Why can't my Wii read game discs?

It seems you're not alone in this problem. I did a little research, and it turns out many people have gone through this dilemma and have had some luck by contacting Nintendo and having it fixed for free. Read this thread.

"Before you go spending money please check this:

Will your Wii read or play GameCube discs?

Borrow a GameCube disc from a pal, or buy a cheap one at a game store or an online auction.

If it works with a GameCube disc then the problem is easy to fix if you like tinkering and have a Triwing screwdriver.

Follow the iFixit guides for taking the Wii apart.

Gently work the mechanical disc loading levers - gently - do not force anything.

Look carefully at the two metal guides which pull the full size disc into the Wii. Both should have white plastic clips about 4 by 3 mm to keep them from scratching the edge of the game disc.

Often one or both of these clips will be missing or broken.

Also the metal guides are sometimes bent outward, almost as if you had forced a disc out and it bent them. Gently bend them back towards the edge of the disc. Put a 5mm piece of heat shrink tubing over each of them if the white plastic clips are broken or missing.

With the cover off, try loading a game disc. If needed, bend the guides so they do NOT touch the disc when it is spinning.

This fixes the problem about 1 time in three in my experience."

The optical drive is a common failure item -- most of them will probably fail after a couple of years of use. If your warranty has expired, you can send it back to Nintendo for replacement or do it yourself -- iFixit has a guide here: Nintendo Wii DVD Drive Replacement

Check to see if your disc(s) are damaged, dirty,ect .sometimes that's the problem . or try taking your disc(s) to a local store where they clean disc or even purchase some disc cleaner . if the problem is not the disc it'self you should consider taking your Wii system it'self to be looked at.

it sounds like the laser assembly in the optical drive needs replaced. Follow the instructions in the guide: Installing Nintendo Wii DVD Drive. You can get the tri wing screwdriver at nintendo screwdriver.com

"I have had trouble many times in the past but I tried this and it worked for me. I have been cleaning or polishing the disk in a circular motion or around the disk with polish and a paper towel and its never worked.

I then read to clean the disk from the center outward. I used a very fine auto polish with a soft rag in the direction mentioned shine dry with lightish pressure ,and it seemed to bring back the reflectivity and voila, it worked! I hope this works for others as it work for me."