[lampshade]

recently i was shutting down my computer and noticed the cd tray was open.
during the shut down i manually pushed the tray in. now everytime the
computer starts up the tray opens. even when i insert a disc it will close and
then open again. only when i hold it closed will it eventually give up and stay
shut. any idea whats causing this problem? thanks in advance?

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Hi lampshade

This sounds like its probably a physical fault with the drive. The two possible causes that spring to mind are :
1. The eject button on the front is stuck in
OR
2. There is something out of place inside the drive which is causing the tray to eject again immediately.

To eliminate the possiblity of this being a software problem, you could try one of two things :
Either boot the system to DOS (using boot disk or F8 boot menu & select command prompt only), then try & insert a CD
OR open up the computer & disconnect the IDE cable from the CDROM drive (but not the power cable). When you boot up now obviously windows will not detect the drives presence but you will still be able to open & close the tray.

If you suspect the eject button, you can remove the drive's bezel. You will need to disconnect & remove the drive first from the computer before removing the bezel & the tray must be ejected before the bezel will come off. The bezel is held on by a series of small plastic clips (usually top, botton & sides of drive). These are very delicate & break easily, so be careful.

Once the bezel is off, you will be able to gain access to the eject button far more easily & see if its sticking.

Out of interest, did you do anything to the drive before this problem started (other than what you've already described)?

[Samm]

Hi lampshade

This sounds like its probably a physical fault with the drive. The two possible causes that spring to mind are :
1. The eject button on the front is stuck in
OR
2. There is something out of place inside the drive which is causing the tray to eject again immediately.

To eliminate the possiblity of this being a software problem, you could try one of two things :
Either boot the system to DOS (using boot disk or F8 boot menu & select command prompt only), then try & insert a CD
OR open up the computer & disconnect the IDE cable from the CDROM drive (but not the power cable). When you boot up now obviously windows will not detect the drives presence but you will still be able to open & close the tray.

If you suspect the eject button, you can remove the drive's bezel. You will need to disconnect & remove the drive first from the computer before removing the bezel & the tray must be ejected before the bezel will come off. The bezel is held on by a series of small plastic clips (usually top, botton & sides of drive). These are very delicate & break easily, so be careful.

Once the bezel is off, you will be able to gain access to the eject button far more easily & see if its sticking.

Out of interest, did you do anything to the drive before this problem started (other than what you've already described)?