Hardware Old Wii DVD Drive Having Trouble

[N7Kopper]

The old Wii I just rediscovered has serious trouble reading discs when vertical (single layer DVDs are fine when it's horizontal, so I know it's not somehow a software problem), or any dual layered discs.

If I recall, this usually happens because the drive internals are dirty. Is this true, and if so, what drive cleaning kits would the Temp recommend for the Wii, just in case I decide to spruce it up?

 

[tech3475]

I’d just softmod it and use a HDD, much better long term.

It sounds like the drive might be on it’s way out if it only works in one orientation (reminds me of the PS1).

Nintendo once made a cleaning kit, but I never looked into it:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-RVLALS-Lens-Cleaning-Kit/dp/B001GZT1UI

 

[The Real Jdbye]

The old Wii I just rediscovered has serious trouble reading discs when vertical (single layer DVDs are fine when it's horizontal, so I know it's not somehow a software problem), or any dual layered discs.

If I recall, this usually happens because the drive internals are dirty. Is this true, and if so, what drive cleaning kits would the Temp recommend for the Wii, just in case I decide to spruce it up?

Disassemble the drive and clean the laser with a q-tip and some IPA, no cleaning kits will do as good of a job.
Nintendo claims it's just a dirty laser, I and some other people believe that it's down to a worn laser and it being dirty just exacerbates the issue, so simply cleaning it won't guarantee that it's good as new and will continue working for another decade or more, but you can get some more life out of it before it fails completely. Drive lasers do wear out after all.

 

[N7Kopper]

I’d just softmod it and use a HDD, much better long term.

It sounds like the drive might be on it’s way out if it only works in one orientation (reminds me of the PS1).

Nintendo once made a cleaning kit, but I never looked into it:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-RVLALS-Lens-Cleaning-Kit/dp/B001GZT1UI

It IS softmodded. I just want to see how I would go about fixing the drive.

 

[tech3475]

It IS softmodded. I just want to see how I would go about fixing the drive.

If you can’t fix it, double check, but I believe a new drive can be swapped in.

Although depending on cost, keeping an eye out for a used Wii may be better.

Thinking about it, I don’t know if adjusting the drive’s pot might help.

 

[N7Kopper]

If you can’t fix it, double check, but I believe a new drive can be swapped in.

Although depending on cost, keeping an eye out for a used Wii may be better.

Thinking about it, I don’t know if adjusting the drive’s pot might help.

It was a dirt problem, as I suspected. I DIYed a cleaning kit with a CD-R coaster (failed burns are fun...), a glasses cleaning cloth, and some isopropyl. Even more of a bodge than our WWII tanks.

I didn't want to buy a third Wii (I already have two and a Wii U, and apparently LANs fall apart with more than three Nintendont instances)

It was an "I might as well" fix. All it needed to be set up properly in the guest bedroom was another set of component cables.