What is wrong?

So my teachers computer which is a Emachine T5016 desktop didnt have its optical drive recognized in the "my computer" or in the BIOS. I check both and in my computer i didn't see a opical drive and in the BIOS it said "no optical drive recognized". I contacted emachine and they told me its a hardware issue and the issue is coming from the actual opical drive it self. They kept telling me to contact a technican and never really gave me any solutions i should try myself. What do you guys think i should do?

Could the problem be occuring from loose cables?
My teacher told me he never opened the computer ever in the time he has owned it so he doesn't know why. He said when he first got it, it worked perfectly but it has been occuring for about a year or 2 now.

Please help me solve this issue and it would be much appreciated. THanks

yes, it may be loose cables.

check both power and data leads.

is it sata or ide? try another motherboard port if you have one spare.

I haven't still opened the computer itself :P. I have to ask the teacher if i can lol. Um im not sure but im pretty sure its IDE. Its freaking old as hell so im pretty sure its IDE.Hmmmm would you like me to post the specs? Honestly, i can't answer your question there cause i haven't seen the inside once. One thing i gotta tell you is man he sucks at taking good care of his computer. Me and you take care of our pc like a baby, he takes care of it like a peice of junk. Just from the outside look, its dirty as hell and its got dust all around it.
Just incase you need it, here are the specs:
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 Processor 516 (64-bit with Intel EM64T)
(2.93GHz, 533MHz FSB, 1MB L2 cache)
Operating System: Genuine Microsoft Windows XP Home (SP2)
Chipset: Intel 915GV chipset
Memory: 512MB DDR (2 × 256MB) 400MHz Dual Channel
Expandable to 4GB
Hard Drive: 80GB HDD (7200rpm, Serial ATA, 8MB cache)
Optical Drive: 48x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Video: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (GMA900)
Up to 224MB shared video memory
Sound: Intel High Definition 6-channel (5.1) Audio
Network: Intel PRO 10/100Mbps integrated Ethernet
Modem: 56K ITU v.92-ready Fax/Modem
Peripherals: Standard multifunction keyboard, 2-button wheel mouse, amplified stereo speakers
Ports/Other: 6 USB (2 in front, 4 in back), 1 IEEE 1394, 1 VGA external connector, 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, 5 audio (2 in front, 3 in back)
Dimensions: 14.25″H x 7.25″W x 16″D
Weight: 22.5 lbs (PC only)

yeah, it's probably ide - although i do see a sata hard-drive.

you won't know unless you open it, or poke about in device manager.

or it could be a dead drive - cheap and easy to replace.

True true. Ill see tomorrow if i can open and see the insides If the pluggin the cords in doesnt work, than ill just tell him his only choice is to buy a new drive from future shop or somewhere. And if he tells me he is somewhat afraid of me going inside the computer, than ill just tell him to do the expesive way and call a local technican :/ Lol alright thanks for all the support

UPDATE**
I contacted emachine and they told me that the Optical drive runs on IDE. They gave me this link for more in depth specs on the Optical drive:
http://support.gateway.com/s/CDROM/T...01273sp2.shtml
Thanks so much

the drives are the same whatever the machine - they're standard issue.

i don't know where you live, but in england a new ide dvd burner is less than £20 or $20 in the states.

they are also possibly the easiest component to replace - just a few screws and two cables = 10 minutes.

if you need more help, you know where you can get it. :)

I'm not sure he wants a DVD burner. I'm pretty he just wants to be able to put discs in and read them meaning that he might want a DVD reader than a burner. Also, when I press eject on the drive it self or use the ejec hole to ejec the DVD tray, nothing happens. Plus I checked on eBay for DVD reader that run on IDE and I'm pretty sure he's not willing to spend 30$ for one. Also, I have installed a DVD drive myself for my own computer so I'm not that bad lol. I'm pretty sure it's cause of loose cables but I want to check it. Thanks for help anyways and have a good time