problem with cd rw

[kazza12345]

hi, i wonder if any one can help me?  Ive had my computer for 5 years.  It has an integral dvd/cd rw drive that has recently stopped working - when i open up media player or itunes and put a cd in its firstly saying drive busy, then no disk in drive (when there clearly is)  windows device manager is saying that it is working correctly. so it is aknowledging the drive, but not acknowleding the discs.  I thought a wire or pcb might have come loose, but if so, surely it wouldnt aknowledge the drive at all.  it did the same thing about a week ago, so i kicked it and it started working again. (which makes me think something is loose)  but now i am kicking to no avail!

i dont really want to spend 50 quid on an external drive - any suggestions?

[chris-n-vick]

sounds like the age old problem of "laser/lens burn out"

usually what happens (especially in combination lasers that read cd's and dvd's) is either the lens gets dirty or, more frequently, wears out and is unable to focus. as it is unable to correctly detect the data on the cd/dvd TOC (table of content) section it incorrectly decides there is no disc in the drive. short of running a lens cleaning kit, which MAY cure it, a replacement drive is looking likely.

[dodgyshirt]

Why do you need to spend 50 quid on an external drive when you can replace the drive with an internal DVD Re-Writer for less than �35 now. If you have had the PC for 5 years then the drive has done well and owes you nothing.

[kazza12345]

that is a point of view.  However i know nothing about technology, and somehow plugging a drive straight into the usb sounds easier than getting a screwdriver

[romko]

before condemning the drive, get some pure alcohol from a chemists and a q-tip. open the drive, *gently* clean the lens with the q tip dipped in alcohol. I've repaired many drives with read problems this way. pcs have fans whch draw dust through.