Older players will not read re writable CDs make sure the cd you are trying to play is clean and scratch free.
A new CD separate might be cheaper than you think, have a look on ebay they are an average of £30 for something nice.
re the laser as long as its not plugged in it will not emit any laser radiation, however there are often large capacitors (see imagehttp://www.smelectronics.com/images2/capacitors.jpg) which will still hold charge and will give a nasty shock if earthed through a body.
If its a new machine it may still be under warranty follow that avenue first before doing anything else.
It is possible it needs a clean and there are lots of cd player cleaning kits out there. Again ebay is a great place to start.
Open the cd tray turn off the power and unplug with tray still open, blow in the gap/use compressed air, or a powerful Hoover to dislodge dust.
If i were to open it up the first thing i would do is take it out of the power socket then turn it on in an attempt to discharge any stored power.
1. Check is that the buttons are not interfering with each other,
2. Check there is no obvious damage to the circuitry (if so check to what extent if it is a few large components then it could be a simple solder repair (but if its a chip or several components sell it on ebay for spares/repair)
3. Give it a good shake or hit (it is rather primitive but if it works great if it doesn’t you haven’t lost anything (this may cause more damage however).
All else fails take it to a local repair shop.
Hope its already sorted.
Kind regards
Tom
www.forestrowservices.com
August 2007
howtomendit.com for free repair help, information and advice.
Try fixfault.com to fix cd players.