… So I’m trying to put a blank DVD into my writer today and the drive won’t open. It appears I left a blank CD in there at some point because after the drive fails to open and reads the disk inside, my computer thinks I’m trying to burn a CD.
How do I get this thing open? I always thought the little pin hole on the outside was either a reset or manual open… but all it does it make terrible sounds, lol.
I could try brute force but I’d like to still use the drive, lol.
Usually there’s a small hole in the front below the tray. Unbend a paper clip and press it in there. If it makes terrible sounds the disc might have shifted and be hung up physically though I’ve never seen that.
When the drive is powered or off? Because I did it when it was powered and it screamed like a banshee
This and make sure the connections in the case are secure. If there is no small hole to force the tray open try hitting the eject button while forcing it outwards with a screwdriver or something.
It won’t open with it powered off.
Yeah I had one yesterday that thought it was burning after the software shitted out on me. It was harder to eject and the disc was spinning like a MOFO for seconds after I got the tray open.
Try powered off and maybe it’s easier as the disc isn’t spinning. Otherwise the gears may be misaligned and force might be the chance you have to take. LOL
Connections in the case are fine. I’ve had this thing for 5+ years and haven’t opened the top part of my case yet… until now.
I can’t really get the try to pull away enough where I can get a grip on it. Hummm…
---------- Post added at 11:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:27 AM ----------
Got it! Pin hole + button worked :tup:
You don’t clean the inside of the case…for shame… If you need a spare drive I have a couple extra.
No need really. The case is 2 parts with a cooling gap / hole right in the center. The top part where both drives are located is quite open and doesn’t collect any dust:
The pinhole is a manual eject, and should work just fine with no power to the drive. In fact, 99% of the time that’s how I get media out of drives that I’ve taken out of computers only to realize I left a disk in there. 
It’s far quicker than hooking the drive back up to power to get the disc out.