I dropped my MBP :(

[JoshKL]

Well, it fell from a chair in my room.
Now the bottom right hand corner the plastic on the lower half has come away a little, which as an aesthetic doesn't bother me that much (obviously wish it didn't but there we go)....

However the DVD drive is now unusable, there's advd inthere and everytime I press eject, you can hear it eject, hit something then go back in. I've tried holding the DVD slot as far open as possible, but it still doesn't work.

What do you suggest?

The actual drive itself is working, I can watch the DVD, its just the blockage thats formed.

If I took it to an Apple Store is there anything they could do that wouldn't cost a hefty lump sum?

I can't remember what warranty etc I got with it, maybe a year one, in which case that will end in about a weeks time, but I really need a laptop all the time (university work/everything else).

What does everyone suggest, is there anyway, I can lift the DVD drive open at least to get the dvd out and buy an external drive?

Thank you

 

[caloge]

if its just the bottom case, buy one on ebay. around a hundred bucks not to bad. whether its in warranty or not applecare doesnt cover physical damage so that really doesnt help you too much.

 

[kkelly122]

1. some people have had success of turning the computer so the cd drive is facing the ground then see if the disc will pop out then.
2. apple will probably drill you with the prices because it is your fault and it wasn't a hardware failure. apple doesn't cover accidental damage in any of their warranties.
3. if you cant get the dvd out dont force it. take it to aple so you dont cause any more damage.

 

[skaheadpunk]

Is your drive squashed? I have a squashed slot - sometimes I have to prise it open a teeny bit with my fingernails while shaking it up and down with the drive facing the floor while a friend pushes eject.

Can you peer into it a bit and see if there's anything blocking it? Or take off the bottom case and have a good look - you might have just bend some casing.

On the plus side I can tell you that I drop my macbook at least 5 times a week and it's not remotely bothered by it. The drive-squashing occured when a toddler jumped on it.

 

[walkerj]

My wife's Macbook developed a warpage of some kind that prevented DVD ejection and I took it to the Apple store to look at it. They 'tweaked' the case somehow so that it would reliably eject, advising me to instruct her to pick it up by both sides.

However, that was a Macbook, not a MBP and no droppage occurred. So who knows? See if you can 'flex' your MBP to at least try to get the disc out. Don't know what Apple will say if you take it in for repair.

 

[JoshKL]

managed to get the disk out by putting a card in the slot on the right hand side and just twisting it slightly to create a bit of an opening.

Glad to see others have had similar problems.

What do you suggest now, use the drive and always keep a credit card/upside down method handy. or invest in an external disk drive?

 

[skaheadpunk]

Use and keep card handy

But I'm cheap. I'd rather used the one built in that I don't have to lug around with me, even if it means I have to poke it a bit sometimes.

 

[walkerj]

Well, the main problem would be if it damages the discs in some way in its' current state. My Macbook had a drive that did, and I got it replaced under warrantee. I'd say it's a crapshoot, but if I were in your shoes I'd use it for as long as I could save up for a repair.

Then again, if I'm not burning recorded music I don't really use my CD/DVD drive all that much. Most of my movies are electronically delivered and played. Appreciate all that great uncut BBC programming from you lot over the pond!

 

[JoshKL]

I can't really afford repairs at all, especially as I'm a student.

I do watch it to watch films unfortunatly, I think I'll run a few blank cdrs in and see if it causes any damage to them.

Cheers for quick and helpful comments.
I've loitered on these forums for a while but never signed up till I needed help, but imagine I'll stick around a bit now.
Thanks.