BleepingComputer.com: DVD drive not reading discs, clicking

Hi guys,

I have a 3 year-old Dell, and as I was burning some DVDs my drive suddenly stopped reading discs. I burned one successfully as usual, then when I went to burn another I got a message asking me to insert a writeable medium, which I had done.

I've tried updating everything and uninstalling the drive from the Device Manager and rebooting, which didn't work. I also get a soft but rapid clicking noise when I open the tray to load a DVD and when the drive is trying to read the disc, so I'm wonder if it could also be a hardware issue. This is my E: drive. My D: drive reads and plays DVDs and CDs just fine.

I just thought I'd check here to see if there were any software suggestions I missed before going the hardware route.

Thank you for your time.

Sounds like a bad drive to me. Particularly if it is clicking
Recommend replacing it

You might reseat the cables just in case