DMR E55 Please could you give more detail about which "chip" I may have damaged. Thanks

You may be able to download a free pdf copy of the manual online from the following site:

http://www.retrevo.com/support/Panasonic-DMR-E55-DVD-Players-manual/id/312dj185/t/2/

(just follow the prompts)

Pages 6 - 9 of the manual show connection of this unit to a TV and/or other equipment in some detail.

Your dvd's lens might have been damaged so try to get a new lens and then start it.I am sure that it will work again.And if you want the manual then you need to go to the below site and download it

http://www.devicemanuals.com/guide/DVD%20Recorder/Panasonic/Panasonic-DMR-E55-DVD-Recorder-Operating-==TWpZMU1qUTA=.html

If you need any further assistance please feel free to contact me again.

Please rate me if this solution works for you

Thanks......Have a great time

Please see my posting >here< which gives full instructions on this common fault. If you don't feel confident in tackling the job yourself, take the details to an engineer who will repair it easily.

HOLD or X HOLD? If the latter - which is most likely - then the Child Lock has been activated! Press and hold ENTER and RETURN simultaneously until HOLD disappears!

You will have no problem playing your non finalized discs on any of the Panasonic DMR range including the DMR EZ28 series. The DMR E55 can also easily be repaired if you can use a soldering iron and a little care. Please checkout my other postings for full repair details.
Cheers...

Hi Benyto

Thank you for the information. Sorry that you are having such problems.

Nearly all the problems on ths DMR E55 are due to a faulty power board. The greatest load on the power supply is when the unit first reads discs and also when finalizing. Sometimes the unit cannot read discs and sometimes it continuously self checks.

Try replacing IC001 on the power board. This is a 5 pin regulator #STRG6353. This component gets very hot and the heatsink is poor. When I replace these, I use a larger heatsink and some heatsink paste which helps to prolong the life of the component. If you look at the regulator, you will see by the colour of the circuit board that it gets very hot. It fails after two or three years in all DMR E55s.

Be careful when you take the old regulator out because the print can lift away from the circuit board.

I have posted full instructions on how to replace the STRG6353 >HERE<

Hope this helps

Hi Liz
The majority of problems with this particular model are associated with the power board. The drive unit is unlikely to be faulty. Do not risk further damage by immediately trying lense cleaning as suggested by some. The lense will very rarely require cleaning.
The power board can be repaired if you have some technical ability. I have posted full instructions on Fixya on how to do this but you would need to be able to use a soldering iron. These are good units that can usually be restored, so it would be a pity to throw it out for such a fault,

To record and veiw DVD movie at the same time connect the DMRE55 RCA cable output to DMREZ25 input 1 then the DMREZ output to yout TV input. Then on the DMREZ press input select and select IN1 to record from the E55.

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/DMRE55.PDF

I have been told that panasonic now have a faster speed disc on sale to suit the newer dvd recorders that dmr-e55 cannot record on as they are too fast. You have to buy the slower speed ram discs to suit the dmr-e55.