Why won't CD drives eject?

[davidu]

My CD drives have become balky and do not want to "eject" (open the tray).
They both still light up and both also show up on "My Computer." If I push
the button, there are faint "thunks" as if the motor wants to work but stalls
then reverses after a few seconds, and the CD light then blinks a few times.
Occasionally the CD-R drive will eject though. Basically get the same result
if I right click on the drive icon then click "Eject." What would cause
this and how can i fix it?

The drives have had very little use in the past year or so. The PC is a
Dell 2400 with Win XP and the drives came installed in it. CD-R is a SAMSUNG
CD-ROM SC-148C and the CD-RW is a [?-not displayed under "Hardware
Resources"] 48X/24x/48x drive.

 

[devil_himself]

My CD drives have become balky and do not want to "eject" (open the tray).
They both still light up and both also show up on "My Computer." If I push
the button, there are faint "thunks" as if the motor wants to work but stalls
then reverses after a few seconds, and the CD light then blinks a few times.
Occasionally the CD-R drive will eject though. Basically get the same result
if I right click on the drive icon then click "Eject." What would cause
this and how can i fix it?

The drives have had very little use in the past year or so. The PC is a
Dell 2400 with Win XP and the drives came installed in it. CD-R is a SAMSUNG
CD-ROM SC-148C and the CD-RW is a [?-not displayed under "Hardware
Resources"] 48X/24x/48x drive.

Check The IDE Cable To The Cd Drive

 

[windmap]

Get into BIOS then try to eject the CD Drive.If this problem occurs in BIOS
also then its a CD drive Mechanical problem.If not could be software issue.

 

[Mrosen7542]

Hi, davidu. I've always had what might be the same problem that you have with one of my drives. You can hear it trying to open then it stops because it's jamming. Probably a drive belt in my case. I never bothered to fix it because I can use my other drive for everything (cd/dvd writer). It would probably be easy to fix except that getting to the drive physically to repair it is difficult, at least with the way that my machine is designed (HP250n). Good luck!

 

[Poprivet`]

Get into BIOS then try to eject the CD Drive.If this
problem occurs in BIOS also then its a CD drive
Mechanical problem.If not could be software issue.
message

I have never seen a BIOS that allowed you to eject the
CD from the BIOS. Can you clarify what you mean there?
I don't think it's normally possibl eto do so from
within the BIOS windows.

Pop`

My CD drives have become balky and do not want to
"eject" (open the tray). They both still light up
and
both also show up on "My Computer." If I push
the button, there are faint "thunks" as if the motor
wants to work but stalls
then reverses after a few seconds, and the CD light
then
blinks a few times.
Occasionally the CD-R drive will eject though.
Basically get the same result
if I right click on the drive icon then click
"Eject." What would cause this and how can i fix
it?

The drives have had very little use in the past year
or
so. The PC is a Dell 2400 with Win XP and the
drives
came installed in it. CD-R is a SAMSUNG
CD-ROM SC-148C and the CD-RW is a [?-not displayed
under
"Hardware Resources"] 48X/24x/48x drive.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have never seen a BIOS that allowed you to eject the
CD from the BIOS. Can you clarify what you mean there?
I don't think it's normally possibl eto do so from
within the BIOS windows.

I don't think Windmap means that the BIOS itself can be used to eject
the CD (You're quite right on this point). I think he's using the
"enter BIOS" trick just to keep power applied the the PC's components,
while keeping the OS, drivers, or other software out of the equation,
and testing just the CD drive, itself.

It's not a bad idea, really. Wish I'd thought of it.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[davidu]

My CD drives have become balky and do not want to "eject" (open the tray).
They both still light up and both also show up on "My Computer." If I push
the button, there are faint "thunks" as if the motor wants to work but stalls
then reverses after a few seconds, and the CD light then blinks a few times.
Occasionally the CD-R drive will eject though. Basically get the same result
if I right click on the drive icon then click "Eject." What would cause
this and how can i fix it?

The drives have had very little use in the past year or so. The PC is a
Dell 2400 with Win XP and the drives came installed in it. CD-R is a SAMSUNG
CD-ROM SC-148C and the CD-RW is a [?-not displayed under "Hardware
Resources"] 48X/24x/48x drive.

12/26 p.s.-- In case it wasn't obvious, I'm speaking about two different CD
drives. Checking the BIOS as suggested, I could see both drives; the CD-RW
is also a Samsung drive, model SW-248F.

As I said, their busy lights come on and they make some sounds so I never
considered a loose cable to be a cause; indeed they are tight. After a
reboot the drives still would not eject using the context menu. But by
using the pushbutton again, the CD-R drive did eject then later I was able to
get it to do the same using the menu. The CD-RW unit remained stubborn but
after more tries, the pushbotton method worked on it. too. After still more
tries, the menu method got it to eject. Now they both seem functional
again, at least usually or intermittently. Maybe they are just getting
"arthritic" with lack of regular use.

Thanks for the ideas so far. Does anyone have a better idea why the balky
behavior, and a likely cure?

 

[FrankFL]

My CD drives have become balky and do not want to "eject" (open the tray).
They both still light up and both also show up on "My Computer." If I push
the button, there are faint "thunks" as if the motor wants to work but stalls
then reverses after a few seconds, and the CD light then blinks a few times.
Occasionally the CD-R drive will eject though. Basically get the same result
if I right click on the drive icon then click "Eject." What would cause
this and how can i fix it?

The drives have had very little use in the past year or so. The PC is a
Dell 2400 with Win XP and the drives came installed in it. CD-R is a SAMSUNG
CD-ROM SC-148C and the CD-RW is a [?-not displayed under "Hardware
Resources"] 48X/24x/48x drive.

Cotton swabs, 91% isopropyl alcohol and compressed air.