Gary D's NEC 3550 is dying!

[Gary D]

Switched backed to 1Y3

I edited the first post to reflect the truth.

My NEC 3550 is dying. It is not burning properly anymore. The speed is fluctuating wildly even at 4X with everything off.

I did some scans and there are 40 PIF spikes and multiple 10+ spikes.

[Chewy]

gary,
pop it out of the case with tray open

push in the tabs on the front sides and release the face plate

gently turn it over and remove the 4 small screws

clean the rails and relube

cleans the lens while you have it apart

[Gary D]

I will do it this weekend.

What should I use a lube?? WD40? Lithium?

What would be a good cleaner for the lens?? rubbing alcohol?

A good applicator?? Q-tips?

[Chewy]

very little of each, might wipe the rails with wd40 and then a little vaseline

real gentle with the lens and maybe even eyeglass cleaner

q tips work great

make sure you get any lint or dust out

[Gary D]

Since I am getting a new drive, how would I go about converting this (or the LG) to a USB drive??

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=005503&cid=516