I have a DVD drive in one of my PCs that is giving me, shall we say intermittent "faults".  On occasions it fails to recognize the presence of disk in the tray. More than one disk in a set.  No error message, Explorer just returns a blank screen where files should be when I try looking at the drive.  There are no files detected.  If there's genuinely no disk there, that is what it says.

This is in the middle of a program install.  The installer either WORKS NP or carries on asking you to insert disk number #.

I have tested the DISKS in another MACHINE and they show content, and Ive cleaned them.

Now the drive I am using is very old and has never been cleaned I am thinking maybe a clean, especially of the laser/detector lens might be in order.

Some CD player manufacturers warn against using cleaning disks, but this method is very suitable for me (as otherwise it looks like a computer DISSEMBLE & rebuild).

Can anyone recommend brands or products, or conversely warn against rubbish ones ?

Dumb_Question
22.February.2016You can try one of those cleaner discs...but keep in mind optical drives are not made like they used to be...the average lifespan has dropped to between 2 to 3 years.Also to mention I woudnt spend much money on a means to clean the drive as for for around $15-$20 you can buy a new brand new drive and used good drives are even cheaper than that. There is no guarantee cleaning it will fix the issue as well.i have succesfully used my blue ray/dvd cleaning disk a couple times, that paired with uninstall and reinstall of drivers usually fixes the issue. if not a replacement drive is very affordable especially from pc junkyard guys A.K.A amazon. http://www.tmart.com/Black-24X-USB-Slim-External-CD-ROM-Drive-for-PC-Notebook_p94293.html?cc=USD&fixed_price=hk_intl&gclid=CMr83K2jjMsCFQiqaQodBIYLpA
About $14 free shipping.
-> scomputer
Which one is your BlueRay/DVD cleaning disk ?  I mean who made it, what 'model' is it ?

Thank you all for the replies.  They are noted. I do not really want to replace my drive if it can be avoided because that would undoubtedly mean as far as I can see, removing and putting back all drives in my system, and the PSU, and removing several IDE connectors two of which I have tried and failed to remove on multiple occasions.  (mostly to get access to the problem drive)

Dumb_Question
22.February.2016ill have to look at the brand when i get home, i bought it at walmart. Endust Lens cleaner 262000, cant seem to find the exact same as mine but this is same brand and only $5