The drive on my computer is a combination DVD and CD burner. Recently it stopped reading CDs but will continue to read and burn DVDs with no problem.
Could this be a software problem or can a combo drive physical break and stop reading one type of media while still being able to read the other?

Weird. Have you tried multiple CDs? Data and audio?

Could it be a software fault? That would be my guess.

Definitely one of the stranger problems I've seen. Personally I'd find a bootable CD like a Windows or Ubuntu CD and see if the computer will boot off it. That could narrow it down to a problem with the drive itself or with Windows.

If you don't have one, you could download one but you'd need to use another computer to burn it onto a disc since yours isn't working with CDs.

Well, you could try burning a CD and seeing what it does..

I've tried my old windows XP CD and it didn't boot.

Well that solves that, then.

Fortunately new drives are dirt cheap. You in the US?

Yes I'm in the US. I was thinking about buying a new one from newegg.

Do these combo drives have two lasers in them, one for CDs and the other for DVDs?

No, they only use one laser. The laser does have a focusing mechanism that changes for DVDs versus CDs. Chances are that's fouled up.

Before you order one, you want to check what type of connection your existing one uses. Pop the side off your PC and look at the back of the drive. If you have a big 2-3" wide ribbon cable attached to the back of it, you want an IDE/ATA drive. If you have a small >1" cable attached to it, you want an SATA drive.

Chances are you have an IDE drive, unless your computer is pretty new. In that case get this:

link [www.newegg.com]

It's definitely a SATA.
$30 is all? That's much cheaper than I thought it would be, thanks.

You can get them even cheaper than that, but i wouldn't recommend that.

I would cannibalize the one from my husbands old computer but it has the big fat IDE cable.

Well you might still be able to use it. Chances are your motherboard has an IDE port, in which case you could just plug it in and go.