What could be the plausible cause ?

[georgesgiralt]

Hello Guys,
I've got a set of CD/DVD burners from old Mac laptops.
I've one which has a strange behaviour.
It is a Sony Optiarc AD-5870H-P7, a slot in drive. When I insert a disc, be it a CD or a DVD, it start spinning it, the LED lit, moves back and forth, the discs stop, then start again and then the drive eject the disc.
No errors are reported on the PC (running Ubuntu) I use to test it.
As I previously had trouble with USB adapters not feeding enough power to a BU40N drive, I tried to power the drive (which need 5V @ 1.5A) with a 5V adapter giving 2A above the USB power the port give. No joy either.
I tried a Chinese USB 2.0 adapter with dual USB ports, an external case (the one I use for the BU40N, with USB3.0 C type connector and an external power port), and inserting the drive in place of the built in drive a Lenovo E540 laptop use. No joy either...
So as you are a more experienced bunch when it comes to optical drive, I would like to gain on your knowledge and ask what is the probable cause of this ?
Thanks a lot in advance for your help and have a nice and bright day.

[dcoke22]

It could be the laser pickup is failing to read whatever disc(s) you're putting in there. Maybe the optics are dirty and could be gently cleaned. Maybe they're out of alignment. Maybe they're burned out.

[georgesgiralt]

Well, I ran the drive with cover off. The laser pickup light up. Fierce. So maybe it is out of alignment but I don't think failing.

[Coopervid]

Well, I ran the drive with cover off. The laser pickup light up. Fierce. So maybe it is out of alignment but I don't think failing.

Not the laser, the lens might be polluted.

[georgesgiralt]

OK. How should I clean it ? It bother me to dump a drive which could be running.

[Coopervid]

OK. How should I clean it ? It bother me to dump a drive which could be running.

Use a cotton swab and some alcohol. Very easy to do it with your slim drive. For a full size drive I recommend a cleaning CD.

[georgesgiralt]

Well, I used ispopropyl alcohol very pure I have for other uses. No joy. Same behaviour.
Drive is dead, IMHO.