DVD writer can't find disks

Does your drive make any noise after you put the disc in? Optical drives use lasers to read cd/dvd formats. There's a chance that either your CD laser or DVD laser is dead.

Ahhh - well that kinda answers my next question: Is it likely to be a mechanical or software issue - and yes - when you insert the disk it spins up, the drive light flickers two or three times slowly and then stops. If you try to access the drive (under windows 7 64) the tray immediately shoots out and you get the 'insert a disk' message.
So if you're right, that basically means I can bin it eh?

Before you bin the drive try this Microsoft site and click on the run now button. If there is anything wrong with the software on your computer this will fix it.

http://support.microsoft.com/mats/cd_dvd_drive_problems...