UHD Disc exploded

[Skijackz]

So I just had Inception explode and almost disintegrate in my WH16NS40 drive trying to rip. Sounded like a circuit popping and bam, pieces of the blu-ray.

Why would this happen? Should I exchange the player?

[zukb86]

Hey there, I just had the same thing happen to me on a regular bluray (From Russia with Love). I had been trying to rip Black Hawk Down UHD earlier last week though and the drive had been acting strangely (ASUS BW-16D1HT). I bought via a seller on here with the firmware so I could rip UHDs.

[SimonM]

Are there no other replies and possible explanations for this? How is this even possible? I take it the drives are completely destroyed in both instances.

If it's bad firmware can you name the firmware used, and the seller? I've just ordered a drive so now I'm worried!

[Woodstock]

"Exploding" disks do not necessarily take out the drive, just as a plate shattering on a floor doesn't necessarily damage the floor itself. Both certainly need to be CLEANED.

A disk can shatter due to unseen cracks in its structure. Technically, the design calls for them to withstand 300 rpm, which is "1x speed". The cracks can be tiny.

I put some blame on the case designers. I get a LOT of disks in shipping cases that have been damaged in shipment, but I also get a lot where trying to release the disk from the case involves a lot of flexing. I'm seriously grateful that ripping makes it unlikely to need to take those disks out multiple times over their lives.

[SimonM]

That's really interesting, thanks. Most of my discs are in mint or near new condition having only been ripped or played a couple of times, so I reckon it's extremely unlikely I'd encounter anything like this.

I know when trying to manually break discs in the past (from failed burns etc) it requires a lot of muscle indeed, so I'm still surprised. Is it the heat of the laser that causes expansion along a minor crack or weakness causing it to shatter?

[Woodstock]

More the general resistance to flexing that makes them "strong".

Next time you feel the urge to break a disk, though, take a pair of needle-nose pliers and take a VERY small chunk out of the hub area. It will probably break a lot easier.

My copy of Last Starfighter has a rather large chunk missing from the hub, due to it being "stuck" in the case. I've ripped it twice successfully, but I limited the speed by slowing MakeMKV's writing to disk when I did it. I probably should have returned it when I found it broken, but...