Laser Radiation. Can i obtain laser radiation from opening an old optical drive?

[todo66]

I got bored and opened an old optical drive out of a pavilion running win 98. It hasn't been powered in around 6 months(dont know if that would have anything to do with radiation. i opened just the back and disconeted the main PCB and looked at the insides of it where the motor that moves the eye and the thing that hold the eye as it moves. After i put everything back and i closed it up i saw a warning about possible exsposure to laser radiation, could i be exposed to any radiation by opening the drive.

[milesrf]

Very unlikely if power has been off that long.  The lasers I'm familiar with require power to produce any radiation, but some can retain a little power for minutes after they're unplugged.  Also, for many of them, the radiation is visible as a very bright spot of red light.

[arkady]

Lasers have extremely stringent safety tests. The warning really only applies if you disassemble the drive while it's working and look into the beam.

Even then, it's likely you'd have to look into it for several long seconds before you actually do any damage.

Apart from that, there is no dangerous radiation given off.