Matsh!ta UJ-832D Problems with Sony Vaio VGN-TX1XP

I have had the Sony Vaio VGN-TX1XP for over 2 years, and until very recently had no problems reading/writing DVDs/CDs of any kind.

Now however, it fails to read any type of disc, including audio CDs, DVD films, CD-ROMS, writable DVD media.

Extra info:
- The drive appears in My Computer
- Whenever a disc is inserted (or when the computer starts up - without a disc), mechanical noises can be heard from the disc drive, which cycle 3 times.
- Firmware is 1.61 and there is no newer version on Vaio Update.

Could anyone offer any advice/help with this problem. Is there a solution that does not involve me buying a replacement disc drive?

Many thanks,

 

Assuming your drive is of the tray-loading type, you should be able to visually inspect the lens for dirt and dust. Try following one of the guides available online (Google is your friend here!) to clean your drive's lens. If there is visible dust/dirt on the lens, it's almost certainly the culprit. But sometimes the dirt causing the problem is so tiny it's virtually invisible, so it's worth a clean anyway even if you can't see anything wrong. Be careful, obviously, but I can't see you've got much to lose if your drive isn't reading anything at all!

 

Thanks for the reply.

I tried cleaning the lens as instructed on a number of websites. Unfortunately, there is no improvement and the drive still fails to read discs.

I also tried uninstalling the drivers and allowing them to autmatically reinstall upon restart. No improvement.

Any further ideas?