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Sorry for yet another thread on a C13 TOC read error... however having lurked on this Forum for a while I've signed up in the hope some of you knowledgable chaps can help me out with my MDS-JE530... I think I've tried/performed most of the usual rectification steps advised for C13 but I've still not cracked it. I'll start with a little background which is that I use MD at my amateur theatre group. I'm at the point of moving back to using more MD because I'm sick of CD unreliability and the solid-state offerings I've looked at are either cheap junk or way out of my price range. And of course you never let any sort of PC near a live performance... So, aside from other Sony and Tascam MD machines I have a MDS-JE530 sitting on the shelf with an annoying C13 issue and I've gotten it off the shelf with the aim of fixing it (I've been in a "fixing" mode recently with various pieces of kit!) and thus bringing it back into service. What I've done: cleaned the laser lens with IPA (not the beer!). Cleaned and carefully regreased the rails and gears with Molykote EM-30L synthetic grease. Scanned the Service Manual and G**gle for any other bright ideas. This machine will either read MDs (MO type) and play and record perfectly, or I get C13 when trying to read the TOC. If the TOC is read the machine will play (and when tried, record) perfectly, no subsequent C13s or any other error. I can eject and reinsert many times and I can get C13. An hour later I can try again and it will read the TOC and play perfectly many etc times. It's driving me mad because I just can't get it reliable. Just when I think I've cracked it, I'll get another C13 again. This is what I've determined: it's had little use: reading the service info from the machine, play hours 80, record hours 77 - it's virtually brand new. Software code is 530 990797. IOP read gives me "56.4 / 54.4" and the laser label is marked H0564, so IOP looks in order (other label info: KMS260B 19X91). Retry errors are clean "r00 p00" but total errors as FF. Error history is EB6 (whatever that is) plus the rest are E04 like everyone gets. When I do continuous play, then AD=00 (maybe the odd 01 as allowed). Temp Check is OK. I can CPLAY MID, IN and OUT and it's error free and there is no noise and the sled tracks smoothly at all points. The mechanism is quiet. I've inspected as much as I can and there are no broken gear or rack teeth that I can see. The machine is clean internally. It's well behaved otherwise. The disk detect and record protect tiny switches seem to be clean and moving freely, so I believe the disk insert is being detected. None of the MDs I'm using have bad label positions. The disk appears to nest correctly - trying different insertion speeds (the best I can with an autoloader) doesn't seem to throw the disk to a more reliable position. All springs appear to be in place and tensioning as required. When the TOC can't be read, the machine is spinning the disc, slowing and retrying. But the sled doesn't move - then of course I get C13 because the OP is not searching/reading the TOC. When this happens there is no mechanism noise - I can't hear any motors straining and there are no vibrations - just the OP sled doesn't move. I can eject and try again, and often the OP sled will track and TOC can be read, other times the sled is stationary. I just can't work out why sometimes it will track and read, others not. In Service Mode I did try the << and >> sled movement and usually this will work fine. I have however observed some occasions where the sled will slow and appear to struggle - in both directions. On a couple of occasions the sled, after slowing, did "stick" and wouldn't move more. Since recleaning and regreasing the rails this doesn't seem to have reoccurred but this could be coincidence. So... what's the one thing I haven't done that will solve this? I reach out to the community to help me solve this one and keep this machine alive and back into service where this great format should be! Thanks and regards, Kevin ps I don' t have a LPM or 'scope so a Fluke DVM is about my limit with test kit access. I do have the Service Manual and also own a fully-functioning MDS-JE520 if comparison is needed. pps All of my discs are Sony or TDK. Tried both, same symptoms. All recordings are SP, nothing fancy going on here!