CD-ROM - Is it dead?

[theblackwren]

It looks like my CD drive has croaked. It shows up in My Computer, but doesn't read discs. Whenever I insert a new disc, I get a blinking light that (I'm guessing) signifies an error. Can anyone tell me what the problem is, and if there are any possible ways to fix it?

 

[Continuity27]

Originally posted by: theblackwren
It looks like my CD drive has croaked. It shows up in My Computer, but doesn't read discs. Whenever I insert a new disc, I get a blinking light that (I'm guessing) signifies an error. Can anyone tell me what the problem is, and if there are any possible ways to fix it?

You can try cleaning the lens with pure isopropyl alcohol, but you'll need to open the drive itself for that...

You might be better off just getting a new drive. Combination burning drives are very very cheap these days, look at the NEC ND-3520A for example.

Unfortunately, these things do happen... if cleaning the lens doesn't work, I'm not sure there's much else to do, and it might end up being cheaper just to buy a new one.