W510 CD Drive Read Issues

[whirbeep]

On my W510, the CD drive will not read any media. It sounds like it's trying to spin up but then comes to a grinding halt and repeats this a few times before giving up. Though in My Computer it does show up as an Audio CD so it might be able to read a little bit.

Here's a recording of the sound
http://clyp.it/4kamfp4l

Is the drive able to be fixed?

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

First off, did the drive ever read a CD? If so, and it doesn't now, there's a couple of things you can try to see if it helps:

- Re-seat the optical drive. Ideally, with the system off, eject the drive and then push it back into the Ultrabay. You can usually eject the drive with the power on but doing it with the laptop off is safer.
- In this day and age, you should have at least a CD/DVD combo drive. Try a DVD and see what happens.
- If a DVD can't be read either, chances are there's a problem with the laser pickup. You can try cleaning the lens with a dry Q-Tip. If you open up the tray, the laser assembly is that (somewhat) clear plastic dome that is next to the hub. Don't put too much pressure on the lens; a couple of side-to-side sweeps should be enough to clean it.
- If a DVD can be read, then cleaning the lens could still help but there may be a problem related to the CD laser; DVDs are read by a separate laser.

If none of this helps, you could always replace the drive with another unit. If the system is still under warranty, I think this is a covered item. If not, then you can post a wanted ad here in this forum's Marketplace, peruse eBay or an online retailer.

[whirbeep]

After re-inserting the ultrabay CD/DVD drive along with gently cleaning the lens, I was able to get it to read a DVD and CD. So it looks like it worked!

My only concern is the loud similar noises it's making now, but it's more subtle, and as long as it's reading the disk I'm not too concerned.

Thank you rkawakami

[rkawakami]

Some of the noise could be the drive; some of it could be (gently) warped disks. The BIOS of the W510 may have a setting under Config/PowerCDROM Speed. Typically there's settings for High, Normal and Silent. This essentially equates to Fast, Normal, Slow. If it's set on High, lower it to Normal. If Normal, try Silent.