Diagnosing Insp.4000 - cd drive not working (bad cd-rom or bad controller on mobo?)

[IS300]

I'm thinking of buying a replacement cd/dvd drive, but before I do that, I want to make sure it's really the cd drive, and not the controller (which would mean I have to replace the motherboard).

I think I basically just need to try swapping in someone's cd/dvd/cd-rw drive (anyone have any better ideas?), and seeing if it works, which would take about 5 minutes of your time...

My faulty drive is the one that goes in the front right bay (as opposed to the side/fixed bay on some inspiron 8000's, 8100's, etc).

I live in north Yonkers, right on the Yonkers/Ardsley/Scarsdale border, so I wouldn't mind driving 20 minutes or so...

Compatible laptops:
Dell Latitude CPi A, CPi D, CPi R, CPt, CPt C, CPt V, CPx, CPx H, CPx J
Dell Latitude CS, CSx, CSx H, CSx R
DELL Latitude C400, C500, C600, C610, C640, C800, C810 and C840
DELL Inspiron 2100,2500, 3700, 3800, 4000, 4100, 4150, 8000, 8100 and 8200

 

[RGPHNX]

HI IS300,
you can use the CD troubleshooting charts at my website to sort out what type of CD/DVD problem you have.
Post back here with the results & OR for more help.
Good Luck
RGPHNX