This problem isn’t very technical, but it does relate to my computer.
My CD drive doesn’t seem to want to open, even when I push the button. I’m not certain why. It sounds like things are moving inside but it just doesn’t come through. I’m not stupid enough to try and pry it open or something.
If it’s just gotten dirt in a joint or something, what would be the preferable way to clean it without messing things up? If not, what else might cause it to stick?
You can open it up, its really hard to break. The drive is just a motor, a laser, a control board, and a bunch of gears for the door. Its probably the most simple thing in your computer. The only thing you could really do wrong is hurt the laser, but a CD diode is the widest and biggest there is, so you would REALLY have to run your nails across the laser the fuck it up.
Just remove the drive, open it up, and clean out the gears, or whatever is making it sticky.
Actually, if you what you hear sounds like a motor rotating, the problem is likely very simple. Usually, after having it for a long time, the elastic band that connects the motor and the gear that opens the drive will stretch a bit, so when the motor rotates, the band will just slide without friction and it won’t open. You just need to open it, check the band’s tightness (It should be pretty darn tight if it’s okay) and replace it if needed. Relax, I’ve taken my drives apart a hundred times without knowing the first thing about anything. As long as you don’t sledgehammer the innards or anything like that, it’ll be fine.
You may have a problem though, some drives are made in such a way that if you don’t first open the CD holder, you won’t be able to take it apart correctly. If this is your case there is a failsafe for when the holder won’t come out: Unless it was made in mars or something, there should be a tiny-ass hole somewhere in front. Get something like a stick, a needle or anything remotely strong and somewhat long that fits in there and stick it in. Prod around with it while using a moderate amount of force (Don’t be afraid to put a little umph into it) and you’ll eventually press onto something that’ll automatically unlock the holder a bit so you can slide it open manually.
If it’s something else, just send it to someone who knows what the hell he’s doing.