My dvd drive reading used disks as blank

My dvd drive is unable to read some of the dvd's and all cd's(so far) nd shows them blank.
My laptop is about 2 yrs old. There was no problem reading disks until some days ago. It is able to read all dvds written by it but cannot read any of the cds even written by it. It is unable to read almost all dvds from a shop from where I borrow duplicate movie dvds and cds. It reads all of the genuine movie dvds but cannot read any cds including the genine ones. But all the dvds and cds run on other computers.

It sounds like the laser in the drive has become defective, is out of alignment, or it could be just dirty.

It is impractical to attempt repair on an optical drive, they should just be replaced. But before giving it up try cleaning out the tray (w/laser) and the compartment with compressed air. Do not apply pressure to the laser to wipe it clean, these are very fragile and the alignment is in micrometers.

Like I said, the alignment on these things is so precise that it is nearly impossible to do it by hand. You could try, but chances are you will only make things worse. Even if the laser has burned out, replacing it is an iffy proposition. And I will bet a replacement laser would cost as much as a new drive. In the US they sell for $20.

You could take the drive out and test it in another computer to rule out any connection or motherboard issues as well as software. You could try and flash the firmware - if it has any. But other than that it is probably replacement time.