Hello Everyone! This is a work computer. Sometimes it will run a CD...sometimes not. The "auto run" will not work and then when I open to view the contents of the CD there are no items shown. However, I know this CD works because we have used it in this computer before. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Clean the CDROM's lens.

Thank you Badboy! Would you please explain how to properly do this? or, point me in the right direction to get information on how to clean the lens? I appreciate your assistance.

Try several different CDs that you know the CD drive can read (e.g. it is not a CD-R or CD-RW made on another computer CD drive, or a scratched CD). CD drives do not last forever, especially the faster ones. What often happens is the sleeve bearings (I have never seen or heard of one that has ball bearings)in the motor develop greater friction over time have and eventually a CD cannot spin fast enough, and it's logic board and/or Windows can't see it properly and can't read, or doesn't find at all, a CD in the drive. If Windows can't see a CD, assuming "auto run" is enabled, which is the deafault, of course "auto run" is not going to work. Eventually the motor will stop spinning altogether, it's bearings having seized up. Really old CD drives can last a long time in spite if that simply because they spin relatively slowly. You can easily check for no spin. This works whether or not the data cable is connected, as long as the power is connected to the drive and the power to it is on: Insert a CD that has markings or a label on it's top side in the tray, note it's position, close the tray - the led should come on for a bit - when the led goes out, eject the CD, note it's position. If the position is the same or close to it, the motor is not spinning the CD. You can re-try that several times to make sure. If you are in Windows, you can also try clicking on the CD drive icon to get it to attempt to access the CD. The led should come on, and if Windows can see the CD you will see it's contents displayed. If Windows says it is not accessable and you know the CD is in there right, and you know the CD drive can read it (e.g. it is not a CD-R or CD-RW made on another computer CD drive), the motor is not spinning or not spinning fast enough. Spinning too slowly is harder to diagnose. Clues could be the led stays on a lot longer than it normally does or did when you insert a CD or attempt to access it, if it spins it makes slight rattling sounds, etc. Otherwise outside influences can cause a CD to not be recognized. E.g. a failing PS supplying too much voltage, or a power surge or spike if what you are plugged into is not protected from that, can damage the drive's board. If the led never comes on, it is a given the board is shot. The led may come on, the drive may spin okay, but Windows may not be able to see the drive. Or the symptoms may be similar to those I suggested for a motor that does not spin fast enough. ....... A tip. Take out your CD's from the CD drives when you are not using the CD's! Your drive motor will last a lot longer if you do that! You have no doubt noticed that Windows spins up your CD drive, often while booting, and occaisionally even when you are not accessing it, and the led often comes on when it does that. What I found out while attempting to fix a drive, that I had the top cover off of it, that proved to be spinning too slow, is that in Win 9x and up, your drive is ALSO spinning at lower speeds much of the time, even when the led is NOT lit up! You can confirm this yourself. When the led is off: If it is quiet enough you can often hear the drive slowly spinning. Or you can often feel the slight vibration of it spinning if you place your hand on the case. Even if you can't hear it, you will find that sometimes when you press the eject button when the led is off, it does not eject right away - there is a short delay because it is spinning and has to be stopped from spinning first. CD drive manufacturers are very aware of this! This, and the greater speeds of more recent drives, is the very reason CD drives no longer have a warranty longer than a year! ........ Really old CD drives can sometimes flash their led at regular intervals, sometimes even if they have no CD in them - that is usually not an indication they are spinning, but it can be e.g. if a standard audio CD is in them.

The easiest way to clean the lens is to use a cleaning disc. You can get them many places. I got mine at Staples.

"....how to clean the lens?" You can get lens cleaner CD's at many places that sell CD drives of any sort, or even at dollar stores. They simply have a tiny brush glued to them. Sometimes they come with a tiny bottle of cleaning fluid as well. You access you cd drive a few times with it inserted and the dust/lint is brushed off - voila. Some even play a short audio file while doing that. Usually that's all you need to do. If it doesn't come with fluid it usually doesn't matter, but if the brush alone does not do the job, you can try a drop of methyl (e.g. gas line antifreeze), ethyl (e.g. clear vodka), or isopropyl alcohol (available at drug stores) on the brush. Opening up the drive and cleaning it will do no more than that - it's a waste of time. If the lens cleaner CD doesn't solve the problem, something else is wrong. It is possible for a laser lens assembley in the CD drive to burn out, as in the laser or lasers no longer work, yet the drive otherwise is okay. It would probably be difficult to get the assembly if you can get it at all, though it may a bit easier to find the laser(s) if nothing is wrong with the module otherwise, but it is much easier to just replace the drive.