[ltp] T61 Optical drive

[John Jason Jordan]

My T61 is now 4.5 years old, but still serves my needs perfectly, so I
don't want to replace it yet. However, I have been having problems with
the DC/DVD/DL drive (39T2829). The original had a lot of pretty heavy
use and recently it started producing coasters. Thinking that the
read/write heads were starting to fail I bought a new drive (brand
new). The new drive works perfectly, that is, it works perfectly once I
can get it to mount the media. I suspect a connector problem, but I
can't tell whether it's the connector on the drive or inside the
Ultrabay. 

I have the maintenance manual, but it doesn't say much about the
Ultrabay or its connectors. In the past I swapped drives with a friend
who has a T60, and the drives were compatible, albeit different FRU
numbers.

I'm out of ideas, short of tearing the computer apart. Has anyone here
had problems with the optical drive in a T61 or T60? Any solutions? Any
other suggestions?