Gaming Wii Discs Blocked By Metal, WTF?

[Mulsiphix]

I just received a new Wii today that I grabbed on eBay. The Wii turns on and it sounds like a disc is inside. When I hit eject, the light flashes, but no disc comes out. The Wii reports the game is Wii Sports on the System Menu. If I stick something small slightly inside the disc opening with the Wii on, there is that familiar sound of touching something to a spinning cd.

Yet if I attempt to put a disc inside with the system off, the edge barely gets inside before it is blocked. I pressed pretty hard and there was no budging. So I grabbed a flashlight and looked inside. There is metal in two separate places blocking the disc door opening.

My only thoughts are that this Wii was disassembled at some point and not put back together properly. Yet every picture I can find online of the disc enclosure shows a wide open space. I guess it is possible the disc drive is out of alignment and that is why I am seeing metal. I'm curious if anybody has ever encountered something like this before?

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I just received a new Wii today that I grabbed on eBay. The Wii turns on and it sounds like a disc is inside. When I hit eject, the light flashes, but no disc comes out. The Wii reports the game is Wii Sports on the System Menu. If I stick something small slightly inside the disc opening with the Wii on, there is that familiar sound of touching something to a spinning cd.

Yet if I attempt to put a disc inside with the system off, the edge barely gets inside before it is blocked. I pressed pretty hard and there was no budging. So I grabbed a flashlight and looked inside. There is metal in two separate places blocking the disc door opening.

My only thoughts are that this Wii was disassembled at some point and not put back together properly. Yet every picture I can find online of the disc enclosure shows a wide open space. I guess it is possible the disc drive is out of alignment and that is why I am seeing metal. I'm curious if anybody has ever encountered something like this before?

Sounds like you will have to open it up to find out what the blockage is. It might be that someone shoved something into the disc slot, which could be difficult. Needle nose pliers could be of help but you have to be careful not to damage the disc drive.

 

[megatokyo500]

I just received a new Wii today that I grabbed on eBay. The Wii turns on and it sounds like a disc is inside. When I hit eject, the light flashes, but no disc comes out. The Wii reports the game is Wii Sports on the System Menu. If I stick something small slightly inside the disc opening with the Wii on, there is that familiar sound of touching something to a spinning cd.

Yet if I attempt to put a disc inside with the system off, the edge barely gets inside before it is blocked. I pressed pretty hard and there was no budging. So I grabbed a flashlight and looked inside. There is metal in two separate places blocking the disc door opening.

My only thoughts are that this Wii was disassembled at some point and not put back together properly. Yet every picture I can find online of the disc enclosure shows a wide open space. I guess it is possible the disc drive is out of alignment and that is why I am seeing metal. I'm curious if anybody has ever encountered something like this before?

That metal is meant to be there, it prevents you from inserting a disc when there's already one inside - which you know there is, so why are you trying to jam another disc in?

 

[Mulsiphix]

That metal is meant to be there, it prevents you from inserting a disc when there's already one inside - which you know there is, so why are you trying to jam another disc in?

Some jerk on Youtube and a completely separate blog both suggested that doing this might get the other disc to pop out. I'm glad to hear that the metal is supposed to be there. So I guess this is a simple, my disc won't eject thread. Any chance you guys have some suggestions for this? I'm a bit hesitant to trust the interwebs after megatokyo500 pointed out the danger of doing so .

 

[The Real Jdbye]

That metal is meant to be there, it prevents you from inserting a disc when there's already one inside - which you know there is, so why are you trying to jam another disc in?

Ah, I wasn't aware of that. Makes sense though.

Some jerk on Youtube and a completely separate blog both suggested that doing this might get the other disc to pop out. I'm glad to hear that the metal is supposed to be there. So I guess this is a simple, my disc won't eject thread. Any chance you guys have some suggestions for this? I'm a bit hesitant to trust the interwebs after megatokyo500 pointed out the danger of doing so .

Does it make a sound when you attempt to eject the disc? If not then it seems like the disc drive eject motor is completely shot.
You can replace the entire drive, there are plenty of them on eBay. They seem to go for around $20.
You'll need a Triwing screwdriver and some free time to replace the drive, but it's not hard to do. There are a lot of screws though so it will take some time.

If you're quick, you might be able to get this working Wii with accessories for around $20, that would be a better deal, as just the controllers themselves are worth that much:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-Wii-NO-RESERVE-/400876344409?pt=Video_Games&hash=item5d56179459
But I guess doing that is what got you into this mess in the first place

Alternatively, you could softmod it and play games from a USB drive. Personally I would go this route, no reason to bother with discs when USB loading is much more convenient.

 

[Mulsiphix]

Does it make a sound when you attempt to eject the disc? If not then it seems like the disc drive eject motor is completely shot.

Actually it does make the normal ejection sound. It sounds like it is trying to eject the disc. I have a second wii here at home and it makes an identical sound when it ejects a disc. I had considered maybe the drive wasn't trying at all, but you hear the disc inside spin down to a stop, then the eject sound for several seconds, and then the disc starts to spin back up. I do plan on modding it, but the disc functionality is a huge disappointment. I just wish I understood what was going wrong. It seems to be in perfect working order.

 

[jigjoe]

nevermind...

 

[Maximilious]

So, my first question before offering help is - How was this listed on Ebay? Was it listed as a parts only console, or fully working/tested? If the latter, you have a case to get a refund on the auction which is what I would opt for rather than trying to fix a console you were under the impression was fully working.

The thing about it is, if it was working, and you put the disc in then it didn't eject, you would know what the problem was. But since it's like this out of the box, who know's what Frankenstein project you've inherited.

 

[Mulsiphix]

So, my first question before offering help is - How was this listed on Ebay? Was it listed as a parts only console, or fully working/tested? If the latter, you have a case to get a refund on the auction which is what I would opt for rather than trying to fix a console you were under the impression was fully working.

The thing about it is, if it was working, and you put the disc in then it didn't eject, you would know what the problem was. But since it's like this out of the box, who know's what Frankenstein project you've inherited.

The auction listed the item as fully working. It mentioned nothing about problems with the system. It came down to me either buying a triwing screwdriver and trying to open it up or sending it back. It took me a while to find such a great deal which is why I hesitated to long, but I finally filed with eBay and sent it back. They're covering return shipping and I should get a full refund + original shipping in a few days. Thank you for the help guys. I appreciated it

 

[OrGoN3]

A stupid question: you have pointed your disc tray downward (gravity helps, right?) and held down the eject button for a few seconds (5+), right? You have also tried this with the Wii sitting down and not just standing up, right? It seems inserting another disc only works when your original disc doesn't eject due to it being dislodged. It is very similar to original Xbox 360's whose disc tray won't eject unless the console is laying down.

 

[Mulsiphix]

A stupid question: you have pointed your disc tray downward (gravity helps, right?) and held down the eject button for a few seconds (5+), right? You have also tried this with the Wii sitting down and not just standing up, right? It seems inserting another disc only works when your original disc doesn't eject due to it being dislodged. It is very similar to original Xbox 360's whose disc tray won't eject unless the console is laying down.

I tried it all . Upside down, tilted downward, shaking it up and down, all while pressing eject nonstop. I tried the system standing up and sitting down. I tried uplugging the system for long periods of time to residual energy held in capacitors and resistors could dissipate. I tried turning the system off and then hitting the eject button, so the very first command the system processed was the ejection process. I tried pressing the eject button nonstop for 10 minutes, just to be sure. Those bars never moved .

 

[OrGoN3]

I tried it all . Upside down, tilted downward, shaking it up and down, all while pressing eject nonstop. I tried the system standing up and sitting down. I tried uplugging the system for long periods of time to residual energy held in capacitors and resistors could dissipate. I tried turning the system off and then hitting the eject button, so the very first command the system processed was the ejection process. I tried pressing the eject button nonstop for 10 minutes, just to be sure. Those bars never moved .

When you say while pressing eject nonstop, do you mean while holding it down or pressing it over and over again, while letting it depress inbetween presses?

 

[JoostinOnline]

I'm pretty sure you need to take it apart.

 

[Mulsiphix]

When you say while pressing eject nonstop, do you mean while holding it down or pressing it over and over again, while letting it depress inbetween presses?

I tried holding the eject button down for 1 minute several times. But when I say pressed it non-stop for 10 minutes, I mean repeated press and depress of the button (click, click, click, click, click).

 

[JoostinOnline]

I tried holding the eject button down for 1 minute several times. But when I say pressed it non-stop for 10 minutes, I mean repeated press and depress of the button (click, click, click, click, click).

Then you definitely need to take it apart. Or just never play any games besides Wii Sports from the disc. The guide I linked to is very nice.

In addition to the pictures in the guide, I recommend you take pictures of your own as you go along. That will help you fill in any blanks when putting it back together.

 

[OrGoN3]

I agree with JoostinOnline. Once you take it apart, you can manually eject the disc if need once it is out of the system. You'll most likely need a new disc drive as well, unless something got stuck/lodged in there along with the disc, preventing it from ejecting.

 

[Mulsiphix]

Unfortunately I've already returned the Wii. For the price I paid I felt the extra trouble to fix and possibly repair it just wasn't worth it. But had I chosen to take it apart, would I have been able to force those metal guards out of the way or remove them altogether? No matter what I did, they never budged or made a sound.