Although DVDs are already becoming obsolete, they are still available on many computers and laptops. Many people have a licensed Windows system that is stored on a disk and requires a DVD drive (although it can be installed from it). Therefore, I want to consider in this article how you can clean the DVD drive in your computer or laptop yourself, using simple tools.

I have been using the method described below for many years and it has proven to be very effective.

The reason that the DVD drive began to work poorly, does not read discs or does so intermittently, most often is dust getting on the laser lens. This is what we will clean.

Required tools:

• Philips screwdriver (cross);
• A regular paperclip (it needs to be bent);
• Cotton swab or swab.

Tools

How to clean your computer's DVD drive

First, remove the DVD drive from the computer. You don't need to do this on a laptop.

Turn it upside down and unscrew the 4 screws that secure the lid.

Unscrew the screws

Very carefully remove the lid and set aside. We will see a board with electronic components.

Bottom of DVD-ROM

Now we place the drive so that its front panel faces us. We insert our straightened paper clip into the small hole intended for emergency opening of the drive tray. Feel free to press on the paper clip until the tray comes out of its place a little.

We press here with a paper clip

We manually pull out the tray to about half its length. Now remove the front plastic panel. To do this, you can press the side latches with a screwdriver.

Side bezel latches

Removing the panel

Now turn the drive over with the cover down and carefully remove it from there.

Let's get it DVD drive from the lid

Now you can see the very laser lens that needs to be cleaned. Look at it carefully. Most likely you will find small hairs or dust on it.

Do not try to remove dirt with your hands. There may be greasy stains that will be difficult to remove.

Take a cotton swab and lightly brush the dirt off the lens. There is no need to polish the lens, just remove dust and hair.

Cleaning the lens with a cotton swab

You often come across the fact that a previously perfectly playable disc suddenly stops loading or the files loaded on it simply do not open, although the drive seems to have detected their presence. What happened in this situation? Is the drive broken or is it time to throw this disc in the trash? There are several ways to try to solve this problem yourself without drastic measures to replace the drive or remove the disk itself from use.

1. To determine whether the drive is the cause or not, you need to try playing several discs using it. And if he doesn’t read only a specific version, then it’s not his fault. If the situation repeats when discs stop reading or are problematic to play, then this is a problem with the drive.
2. In the case of a problem disk, you must first clean it of dirt. There are many means for cleaning them, but from experience we can say that there is no point in spending money on any liquids - discs can be easily treated in warm water and soap. After this procedure, they must be blotted with a well-absorbing towel and allowed to dry before placing them in the drive again.
3. In the case of a dirty laser read head of the drive, you can get by with purchasing a special “cleaning disk”. Or you can remove the drive from the computer and disconnect the protective cover by moving it backwards and upwards. Then you need to use something thin but strong, for example, a pin on the front panel through the hole, to press the latch and open the tray that blocks access to the lens by pressing on it. It is necessary to blow off large dust from the surface of the lens using a can of compressed air or even an ordinary blower, but in no case with your mouth. The pear must be without talc inside, otherwise everything will become even worse. Using a brush and lens cleaning liquid, you need to rinse the lens thoroughly, making light movements that do not press on it at all. After this, the lens should dry, and to prevent dust from getting on it again, it is better to cover it with something during the drying period. If plaque forms after drying, it must be removed with a dry soft brush. After this comes the process of assembling the drive.

The disc itself may not only be dirty, but also severely scratched, which also affects the ease of playback. It is possible to restore its surface by polishing. With large and deep scratches, it is unlikely that anything will work out, but if there are a lot of thread-like damage on it, this option can be “cured.”

The simplest method requires clean rags and goyim paste. The disc must be well wetted with water and a little paste applied to it, which must be spread evenly over the entire surface of the disc. Then, using a rag, you need to polish from the center of the disk to the edges until the paste simply disappears. The number of such processes will depend on the state of the disk after each stage. As soon as the disappearance of the most conspicuous scratches is noted, the disc can be considered to be polished. After polishing, the disc should be rinsed thoroughly, blotted and allowed to dry. After this, you can try to play back the recording.

And at the end, a little advice. If you need to download a driver for your printer, scanner, modem or laptop, you can always do it on the website www.hwdrivers.com or www.driver.biz.ua.

Related articles.

If your DVD disc cannot be read on a computer or DVD player, then most likely the electronic media just needs to be cleaned. There are several ways to remove traces of dirt that are interfering with playback, all of which require extreme care.

Instructions

To clean a DVD from dust, wipe it with a soft cloth made from natural materials. At the same time, direct your movement from the center of the disk to the edge along the radius, and not in the opposite order. It is not recommended to wipe the surface of the disc in a circle, since circular damage is much more difficult to get rid of.

Try blowing off dust from the surface of the electronic media using a special can, sold for this purpose in computer stores. Direct the air stream from the can parallel to the surface of the disc and wait until there is no trace of dust left.

To remove fingerprints from the surface dvd disk or any other contamination, moisten a piece of soft cloth with ethyl or isopropyl alcohol, then wipe the electronic media dry using radial movements.

To clean your DVD disc more thoroughly, wet its surface with water, soap your hands and gently apply soap suds to the shiny side, then rinse carefully with water and blot with a cloth that easily absorbs moisture, such as a soft terry towel. Do not dry the disc with a hairdryer, as this may damage it.

Use glass cleaning liquid by applying it to a soft cloth and wiping the surface of the disc in a radial direction. Or dip the DVD media in such a solution and leave it in it for 5-7 minutes, and then wipe the disc dry with a piece of soft cloth made of natural material.

Please note that solvents such as acetone, gasoline, kerosene, and other mixtures that contain petroleum products are absolutely not suitable for cleaning discs. They can cloud the surface of a DVD disc, making the electronic media unsuitable for further use. Only alcohol-based solvents should be used.

Tip added February 16, 2012 Tip 2: How to clean a CD CDs are used, in particular, for long-term storage and transfer of computer files. The more actively CD media are used, the more urgent the task of periodic surface cleaning becomes. To solve it, you can use both special industrial kits and improvised means. In addition, cleaning disks does not always mean their surface; sometimes we are talking about their contents.

Instructions

Buy a special optical disc care kit that includes necessary components for cleaning the surface of CD/DVD media. As a rule, the package contains a bottle with a special liquid and a sponge or a set of disposable wipes. In addition to them, the set may also include a can, which allows, in the most literal sense of the expression, to “blow away specks of dust” from the tracks of an optical disc. Moreover, the basis of some kits is automatic device, into which you need to fill the supplied consumables and place optical disk, and the device will carry out the cleaning procedure itself without your participation. The simplest of the kits contains a certain amount of disposable napkins soaked in a special liquid.

Find a soft, lint-free cotton napkin if purchasing a special set is not possible. You can use ordinary water as a cleaning liquid. Glass cleaner will also work.

If the kit is intended for manual cleaning of optical discs, do it with movements from the center to the edge - the likelihood of causing mechanical damage with circular movements is much higher. After completing the procedure, the CD should be dry. If you used special materials from the purchased set, the liquid will evaporate from the surface on its own. Otherwise, use a dry cotton cloth to wipe the disc using the same radial movements.

Use an optical disc burning application if it is not the surface of the CD that needs cleaning, but its contents. But first you should find out whether such an operation is possible in principle. A prerequisite is that your computer has a CD/DVD burner drive. In addition, the CD itself must be reusable. If the CD marking contains the letter W, then this condition is met. Another possible obstacle is that if during the previous recording of data to the disk it was “finalized” (the corresponding mark was set in the recording settings), then no changes to its contents are now possible.

With one of the latest versions operating systems (for example, Windows 7 or Windows Vista) use its own components to clean up the disk directory. Load the CD into the drive, launch Explorer and right-click the optical drive icon. In the context menu, select the “Format” line and a window with disk cleanup settings will appear on the screen. It is not necessary to change anything in the default settings; click the “Start” button and the CD formatting process will start.

Sources

• how to free a cd

How to Clean a CD - Printable Version

To be able to rewrite data on a DVD, you must have a DVD writer (DVD+RW format) installed on your computer. In modern laptops and computers of the latest configuration, as a rule, such DVD-roms are already included in the equipment package.

There are two types of DVD discs - rewritable (RW) and non-rewritable (R). In the first case, you can use the drive several times, deleting and writing new data to it again; in the second option, information can be written to the disk only once. In our case, we need DVD RW. Before writing new information to a disk with data already on it, you must delete the old data (format the disk). This can be done using a special software, or installed on your computer using your own means operating system.

How to delete information from a disc - DVD+RW or CD+RW

If your computer has Windows XP or earlier versions of the operating system installed Windows systems, then it is best to use special programs. For example, which is one of the most popular among PC users. It allows you not only to clear the disk of old information, but also to write new data to it. The program is especially popular because, in addition to stable operation, it also has a very convenient and visual interface.

Download installation file You can download Nero software for free online and then install it on your PC by following the installer's step-by-step instructions. After this, it is best to restart the computer, then insert into the DVD drive required disk and use the desktop shortcut to launch Nero Start Smart.

In the main menu of the program window that opens, find the “Advanced” function and click on it. In response to this, a dialog box will open in which you need to click on "Erase DVD", thereby activating the “Program Operation Wizard”. The wizard will display prompts on the screen, using which you can clear the disk of unnecessary information. Once the disk is successfully formatted, a notification will appear on the monitor screen.

Use built-in disk cleaning programs

The Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems have intuitive and stable built-in capabilities for formatting DVDs. After the system independently detects the disk installed in the drive, a dialog box will appear on the monitor screen in which you need to click on the “Burn files to disk” function. In the new window that opens, you need to select the disk name, then click on “Show formatting options” to set the parameters for future recording to the disk. If the new information will consist of files of the same type (for example, movies or music), then you need to select the Mastered option so that the disc can be read well by the equipment that plays these files. To collect files on one disk various types It's better to choose LFS. Having specified the desired parameter, click on the “Next” button. In response to this, the formatting process will automatically start, after which a corresponding message will appear on the monitor screen.

Useful video

We have prepared a video especially for you on how to clear data from a CD/DVD disk:

A regularly used CD-ROM or DVD drive likes to collect dust and other “unnecessary things”. If you are looking for a way to effectively clean disk reader without having to take your computer apart, here are the instructions.

When the CD-ROM drive needs cleaning

The most obvious signal is when your DVD drive is failing work fine. This can be caused by many things, but disk cleanup may I help.

Another sign is when your computer has Difficulty reading discs. The third signal is strange sound when the drive tries to open the disc or even during extension and retraction.

Another sign is when used the disk twitches(although then it could be the disk's fault). These are just the most common symptoms.

The general conclusion is this: if your CD-ROM/DVD is not working, clean it. If this does not help, try cleaning it again, and if this does not help, the drive is probably faulty and you should replace it with a new one or send the existing one for repair.

What you need to clean the drive

Of course, do not use the blowing method. Your breath contains a lot of moisture, which can cause even more damage, including irreversible destruction of the drive.

How to prepare the drive for cleaning

Turn on the computer and remove the partition holding the disk. Then turn off the computer again, leaving the partition open. Remove the disc from the drive if it was in the computer.

How to clean a DVD drive

Insert the “straw” into the hole of the can of compressed air. If you have a laptop, place it on the edge of the table with the CD-ROM/DVD compartment hanging in the air.

Hold the can of air perpendicular to the floor (i.e. upright) and be careful not to pump it, as the gas it contains may damage your CD-ROM/DVD. Insert the straw into the drive connector and lightly press the air release button from the can.

Repeat the procedure two or three times, and then turn on the computer and see if the drive works.

What to do if this does not lead to the desired result

Some instructional videos or web pages recommend removing the drive completely from the computer. Do not do that. In many cases, performing this operation may cost you the warranty, and even if not, it may damage the drive.

what can you do

Call a service technician or bring your computer in for service. You can also contact the manufacturer and ask for advice. If your computer is under warranty, then, of course, you have a phone number written down that you should call in such cases.

A few tips for cleaning the drive

The CD-ROM/DVD drive is a very delicate part of the computer that requires good care. You can clean it before alarm signals appear.

Use compressed air carefully and responsibly to avoid damaging your computer. When you empty the container, do not throw it in the trash. Compressed air cans often contain toxic substances, so we must dispose of them in special waste containers that represent