Loading a CD takes a few steps. First the laser fires to see whether or not a disc is present. If that passes, then the system will attempt to read the Table of Contents (TOC) from the disc. It sounds like this is not happening with your system. If you can hear the disc spin up, then I would say that the TOC is 0not being read. This would be why the system is reporting a blank disc. It knows that there is a disc there, but cannot read it.
If you can gain access to the lens, try GENTLY cleaning the lens of the drive using a cotton swab and alcohol. If that does not resolve the problem, replace the drive.
Dan