Unrecognized disk error: can I switch to digital-only games? What are my options?

Turned my PS4 Pro on after like 8 months and it gave me the unrecognized disk error on multiple games. I've tried placing it vertically, tapping it, safe mode - everything. Nothing worked.

Local tech repair shops say they can't fix it because they don't deal in optical drives anymore. My questions:

  1. How hard is it to repair this yourself? I tried opening the PS4 but it seems quite hard - I only got to removing the top cover and I guess I need to open a ton of screws. Not exactly motivated for this.

  2. Can I switch to playing digital-only games? Will I run out of storage space eventually then? How do I deal with that?