TOC Reading No Disc Error Fixed

The display reads "TOC Reading" for 4 seconds, followed by "No Disc" error message.

I was having this problem on the Marantz CD6000OSE. I also came across a similar problem on the Sony Minidisc, and once on a Tascam CD player. TOC means the Table of Contents. This is stored on the innermost track of the CD and is a special track that players read first. It gives them a track number (TOC Number) for each title. The sled then moves to the track number location.

The first thing I did was take the cover off so that I could see if the CD was spinning. Surprisingly, I discovered that the CD was not spinning. In order to read the table of contents the CD should be spinning, hence this did not make sense.

The CD player computer indicating that it did not find a disc seemed strange. If there was no disc inserted, then why did the system try to read the table of contents from it in the first place? I thought the firmware programming was poor.

Just to see what would happen without a CD, I removed it and closed the tray and exactly the same sequence of errors appeared. Obviously, if the system does not detect a CD in the tray, then it will not energise the spindle motor. That seems logical after all. Therefore, the next course of investigation was to determine how the system detects the CD in the first place. When the tray is closed, the laser fires short pulses of beam, and if there is a CD on the tray, the beam reflects back by the mirrored surface of the CD. The focusing platform also moves several times to focus the reflected beam onto the pickup. The pickup registers this reflected light and this is how it detects if there is a CD on the tray. I initiated the "Service Mode" as described in the Service Documentation, and it did not find any problems with the laser or the motor. Error 02 would have indicated a focusing error, but everything checked out fine.

After pulling the tray out, and some minor changes, I had access to the focusing lens assembly.

This is the laser focusing lens assembly. The platform, which moves up and down, uses a copper voice coil and magnet arrangement to facilitate the movement.

I noted that the lens was not as shiny as it should be. Even a very thin layer of dust can obstruct the laser beam; hence, I decided to clean it. I used a cotton bud with some car windscreen cleaner solution, as it dries quickly and does not leave a residue.

After carefully cleaning the lens a few times, there was a noticeable difference to it. I assembled it again and tested it by pressing Play, and it worked! The CD started to spin this time, because it was registering a disc!

If after cleaning the lens, the same error message occurs, then chances are the laser has failed and a VAM1201 Replacement will be necessary.