help. DVD drive is not physically reading discs

[Nihilanth1982]

whenever i insert a disc into my drive i can hear the activity inside before it generally spins/wooshes and then stops and a popup shows showing what action to take (play dvd, cd, install game etc).

i had no problems whatsoever when playing dvds.

but when playing games i noticed that sometimes my dvd drive would disappear from my computer and upon restarting it's there again and functioning.

but now, strangely enough after completing gta3 and putting in vice city, the dvd drive won't physically read the disc. there's no activity, no woosh. there's an initial reading but then it stops like it gives up. i tried uninstalling/restarting, and disabling/enabling. no luck. i think its a physical problem.

might it be the lens or the drive itself? i bought this drive to replace my older drive which lasted me over 3 years. this one's 7 months old and i'm abit miffed its stopped working now unless there's something i can do before going to the computer shop and see what they think?

anyone?

[Ryan]

Assuming you're talking about a desktop PC, a new DVD drive is only like $20. Would be easier to just get a new one and pop it in your computer than to try and fix the current one.

[Nihilanth1982]

i have a laptop.

 

the dvd drive is still in warranty so have contacted the online seller about it, hopefully i'll get a replacement.

 

but how do i know if it's just a dirty lens or if its something else? i tried dabbing on the lens gently with the cloth you use for glasses, no luck.

 

it sounds like it gives up, it doesn't give off those little beep noises followed by the woosh. i tried other discs and same story. tried restarting, disabling/re-enabling/uninstalling and restarting, no luck.

[Nihilanth1982]

for some reason it seems to read CDs fine, but not DVDs etc?