There is a disc stuck in my drive. My CD/DVD Drive is making unusual noises whenever I attempt to burn a disc. The disc is rejected or the software locks up.
Problem:
Check for a clear disc stuck in the recorder. Clear discs are typically put in the top and bottom of a package/spindle of CDs or DVDs to protect the discs in shipping. If you were to put the entire stack of discs including the clear disc on the top into you input bin, it is possible that the robotic would pick up the clear disc and put it into your drive. The drive would retract and attempt to read the disc. Since it is clear, the drive would not be able to read the disc and would report that the drive is empty. At this point the robotic arm would attempt to load another disc into the drive. The drive would then retract with one clear disc and one regular disc. This usually causes the clear disc to become lodged somewhere inside the top part of the drive. This causes rejected discs and unusual sounds.
Solution:
If you have a Pioneer DVD drive you can eject the drive tray and then gently pull on the tray while moving it from side to side. The whole tray should come out. See the chart below to determine which drive you have.
Once the tray is removed, a clear disc should become obvious. If you can't get the drive tray out, open it and then look up inside for the clear disc. A flash light may be useful at this point. Use a pen or some other hooked device to remove the clear disc. 90% of the time depending on how soon the problem was detected, the drive will be undamaged.