nativetxn77
Level 1 (8 points)
Desktops

Q: My iMac hard drive died and before that happened, my daughter's Senior Year dvd got stuck in the dvd slot. It is the only copy she has!! Can I get it out without tearing the dvd up? Please Help!

My iMac hard drive died and before that happened, my daughter's Senior Year dvd got stuck in the dvd slot. It is the only copy she has!! Can I get it out without tearing the dvd up? Please Help!

iPhone 4s (8GB), iOS 7.1.1

Posted on May 10, 2015 4:44 PM

by Kurt Lang,Apple recommended
Kurt Lang Kurt Lang
Level 8 (37,815 points)
Mac OS X
A:

Shut the Mac down. Restart it and hold the left mouse key down. This is a built in command to eject all disks.

Posted on May 11, 2015 7:33 AM

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nativetxn77

Q: My iMac hard drive died and before that happened, my daughter's Senior Year dvd got stuck in the dvd slot. It is the only copy she ... more

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  • by mns579,

    mns579 mns579 May 11, 2015 6:37 AM in response to nativetxn77
    Level 4 (1,155 points)
    May 11, 2015 6:37 AM in response to nativetxn77

    Misread this post. Disregard.

  • by Kurt Lang,Apple recommended

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang May 11, 2015 7:33 AM in response to nativetxn77
    Level 8 (37,815 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 11, 2015 7:33 AM in response to nativetxn77

    Shut the Mac down. Restart it and hold the left mouse key down. This is a built in command to eject all disks.

  • by nativetxn77,

    nativetxn77 nativetxn77 May 11, 2015 12:31 PM in response to nativetxn77
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    May 11, 2015 12:31 PM in response to nativetxn77

    Even with a dead hard drive?

  • by Kurt Lang,Apple recommended

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang May 11, 2015 12:39 PM in response to nativetxn77
    Level 8 (37,815 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 11, 2015 12:39 PM in response to nativetxn77

    Yes. The optical drive should respond regardless. It's a firmware command, so should work even if there's no hard drive in the computer at all.

     

    If that doesn't work. Boot into Single User Mode. When the text display comes to a stop, type this command:

     

    /usr/bin/drutil eject

     

    The drive should open so you can remove the disk. Then type:

     

    reboot

     

    Which won't really do anything since the hard drive is currently dead. The Mac has no drive to reboot to. So instead you can just push the empty tray back in and then hold the power button to turn the Mac off.

  • by nativetxn77,

    nativetxn77 nativetxn77 Aug 13, 2016 5:28 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 13, 2016 5:28 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    The very same thing happened to me. But there was no way to get the optical drive to respond to any of the commands I gave the computer. And believe me, I think I tried every trick in the book. I decided to change out the dead hard drive and so while I was in there, I just opened the drive and got the dvd out. This computer was just relegated to being a backup to be only used for the internet and I got a new one. I copied my daughter's dvd right after I got it out so she is a happy camper. Now I use an external dvd/cd burner.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Aug 14, 2016 7:09 AM in response to nativetxn77
    Level 8 (37,815 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 14, 2016 7:09 AM in response to nativetxn77

    In that case, the mechanics of the drive must have failed. The motor that moves the tray; the circuit board; etc. But at least you saved the disk!