HELP! Stuck CD.
- Thread starter kitsen
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Ouch...
Um... disassemble the iMac and replaced the drive? I had a friend stick a business card CD in my old G3 iMac and that's what I had to do.
Um... disassemble the iMac and replaced the drive? I had a friend stick a business card CD in my old G3 iMac and that's what I had to do.
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A rather late assumption, it seems. How old is the iMac? If you're not comfortable opening it up, let a professional do it. Are you close to a certified Apple repair center?
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Disassemble the iMac??? Yikes!
Inserting one of those "mini-CD's" into a Macintosh slot-loading optical drive is like sticking your finger into an electric pencil sharpener...Just say no!
Enter one of these statements into a Google search field...and you will see you are not the first person to do it:
- How to get mini cd out of a Macintosh
- How to get mini cd out of an iMac
- How to get mini cd out of a Macbook
Hope this helps,
- Nick
The iMac is brand new. I'm new to Macs.
There's a shop near me... but I think they send it to Singapore for repairs. I'm in Kuala Lumpur.
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Yeah it's something one of my friends has troubles with. And they had to go to a genius to fix it. I do wish one day Apple drives can read both big and small discs like the Wii can. I think that'd be pretty cool.
Thanks for the replies, tips and links.
I've checked out a few videos and solutions. A lot of them seem to be on Macs which have an 'eject' button. I've never used a Mac before, so I figure only the new Macs have no eject button at all.
The disc goes in, an icon appears on the right of the screen (desktop) and you have to click the icon and choose the 'eject' option to eject it.
Currently there's no icon on my screen (no surprise), so there's no option to eject or start the 'eject' motion. I'm not sure if the mini disc is all the way in or just somewhere halfway. I don't think replacing the whole optical drive is a good option, especially for a computer a few days old.
I guess I'll read on and see if I can find better ways...
I've checked out a few videos and solutions. A lot of them seem to be on Macs which have an 'eject' button. I've never used a Mac before, so I figure only the new Macs have no eject button at all.
The disc goes in, an icon appears on the right of the screen (desktop) and you have to click the icon and choose the 'eject' option to eject it.
Currently there's no icon on my screen (no surprise), so there's no option to eject or start the 'eject' motion. I'm not sure if the mini disc is all the way in or just somewhere halfway. I don't think replacing the whole optical drive is a good option, especially for a computer a few days old.
I guess I'll read on and see if I can find better ways...
C
chas_m
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Here's an option that MIGHT save you a trip to the repair centre:
When the Mac is off, turn the Mac on its "side" in such a way that the optical drive is pointing downward towards the floor (sticking out over the edge of a table for example). Be sure to HOLD ONTO the iMac so that no "accidents" happen!
Now turn the Mac on. If you're lucky, gravity will do its job and the drive will spit the disc out.
If that doesn't work, I'm afraid a tech will indeed need to disassemble the iMac, remove the optical drive, disassemble *that* (ruining it in the process almost certainly) to retrieve the disc.
It has to be noted that Apple *does* carry a warning about inserting anything other than 5" CDs or DVDs into a slot-loading optical drive.
Good luck!
When the Mac is off, turn the Mac on its "side" in such a way that the optical drive is pointing downward towards the floor (sticking out over the edge of a table for example). Be sure to HOLD ONTO the iMac so that no "accidents" happen!
Now turn the Mac on. If you're lucky, gravity will do its job and the drive will spit the disc out.
If that doesn't work, I'm afraid a tech will indeed need to disassemble the iMac, remove the optical drive, disassemble *that* (ruining it in the process almost certainly) to retrieve the disc.
It has to be noted that Apple *does* carry a warning about inserting anything other than 5" CDs or DVDs into a slot-loading optical drive.
Good luck!
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It does actually say in the 'Everything Mac' book only to use standard discs in the drive but these things happen. Let us know how you get on.
I tried holding the Mac vertically, turning it on with mouse left button held down to 'eject' the disc. Didn't work.
I knew if I had the right tool I could comfortably pull it out. It wasn't THAT deep in but the slit for the optical drives on this new iMac is so narrow and closed, I couldn't see the disc at all.
Finally, browsing a hardware shop I found this curved plastic ruler just about as thick as a CD would be. It did the trick! Stuck it in and fished out the mini CD. I've no idea what those curved rulers are typically used for but I'm so glad they exist!
I knew if I had the right tool I could comfortably pull it out. It wasn't THAT deep in but the slit for the optical drives on this new iMac is so narrow and closed, I couldn't see the disc at all.
Finally, browsing a hardware shop I found this curved plastic ruler just about as thick as a CD would be. It did the trick! Stuck it in and fished out the mini CD. I've no idea what those curved rulers are typically used for but I'm so glad they exist!
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hello
thanks a lot....i tried with vaccum cleaner......switched off mac pro...then keeping it vertical used the vaccum cleaner on its lips....and it came out ..thanks a lot cas_m!!!
thanks a lot....i tried with vaccum cleaner......switched off mac pro...then keeping it vertical used the vaccum cleaner on its lips....and it came out ..thanks a lot cas_m!!!
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Finally, browsing a hardware shop I found this curved plastic ruler just about as thick as a CD would be. It did the trick! Stuck it in and fished out the mini CD. I've no idea what those curved rulers are typically used for but I'm so glad they exist!
Is there a possibility you could take a snap of said curved ruler and post it here ??
To you both, thanks for posting back your solution, and they where both a great work around.
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