The Avolites Discussion Forum

Hi not sure if this is a simple fix or not.

I have an ex-demo Pearl Expert but cant get the CD Drive to open. I press the eject button and it attempts to open but no joy, tried the old paperclip trick too but no luck. If the drive is knacked is it as simple as just replacing it with any new CD drive?

Cheers Luke

Yeah, simply replacing it with another standard drive should be possible.

If you're lucky, just someone inserted a too long screw, or the power cord went of (but thenthe paperclip would work...). So: does the drive attempt to open at all, LED's blinking? Or just nothing?

Additionally, with a little tweaking, you might put the CD image onto a bootable USB stick and boot from there - no need for a CD in that case at all.

Yes it tries to open ie the LED light blinks but then nothing. I know I dont really need the drive but would rather I had a fully operational desk just for peace of mind.

Luke

Fully agreed. So, replacement would be the option (you have to undo the screws anyway - you might try this at first)

Ok. Ive got some free time tomorrow so will check it out before purchasing a new drive.

So Ive managed to get the drive open today. Tried a thicker paperclip and it worked ok. Inside I found a recovery CD. The drawer then closes properly but still wont open wihtout the paperclip trick. Guessing that the drive is totally knackered.

Sometimes the front can get a bit glued up from drinks but if it is dead then a standard DVD/RW IDE drive is the direct replacement. If it is difficult to get an IDE drive then I can't see any reason why a SATA won't work but please check with service first if this is what you want to do.