Just noticed today that my DVD drive doesn't seem to be reading discs...I can still right-click on it to eject and it sounds like it spins up when the disc is put in, but it won't read - I've tried material burned onto DVD-R, CDR, original DVDs, etc. My Computer gives up without spitting an error message and just says "DVD Drive" like there isn't even a disc in it. I can't remember the last time I used it and it worked, but I think it was still working last month. Sure enough, for a Dell Outlet system, the warranty expired end of January...

Any idea of a fix (does it need to be cleaned?) or does it sound like it needs to be replaced ($25ish from newegg?)

seems like the lens need cleaning. do you have any of those cd cleaning kits? sometimes using an air dust blower helps a bit (opening the tray and squirting air into the drive), but i found out that only solves in temporarily. my lite-on dvd drive has been like that for quite some time.

//krunk (^_^x)