cd not recognised but DVD is

[mimosa]

I recently acquired an old Thinkpad with a rather nice keyboard, and it won't play CDs though DVDs work. So it's probably not hardware. This is a fresh install of the latest Salix to which I have done very little.

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mimosa[~]$ abcde
cd-discid: /dev/cdrom: CDROMREADTOCHDR: No medium found
[ERROR] abcde: CD could not be read. Perhaps there's no CD in the drive?
mimosa[~]$ lsscsi
[0:0:0:0]    disk    ATA      WDC WD3200BEVT-0 1A02  /dev/sda 
[1:0:0:0]    cd/dvd  HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GT33N     LT20  /dev/sr0 

Your input can't be opened:

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VLC is unable to open the MRL 'cdda:///dev/sr0'. Check the log for details.

This is output from vlc when called in terminal (there is no log even when I specify the log file in preferences):

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VLC media player 2.2.4 Weatherwax (revision 2.2.3-37-g888b7e89)
[00000000015652e8] core libvlc: Running vlc with the default interface. Use 'cvlc' to use vlc without interface.
libdvdnav: Using dvdnav version 5.0.3
libdvdread: Could not open /dev/sr0 with libdvdcss.
libdvdread: Can't open /dev/sr0 for reading
libdvdnav: vm: failed to open/read the DVD
libdvdread: Could not open /dev/sr0 with libdvdcss.
libdvdread: Can't open /dev/sr0 for reading
[00007f7c48001488] dvdread demux error: DVDRead cannot open source: /dev/sr0
[00007f7c4c0009b8] core input error: open of `dvd:///dev/sr0' failed

[gapan]

I wouldn't rule out a hardware problem. Optical drives use separate laser beams for DVD and CD operations.

Have you tried a data CD? Or a different audio CD? It could also be that it has some weird DRM protection, I've seen a few of those.

How about output from dmesg when inserting the CD into the drive?

[mimosa]

Nothing from dmesg. However, an external CD drive works normally. I have tried several CDs, but not a data one as I don't have any to hand nor I think a blank one to try.

It's not the end of the world but still a shame if it doesn't work.

[gapan]

Ah, so it's a problem with the drive then. I remember that cleaning the lens with a bit of alcohol often helped.

[mimosa]

For reference, here are what look like good instructions for how to do that:
https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-a-CD-Player
Note especially the caveats about some alternative methods. But basically, it says to use a microfibre cloth.