My grandmother recently bought a used IBM ThinkPad, circa 1995. It works well, except that the CD-ROM door won’t stay closed. It springs back open immediately. The CD-ROM still functions, but if you’re installing a program, you must manually hold the door shut. The open/close button seems inoperable.
I lifted the keyboard and removed the drive, per the instructions in the manual, to see if I could visually identify the problem, but couldn’t see a latch or anything like that which appeared broken.
Does anyone know a way (besides the Scotch Tape I’m currently using) to fix it so it will stay closed? If not, would it be better to have it fixed, or just purchase a new one?
If the open/close button doesnt work, then more than likely, it is your problem. It might be permanantly stuck in the “on” position which is why it keeps wanting to pop open. I dont know what you can do about it if I am right other than finding a way to disconnect that part (switch/button) from the actual drive and use a software eject to open and close the drive. More often than not the button switch is hardwired into the drive so you can t just snip a wire to disconnect it. sorry I cant be of more help.
look at the swicth to see if its stuck and see if you can unstuck it.
I did try this, but the button just seems “loose.” It’s staying ina depressed position, but when I took the drive out, and tilted it downward, it slid back out.
What usually keeps a drive closed? Is it magnetic, or is there a latch which may be broken off? When pushed in, it doesn’t seem to “connect” at all.
Well, if it can’t be easily fixed by me, which solution is best, financially speaking: should I attempt to have it repaired by a professional, or just buy a new one?
You could try ebay.com & get a used cdrom drive, otherwise Scotch Tape, or maybe electrical Tape seems fine to me. After all, it’s pretty old for a laptop.
There are several contact switches that can get dirty and cause this. The drive doesn’t sense that the drawer has closed and opens again as a default action. The link below has info on fixing CD-drives, but if you’re not handy, it’s replacement time.
