a DVD reader problem

So I have this ASUS DVD burner for about 3 years. I wanted to check my drives via administrative stuff in Windows 7 and guess what. It started making hitting noises (as in some kind of cracking). I can't open it, I can't shutdown Windows 7 properly because of it and it even doesn't light LED thingy. Worst issue? BC2 DVD is inside it. FUUUUUUU. Any ideas?

Attempt to open it by sticking something tiny in the little hole under the drive bay. Might require some fiddling, but unless the drive is royally screwed, the bay should pop open enough for you to manually pry it open the rest of the way.

Failing that, take it out, take it apart, attempt to rescue your BC2 disc, then buy a new one. They're less than half the price of a game like like BC2 these days.

exl said:

Attempt to open it by sticking something tiny in the little hole under the drive bay. Might require some fiddling, but unless the drive is royally screwed, the bay should pop open enough for you to manually pry it open the rest of the way.

Failing that, take it out, take it apart, attempt to rescue your BC2 disc, then buy a new one. They're less than half the price of a game like like BC2 these days.

Aha! There is an emergency hole on the drive. I'll definitely use it tomorrow (since I don't have time now) and let you know if I managed to successfully open the drive and if possible, safely rescue the disc (I doubt it). I HAD a cd burner crack a CD on me years ago for whatever reason.

When I was at Dell a guy called me and said his son's game CD shattered in the drive. He couldn't open it and he could hear the pieces rattling around. This is why they don't ever go faster than 52x methinks. That guy thought it was hilarious. He got a new drive for free and he didn't care one way or the other about his son's game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD_shattering

Basically, discs spin ridiculously fast. So fast that if the disc cannot withstand the force, or is too off-balance, it will shatter.

Its interesting seeing one spin when its off balance - they warp. Makes it look like a 3d sine wave.

Didnt mythbusters test cd/dvd shattering? Seem to recall them spinning one up to 50,000 rpms. heh.

Okay I managed to open the drive... in the normal way when I launched my pc (I HELD the eject button) and guess what. The disc was in perfect condition, in the good spot. THEN I do wonder what the hell was this clicking sound. Last thing I remember doing before clicking happened was using administrative tools to check the drives/partitions. Maybe it bug out during the check.