The laptop DVD drive makes clicking noise then there is a CD or DVD disc inside the drive. The drive cannot read any CD or DVD disc.

Possible cause:

1. A foreign object stuck inside the DVD drive and blocks the tray.
2. DVD drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Open up the DVD drive and take a look inside. Make sure there is no foreign object inside the drive.

2. Test your drive with a few different CD or DVD discs. Make sure the problem is not related to one particular disc. If the clicking noise appears with only one particular CD or DVD disc, it’s a bad disc.

3. Most likely this is the DVD drive failure. Replace the laptop DVD drive with a new one or buy an external USB optical drive instead of the internal optical drive.

If you have a stuck disc inside the optical drive and the drive will not open when you press on the eject button, you can remove the disc using a straighten paper clip. Insert the clip into the hole on the front bezel and push it inside the drive until the door opens up. Remove the disc.

The laptop optical drive will not eject a CD or DVD disc. When you press on the eject button, the drive light blinking but the tray will not open up. The disc stuck inside the optical drive.

Possible cause:

Optical drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

This is the optical drive (CD/DVD drive) failure. Most likely there is a mechanical failure inside the drive and it has to be replaced.

If you have a stuck CD or DVD disc inside the drive, you can try opening the drive with a straightened paper clip. Insert the clip into the hole on the optical drive door and push the clip into the drive until the tray opens up. Remove the stuck disc.

If you prefer, you can purchase an external USB optical drive and use it instead of the internal optical drive. It’s very convenient when you plan to replace your laptop with a new one in the near future. You can dispose of the old laptop but keep the external USB optical drive and use it with any other computer.

The laptop DVD drive tray will not open. When you press on the eject button, the light keeps blinking but the DVD drive tray remains closed.

Possible cause:

DVD drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

Most likely this problem is related to DVD drive failure. When the drive light blinks, it means the drive is getting power from the motherboard. It’s a mechanical problem inside the drive. In this case the DVD drive has to be replaced with a new one.

If you have a CD or DVD disc stuck inside the drive, you can remove it using a paper clicp.
Straighten the paper clip and insert it into the hole in the drive door. Push the paper clip into the drive until the door opens up. Remove the disc and close the drive.

You can remove the DVD drive from the laptop and take a closer look inside the tray. It’s possible that you have a foreign object stuck inside the drive preventing it from opening.

The laptop optical drive (CD/DVD drive) light flashing constantly. The optical drive will not read CD or DVD discs. In some cases you cannot even open the drive.

Possible cause:

1. Bad connection between optical dive and motherboard.
2. Optical drive failure.
3. Motherboard failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Try reconnecting the optical drive. Remove it from the laptop and plug it back in. It’s possible that the optical drive doesn’t make good connection with the motheboard and reconnecting the drive will fix the problem.

2. If reconnecting the drive doens’t fix the problem, most likely this it the drive failure. Replace the optical drive with a new one.

3. It’s not liley but ther is a chance that you have a problem with the motherboard. The optical drive contoller could be bad. If that’s the case, the whole motherboard has to be replaced.

Alternatively, you can use an external USB optical drive.

The laptop optical drive has disappeared from My Computer. You can see that the hard drive is still in there but not the optical drive. When you insert a CD or DVD disc into the optical drive, nothing happens.

Possible cause:

1. Software related problem.
2. Failed optical drive.
3. Problem with motherboard.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

First of all, test if the optical drive works on the BIOS level. You can test the drive with any bootable CD or DVD, for example Windows installation CD, laptop recovery disc, live Linux CD, etc…
Try booting the laptop from the bootable CD or DVD disc. If the laptop boots from the disc, it means the optical drive functioning properly and your problem is software related. You can try this trick. If it doesn’t work, try reinstalling the operating system from scratch.

If the optical drive doesn’t work on the BIOS level, most likely the drive is bad and has to be replaced. Before you replace the optical drive, try reconnecting it to the motherboard. Just in case, to make sure it’s not a connection related problem.

If reinstalling the operating system and replacing the optical drive still doesn’t fix the problem, you have a faulty motherboard. Apparently the drive controller is bad and the motherboard has to be replaced.

Alternatively, you can buy an external USB optical drive and use it instead of the internal drive.

The laptop optical drive makes a very louse noise playing a CD or DVD disc.

Possible cause:

1. Bad CD or DVD disc.
2. Optical drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Make sure the noise is comming from the optical drive and it’s not the hard drive or cooling fan noise.

2. Test your laptop with different CD and DVD discs. If the drive makes noise with one particular disc, most likley the disc is bad and there is nothing wrong with the optical drive. Apparenlty the disc is defective and out of balance.

3. If the optical drive makes loud noise with all CDs and DVDs, you have a faulti drive. In this case the optical drive has to be replaced.

As an alternative, you can purchase an external USB optical drive and use it instead of the internal optical drive.

The laptop cannot read CD or DVD disc. It can see files on a CD disc but not DVD disc or vice versa. You tried a few different CDs or DVDs but same problem occurs.

Possible cause:

CD/DVD drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

If the laptop stopped reading CD discs or DVD discs, most likely you have a faulty optical drive.

If the laptop stopped reading both CDs and DVDs, it’s possible that you have software related problem. Try reinstalling the operating system.

But if all CD discs work just fine but not DVD discs or vice versa, most likely it’s the optical drive failure. You’ll have to replace the optical drive.

Alternatively, you can use an external USB optical drive. You plug the drive into the USB port in your laptop and use it same way as the internal drive.