I have an HP 17" pavilion dv9500 laptop with CD/DVD read write. Suddenly it no longer recognizes the CD/DVD player and I am unable to copy files nor to read any discs I insert. This is serious as I need to enter new software which came with a Canon camera I just purchased.

Here's some info that may help
How To Clean a CD Rom Drive | Cleaning Products

Gizmo Highway DIY - Clean your CD player lens


Could try CD lens cleaners

Also make sure the drive is firmly placed in the bay. You may want to remove it and put it back in just to be sure.

I would also suggest going into Device Manager within Windows to make sure that Windows still recognizes the device.