Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Restaurant at the End of Universe Hitchhikers - Service, Repair, Custom Leads & Interfaces Replacing a 598 drive

I've done a search and I can find many topics about which drives are suitable etc.

But I could not find one which described how to actually make the change.

Has anyone done this that can pass on their wisdom?

I have now successfully replaced an old DSL-720A drive which would not play DVD with a replacement DRL-200 drive. The steps detailed below are from memory and may include steps that are not actually necessary but were undertaken anyway. Make sure the unit is off and unplugged from power, then proceed at your own risk!

1) Before starting work flash the latest firmware to ensure that the DRL-200 drive is supported. At the time of writing this was 1.89.2

2) Switch off and remove power then open the case in the normal way for a 500 series, by removing the 12 Torx screws which hold the lid on. 2 of the screws are under the plastic trim at the back. Slide the lid backwards

3) Undo the three screws holding the front panel on. This will free a small metal plate. Note orientation. Carefully pivot the front display upwards and out and carefully remove the display connector/cable.

4) Remove the card at the rear of the drive. There are two Philips screws on the rear panel and two securing the card to pillars. Carefully unplug the three cables in the red sockets to the right of the board, along with the two grey cables. Gently start to manoeuvre the board out, until you can unplug the ribbon cable from the left end.

5) Unplug the display connector which is beneath the board just removed.

6) Remove the metal plate that surrounds the drive opening behind the front panel. There are four bolts 3 of which have captive nuts, the fourth at the bottom left has a normal nut which will need to be held and retrieved once undone.

7) Undo the nut holding the retaining clip for the power cable.

8) Undo the four nuts holding the drive and metal cover to the case. The two on the outside are easily accessible but the inner two are quite fiddly. I used a suitably sized nut driver, but a socket may work equally well. Don't forget to remove the star washers as well.

9) Before removing note how the cables are sitting in the case.
It is a tight fit and important that they go back in the same place.

10) Carefully lift the drive upwards off the pegs and with a bit of manoeuvring up/back/forwards it will move clear of the case so that the drive power and IDE connector can be removed.

11) with the drive out of the case there are four nuts/bolts that hold the drive to a metal plate. Note orientation of the plate with respect to the drive.

12) There is a trim on the front edge of the drive. To remove it slides upwards, while pushing outwards with a screwdriver on the two plastic tabs to release it. Go carefully to avoid both damage and injury.

13) Refitting is the reverse of removal. Note that when putting the drive back in to route the power and IDE cable correctly and site the drive tray back in the same place as it was removed from. Mine was fully pushed back, but I could see the marks where the star washers had been as a guide.

14) Re-flash the firmware to be sure. I only did this as I read somewhere that this also flashes the drive firmware. Not sure but can't hurt.

15) Plug in and power on. Don't forget to set the type before use.

The above took about 1.5 hours to complete, and the DVD now plays perfectly. No more "No Disc" message.

Excellent info, thanks for posting.

Hi Tarik,

That's that a really detailed "how to" guide, thank you for sharing.

And well done for getting you 598 back up and running, enjoy.

Regards,
Carl

Hi Tarik

Most interesting post, many thanks.
Would you like to share the approximate cost of this resurrection with us, it would be much appreciated here.

If you do not want to go public please consider a PM to me.

Hector

Are we sure Meridian no longer have stocks? I bought a new replacement 710A drive from them 18 months ago for an 800v4 player. Cost was £81.02 including shipping.

There seem to be numerous used but working 720A drives around, such as this one for $68:

720A Drive

Picked the DRL-200 up from eBay for less than £25 including postage from Germany.

Listing says it is new, and based on the one I received I would not doubt it. 100% feedback as well.

Anyone got a copy of 1.89.2 firmware as I'm going to give this a go ? Always loved the sound of 598 especially in 5.1

Thx

~M~

You have a PM.

Everything went swimmingly with installation and firmware except the new DRL-200 drive is giving the same error message as the old 720A ie. 'loading loading loading no disc' .

Anyone else experienced/solved this after replacing the drive ?

~M~

Hi

Some years ago I replaced the drive in my 598 with a PATA DVDROM drive and it has worked OK for quite a few years. There is a long thread on this somewhere and the DVDROM drive had to be a certain make. I was lucky and managed to get one before the old PATA stuff became obsolete and unobtainable. After fitting the drive, I could not hear any difference between the 598 and my 500 transport for music. I believe Meridian made the 598 with this in mind as the DVDROM drive have a habit of failing in DVD mode quite frequently. DVDs also worked fine. The drive itself was smaller, which meant the drawer didnt come out a far as the original and was a bit tricky putting discs in and taking them out. It was also a lot noisier than the old drive but there wasnt any other option, so I put up with it.

I saw this thread and decided to buy one of the drive from Germany, as my drive was now getting old and would probably fail soon.

It also cost £25 and took about a week to arrive. Although the date of manufacture said 2006, it looked unused.

On Saturday night we put on a DVD and it started misbehaving. So on Sunday, I replaced the old drive with the new drive from Germany.

I didnt re-flash ....just fitted it and it works fine, for both music and DVDs.

It is the right size, so discs are easy to insert and remove. Its very quiet too.

I might just buy another....recommended!

Hi

Before fitting the new drive from Germany, I proved it worked first. This meant somehow attaching it to a PC or similar to see it could read and play DVDs on its own. The way to do this as its an old PATA type connection, is to find an old PC that has a PATA type connector inside or as I did, use a PATA to USB device that I had from years ago to transfer data from Hard drive to another PC.

If the drive doesn't work in this mode, I would say it's faulty. If it does work in this mode but not when in the 598, the 598 might be the problem.

I didn't need to reflash for mine to work, but I cant say if that's the same for all.

Hope that helps.