How to Fix a Portable DVD Player

If your portable DVD player isn't working properly, it can be quite annoying—especially if you're on vacation and are depending on the DVD player to help distract your kids on a car or plane trip. Here are some steps you can take to see if you can fix a portable DVD player yourself before taking it to a repair shop.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Safety pin
• Cotton ball
• Cleaning disc
• Paperclip

1. Try to clean the disc if the DVD player says "No Disc." The disc might be simply be too dirty for the lens to read.

2. Check your DVD picture settings if the screen seems squished or unbalanced. If your DVD player is set up for a widescreen movie and you are playing a movie with regular dimensions (or vice versa), the DVD player will squash or stretch the picture.

3. Manually eject a DVD if your DVD player's DVD tray gets stuck closed. Gently insert a safety pin or paperclip into the DVD player's Eject hole, and the DVD player will open and eject the DVD.

4. Clean your DVD player with a cleaning disc if your picture keeps freezing in the middle of a movie. Cleaning discs may be purchased anywhere that DVD players are sold. If this doesn’t work, you may need to pay for a professional cleaning.

5. Check the battery if your portable DVD player will not power on. It may simply be that the battery is dead or low. Try plugging your portable DVD player into a wall socket and see if it plays there. If so, try a new battery.

6. Consult the store where you purchased your DVD player. They might have some troubleshooting techniques they can share with you.

7. Check the manufacturer’s Web site for your brand of portable DVD player. Most sites will have a troubleshooting section, and most questions have been asked before.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to fix your DVD player yourself before you hire someone else to. Many problems can be solved yourself, and many repairs are expensive. Many times it is cheaper just to purchase a new DVD player than to pay for repairs to an old one.
• Try using a different DVD. It is possible that the DVD is faulty and the problem is not with the DVD player at all.
• Do not touch the DVD player's lens with your finger. Try to clean it with a dry cotton ball or microfiber cloth. Using your fingers could leave fingerprints on the lens.