Hard to say without pics, but those few CD players that I have had similar problems with, have suffered from cracked nylon cogwheels, specifically the smaller wheels on the motor axle seem to have been prone to this, and the motor axle just spins inside the wheel. Sometimes it's just a simple mechanical fault like that - and a cogwheel can be replaced.

Brawndo wrote on 2023-04-16, 14:52:

Edit: I should add that in my testing, I verified if I manually start the plastic slider underneath the tray to just barely start the tray opening, when I power on the PC the tray opens the rest of the way on its own just fine. Also, if I fully open the tray manually and power the PC on, it closes on its own just fine. It seems that whatever is responsible for actually starting the tray opening automatically is having an issue.

Sounds like a belt has stiffened up. Instead of being round they take on an oval shape (matching their idle position) and the motor doesn't have enough force to get it rotating.

jmarsh wrote on 2023-04-16, 17:01:

Brawndo wrote on 2023-04-16, 14:52:

Edit: I should add that in my testing, I verified if I manually start the plastic slider underneath the tray to just barely start the tray opening, when I power on the PC the tray opens the rest of the way on its own just fine. Also, if I fully open the tray manually and power the PC on, it closes on its own just fine. It seems that whatever is responsible for actually starting the tray opening automatically is having an issue.

Sounds like a belt has stiffened up. Instead of being round they take on an oval shape (matching their idle position) and the motor doesn't have enough force to get it rotating.

I did look at the belt and it is a little floppy and stretched looking, but wasn't sure if that would be an issue considering it still opens fine with a manual start and closes.

The only solution I've found for this issue is to gently scrub the drive side of the belt with a Scotch-Brite pad. Be sure to also clean the drive and driven pulleys with alcohol, and use silicone grease on any moving components where the original grease has hardened or disappeared.

If the belts stretched, take it out and boil it in some water, then dry and refit it. It shrinks the belt and the tray works again. This works fine on the original xbox which has problems with the belt stretching

In case anyone is interested, I spent some more time fiddling with it, ended up ordering a bulk pack of replacement belts on ebay since it was only a few bucks, replaced the belt and it's back to working condition! Cheap and easy. Really glad it worked out as it's the original CD-ROM from 1997 and I'd like to preserve it.

Brawndo wrote on 2023-04-23, 18:47:

In case anyone is interested, I spent some more time fiddling with it, ended up ordering a bulk pack of replacement belts on ebay since it was only a few bucks, replaced the belt and it's back to working condition! Cheap and easy. Really glad it worked out as it's the original CD-ROM from 1997 and I'd like to preserve it.

Which seller did you buy from? Looking to secure a couple of drive belts myself. Not just for CD-ROM drives but also some old tape decks.

jesolo wrote on 2023-04-23, 22:25:

Brawndo wrote on 2023-04-23, 18:47:

In case anyone is interested, I spent some more time fiddling with it, ended up ordering a bulk pack of replacement belts on ebay since it was only a few bucks, replaced the belt and it's back to working condition! Cheap and easy. Really glad it worked out as it's the original CD-ROM from 1997 and I'd like to preserve it.

Which seller did you buy from? Looking to secure a couple of drive belts myself. Not just for CD-ROM drives but also some old tape decks.

Bought this, but looks like they're out of stock now:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304491481308

This looks like exactly the same pack, from a different seller:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265814486324?hash=it … %3ABFBMoIarvPZh

It's way more belts than I'll ever use, but nice to have a ton of different sizes so you can find just the right fit.