How to Troubleshoot a CD Player That Won't Work on a Laptop

Troubleshooting a CD player in a laptop can be done easily.

Laptops have become major media centers for many computer users. People use computers to store movies, photos, music and video games and they take them almost everywhere they go. A laptop's CD or DVD player can go through a lot of wear and tear as a result and start experiencing problems. You can quickly troubleshoot a malfunctioning laptop CD player, but the repairs might require professional assistance.

Instructions

1. Examine the CD that you're trying to play. If the CD is scratched, damaged, or not burned properly, the disc may not play and the fault is with the disc and not the player. Try playing a different CD.

2. Eject the tray for the CD player if you are able to. If the tray is stuck, try to eject the disc using the software on your computer's media player. If that fails, try ejecting it manually by pushing the button on the side of the drive.

3. Restart the computer and see if that affects the performance of the CD player. If the CD player hasn't been opening, hit the eject button again immediately on the reboot and that may pop it open.

4. Turn off the computer and unplug it. Take a paperclip and straighten it so you can insert it into the reset pinhole on the drive. This should force the drive open if nothing else is working.

5. Inspect the drive itself to make sure nothing is loose. An internal drive should be mounted with 4 screws. If the screws come loose, the drive can vibrate, be excessively noisy and not work properly.

6. Check your speakers. It's possible that the CD player could be playing the CD but the speakers are not functioning properly.

7. Check your computer to see if it registers a disc is present. If it isn't reading the disc at all, you probably need to get the player serviced.

References

• MakeUseOf.com: How To Repair Damaged CD's Or DVD's & Recover Data
• Fonerbooks: DVD and CD Repair with Diagnostic Flowcharts