My daughter just recieved this cd player for Christmas and worked fine for awhile. Now the cd only spins but it won't play any music. I have replaced the batteries but still nothing. On the screen what looks like a big U is on the screen with two flashing lines. Is there anything that I can do?

Virginia, March 2008

Virginia, I had exactly the same problem on commercial CDs, and just fixed it. Went to Sony's site (useless), but then found a great and very detailed site on disc readers, http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm#cdgicl
Bottom line, believe it or not, was that all I had to do was clean the laser lens!!! I used a drop of gin (probably not ideal, but I didn't have any isopropyl handy) on a cotton wool bud and carefully wiped the lens, and hey presto, it worked immediately on all CDs I've tried! Note that it didn't *look* dirty, but I figured I had nothing to lose. I wish all fixes were that easy!!

Nigel in Chicago, April 2008

Virginia, I had exactly the same problem on commercial CDs, and just fixed it. Went to Sony's site (useless), but then found a great and very detailed site on disc readers, http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm#cdgicl
Bottom line, believe it or not, was that all I had to do was clean the laser lens!!! I used a drop of gin (probably not ideal, but I didn't have any isopropyl handy) on a cotton wool bud and carefully wiped the lens, and hey presto, it worked immediately on all CDs I've tried! Note that it didn't *look* dirty, but I figured I had nothing to lose. I wish all fixes were that easy!!

Nigel in Chicago, April 2008