Updates disable opening optical drive

Support and Help
, , ,
1

Ubuntu Support Template

Ubuntu Version:Ubuntu Studio 24.04.1 LTS

Desktop Environment (if applicable):
KDE Plasma 5.27.12

Problem Description:
Optical drive drawer can no longer be opened, either by the front panel button or by software (K3B or terminal eject command).

This problem has existed off and on since Ubuntu Studio 22.04 LTS. In 24.04 LTS I was able to open the drive for a while with K3B and even with the front panel button thanks to workarounds involving udev/rules.d. However, these workarounds have repeatedly stopped working, and now nothing works at all. To be precise, one can hear the carriage motor engaging, but the door lock does not release.

Relevant System Information:
Drive is TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203B

Screenshots or Error Messages:

No error messages

sudo dmesg | tail -20

What I’ve Tried

/etc/udev/rules.d/71-override-uaccess.rules, containing

# Override uaccess rules to enable front panel eject button

SUBSYSTEM=="block", ENV{ID_CDROM}=="1", TAG-="uaccess"

and

/etc/udev/rules.d/72-override-cdrom.rules, containing

# Override cdrom rules to enable front panel eject button

SUBSYSTEM=="block", KERNEL=="sr*", ENV{DISK_EJECT_REQUEST}=="", MODE="0666", GROUP="cdrom"

and modifications to /lib/udev/rules.d/70-uacces.rules

which worked for a while, but no longer do.

All these changes have meanwhile been undone.

Before Posting:

Haven’t found anything similar

2

Does it open with the front panel button in the firmware (UEFI/BIOS) settings?

1 Like
3

Your description sounds like a hardware problem with the drive; have you considered just swapping it with another drive?

I’ve had a number of optical (DVD-RW) drives fail in recent years; most of those drives are getting old & thus problems are now somewhat common.

The gears are only plastic on almost all models, and thus wear/break.

3 Likes
4

Insert a straightened paperclip into the emergency release hole

1 Like
5

Thanks for all the suggestions.

  1. I can open the drive with a paper clip.
  2. The drive closes when I start the PC.
  3. I don’t find any way to trigger an eject from the UEFI/BIOS (Intel BLH6710H.86A.0156.2012.0615.1908).
  4. Neither the front panel button nor K3B can open the drive from my (unupdated) Ubuntu Studio 24.04.1 LTS live USB stick, so a HW problem does indeed seem the most likely explanation.

The only other optical drive at my disposal is currently in another system, so it will take a while to try that out, and it wouldn’t rule out a driver or FW problem.

6

This already confirms hardware. No OS is loaded when at firmware settings, reason why this is the initial troubleshooting step.

2 Likes
7

@guiverc Thanks for putting me on the right track. A drive from another machine worked, so I took apart the failing drive. All of the mechanics appeared to be in working order, but the escapement for unlatching the door needs a lot of force, so the little rubber belt connecting it to the motor seemed like the weakest link. I replaced it with a similar sized o-ring, and now all is good!

2 Likes
8

This topic was automatically closed 18 hours after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.