Samsung dvd v3500 won't load dvd

[circuitous2]

I realize the most likely issue for this continuous loading problem is a dirty laser lens. I was able to remove the back and front covers of the player, retract the dvd tray which allowed access to the optical assembly, and remove the optical assembly. But I didn't see anything that looked like a lens. I cleaned the only component that seemed in a position to be able to read the dvd from underneath, but the cleaning didn't fix the problem. I found a picture of the component housing the lens online, but I didn't see anything like that when looking at the optical assembly. I saw a thread mentioning that a lower piece containing the lens was "unsnapped" from an upper piece, but it didn't look to me like anything could be unsnapped. Any help with this would be appreciated.

 

[unclejed613]

if the lens is missing from the optical assembly, that's why it won't read DVDs. a picture of your optical assembly might help. the lens is usually about 3mm diameter and circular. i have seen optic assemblies with the lens missing on a couple of rare occasions. don't try to disassemble the actual optical head, those parts are carefully aligned at the factory

this is what the lens assembly looks like. a drive that reads DVD and blu-ray will have two lenses.