Why can't my laptop's CD/DVD-rom drive read discs anymore?

It just randomly stopped working a few days ago. It's an HP 530 running Windows Vista Business. It's not the driver, I already updated it to see if that would work. It's not iTunes, cause I tried uninstalling it with no luck there either. My computer can still see the drive, and when I put a disc in it either does nothing or makes a sort of grinding/chugging noise. Is there anything I can do that doesn't involve sending it out for repairs? I'm familiar with desktop tech but I've never cracked open a laptop or anything.