my external dvd drive no longer works

Hello,

Please try the drive in another USB port (assuming the optical drive is connecting to your Macintosh via USB.) If possible, also try the optical drive on another computer. Another thing you can do is to restart your Mac, Apple Menu  -> Restart.

Hello,

If you you tried the optical drive on another computer and it still didn’t work then there is something wrong with your optical drive. When Macintosh ejects a disc upon insertion it means that the disc is unreadable.