I think the flashing is normal when the drive is active
the noises are not normal - but i heard them a lot - sometimes it's burned in dust on the laser that makes it impossible to read any media.
open the drive ans look out for the "glass lens" - take a super soft microfiber cloth (the glass polishing ones are working great) and breathe slighty on the laser, then "polish" it slightly with the cloth
that way i fixed a lot of playstation2 drives ;-)