I had a Plextor DVD+RW DL for my laptop. I had a similar issue after a year. My laptop saw the DVD drive and the DVD would spin up but I couldn't play it or see it on the desktop. The drive would spin and fuction normally but then stop. I replaced the drive with the same model and the same thing happened after a few weeks. My problem was with the drive but you probably just need to use a lens cleaner. Good luck.