Let me add my THANKS! to those of you who offered advice. I just jiggled the lens ever so slightly (without taking the back cover off) and the unit started up fine. As an aside, the repair company that Pansonic directed me to wanted $179 to fix the machine. I am so appreciative! Thank you again!

how close should the spindle be to the center?

I had the same problem and followed the instructions posted here and it now works fine. Thanks so much for the help!!

Thanks so much to whoever posted this. We paid $700 for our panasonic dvd player a year ago this past Christmas. It has been broken over a year and I could not find the manual. I had given up all hope of getting it fixed. I have 2 kids and having to ride in the truck with them, I have missed it terribly. This thing was really hard to get apart but finally I got it apart and did what ya'll said. It works again. Thanks and God bless!

Hello. I'had the same problem. It is working. By the way. I bought this DVD abroad and in my country i have a problem with region code. If someone can help me please send an info on my e-mail. Thanks.