Why can't my Wii read game discs?
My Wii will not read discs. Is there anything I can try myself to fix it? Everything else works—Wii shop, internet channel, etc.
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It seems you're not alone in this problem. I did a little research, and it turns out many people have gone through this dilemma and have had some luck by contacting Nintendo and having it fixed for free. Read this thread.
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Excellent + Ralph
Your new avatar is interesting. Ralph
Is that a "apple bite me" avatar?
+ my wii will never have this issue - i simply don't use disks ;-)
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Before you go spending money please check this:
Will your Wii read or play GameCube discs?
Borrow a GameCube disc from a pal, or buy a cheap one at a game store or an online auction.
If it works with a GameCube disc then the problem is easy to fix if you like tinkering and have a Triwing screwdriver.
Follow the iFixit guides for taking the Wii apart.
Gently work the mechanical disc loading levers - gently - do not force anything.
Look carefully at the two metal guides which pull the full size disc into the Wii. Both should have white plastic clips about 4 by 3 mm to keep them from scratching the edge of the game disc.
Often one or both of these clips will be missing or broken.
Also the metal guides are sometimes bent outward, almost as if you had forced a disc out and it bent them. Gently bend them back towards the edge of the disc. Put a 5mm piece of heat shrink tubing over each of them if the white plastic clips are broken or missing.
With the cover off, try loading a game disc. If needed, bend the guides so they do NOT touch the disc when it is spinning.
This fixes the problem about 1 time in three in my experience.
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There's one game my Wii won't read but it will read all the other games I have. What do I do?
Have you tried this game in another Wii at a pal place. Or have you looked on the surface of the disc where the laser is reading, are there any scars there?
My wii was doing the same thing except it read the disk but got through the intro and then said: an error has occurred press the eject button remove the game disc and turn the power off and then it told me to read a manual for more information I cleaned the disc and got rid of the scratches but it still didn't work it doesn't do this with any other discs plz help what should I do
My Wii is doing this same stuff. All I want to play on it is TYD for GameCube. It will not load the game and goes to the error message after displaying the Dolby ProLogic 2 screen. It plays all other games, and TYD works on other people’s Wiis and Gamecubes. It is very frustrating. A fix would be nice. I am about to throw it against the wall, then smash it with a hammer.
Thanks! This worked for my wii. Now it doesn't say Wii disk cannot be read!
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The optical drive is a common failure item -- most of them will probably fail after a couple of years of use. If your warranty has expired, you can send it back to Nintendo for replacement or do it yourself -- iFixit has a guide here: Nintendo Wii DVD Drive Replacement
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Check to see if your disc(s) are damaged, dirty,ect .sometimes that's the problem . or try taking your disc(s) to a local store where they clean disc or even purchase some disc cleaner . if the problem is not the disc it'self you should consider taking your Wii system it'self to be looked at.
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it sounds like the laser assembly in the optical drive needs replaced. Follow the instructions in the guide: Installing Nintendo Wii DVD Drive. You can get the tri wing screwdriver at nintendo screwdriver.com
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I have had trouble many times in the past but I tried this and it worked for me. I have been cleaning or polishing the disk in a circular motion or around the disk with polish and a paper towel and its never worked.
I then read to clean the disk from the center outward. I used a very fine auto polish with a soft rag in the direction mentioned shine dry with lightish pressure ,and it seemed to bring back the reflectivity and voila, it worked! I hope this works for others as it work for me.
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What I would recommend is to get a cleaning disk (there are some at Dollar Tree) then put the cleaning paste on it then put it in as a normal game. What this will do is it will clean the reading lens but if it still is doing it, instead of buying a new one just take it into Best Buy, they can fix it way cheaper then buying a new one.
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it is likely the disc drive. this is a repair you can do yourself. you will need a phillips head and tri-wing screw driver with at least a 1 inch drive length.
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READ THIS, so I had this problem. I tried to insert all of my games but every one said it could not read. I was putting the disk The right way in , it would get to the part showing to strap the remote to your wrist and after that freeze. Solution , all I did was press reset. That’s all I did and now it works fine.
NOTE: this only helped with one of my games. Many of my other games still don’t work. But my animal crossing does
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I synced my Wii remotes and my Wii mother board and then i turned it off and then on again and it started working perfectly
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you can try putting alcohol on them and then burning it.
You do know you posted on a 7 year old topic and the issue is most definitely resolved. Also putting alcohol on things and setting it on fire is a terrible idea.
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Mine worked after blasting a bunch of compressed air through the drive slot. If that doesn't work you need to either clean the laser, replace it, replace the drive motor or rubber bands in the drive.
Good Luck!
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All you need to do is erase the junk and restart your game.
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Ok, I have the same problem…
If you take it apart, its just the disk drive. You can clean the lens with rubbing alcohol.
If that doesn’t work its the motor, you can buy the motor but its hard to replace, or just buy a new disk drive for $20 on Ebay.
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32 Comments
i have one disk that can not be read what can i do
by raeleneenglish74
My dad took it apart and there is something inside that is broke so I am buying a new refurbished Wii for $60.00.
by EVIE PITTS
I have the same problem. With mine, what it does it either it won't read it, period, or it will read the disc enough to figure out what game it is, but when i press start, the game itself won't load. I've have minimal success in successfully loading a game and being able to play, but it usually ends up crashing and bringing up the same error message that the disc could not be read. I also noticed a strange clicking sound when the Wii cannot read the disc. I haven't been able to take it to a GameStop or anything yet...I've been trying to find some kind of cleaning disc, but no luck so far.
by athousandmidnighttheories
My wii just reads a disc then just randomly stops in the middle of the intro of every game plz just help
by BeafyLeafy
Mine is also having this problem. Just yesterday is was working perfectly fine but today no wii or gamecube games will work.
by sorry im deaira
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