Broke my Cd-Drive Fix/replace?

[KittyExclaims]

This is a PURELY physical problem - up until I dropped my laptop on it's side on a table the other day, my DVD/CD drive read disks beautifully.

It opens and shuts smoothly and fine, but when I try and start up sims or play a DVD, it says there is no disk. I restarted my computer, and it is not responding accordingly. I will attempt this again, but first I would like to know if fixing it without replacing is even possible. I examined the disk holder bit and nothing seems crooked or broken. If it's misaligned, how do I tell?

If I can't figure out how to fix the damn thing, how would I go about ordering a new part?

The laptop is a Gateway M-1626 with a AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-60 with 2.00 GHz. 32 bit processor and 4GB of ram

 

[brucethetech]

with most laptops the type of connection to thte board is via one plug affixed to the back of the drive (not like a desktop with power and then data) so if you're getting power to open the drive you probably have the connection you need. The lens that reads the disc is probably broken or way off line. Surely someone has a broken one of those laptops that you can get the drive pretty cheap used off ebay

 

[Jawshh]

See if you can find something wrong with the laser in the drive. Get it plugged well. And if it doesnt work, try replacing the laser.

 

[Tedster]

replace it. DVD/CD drives are dirt cheap and even cheaper used on places like ebay

 

[captaincranky]

See if you can find something wrong with the laser in the drive. Get it plugged well. And if it doesnt work, try replacing the laser.

Are we recommending bench repairing 25 dollar drives now? That's ridiculous.

 

[raybay]

Even a very small impact can put an optical drive out of commission.
Laptop optical drives can cost a lot more than a desktop drive, but it is possible to buy such drives cheaply... and just replace the external plug and guide rails to end up with a find laptop optical drive for under $37. Just watch the dimensions to be sure the rails and plug will fit.