help with laptop dvd drive

[douchebagsean]

I tried loading in a dvd into my laptop dvd rom drive today and not only did it not read the disc, i cant even access the drive. when i go to the my computer icon (im running a pc, not mac) i can only access the hard drive etc...anyone know if i can remedy this without having to buy a new drive?

[RAAMONE]

I tried loading in a dvd into my laptop dvd rom drive today and not only did it not read the disc, i cant even access the drive. when i go to the my computer icon (im running a pc, not mac) i can only access the hard drive etc...anyone know if i can remedy this without having to buy a new drive?

this also happened to me...one day my drive didnt work and like a week later all my usb ports stopped working...i called dell but didnt get anything cause my warranty was up...so this advice would be helpful

[MadMatt]

If your drive is removable, pop it out of the machine then pop it back in - the connection to the machine may have come loose. Re-seating your drive may just be the ticket.

If that doesn't help, go to Control Panel --> System --> 'Hardware' Tab --> Device Manager
If the DVD drive is listed in the "tree" you can uninstall it then restart your system. If there isn't a major problem your computer should detect the "new hardware" and automatically reinstall the drive. You may need to update your driver afterwards, but you should have basic functionality.

If neither of those work, you probably have bigger problems and may need tech support. What make and model is your system?