DesigningWoman

Q: Help! DVD stuck in drive

After having run Disk Utilities off the OSX install disk, I restarted my machine, after which I tried to eject the install DVD. While the icon duly disappeared from my desktop and the disk spun down, instead of ejecting, it remounted. I've tried a number of suggestions found on the forums here, including:

- dragging the icon to the trash

- holding down the eject button

- rebooting while holding the eject button

- rebooting while holding down the trackpad button

- the terminal command "drutil eject"

- locating and double clicking "Eject.menu" from the Menu Extras folder in the System library

And each time, the icon disappears from the desktop, the disk spins down — only to start spinning and remount!

 

There was another suggestion involving a flat bladed screwdriver, but I'm really loath to do that. Would taking the optical drive out of the PB bring me any closer to a solution? Or does anyone have another idea?

 

I'm hoping to hear from the usual experts. Thanks so much for reading.

TiBook Onyx, iMac G5 PPC (with iSight), Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jun 2, 2011 10:41 AM

Close

Q: Help! DVD stuck in drive

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Page 1 Next
  • by old comm guy,Helpful

    old comm guy old comm guy Jun 2, 2011 3:13 PM in response to DesigningWoman
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Jun 2, 2011 3:13 PM in response to DesigningWoman

    One other thing to try.

     

    Shut down, power up into Open Firmware with cmd-option-O-F key combination held fown until you get a whitish terminal screen.

     

    A that screen, enter the following command:

     

    eject cd <enter>

     

    and see if it spits out the disc.

     

    Then type

     

    mac-boot <enter>

     

    to continue booting into OS X, whether it comes out or not.

     

    Otherwise, you can remove the optical from the computer and take four very tiny Philips head screws out of the top of the drive to remove the lid and get the disc out.

     

    Let's home Open Firmware comes through for you; it's easier than physically going in after the disc as I described above.

     

    Signed,

     

    One of the Usual Suspects

  • by DesigningWoman,

    DesigningWoman DesigningWoman Jun 3, 2011 2:10 AM in response to old comm guy
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jun 3, 2011 2:10 AM in response to old comm guy

    Dear old comm guy,

     

    Thanks for your suggestion, which I tried before leaving for work this morning. Unfortunately, the result was dismally the same as with all the other suggestions listed above.

     

    BTW, for those of us with French "azerty" keyboards, the "mac-boot" command should be typed in as follows, without the quotes: ",qc)boot". Otherwise, Terminal doesn't seem to recognize the command.

     

    I suppose I'm condemned now to opening up the drive, which can't happen before this weekend. Ironically, I'd patted myself (and the machine) on the head for having this hardworking, faithful companion for almost 10 years, and the only things that had been changed had been upgrades in RAM and hard disk. Pride goeth before a fall!

     

    Thanks again.

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy Jun 3, 2011 9:20 AM in response to DesigningWoman
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Jun 3, 2011 9:20 AM in response to DesigningWoman

    One final thing we can try, since this apparently shows when booting into Open Firmware, would be to try an NVRAM reset.

     

    Boot into open firmware with the cmd-option-O-F combination, then at the white terminal screen, enter these three commands:

     

    reset-nvram <enter>

    set-defaults <enter>

    reset-all <enter>

     

    The last command will cause a full reboot.  Not sure if this will help, but it sounds like something in the guts of the machine may be set wrong, for some reason.

     

    A puzzle, for sure.

  • by DesigningWoman,

    DesigningWoman DesigningWoman Jun 3, 2011 10:03 AM in response to old comm guy
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jun 3, 2011 10:03 AM in response to old comm guy

    I thank you for perservering… unfortunately, this didn't work either; the disc stayed in the slot, and when I tried just dragging the icon to the trash, it quieted down a few seconds, then started spinning and mounted again. I suppose I must resign myself to pulling the machine apart to liberate the disc.

     

    Just FYI and for whatever it's worth, I've also tried a PMU reset, and I've tried using the eject button in DU… aaargh. What am I missing?

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy Jun 3, 2011 3:25 PM in response to DesigningWoman
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Jun 3, 2011 3:25 PM in response to DesigningWoman

    DW, I think we have tried everything short of bringing in Father Merrin, if William Peter Blatty would let us have him.

     

    I am beginning to suspect that something in the drive itself is confused.  I just took the lid off of my older 815 Matsushita and find that eject is basically all mechanical.  It is initiated by the drive hub retracting which allows the disc to float free.  There are two spring-loaded arms which exert force on the edge of the disc and cause it to come out of the drive.  One of the arms appears to latch in place lightly and may be released by the action of a solenoid.  This arm, coincidentally, seems to exert more ejecting force and its travel goes beyond the area of the hub.

     

    Were I to bet, this would be the scenario: the drive is commanded to eject, it spins down the disc, the arm does not release for whatever reason, or the hub does not retract.  Eventually, a timer fires somewhere, either in the drive or in the computer and detects the presence of the disc, assumes that it has been inserted anew, and spins it back up.

     

    Also, the little screws on the optical drive require a 000 Philips screwdriver.

     

    A final thought is that it may be time to replace the optical drive.  The original drives are just not around, but there are newer units that will work OK.  I went from the 815 to an 846 without much headache, though the first one died burning a test DVD.  The replacement has worked just fine.

  • by eww,

    eww eww Jun 3, 2011 4:29 PM in response to DesigningWoman
    Level 9 (52,994 points)
    Jun 3, 2011 4:29 PM in response to DesigningWoman

    I agree with ocg that the drive has suffered a mechanical failure, and you'll need to remove it from the machine and take its lid off to recover your DVD. Fortunately that's not very hard in an Onyx:

     

    http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-PowerBook-G4-Titanium-Onyx-DVD-Dri ve/78/1

     

    If you want to keep using the machine yourself, it may be worth replacing the drive, but if you're done with it for all practical purposes, don't bother. The machine has so little resale value now that even putting a new drive in it probably wouldn't increase the price you could get for it on the used market. You've really gotten your money's worth out of this machine!

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy Jun 3, 2011 5:29 PM in response to eww
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Jun 3, 2011 5:29 PM in response to eww

    Well, some of us just get a fond attachment for a machine that has served well.

     

    It's sometimes like having to put down an aging pet.

  • by DesigningWoman,

    DesigningWoman DesigningWoman Jun 3, 2011 11:07 PM in response to old comm guy
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jun 3, 2011 11:07 PM in response to old comm guy

    Thanks for having hung in there to try to find a solution. I'll be opening it up at some point Monday or Tuesday, though not ready to "put it down like an aging pet" — not yet. This was my first laptop, and I'm not sure what her finality will be! Which will influence whether or not I do replace the drive at some later date.

  • by DesigningWoman,

    DesigningWoman DesigningWoman Jun 3, 2011 11:11 PM in response to eww
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jun 3, 2011 11:11 PM in response to eww

    Thank you, doctor, for your second opinion! Surgery will take place at the beginning of the week. And yes, I know I've really gotten my money's worth out of this computer. Was just hoping that it would continue to grow old gracefully. We'll see what happens to it in the future, and whether or not the drive gets replaced; in any case, I would never have sold it…

  • by DesigningWoman,

    DesigningWoman DesigningWoman Jun 6, 2011 2:41 AM in response to DesigningWoman
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jun 6, 2011 2:41 AM in response to DesigningWoman

    Dear eww,

     

    I'm afraid I'm not out of the woods yet. Following the ifixit repair guide, I got as far as the last step, wherein I'm supposed to remove the optical drive. The problem is, I got the drive PLUS a whole structure of metal and plastic and rubber bumpers that enclose the drive. Being the nervous type, I put everything back together and closed up the machine. Have you any further tips?

     

    Thanks again for your attention,

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy Jun 6, 2011 8:31 AM in response to DesigningWoman
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Jun 6, 2011 8:31 AM in response to DesigningWoman

    DesigningWoman wrote:

     

    The problem is, I got the drive PLUS a whole structure of metal and plastic and rubber bumpers that enclose the drive.

     

     

    Yes, there are usually a couple of interface brackets that screw into the sides of the drive to facilitate mounting in the Powerbooks.  The brackets usually have two little rubber plugs, as it were, to shock mount the drive in the computer.  If swapping a drive, one must transfer those from the old drive to the new drive. 

     

    I guess (fuzzy memory working here) that the two pieces would interfere with getting the lid off, but I am not going to pull out the drive that's in my PowerBook to see for sure.  As I recall, it's two screws for each bracket and takes just a few seconds to unfasten.

  • by DesigningWoman,

    DesigningWoman DesigningWoman Jun 6, 2011 10:35 AM in response to old comm guy
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jun 6, 2011 10:35 AM in response to old comm guy

    Dear ocg,

     

    Not only are you perservering, but your memory is excellent. I'd figured out that the brackets needed to be removed (and there are indeed two per bracket), but there's another thing bugging me (and I'm talking from memory, since I've put the machine back together), but the ribbon cable that connects the drive to the board seems to be attached to a sheet of plastic that itself seems glued very firmly onto the front (the side that faces you when the bottom of the TiBook is removed). And in another place, along the top edge, there's another piece of orange something that looks like it's holding the lid to the drive. I shall try tomorrow to attach a photo… I know I'm not being very clear. But thanks for your continued attention. (And please don't go to the trouble of opening your machine!)

  • by old comm guy,Solvedanswer

    old comm guy old comm guy Jun 6, 2011 5:17 PM in response to DesigningWoman
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Jun 6, 2011 5:17 PM in response to DesigningWoman

    OK, the drive to logic board ribbon cable presses into the little connector on the rear of the drive (front being the disc slot) and is easily removable, with a little prying with a jeweler's flat-bade screwdriver.  At least that is what I used when I made the swap.  While it doesn't appear to be absolutely necessary to remove the ribbon cable when removing the top of the drive, it probably makes things a little easier.

     

    Looking at the bottom of my 815 drive, There is the plastic cover of the openings in the bottom plate, plus a rubber spacer strip on the left side (with the front of the drive facing up).  On the top of the drive, all I see are the four tiny screws holding the top cover in place and the yellow model number label with the laser warnings in English and five northern European languages.

     

    While I don't recall this in my computer, at one point there was apparently a little piece of yellow tape near the slot area and possibly holding something to the top case. This may have changed when they changed from the felt slot strip in the front to the plastic slot that goes in the front of the drive.

     

    OK, I just figured out how to release the disc without taking the top off!  Film in a minute.

  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy Jun 6, 2011 5:43 PM in response to DesigningWoman
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Jun 6, 2011 5:43 PM in response to DesigningWoman

    OK, as promised, here is the trick that should spring the disc.  With the drive removed, look at the front of the drive.  You will probably need to remove the plastic bezel that covers the front in order to make this work.  You will see a lever along the front towards the right-hand of the front of the drive.  (This applies to the 815 drive; I can't vouch for later drives off the top of my head.)

     

    DiscReleaseOptical.jpg

     

    The trick is to catch a fingernail on the top of that lever where the yellow arrow is pointing, and gently pull down on it.  After it deflects about a millimeter or so, the disc should pop out.

     

    My guess is that this could also be done with the disc in, using a soft plastic shim, like the corner of a credit card, for instance, inserting it just slightly at about 27mm (slightly over an inch) from the right hand edge of the disc slot and pressing down gently.  (I have seen references to a credit card trick without explanation, but from what I now see, it seems reasonable.)

     

    In any event, even if you take the drive out, it will be unnecessary to actually remove the ribbon cable or the top of the drive (trust me, those little screws are definitely a pain to deal with).


Page 1 Next