The controller is busted then. It's supposed to pull in everything that's shaped like a disc.
Either install noBD and give up backwards compatibility or get a working controller + drive from a dead unit of the same model, transplant and remarry.
Ok, one last question (hopefully) I will plague you with:
Is the ability of Cobra/Rebug/Evilnat to play PS1 and PS2 games as ISO files from hard drive linked to the existence of the physical Blu-Ray drive?
If the answer to this is yes, then I will try to buy another PS3 that is CFW compatible and use the old one to play PS3 games as long as it "holds ground".