laptop CD drive

either a mechanical failure in the focus mechanism or a more mundane broken electrical circuit that is mitigated by "reverse gravity".

"Gary"

... Phil

How can I work out if it is the CD Drive that has the broken circuit?

Gary wrote

That the cable isnt on properly or you need a new drive.

The CD is wrong side up.

Gary wrote

There isnt any easy way, replacing the drive is the main way.

Maybe the mechanism that focuses lenes has stopped working & when its upside down the lense/laser drops closer to CD to read data?

Its a grey import intended for northern hemisphere use only

Designed in the northern hemisphere???

You unplugged it and slid it back in (clean terminals)? Otherwise new laptop or drive

if the disc can loaded or ejected (tray closed or opened) under software control with the computer right-side tp the fault is in the drive,

I can't think of any other easy tests.

Jasen Betts wrote

Not necessarily. The fault could be where the data from the drive goes outside the drive, so it never arrives unless the laptop is upside down.

It isn't a definitive test of where the fault is.

Yes, necessarily, the software eject/close command follows the same path that thhe data uses, if that works electronics outside of the drive are working. I am making the assumption that the drive is connected to the mainboard with a SCSI,ATA, or SATA connection, but I think that's a fairly safe assumption.

yeah, only of where it isn't

Jasen Betts wrote

Nope.

Nope, most obviously with data moving from the drive.

Wrong with the data moving from the drive.

Still wrong with those and it won't be SCSI.

That one is. Your original isnt.

Wrong.

yep.

which wire can you cut and still have the drive still be detected, and physically respond to commands but not return data?

no, right because that's proof that data has been returned from the drive.

ATA's fairly unlikely too,

If the drive can be opened it has been detected therfore the controller is communicating with the mainboard in both directions,

Every Laptop I've had allows one to slide the drive out held in by a "latch switch." Can you try it on another Laptop?

Jasen Betts wrote

Nope.

Plenty with the ata interface.

It doesn?t have to be returned from the drive to open and close the tray.

Depends on how old it is.

Irrelevant to what happens with data when the disk is read.

HP Core2 Duo lappie drive shows up as USB