On Sun, 10 Apr 2022 20:19:15 +0000 (UTC) George R Goffe via users users@lists.fedoraproject.org wrote:

Hi,

I'm not sure what to do about this problem.

Is it a broken device? I'm seeing "no media found" messages too.

blockdev /dev/sr0 says:

fc37-bash 5.1 ~# blockdev /dev/cdrom blockdev: cannot open /dev/cdrom: No medium found fc37-bash 5.1 ~# blockdev --report /dev/cdrom RO    RA   SSZ   BSZ        StartSec            Size   Device rw   256   512   512               0      1073741312   /dev/cdrom

mount says:

fc37-bash 5.1 ~# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt mount: /mnt: no medium found on /dev/sr0.        dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.

[snip]

eject /dev/sr0 DOES work though.

Again, is the device broken? What else should I try?

Yes, I would say the device is broken. The eject works because all it does is push the tray out without checking if there is media present or not, probably. The symptom says to me that the sensor that determines whether there is any media present is not working correctly. Perhaps it is dusty, but it might have failed.

First, are the connectors at the back properly in place? Second, I would blow the interior out gently, with the tray in the out position. Third, I would try cleaning the lenses using a q-tip (a stick with cotton on one end) and rubbing alcohol.

If all else fails, you could try charity shops / second hand stores. Since optical media have been deprecated in favor of USB sticks, many people are donating their old optical drives. You might even know someone who has one they no longer use, and willing to give it to you.