Chong Yu Meng chongym@cymulacrum.net writes:
Now that I have confirmed that it is indeed a hardware issue (tested it with another DVD drive), the next test does indeed involve a large hammer and the faulty drive -- thanks for the suggestion!
Before that test, you may just want to see if it is a bit of dust on the lens. You can sometimes blow it out with compressed air or with a swab dipped in pure alcohol.
-wolfgang