CD player not reading

By all means try cleaning the laser lens before you throw it away. I just use rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip. Check your manual for any advice on products to use (or avoid using) to clean it.

I would say that if you can dis-assemble the unit down to where you can access the lens try using canned air first. Then if no progress is made try a water moist Q-Tip and extremely gently wipe it down. I would be carful with the alchohol as it might dry out the lens membrane to much and cause future cracking. If these procedures don't work then
I would say it is a laser adjustment and at 350.00 for a player and a minimum of 125.00(est) to repair it, I would see how it fits in a dumpster.

I agree, it was short sighted to recommend dumping it without trying to clean the lens.

Got it apart and did everything I could. The lense is still not reading, and also there was a slight smell of a burnt circut board. So I would say that it is over the the HK CD player. But at least I know what the inside of a CD player looks like :)

Now on the my next HK problem over at the amp-pre section.

WAIT!
I had a beautiful CD machine that stopped reading (Philips 880) and destroyed it in a fit of passion. It turned out to be just a big capacitor on the board that failed. By then it was too late to fix it! As the parts I had mangled in my rage were alreading on the way to the dump.
Another CD changer (A Sony CD89ES that had played for tens of thousands of hours failed and that was just a worn out wire connecting the lens sled assy to the circuit board. Both are under $1.00 repairs.
So look it over carefully before trashing it.
The laser assy are all very long lasting... and usually some other problem besides the laser itself is to blame.