gen players. But that green board at the back of the player says: PC-ATAPI-CN.

[Rich86]

Originally Posted by Cochise

It says:
Toshiba HD DVD ROM Drive
Model No. SD E802A

I know this same drive was used for both the A2 & A20, and others have said also the XA2, and presumable the Onkyo & Integra XA2 clones. But I've only seen the inside of A2s & A20s, so I can't confirm.



I don't think it's an IDE drive. As I recall the A1/XA1 used IDE drives from NEC, but Toshiba made the drives specifically for the 2nd & 3rd gen players. But that green board at the back of the player says: PC-ATAPI-CN.

The internal computer component drive I picked up is a model #SD-H802A . . want to bet the insides are the same and the difference is the casing and interface in the HD-DVD player?

[Viking61]

I think the SD-H802A drive is the drive that is used in Xbox 360 HD DVD addon.