My dell xps 16 cd drive stopped working...how do i get to it to replace it? i opened the bottom but its apparent that i have to get it from the top.

XPS 8500 Desktop booting fails - General Hardware - Desktop - Dell ...

en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/.../19452875

Dell
Jun 13, 2012 - 16 posts - ‎9 authors
I am sorry to know the concern with the computer. As you .... I have the identical problem on a 3 week old XPS 8500 desktop machine. It seems ... Dell XPS 8500 - Will Not Boot At All - Motherboard ...
9 posts
Aug 13, 2014
Dell XPS 8500 Unable To Boot
16 posts
Jun 25, 2013
New Dell XPS 8500 won't boot
16 posts
Dec 5, 2012
XPS 8500 UEFI boot
16 posts
Oct 29, 2012
More results from en.community.dell.com

How to Use and Troubleshoot the XPS 8500 ' Dell US

CD/DVD Drive Tray problems
There are two ways to open the CD/DVD drive door if the button just below the drive tray does not work.
Go to My Computer and right click on the drive and click on Eject.
If this does not work then you can manually open the CD/DVD drive tray by -
Straighten a paper clip and gently insert it into a tiny hole below the drive tray next to the Eject button. Push the paper clip gently until the drive tray pops out, then pull the tray until it is fully out, then you can remove the CD/DVD disc.
If you still having problem opening with the Eject button, then the CD/DVD drive is faulty and needs replacing.

Manual eject on the XPS ONE A2010.
Remove back case 2 screws on the bottom. Now looking at CD/DVD drive remove the 2 screws for the led on the drive. And there it is the hidden manual eject hole....hope that helps

There are two ways toopen the CD drive door if the button just below the drive tray does not work.
Go to My Computer and right click on the drive and click on Eject.
If this does not work then you can manually open the CD drive tray by -
Straighten a paper clip and gently insert it into a tiny hole below the drivetray next to the Eject button. Push the paper clip gently until the drive traypops out, then pull the tray until it is fully out, then you can remove the CDdisc.
If you continue having problem opening with the Eject button, then the CD driveis faulty and needs replacing.

exact same issue. just happened today. coincidence?

The issue might be with the corrupted dvd drivers
Visit the below link for more information
http://notebook-solutions.blogspot.com/2009/05/cddvd-drive-not-recognized.html

On the bottom of the CD drive, there is a small hole large enough for a paper clip to go into, by pressing this with the computer on the drive will open

open explorer and go to 'My Computer'
right click the DVD/CD-ROM Drive
click on the tab labeled 'Recording' (usually on the far right)
click the option that is labeled 'Enable CD recodring on this drive'
...and POOF, magic happens...

This is a CD drive mechanical problem. All CD/DVD drives have built in error checking for mechanical failures. When you insert the CD/DVD, it tries to grab and seat the disc, then attempts to spin it up and then read it. If the grab and seat function fails for any reason, the drive will eject the tray so you can try again. You should contact Dell support and get the drive replaced. Has the drive ever worked? or did it just stop working one day?

Please be more descriptive. Is the cd drive not opening? Is the cd drive not reading a disk? Have you tried a different disk? Can you see the cd drive in "my computer"?