Would this work?

[Droyd]

I have a really old 1998 laptop with a DVD-Rom Compact Disk thing
Is the laser IR or visible?

 

[styropyro]

If it is DVD it is probably a weak red laser diode, under 5mW. Pretty useless unless you want to experiment around with it.

 

[skylasers.net]

Yes, styropyro is very correct, the laser inside is probably a low powered red as this laser was meant for reading a DVD disk and not burning one. If you are looking for something more powerful, you will need to find some sort of DVD burner (for red) or if you are interested in blue (405nm) lasers, you can try a Blu-Ray burner. Good luck in your ventures.

 

[Liberty1992]

I have a really old 1998 laptop with a DVD-Rom Compact Disk thing
Is the laser IR or visible?

the laser is IR, i had the same thought and tried it out on a laptop from at least 2002 if not older. if you want a visible red laser for burning you'll need a 16x DVD Burner, 8x if you just want to see it, some people say the 8x may be able to burn but most likely not. if you want a blue laser for burning a Blue-Ray burner, but you can buy the Blue-Ray reader component from the PS3 if you want a really cool blue laser with a visible beam (not for burning).

 

[thebucketmouse]

Liberty, you say it's IR? I can't see how it would have ONLY an IR laser and still read a DVD. There must have also been a red diode.

 

[Switch]

Liberty, you might have pulled out the CD reading diode, there should be a red one in there too. And if you want cheap burning blu-ray -> PHR-803t or the new $55 6x sleds if amk is still selling them.