CD-ROM Troubleshooting

I learned a valuable lesson today in fixing your own PC issues.

The computer was acting goofy like the CD-ROM was trying to read, but I didn't know if anything was in it. For some reason the light kept flashing but the drive drawer would not open.

I was panicking. I start a new job in the next couple of weeks, AT home, and needed this PC to be operational. Thoughts of hundreds of dollars, I don't have, to purchase a new one just depressed me. I lost my job on the 9th of October and didn't need any more surprises this month.

Anyway, back to the story....

The Geek Squad phone number was truly a disappointment. The first and only time I ever called it. Instead, I browsed the yellow pages and found this independent computer company, which just so happens to be just down the road from where we live. I called and talked to the owner, which is also one of the main 'techies' there. I recommended getting the end of a paperclip, opening the drawer cover and finding the pinhole. The paperclip end needs to be pushed into the pinhole firmly and as far as it will feed. This will trip the manual mechanism for opening the CD-drive drawer.

Viola! It worked. AND, lo and behold, there was one of the kids' junky CDs caught in there. I immediately took that out and restarted the computer.

IT WORKED! And the best part is, I didn't have to spend a dime. I guess it certainly doesn't take much to make me happy eh?!?

I hope this little tip will help someone else down the road. I guess I am more dependent upon my PC that I realized. While it is a 2005 model, it still has lots of memory and has been upgraded with the best software available. I do, however, think I will be doing a complete backup tonight, working on downloading all of our digital photos to CD or DVD and things like that, so if this happens in the future and no paperclip can save the day, I will have the most important things this PC holds -- the digital images of my kids over the years.

Also, another good idea is using an online photo album. I've tried and use photobucket.com onetruemedia.com shutterfly.com and snapfish.com -- these all work wonderfully and also give me piece of mind knowing that my digital images are somewhere safe in case of natural disasters and kid disasters with the PC!

Have a great weekend everyone!