CD writer does not read anymore

Hello. A friend of mine bought an HP9100 CD writer last year. It's been a
few days now it is behaving strangely. It is recognized by the O.S. (Me
and XP) but it can't read any kind of disk. I opened it and I notice
that the carriage with the lens, when inserting a disk, tries exactly 6
times to read (going back and forward) while the CD spins and stops at
every attempt and the led flashes. After that, everything stops and the
led turns off. Also, at every attempt a "tac" is heard, caused by the
carriage hitting the "running stop" toward the central part of the CD. I
lubricated the 2 guides of the carriage and cleaned the lens. Anyone
having any idea how to fix it, or will just tell my friend to throw it
into the bin? Thank you.