Playing disks produced on a PC would not cause damage to the player. At around 10 years old, the player will be fitted with a plastic lens – but that does not mean that is the problem.
Buy a lens cleaner disk from your local £/99p shop and give that a go. Try a variety of disks – should one play OK, even intermittently – this would strongly implicate the laser/lens.
Should you have the ability to replace the player’s laser unit, it can be tricky finding a supplier. CPC sell a range of laser units – but it is not easy to determine whether a particular model is fitted within your player.
http://cpc.farnell.co...=mode+matchallpartial