Help! CD Won't Eject!

I put a blank CD in my Imac, burned it, and now it won't eject. I tried the usual reboot and hold the mouse down routine, but it still won't come out. Is there a manual way to get the thing out (like the old paper clip in the hole days)?

Dave
(Mac user since 1986)

I think I have a clue

I had the same problem. But I was on the WinXP side of my HDD. I started up MacOS side and when the desktop was all loaded there was the CD symbol, right click on it and an option to eject is there. Also, when on the MacOS side you can hit the f12 key. Hope this answers your question. I am very, very new to Mac, just having a Mac Mini gifted to me. Learning is half the fun!!
addendum here: I guess I was just in a huge hurry to help dcheek that I failed to see the iMac part and thought it was a Mac Mini.

Jann

Have you tried the other Eject methods such as dragging the CD icon to the Trash, or highlighting the icon and pressing Cmd-E?

A bit drastic, but it does work - take another CD, one that is unimportant, or blank, and push it in against the edge of the stuck CD. Don't overdo it! Sometimes CDs don't 'bed' properly inside the drive, and a nudge at the rear edge may cause the disk to seat as it should. It may also activate the eject mechanism, so be ready to pull that extra disk out of the way.

Okay I've tried the following:
-dragged Icon to trash
-select disk and hit command key and E
-selected eject disk from the menu
-inserted another disk to try and see if it was seated properly.

The disk that's in there reads fine, it just won't eject.
The little door inside opens when you try to eject, it just won't spit the disk out.

If all else fails, take it to an apple store/certified apple repair store and have them take a look at it. After all that, there very well could by something physically wrong with the drive.

I suspect this is a job for a Mac tech, unless you think you can open up the iMac yourself. There's something wrong with the drive mechanism, or with the CD itself. Have you used the optical drive a lot, and have there been any problems with it before now?

Alternatively - and I'm hesitant to mention this, but your situation may call for it - I've used a small plastic spatula before now to push a stuck disk further in; or pushed the spatula in over the upper surface of the stuck CD to force it downward on to the platter, before trying the usual eject techniques.

blackmac11 said:

If all else fails, take it to an apple store/certified apple repair store and have them take a look at it. After all that, there very well could by something physically wrong with the drive.

Click to expand...

I think that's what I'm going to have to do. I think it's a mechanical problem rather than electronic. Has anyone replaced one of these? I'm wondering what the cost would be.

Dave

dcheek said:

Has anyone replaced one of these? I'm wondering what the cost would be.

Click to expand...

What are your iMac specs? [suggest you put them in your profile or signature]

hughvane said:

I suspect this is a job for a Mac tech, unless you think you can open up the iMac yourself. There's something wrong with the drive mechanism, or with the CD itself. Have you used the optical drive a lot, and have there been any problems with it before now?

Alternatively - and I'm hesitant to mention this, but your situation may call for it - I've used a small plastic spatula before now to push a stuck disk further in; or pushed the spatula in over the upper surface of the stuck CD to force it downward on to the platter, before trying the usual eject techniques.

Click to expand...

Like I said the disk reads fine, so it can't be the CD itself, at least it seems that way. I'm certain it's mechanical. The drive has been making funny noises and we've been doing some serious upgrading lately. I think we probably wiped it out.

Dave

dcheek:

Before taking the machine on in, have a look at this video from YouTube to see if the method he uses to eject a stuck disk will work for you. LINK

Regards.

Also try rebooting and holding down mouse/trackpad buttons immediately after chime.

It works!

Pushing a 2nd CD against the first gently worked! I tried everything else and was getting very frustrated. Thank you!!!!!

Tried Everthing

Thanks to all for the tips on removing the stuck disk. Unfortunately, none of them has worked. I plan on taking the unit up to the Apple Store later this week. I will post the results as soon as I know.

Dave

Fixed-well almost

I took the computer to the Apple store and they had to take it apart to remove the disk. They said there is something wrong mechanically with the drive and it would have to be replaced. Cost $270.00. I think I will buy an external drive for about $60 - $70. Once again the Apple Store did not charge me to remove the disk! Talk about good will!

Dave

dcheek said:

I took the computer to the Apple store and they had to take it apart to remove the disk. They said there is something wrong mechanically with the drive and it would have to be replaced. Cost $270.00. I think I will buy an external drive for about $60 - $70. Once again the Apple Store did not charge me to remove the disk! Talk about good will!

Dave

Click to expand...

Congrats, thats good to hear