Third time lucky

Following my recent abortive attempt to update Debian Lenny to Squeeze, I've increasingly impatient to try out Squeeze. A couple of days ago I decided to go for a fresh install, something I'd been reluctant to try, because my CD drive is failing.
The first attempt at installation stalled. I tried cleaning the CD drive lens with a cotton bud and some cleaning alcohol.
The second attempt stalled in the same place. I was about to give up and resign myself to having no computer for a while until I could take this laptop to the repair shop. Then I remembered what had saved me the previous time- the baby nose pump. Fortunately, it was still around, and our baby is a toddler now and doesn't use it, so it was snotty but dry.
A few blasts with the nose pump and the installation went through smoothly!
More posts to follow on Debian Squeeze beta.

Cleaning a CD drive

I'd been having problems with my CD/DVD drive. Yesterday it finally died. Unfortunately it was during a OS installation. At some point the installation would fail, usually with a message blaming failure to read the CD. I'd tried cleaning the drive with a lens cloth, so I more or less gave up on that computer, putting it aside for when I could afford a new CD drive.
Then, on my old computer, I thought I'd have a quick Google and see if I could find any advie that might resurect the drive.
One site I found recoomended cleaning the drive with a photographic lens cleaner- the type that blows air through a soft brush- and using 100% alcohol on a Q-tip in a circular motion.
I don't have a lens cleaner, but I found an old baby nose cleaner bulb- somewhat snotty but dry- some Turkish lemon cologne and a cotton bud. After some careful blowing around and cleaning of the laser lens, the drive was working again.
I was quite surprised, because I'd had a look at the lens through a powereful magnifying glass and it looked perfectely clean. Obviously even an invisible film of dirt can affect the laser beam. A tip worth remembering, but for best results, look for a real lens blower and proper cleaning alcohol.