Though DVD player machines are convenient and very popular, the fact is that they give us error messages every once in a while, especially those old modules. Some people may get stuck in the DVD player jamming trouble. Someone find out that DVD player can only play some certain discs but won’t play some others. Among all the error messages that the DVD player would give, the “No disc” error is the most common and annoying one. What is going on when the player gives the message? How to fix the “No disc” message and let the player play your disc successfully? Let’s find out together.

Part 1: Possible Reasons for No Disc Issue

The reasons for the “No disc” issue are various. In order to solve the problem more precisely, you can refer to the followings reasons and select the most solutions.

1. Incomplete disc information or scratched disc. This is the main reason for the issue. Before you try anything to examine or fix your DVD player, it’s suggested that you make sure the disc you are trying to play is intact and well. If it’s the problem of your disc, then trying to fix your DVD player does not help at all. In this case, you can copy the scratched DVD disc and then you may play it on your player machine.

2. The disc is incorrectly formatted. A common DVD disc or Blu-ray disc is formatted in various ways. You can find different DVD or Blu-ray disc types in the market, such as DVD-RW, DVD-R and 4K Blu-ray disc and so on if the disc is not formatted correctly in accordance with the player, then it will not be detected. You can use some software tools to correctly format your DVD disc.

3. The glitch of the DVD laser lens. Most of the DVD “No disc” problems are caused by the glitch of DVD laser lens. The cleaning DVD laser lens is not easy and requires patience and carefulness. You can start out by trying to blow away the dust if that doesn’t work, you can try using a DVD cleaning disc.

Part 2: Troubleshoot the Issue

Solution 1. Check the failure is caused by the DVD disc or DVD player

Actually, you may not be very clear about the exact reason for the “No disc” issue. It may be caused by the scratched or dirty DVD disc, which also can be resulted in by the damaged DVD player as well. In such a case, before following the exact solution, you had better make sure whether it is caused by the disc or the player. The simplest way to confirm this is to insert various DVD discs which can be totally perfect on the quality of the DVD player. You can try it on some free DVD player programs on your PC which costs you nothing for the testing. If all of them can’t be played properly on the same DVD player, then we can have the conclusion that DVD player will be the key cause for the issue. On the contrary, if other DVD discs can be played smoothly on the DVD player, then the reason will fall to the previous DVD disc itself. The original DVD disc has been damaged.

Solution 2. Fix the DVD player accordingly

If your DVD player programs still fail to play the correct DVD discs, then we should focus on fixing the DVD player. It’s not easy to fully understand how a DVD player work and precisely fix the problem if you are not a pro. But for the common issues on the player, there are always some common fixes that you can apply to make it functions normally. Here is how you can try.

Step 1: Press the “Eject” or “Open” button on the DVD player to disc tray to determine if it opens easily and does not appear jammed or hindered. If the disc tray appears to open slower than usual or fails to open, the disc may not sit flush in the tray or otherwise be seated properly. Use your hand to pull out the disc tray slowly if it does not open on its own and then reset the disc. Close the disc tray and press “Play” on the DVD player again to see if resetting the disc in the tray corrects the “NO DISC” error.

Step 2. Power off the DVD player, then back on again. Attempt to play the DVD disc normally. Sometimes, an error in the DVD player firmware may prevent the device from reading discs properly. When this occurs, resetting the player often corrects “NO Disc” errors.

Step 3. Remove the disc from the DVD player. Use a lint-free cloth and some denatured alcohol or water to clean the disc and remove any dust or smudges that may prevent the player from reading it properly. Reinsert the disc into the player and press “Play” to see if cleaning the disc fixes the “NO DISC” error.

Part 3: Clean DVD Laser Lens

Most of the failure of DVD player is caused by the DVD laser lens due to year’s usage which may gather too much. To prevent dust buildup inside your player, gently blow out the dust periodically. A hand-operated photographic dust blower works well. If you use a can of compressed air, be gentle and don’t blast the lens from close range, because the air stream can be quite strong and some of the internal parts of your DVD player are delicate. What’s more, another efficient way is to use a commercial lens cleaning disc that looks like a DVD with tiny brushes for the lens and is inserted and “played” like a DVD for the time specified in its user guide. The details are as follows.

Step 1. Lift the top panel from the back and remove. It should come off without being forced. There is a lip near the front so you may need to slide the top panel back slightly to remove it.

Step 2. Locate the lens on the disc drive. Make sure that there is no dust on or near the player and area you are working on. Dust can get on the lens and scratch it while you are cleaning. It is very important that the lens is not damaged because the lens is used to read the discs.

Step 3. Dip one end of a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol. Lightly dab the swab on the lens. Be very gentle. Let the lens dry before replacing the top plate of the DVD player.

Part 4: Free DVD Player Alternative

For further information, if you current DVD player is damaged, then you can refer to another free DVD player alternative. Leawo Blu-ray Player, for instance, is the one that I would strongly recommend. Leawo Blu-ray Player can handle DVD or Blu-ray materials perfectly; it is a perfect solution to test your disc when you don’t have another DVD player machine at home. With Leawo Blu-ray Player, you can also obtain the Blu-ray and Ultra 4K video playback solutions with the best audio and sound effects. With advanced image and audio processing technology, Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac could provide you quality-lossless image for even 4K video, stereo audio enjoyment, all regions free DVD decryption and user-oriented playback control so that you can play any high-quality movie and play Blu-ray or DVD across region.

As a 100% free all-inclusive media player software, Leawo Blu-ray Player contains all media playback solutions you need for your leisure entertainment, including Blu-ray, DVD, CD, HD (4K), ISO file with AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASF, FLV, MKV/MKA and other popular formats supported. Besides, Leawo Blu-ray Player’s practical bonus features including useful power manager, custom skin/language/background, snap screenshots, especially virtual remote controller make it a better choice for all playback choice. The program is completely free, and you will not be bothered by any ads or malware. Last but not least, you can also use this player to backup Blu-ray and DVD disc and convert Blu-ray/DVD to MKV without quality loss.

Part 5: Conclusion

Next time, when you encounter the “No disc” issue again, what you should do is to check the exact reasons for this failure. First of all, insert other DVD discs to the DVD player to confirm whether the DVD player is working well or not. Also, you can test the other DVD discs on your computer. If they can be successfully played on your computer, then it has to be the DVD player that needs to be fixed. If not, it means your DVD player is probably okay and your disc is scratched or broken. Furthermore, you can also adopt another free media player to play the video content on your computer with Leawo Blu-ray Player. Within Leawo Blu-ray Player, you could obtain the personalized settings according to your preference and all the settings could be done automatically. The instructions for playing are quite easy.