Stuck CD drive?

Turn the computer off. Straighten the long leg of a medium-sized paper clip. Examine the front of the CD drive. Most have a hole that's about the right size for the paper clip. Sometimes there's a groove just below the drive door instead of a hole.

Push the paper clip straight into the hole to release the catch. Do not use excessive force. If this doesn't work, the drive may be physically jammed shut. In that case you'll need a hardware technician to fix it.

If the drive's drawer mechanism has failed, replace the drive. They are not expensive. It might even be time to upgrade to a DVD or CDRW drive.