One day while using my laptop I go to put in a cd and all is normal at first. I click on my computer to get to the cd drive and the mouse is loading. Then nothing happens. I click it and it says please insert a disk and ejects the one currently in it. I'll put it in and it's like nope, that's not a disk, you twerp. This is the same for every cd/dvd, blank or not. I've reformatted recently(after it broke) and it didn't change anything, nor does runnning ubuntu. I still have warranty on it and can probably have them come replace it, but that's a pain, so is there anything I can do that might fix it? Also I only have ubuntu now since I reformatted and installed ubuntu from a usb, and the windows 7 cd is well, a cd so I can't boot from it to install it. I miss my windows

tl;dr cd/dvd drive isn't reading cd/dvds blank or not. I still have warranty but calling dell and having them fix it is a pain. Also I'm on ubuntu. wat do

try plugging in a different IDE cable into it.
if it doesnt work, then yeah, somethings probably broken.
it still opens and is trying to read something, but cant tell if theres anything there. the lense might have some dust on it or something, but its not likely.

IDE cable? I opened up the laptop and there's more plastic I would have to remove to get to it. I would have, but I don't even have the right size screw driver, it's bigger and I have to angle it and push hard for it to turn the screws I could get to, and to go any further the screws are in a deep hole :/ It's a slot load drive, btw.

oh, laptop... missed that.
yeah, prolly broken. try a general pc shop and see what they say.

Didn't occur to me it could just be dusty, it started out by being picky about which disks it would read and I was just like w/e fine, I'll use this here other disk >.>. Dad has a cleaning disk so I'll try that first then have dell replace it. Thanks for the help

edit: lol just put in a cd that was once blank but I had burned some stuff to it. It seems to read these fine... maxell 700mb cds, My windows 7 dvd, though...

How old is the laptop? If its old then the laser inside it, which you have burned/read from has become old and needs replacing, and if you use if a lot, then it must of worn away.

just a quick question... does it have lightscribe? sometimes that messes up some registry thing and makes your cd drive not work.

happened to me and my uncle fixed it.

Ah, I forgot to update.

I used the cd cleaner for 20 seconds on track 2 which was just a beep then listened to half the song on track 3 and was like k, this should be good nuff. I put a cd in and it didn't see it. I was like ohwell, I'll just call dell sometime this week. Next day I turn the computer on and bam says there's a cd in there. I was like ocool, it worked.

tl;dr fixed now thanks to a cleaning cd.

thanks for the help y'all