My DMR-E80H gave me it's first problem last night. I planned to dub from line1 to a DVD-Ram disk in flexible record mode. I loaded the disc and went to the direct navigator screen to delete a title that was on the disc. When trying to erase that title the dvr displayed "recover". After a couple of minutes it did recover, so I tried again with a different, but clean disc. When I tried to perform the dub, it went into the same "recover" mode.

At this point I attempted to dub an existing title on the HDD to a DVD-R disc and that followed by finalization worked perfectly. So I thought I'd try another DVD-Ram disc and the same failure occured once again.

Seems odd to me, that the machine can write to DVD-R discs but not DVD-Ram. Would anyone else have seen such behavior or have an understanding of why this could happen?

I've never had a problem with a RAM unless it was dirty. First, make sure the RAM is clean. Wash it with a soft cloth, liquid soap detergent and tepid water. Dry with a soft lint-free terry towel. Then put it back into the E80 and try to reformat the disk.

You may also be having problems with the DVD slipping in the spindle. Some discs are more prone to slipping than others. If you here a grinding noise or louder than normal noises coming from the DVD drive during writing it's more than likely slipping. There are a few threads on cleaning the DVD spindle or you could try my temporary trick which is to moisten the inner hub of the DVD(top and bottom). It works for me every time on one of my recorders that is very hard to get at to do the correct spindle cleaning.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=982378&highlight=grinds

Here is advice concerning DVD drives that seem to be failing but just need a spindle/hub cleaning:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=210507

Following these detailed instructions clean the lens, rubber and plastic spindle parts and hub area, and the circular guide in the DVD drive lid.

Panasonic 2006 and newer DVD drives are easy to service. Remove the case top cover to get access to the DVD drive. Remove the four small Phillips screws and lift the DVD drive top lid. When viewing the DVD drive from the front (where the tray rolls out) notice the roller assembly at the rear of the DVD tray. This mechanism must be positioned to the left corner before reassembly so these parts will be correctly aligned to the guide rail on the underside of the drive lid. With the 2006 and newer models opening of the Panasonic case, removing the DVD drive lid, cleaning the drive, closing the drive lid, and closing the case takes around fifteen minutes.

With 2005 or older models the case cover and the front panel assembly may need to be removed in order to give clearance for the DVD drive lid to be lifted somewhat at the front, slid forward, allowing the rear to disengage, following which the lid may be lifted off. The opaque plastic part at the left rear seems to be a retainer/guide. Allow around 35 minutes for opening the case, removal of the front panel after loosening the snap clips at the top, sides and bottom; removing the DVD drive lid; cleaning and reassembly.

On a combo recorder be sure to hold the VHS door open as the front panel is fitted back into place. This will correctly align the VHS door lifting mechanism.

Thank you all for the responses. The discs I used are clean, so I didn’t try the soap and water treatment. I did give jjeff’s saliva moisture technique a try and it did seem to take longer to give up and go into “recover” mode, but the end result was the same. I think a good overall cleaning as recommended by DigaDo will be in order if I begin to have trouble dubbing DVD-R discs. That’s my main use of the DVD drive and I can easily give up Ram capability. I’ll report back if I’m forced to attempt the cleaning.

Thanks again.

Good luck, the problem if the unit goes into recovery when writing to R discs I have found is it will either totally wipe out all info on the disc, or make the disc unfinalizable. It will continue to play on Panny DVDR's, but since you cannot finalize it, you can never play the disc on anything but a Panny DVDR. I have several discs like this from over the years.

Good luck, the problem if the unit goes into recovery when writing to R discs I have found is it will either totally wipe out all info on the disc, or make the disc unfinalizable. It will continue to play on Panny DVDR's, but since you cannot finalize it, you can never play the disc on anything but a Panny DVDR. I have several discs like this from over the years.

I afraid it might come to that. No longer being able to write to Ram's might just be the first sign of troubles to come.

This $130 flat fee Panasonic service I've read about sounds pretty attractive. Lord knows the choice of HDD DVD-recorders today is somewhat thin. I did just buy a refurb Philips 3575 and so far it's not a bad machine, but I'd like to keep the E80 going as long as I can.

I had a different but similar problem with my E80 a few years back. It stopped recognizing RAM discs (would display 'UNFORMAT' but didn't go into 'Recover' mode) but would still recognize, play, and record to DVD-R's. The DVD-RAM's were clean and intact and tested fine on my other Panny recorders. The problem was diagnosed as the optical drive and I had it replaced under warranty. I mention this only because it is possible for an optical drive to malfunction/fail in a manner such that it can no longer handle some types of media while still functioning ok for other types (especially wrt to DVD-RAM because the method in which the drive writes to and reads from RAM is very different than DVD-R, +R, -RW, and +RW). However, these failures usually progress in time to complete operational failure of the drive. I would try the cleaning procedures recommended by others, but if the situation persists then definitely look into the the flat fee repair. E80s are still going for $250 - 300 on eBay so the flat fee repair is still very cost effective, plus you'll have the peace of mind of knowing exactly what your deck's condition is after the factory service.