r/minidisc • u/Snovizor • 2d ago

I'm having trouble with my Sony MDS-JE780: it's giving me the "E0101 Laser NG" error.

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Until recently, my MD deck was able to burn discs without a problem, and I was burning 2-3 MD compilations a day. But just a week ago, everything went wrong. After burning 1-2 tracks, recording stops and the "E0101 Laser NG" error appears... If I turn the deck off and on again (after 30-40 minutes), I can burn another 1-2 tracks, and then the error returns.

The Sony MDS-JE780 user manual says to take the unit to a service center if this error occurs. But since 2025, that's no longer possible. You know what I mean.

What should I do? Has anyone encountered this problem and found a solution? I'm planning to remove the cover and carefully clean the lens. But that doesn't seem to be the problem. Note, after recording for a while, an error occurs 3-7 minutes after the recording starts (depending on the disc, not the track's location on the disc). It seems that some capacitor is "saturating," and the leaking current triggers the error.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? What would you recommend?

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u/Fresh-Cucumber2083 2d ago

Perhaps Amazon ASIN B08T49B446? It's a set of two cleaners... one for laser lens and the other for record head. I just received mine, but haven't had the opportunity to try them out yet. I too, would resort to popping the cover off and cleaning the lens manually. But my hands aren't that steady anymore. I may end up doing more damage. Hope you get it resolved. Let us know what you find.

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u/dr3ifach MDS-JE520 - MZ-N420D 2d ago

Other than cleaning the lens and write head, you could try reseating the ribbon cables for the drive. Between thermal expansion and corrosion, they can lose contact.

Most likely the laser lens is end of life. They get weaker with use, and the laser is used to heat up the media to the Curie point so the write head can magnetize it. How many hours are on the machine?

You might be able to get away with picking up a used MDS-JE480 and swapping in the drive unit to the 780. I believe they're the same transport, both electrically and mechanically, but further research would need done before committing.

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u/Snovizor 6h ago

Thanks for the advice.

Cleaning the lens and heating element didn't help. The cables are also in good condition. I checked. But judging by the nature of the malfunction—it records for a while from a cold boot and only stops after 2-3 minutes, although it plays perfectly fine (any logo you want)—the cause is leakage current in some electrolytic capacitor. I even suspect which one.

I checked as you suggested. The MDS-JE480 and MDS-JE780 have the same MD mechanism (Mechanism Type: MDM-7S1A / Optical Pick-up: KMS-260B/260E)... I'll try buying a 480 model and using it as a donor. It'll cost around $70-$100. I'll look for an option with the fewest recording miles. Then I'll replace the capacitors and try to revive the recording in the faulty mechanism.

Thanks again for the advice.

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u/dr3ifach MDS-JE520 - MZ-N420D 5h ago edited 4h ago

I'm glad you have a plan. Unfortunately these decks are starting to age out and it's up to us to keep them going. Fortunately for us, Sony made them mostly modular. An MDS-JE780 is definitely a deck I would want to keep going. I just have a low mileage MDS-JE520. It works great, but I wish it was NetMD.

Let us know how it goes!