Any tips or suggestions on how to clean my laptop's CD slot drive? I know the felt pads on the inside of the slot are supposed to prevent anything from getting inside, but I'm convinced that something has worked its way in there, since a couple of CDs that I ejected recently have come out scratched, including a brand new DVD that started skipping almost as soon as I played it.
The most relevant article I found from a quick google search was
this, but I'm not sure if this would work to dislodge whatever particle is caught inside.
You used to be able to get a special type cd with a sturdy little polyester brush on it that could clean the lens. Don't know how much good they do, though.
His problem isn't the lens being dirty and not reading the disc though, so a lens cleaning disc won't help much I think.
That link has about the easiest sounding solution I think... If your laptop's disc drive is like mine, then on the top where you place the CD there should be a little open spot where the lens is that moves back and forth, you might try looking in there first and using a can of air or a vacuum to remove anything that could be scratching the disc in there.
Other than that, I would only think of completely taking apart the laptop as a way to get in there.
To clean just an lens on inside You could use an CD-cleaner disk (pic-below):
![[Image: sku_2661_5.jpg]](http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_2661_5.jpg)
Cleaning from dust and turnings / filings You could use a vacuum-cleaner
or compressor (personally I clean / blow dust my PC by compressor)
Not a good idea to use a compressor, get canned air. Compressors dont filter out dust or humidity in the air, and can cause damage to computer components.
Thanks for the tips everyone - first stop will be to try using a vacuum cleaner, then throw in a sacrificial disk to see if it's clear or not.