CD drive ejects CD

Hi
I have a 2 year old G5 iMac and over the last few months, whenever I insert an audio CD into the slot I hear about 20 seconds of whirring and other noises with it trying to read it and then it gets ejected without any message or error appearing. This happens to all of the CDs, new or old, so it is not a faulty disc.
I only want to play the disc on the iTunes software but it no longer allows me to do so despite me being able to do this since I bought it.
Before I pay out to get it looked at, does anyone have any idea what the problem could be and is it repairable? All other things on the Mac work fine.
Also, is it possible I could buy an external optical disc drive to replace the internal one without too many complications just to play CDs?
Thanks everyone.
John Adams, London.

It is handy to be able to swap with someone else to experiment, try it and see if it works ok with someone elses drive. This will obviously rule out whether it is a hardware problem or software. They are quick to swap, make sure it's fully shutdown, disconnect the power supply to be sure. Some insist on a grounding strap before you touch anything, but this is a little over the top for this operation. A laser cleaner disc is another thing to try, they are available from most places, couldn't say how effective they are, they must work for someone!! good luck.. jim

Hi johnny, welcome to the forums ...
Does this happen with DVD's also ??
To me sounds like the drive could be or is on its way out. Do you have apple care ?? Could get it replaced for free if you have.

If you can take into apple store and get the geniuses to look at it.
See you come from London so there should be one in your neighbour hood.