11-22-2011, 01:22 PM

So, I updated my desktop recently. Got the new iMac i5.

One day, for the first time, I stuck an SD card in the storage slot to transfer some files from my previous Mac. Waited for it to mount.... nothing. Couldn't figure out what was wrong so I went to the Apple support page for advice on what to do. Couldn't see the disc mounted so I couldn't eject it. Read how I should try restarting. Didn't work. Tried restarting with the mouse button held down, didn't work.

Scheduled an Apple support call-back online and they called in 15 minutes-- very cool. A very nice young lady (Melanie) basically walked me through the same steps with no results-- except that this time, the desktop made some funny sounds.... yikes! So, she offered to make me an appointment to take it in to the nearest Apple Store. I told her to hold off for now because I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to get down there (nearest store is 50 miles away).

Then, I started thinking. I mean, when all else fails, maybe I should think it through? First I wondered if I was losing my mind... did I really even insert it? Was I so busy that I had some kind of brain glitch? After all, I couldn't actually see the disc and it wasn't physically on my desk. Then (and only then) did I start to wonder why I didn't see the disc. Does the disc actually get physically sucked up into the slot like a CD? Hmmmmm....... maybe not. Why would it?

And then came that moment of clarity that we all dream about. A lot of you probably know where this is going, huh? Could I have stuck the disc into the CD/DVD slot instead of the SD slot? I mean, they're on the side of the screen where you can't see, it would be really easy to do, right? So, I power down the unit and I perform what can best be described as the don't-do-this-at-home move. I turn the unit on it's side and fish around in the CD/DVD slot with a paper clip and voila!.... there it is.

In my defense: it seems like a design flaw that could have been avoided by Apple.
Today's lesson: don't do this. Special Ed class dismissed.

11-22-2011, 01:44 PM

...Well...that must've been an interesting experience!

At least you went the "DIY" route first, instead of bringing it to apple, that might've been awkward!

11-22-2011, 07:30 PM

And then came that moment of clarity that we all dream about. A lot of you probably know where this is going, huh? Could I have stuck the disc into the CD/DVD slot instead of the SD slot? I mean, they're on the side of the screen where you can't see, it would be really easy to do, right? So, I power down the unit and I perform what can best be described as the don't-do-this-at-home move. I turn the unit on it's side and fish around in the CD/DVD slot with a paper clip and voila!.... there it is.

I'm not crazy about where the DVD and SD slots are either. But when you think about it, where else could they be put? Macs are a thing of beauty and quite often copied by other PC manufacturers (Sony comes to mind) and the reason they are is because of the design.

I keep an external Samsung cheap USB DVD drive handy which I use instead. I have no SD memory sticks so that never comes into play.

11-24-2011, 12:05 AM

THis iMac I'm on is our first Mac, i have wondered if this happened to anyone. Literally LESS THAN A CENTIMETER APART. I thought wow that would suck. Our daughter is 4, so she has a ways to go before ever messing around with SD cards.. but i can see that happening some day with the wife... hasn't yet *knock on wood*

Did it cause any damage to the DVD drive?

11-24-2011, 01:19 AM

Originally Posted by Ttaylor394

THis iMac I'm on is our first Mac, i have wondered if this happened to anyone. Literally LESS THAN A CENTIMETER APART. I thought wow that would suck. Our daughter is 4, so she has a ways to go before ever messing around with SD cards.. but i can see that happening some day with the wife... hasn't yet *knock on wood*

Yeah, that's why I shared my ignorant move-- to hopefully save someone else some grief.

Originally Posted by Ttaylor394

Did it cause any damage to the DVD drive?

So far, everything seems fine. It was just kind of floating around loose in there as far as I can tell. When I tipped the unit on it's side, it came to the edge pretty easily. Just used a stretched out paper clip to pull it past the dust cover.

11-24-2011, 08:09 AM

It could be worse you could have stuck a dvd in the SD slot. Try explaining that to someone at Apple

02-15-2013, 08:46 PM

Sounds like the guy who called tech support to complain that he had broken off the "coffee mug holder" that would slide out of the left side of his Mac!!

02-16-2013, 02:13 AM

At work I've seen around 15 iMacs, mainly the 27" model, come in with SD cards pushed into the optical drive slot. Not a lot compared to numbers sold. We usually have to remove the glass, then the LCD, then the optical drive to recover the SD card. In all but 2 cases the optical drive was OK. One customer tried to remove with a kitchen knife and mangled the inside of the drive, costly.

02-16-2013, 02:18 PM

Well Steve, you won't have to remove SD cards from the optical drive slot with the 2012 model iMacs.

02-16-2013, 03:14 PM

Exactly...this is why Apple got rid of the optical drives in 2012 iMac's!!! So users would stop inserting SD cards, mini-CD's, and all other various things into the optical drive slot!

See...Apple knows what they're doing!!!

- Nick