Hacking Adjusting Laser Pot

[coolbho3000]

Since I'm getting the green screens error on SSBB I'm assuming my Wii's laser does not have enough power to read both layers on a dual layer DVD+R. Now I'm going to try to adjust the laser resistor inside the Wii to try to make it read the disc. Are there any step by step tutorials on this? I've found only one video, and it just has a guy picking at the insides of the Wii and was no help whatsoever. The Cyclowiz diagram wasn't helpful either, because it does not tell where to find the POT.

 

[gambit420]

hey i saw this topic, here my story:

got wii + wiikey everything updated, could play all backups so far without a single dre. i can play the dvd5 version of ssbb without any flaws.

tried to burn the dvd9 version of ssbb (yeahh i got the right thing, iso size 7.92gb) with img burn on a verbatim dvd+r dl.
the burn was sucessful, disc cant be read in my wii. the game does not show up in the channel.
in shock an panic i went to my electrostore and bought every dvd+r dl brand i could find. with this shitload dvds i went to a friend of mine because he got a brand new panasonic dvd burner which he uses for his 360 backups.

burned on verbatim dvd+r dl 8x certified, fujifilm dvd+r dl 2.4 x, memorex dvd+r dl and two other brands i cant remember now.
also tried different burningspeeds, finally when i was back home and a lot of money and time spent (dvd+r dl are very expensive where i live) i tried all the dvds i burned non showed up in the discchannel. can't read dvd failure....

i am shure that the iso is correctly burned on a dvd+r dl disc, but my wii cant read it. i am the only one? My wii is a day one pal console with wiikey (smg update done) and every fucking game i burned worked flawlessly before...

help appriciated....

 

[aligborat69]

Did you patch to PAL with RegionFrii? If not, then might be the problem.

Also, when burning DL, need to have zero other applications running on your PC.

Mine works on Verbatim DVD-R DL, i burnt a DVD+R DL too, but not had time to test it, but i assume works.

The game is stunning, another ps360 killer. Love it.

This thing about making the wii laser a bit more powerful may be the solution to many peoples problems too. Since it would guarantee it can read backup discs better.

Obviously the Wii was never designed to read backup discs, so you cant really blame nintendo for this, its just luck if your laser is good enough to read DVD+-R DL Discs. Good burns do help too.

The game is stunning, really is.

 

[gambit420]

no i didn't patch it, but i am 100 % sure that this is not the problem, i played the dvd5 version and made the update so this should not effect the dvd9 version in any way.

i burned on a powerful machine (brand new computer) and got zero other applications running, hell even turned the screensaver off.

and i dont blame nintendo for it boy, what makes me uncosy is the fact that all originals and security backups working flawlessly but this little fucker wont. any other ideas... and no i don't wont to go out and buy an new wii...

 

[TaMs]

I'm getting random DRE's nowadays when playing wii.(SSBB[Actually mostly when booting the game]) I assume that my laser is dying. Atleast it make sounds like that.
Should I try to adjust the laser pot?

 

[lenselijer]

yes you can try. Its under the black sticker on your dvd drive, just take it off and you can see the potmeter. but first write down the original value before you start adjusting!

 

[ProdigySim]

yes you can try. Its under the black sticker on your dvd drive, just take it off and you can see the potmeter. but first write down the original value before you start adjusting!

Are you sure about this?

I watched a guy take his whole Disc drive apart to get to this meter yesterday. It may not be visible on all Wiis.
He had a D2A wii (from console launch) and was only able to find this meter by removing the silver protective plate under the drive board. Quite a process.
The silver plate is the one that the black sticker is attached to, but on his wii, removing the sticker revealed nothing but the silver cover... And even upon revealing the adjustment mechanism, there was no "meter" to read.

Unless of course we found the wrong part... but it looked just like what the cyclowiz guys posted.

http://www.personalfx.ca/wiimodwiis/wiikey_gc2-d2b_2_4.jpg
By "black sticker" I suppose you're referring the black piece of sticky tape used to hold down the orange ribbon cable (which goes to the drive laser, actually). The big silver piece in that region is what we had to remove to find this drive laser adjustment piece.

I would have taken some pictures if I had my camera. If anyone else who has done this process could take some GOOD pictures it would be helpful.

It would be nice to get some definitive answers on this.


Edit: Here's the big picture the CycloWiz people give...
http://www.cyclopswiz.com/News/decbig.png
That's exactly what we edited looked like. There is no "meter" available for measuring how much you're adjusting it.
If you got a Multimeter, you could measure the resistivity/resistance, but as far as I can tell there's know way of knowing what exactly you're doing beyond trial and error.

If you DO have to go to these lengths to adjust your drive, be very careful. The guy I watched do this yesterday accidentally displaced a spring at first, and essentially ruined his drive read mechanism afterwards. His Wii is no longer functional in terms of reading discs.

 

[ProdigySim]

OH WOW. Big news for me. I watched this video yesterday and didn't unsderstand what it was showing....

http://www.vimeo.com/141142

This is a video of how to get to the laser adjustment pot without removing the silver cover.

The pot is attached to the Wii drive laser/lens, and therefore moves back and forth with the laser. In the video, you can see him using a knife to manipulate something right next to the silver plate. This is where the motor is located for the lens's movement. By manipulating this mechanism, you can make the lens tray move back to a point where you can see and adjust the laser pot through the tiny slit the ribbon cable comes through.
If you look, at the end of the video a small silver point becomes visible through this slit.

Sorry about the double post, but this post presents such different information I thought it should be separated.

 

[kingofkingz24]

if your Wii lens is being difficult, run smash bros with your wii upside down. it seems to work fine that way

 

[beano311]

if your Wii lens is being difficult, run smash bros with your wii upside down. it seems to work fine that way

Just be sure to insert the disc right side up if you do that... lol. That's like saying you can get your SSBB disc to boot if you unplug your video cable, twist it, and plug it back in... then walk outside, come back in, and turn your Wii on. It's really not a solution for everyone, and it might just appear that it's working because it's upsidedown, but in reality, it's probably not related.
You might as well get some of that dust blower stuff (the compressed air in a can) and blow it into your Wii's DVD drive, because according to Nintendo, dust build up is responsible for DL issues. Just make sure the can says it's safe for optics if you're going to use it (we use it at work, it says like "Special Applications" or safe for optics or something).
Back on the topic of adjusting the pot... I am downloading the DL dump, should be done when I get home from work, I'm going to try Memorex DVD+R's, if they don't work, I'm gonna try to adjust the pot. Can anyone post results if they actually do it?

 

[Scorpei]

OH WOW. Big news for me. I watched this video yesterday and didn't unsderstand what it was showing....

http://www.vimeo.com/141142

This is a video of how to get to the laser adjustment pot without removing the silver cover.

The pot is attached to the Wii drive laser/lens, and therefore moves back and forth with the laser. In the video, you can see him using a knife to manipulate something right next to the silver plate. This is where the motor is located for the lens's movement. By manipulating this mechanism, you can make the lens tray move back to a point where you can see and adjust the laser pot through the tiny slit the ribbon cable comes through.
If you look, at the end of the video a small silver point becomes visible through this slit.

Sorry about the double post, but this post presents such different information I thought it should be separated.

This will make it hard to measure the POT value though. 'just changing' it is a pretty bad idea so I really suggest you measure precisely what you are doing (what the original setting was and how much are taking off). Also do it with small changes only. Change the pot slightly then hook the drive back up and do some testing. Then if you are not satisfied adjust it a little more etc. etc..

 

[arctic_flame]

The silver plate is the one that the black sticker is attached to, but on his wii, removing the sticker revealed nothing but the silver cover... And even upon revealing the adjustment mechanism, there was no "meter" to read.

...

You were expecting a digital display?

You use an ohmmeter and common sense to adjust it. It was mandatory on the gamecube if you wanted _any_ backups to read.

 

[Scorpei]

The silver plate is the one that the black sticker is attached to, but on his wii, removing the sticker revealed nothing but the silver cover... And even upon revealing the adjustment mechanism, there was no "meter" to read.


...

You were expecting a digital display?

You use an ohmmeter and common sense to adjust it. It was mandatory on the gamecube if you wanted _any_ backups to read.

Not really, mine had no trouble whatsoever without any pot adjustment. Neither did any of my friends' GCs. I guess we all just got lucky and Ninty set our GCs to be home made DVDs readable by default

. Though I've read a giant amount of stories of people saying that they had to adjust theirs so I guess we really did just get lucky

.

 

[coolbho3000]

No one has actually made it clear exactly where the laser pot is. Can someone use the above picture and point out EXACTLY where this resistor is so I can adjust it? The above video just shows a black tape being removed and a guy picking at the side of the mechanism which does not help at all.

When I do it I will try to take pics and make a tutorial.

Before adjusting the pot I'm going to head to staples and return my batch of Memorex, then go get some Verbatims and burn again just to make sure it's not the media.

 

[arctic_flame]

No one has actually made it clear exactly where the laser pot is. Can someone use the above picture and point out EXACTLY where this resistor is so I can adjust it?

There: http://www.cyclopswiz.com/News/decbig.png

 

[coolbho3000]

No one has actually made it clear exactly where the laser pot is. Can someone use the above picture and point out EXACTLY where this resistor is so I can adjust it?


There: http://www.cyclopswiz.com/News/decbig.png

That pic is zoomed in, can someone point out where the picture corresponds to on the Wii drive? And how do I get to it? Someone said I needed to remove the black tape and a "silver piece."

(Laughs at my stupidity

) I just hope the Verbatim media works better than Memorex, then I wouldn't have to bother with all this shit.

:'(

 

[arctic_flame]

I remember seeing that symbol which looks like an atom with a mountain for a nuclues when modding my Wii... There's also a bit of serial number than may make it easier to locate...

(Sorry I can't help more)

Edit: Looks like the underside of the DVD reading assembly.

 

[coolbho3000]

It looks like it's right under the ribbon cable and underneath the metal plate. How should I remove the metal plate?

 

[ProdigySim]

This will make it hard to measure the POT value though. 'just changing' it is a pretty bad idea so I really suggest you measure precisely what you are doing (what the original setting was and how much are taking off). Also do it with small changes only. Change the pot slightly then hook the drive back up and do some testing. Then if you are not satisfied adjust it a little more etc. etc..

Do you know a good way to measure what the "original setting" is? You're really just turning a tiny screw.


QUOTEIt looks like it's right under the ribbon cable and underneath the metal plate. How should I remove the metal plate?

You should NOT remove the metal plate if you don't have to!
I made a picture to try to better show what the video is trying to explain

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/3892/sh...serguidedq9.jpg

Very quickly made image. Unorganized, but hopefully helpful

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Haven't seen this in the thread. Do you turn it clockwise or counter?