Disc drawer broke- help appreciated

Cat72

I went to play a cd in my computer but when i tried to open the drawer it seemed jammed.After a bit of mucking around the disc drawer was making weird noises and hadnt opened.I finally managed to open it and the disc which had been in there was smashed in to millions of pieces.The computer seems to have smashed it up.There are still bits tuck in the computer and disc drawer that i cant get and the drawer now refuses to shut.
I dont have a clue what to do as I cant seem to manually get the pieces out and am wondering is this my computer knackered ? it is a dell dimension 5100 and im so skint at the moment .The rest of the compter seems to be working fine but im woprried the bits from the disc are jammed in it now.What can i do ?

rmg1

First things first - don't force anything! I know it sounds obvious but I have seen it done!

How old is the computer?
Where did you get it from?
How long have you had it?

(Memories of a guy at college removing a jammed floppy disc from the drive with a pair of pliers!)

PaulK_3

Cat72 wrote: »

I went to play a cd in my computer but when i tried to open the drawer it seemed jammed.After a bit of mucking around the disc drawer was making weird noises and hadnt opened.I finally managed to open it and the disc which had been in there was smashed in to millions of pieces.The computer seems to have smashed it up.There are still bits tuck in the computer and disc drawer that i cant get and the drawer now refuses to shut.
I dont have a clue what to do as I cant seem to manually get the pieces out and am wondering is this my computer knackered ? it is a dell dimension 5100 and im so skint at the moment .The rest of the compter seems to be working fine but im woprried the bits from the disc are jammed in it now.What can i do ?

You can easily swap out the CDROM drive if you are happy to open the casing, your PC won't be damaged at all by a CD self destructing under the load of being span at high speed.

CHR15

This is quite common.

It is unlikely there are pieces inside your PC, the bits stay pretty much contained within the drive casing.

New drives don't cost much (about £20 delivered for a DVD-RW drive)

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/127856



They are simple to change too, If you understand how a screwdriver works, you will be fine. You dont need any computer skills to do it.

There is a little jumper to check on the rear but it too, is simple.

alanclose

If your PC is out of warranty then you could open the case and try hovering up any stray bits of shattered cd. only use a weak vacuum - one of those wee ones for cleaning your keyboard would be perfect and be sure you don't hit anything with it. I agree with Chris though - its unlikely that there are bits inside your pc. As for the drive its easy enough to replace.