Laptop CD/DVD drive problems

Factual Questions
1

I have a Gateway laptop (a few years old) running Windows 7 and a few months ago my CD/DVD drive stopped working. It is recognized as an existing drive in “My Computer”, but I can’t access any of the media I put into it, regardless of format (store bought CD/DVD or homemade).

I did some web searching and tried a few of the general pieces of advice I found. Deleted some lines of Registry code, ran a Miscrosoft “fix-it” diagnostic program, checked for updated drivers etc.

Finally, I uninstalled iTunes and behold, the CD side of the drive works, but not the DVD side. I continued to search for helpful (free) advice/info, but had no luck.

I got the idea that maybe I could boot into safe mode, but it still doesn’t work. I then downloaded a copy of Ubuntu and booted that from a USB drive, completely bypassing Windows. I still have the same problem. CD works, but no DVD.

I’m all for wiping the computer and starting from scratch, but I can’t boot from my DVD drive and my only copy of Windows 7 is on DVD.

So, any advice (besides getting a new laptop)?

2

It sounds like bad hardware. DVD/CD-ROM drives are usually easy to replace in a laptop. Most likely one screw holding it in, remove that and it should slide out. Reverse the process to install the new one. Or, you could try cleaning the lens.

3

Like Marconi N. Cheese, I suspect a hardware issue, very probably a dirty lens. Combined CD/DVD drives tend to first lose the ability to read DVDs when contaminated, with CDs still working. Either replace the drive or, if you’re skilled enough, disassemble the drive, locate the lens and clean it with a cotton swab and alcohol. I’ve revived a number of drives/players this way in the past.