We’ve all been there, one day you decide to install an old piece of software or maybe a game. The downside is that you’ve only a physical copy on a disc, so you pop open that DVD ROM that’s been sitting there unnoticed and whats this, the drive fails to open. You’re now baffled. After tapping the button several times it still fails to function.

Another situation is that you successfully installed the software or watched the video you wanted. Maybe even you burned the files you wanted to share with your friends, but this time, the drive doesn’t eject, and it’s got the DVD in it. Oh no! Don’t you worry, there is a good chance that your drive is still functioning properly, and just needs a few forced methods to start working as it should. However, it is possible that the drive is permanently damaged, in which case you should get it replaced. What ever has happened, we’ll show you how to fix or diagnose it. Keep reading.

NOTE: The very first thing you need to check, is your drive even getting power? This should be determinable by the blinking LED during the boot of your PC. If it isn’t blinking or turning on, then check to see if the cables inside your PC case are properly connected. This tutorial doesn’t apply to you if your drive is physically working but doesn’t show the name/program in Windows that is on the disc.

Software Issues

We’ll start off diagnosing the problem, the very first thing you want to do is go ahead and restart your computer. While its still booting up, try to eject the drive using its eject button. If it still doesn’t budge then you can be sure that there isn’t any software on the PC that is causing the problem. If however, you CAN operate the drive when Windows hasn’t loaded yet, then the cause is a software, commonly a CD/DVD burning software. These usually take control of the drive and stop it from ejecting. Try completely stopping the program or even uninstalling it to be sure. Contact the developer for assistance, or ask their support staff.

Faulty Button

Alright, once you’re satisfied that there’s no software on your PC that could be causing this, you need to make sure that your CD/DVD drive’s button is physically even working as it should. To check this try ejecting the drive using the button, if it fails, go to “My Computer” and right click on the desired CD/DVD Drive, then select eject. This should pop it open if your drive’s button is faulty. If it does, you need to get it either fixed or replaced.

 

Physically Stuck

It is possible that your CD/DVD drive got stuck because of the gears in itself or, it is possible that the last disc you inserted got some how jammed in there. Only one way to find out. This is a hardware level ‘fix’ so you’re gonna need the following stuff:

• A Computer, powered on. (duh, of course you already have this)
• An unfolded paper clip

Now, unfold the paper clip such that you can use one of its ends independently, insert it gently into the small hole on the side of the drive’s button. In the image you can see that there is a small hole on the right of the button, on the left is the LED.

 

Insert the pin until you feel a resistance, then gently continue to push until you hear a click. Do NOT force the paper clip into the hole, it should be fairly easy to do. You’ll know you’ve succeeded when you hear a ‘click’ and the drive tray pops out. Now try using the button to eject and inject it. If it starts working perfectly then you’re good to go. However if you had a CD/DVD inserted and the drive doesn’t pop out or pops out only slightly (in this case try to manually pull it out using your fingers), then you’ll need to take it to a local repair shop unless you know how to unscrew and disassemble the drive.

Well, those were the 3 ways using which you can diagnose (and hopefully fix) your DVD ROM being stuck. If you found this helpful, considering sharing. If you’re still having problems, or have something to ask/suggest, then leave a comment below. Until next time, See Ya!