Checking if DVD drive works

I seem to have some problems in my Dvd writrer (Benq), i don't know... i tried to burn a cd and the verification always fail, using the same cd i tried in in my Asus cd writer and it works well.

Reading cds in my dvd drive seems to be a problem, i'm not that sure, because it works sometimes in some cds.

So my question is, how can i verify if my dvd drive is really working or not. (or maybe it's just sensitive to old cds with some dirt) can i use a software for that checking?

Have you tried using a CD Cleaner disk in it?

I haven't, i tried inserting a CD cleaner (a cd with a brush)

Yeah, has 2 brushes; you put a few drops of alchohol on one of them, set it in there, press play, select through the tracks (1-5, then 5-1).

It might just need a good cleaning if you havent done so in a while.

Well, if it works sometimes...and not other times...then it might just be the CD/DVD. Make sure they are "deep" scratch free, and there is no dust.

To clean the cd, use water and klenex...then dry it with klenex going hand motion from the middle to the end, NOT in circles. :)

If the drive itself is clean, then it could be faulty or there's a bad link between it and the motherboard. Is the DVD drive on a different IDE cable to the other drive?