CD is stuck in drive, won't eject, no icon

When you boot the computer hold the mouse button down. Hopefully that will do that trick.

You know, that is sometimes the key, you swear enough and in the end, it all works out.

Last night I was burning a CD on my Intel 20" iMac and aborted the burn after realizing I'd selected the wrong DMG in Disk Utility. Consequently, the semi-burned disc didn't mount. The eject key and F12 weren't working, nor was restarting the Finder. Instead of monkeying around with command line ejecting, etc, I thought it would be more time efficient to reboot holding down the mouse (the time honored way of unsticking a disc).

Upon reboot, I was confronted with a white screen and my Superdrive seeking and re-seeking the CD in the optical drive. The disc was stuck big time. My theory is that the session was incomplete and caused some crazy loop. I must've restarted 25 times and read a ton of BS posts on how to fix it. Only one helped. Let me debunk the others for those who will encounter this situation in the future, so you don't spend an our and a half on this like I did.

Rebooting and attempts at holding the mouse, eject key, F12, option key (to select boot volume), T key (target disk), open firmware boot (there is none on the macIntels), etc. were all unsuccessful. DO NOT squeeze your mac, or use tweezers to pull the disc out. As a matter of fact, don't even think about it, it's just stupid - you could void your warranty. Also, I asked Apple, and there is no emergency eject mechanism, or none that they'll advertise. Yelling at it seems profoundly stupid as a solution, but I was doing that as a byproduct of my frustration and it didn't seem to help. On the contrary, be patient, stay calm. It seems like an eternity.

Try what worked for me before sending your beloved $2,500 brick to the Apple techs. Boot the computer to the white screen of death. Let the iMac seek on the optical drive for about 5-15 minutes. It WILL give up and boot into the OS. Upon boot, it should spit out the problem disc. If your drive is bad, it may make similar sounds/behave in similar ways. I can't say this will work in that case. But if you've aborted a burn and restarted only to get a stuck disc and seemingly no booting, this is the only recourse...

How do you boot to the "white screen of death"?

Your question is vague. I'm going to answer with the notion that you have a CD that has caused the scenario I outlined in my post above, and that you aren't asking for asking's sake...

In truth, this "white screen of death" (or WSOD) is the normal Apple boot screen that's being held up from displaying anything else but white because it enters the CD seek loop so early in the boot process.

If your CD is stuck and you can't figure out how to reboot, hold your power button in until the iMac turns off and simply press the power button again to initiate the boot process (upon which you will encounter the WSOD for 5-10 minutes).

If the drive tries but fails to eject the disc (a normal eject sound followed by the grinding sound of the drive in pain) and subsequently the disc is sucked back in and re-spins, a mechanical problem exists, My money is on the drive or slot housing being misaligned or warped, as opposed to the eject mechanism being at fault. I'm pretty sure my eject mechanism is OK, because occasionally a disc will initially bind, only to be flung out like a frisbee when the binding is overcome. Once you hear the eject attempt and realize "it ain't gonna happen", quickly deliver a couple of firm knuckle raps on the palmrest area above the drive. I almost promise the disc will be ejected. This works 10 times out of 10 with my PB. The next step is to return the PB to Apple for repair. Thank goodness for AppleCare. This only occurs every 20 or so eject attempts in my case, and since I am in the middle of importing my CD collection, I have yet to have a repair made. It's an annoyance, but bearable for the time being.

1.67ghz 15" dual layer PB Mac OS X (10.4.6)

@ rikflys — While I'm sure your intentions were well-meant, your advice is erroneous when you read the original post. Not only is it idiotic to recommend hitting a mac with any kind of authority, you posted your reply based on your experiences with a powerbook. This thread pertains to iMacs made in early 2006. Thanks, but really think about these things prior to writing...

@ future readers — Do not hit or pry apart your iMac. Period. If you read the original posts and subsequent replies, you will a) understand what you've gotten yourself into and b) understand that it just takes a little patience to fix it. If your imac goes on trying to boot for any duration beyond, oh, I'd say a half an hour without spitting the disc out—it's safe to assume it may be a hardware issue and then you should pursue AppleCare or whatever avenue you choose.

Add me to the list of iMac users with stuck CDs. This problem started soon after I got the computer in December, but since it was intermittent, I did not call Apple Care. Most of the time, it would come out after a few days.

Now I am under pressure to create a DVD for my daughter's 40th birthday and I am really stuck. Apple Care cannot help me though they tried all the things listed.

To actually talk to someone at the Apple Store in Short Hills is impossible, because no one answers.

Now I have the problem at 65 years of age to haul this heavy for me computer to the mall and carry it all the way from the parking lot to the store.

In the meantime, my huge project is on hold so I will start fretting until I can get an appointment and get someone to help me carry this iMac into the shop.

Why is this even a problem. On my old iMac there was a little hole into which one could stick a paper clip and voila.

As a library media specialist I had a roomful of iMacs that would periodically have this problem.

Did Apple make the new iMac too skinny? Is it so skinny that not enough width was allowed for the poor CD or DVD to get itself in and back out?

Will I carry it to the store, back home, and have the same problem again?

Is this a lemon slot?

It is sad that such a sophisticated machine has such mundane mechanical problems. Does Apple actually employ mechanical engineers?

Anyone who has been through all this, please let me know ahead of time. I may have to bow out of the whole project due on July 1st.

Thanks

Nancy in NJ



iMac Mac OS X (10.4.6) 20" screen upgraded memory

Nancy,

I understand your frustrations, but I think if we are to help, we'll need to know more about your situation with what's actually happening with the computer, as opposed to your worries about the future ramifications of Apple repair (and believe me, I've had my issues with them so I sympathize...)

Here are some questions to consider: What are you doing when the CDs get stuck, what sounds is the iMac making if any, are there any notable behaviors out of the realm of normal (besides the disc getting stuck), what have you tried to remedy the problem (have any posts in this forum thread worked, etc...). Saturate our geeky minds with information and ye shall receive...

I have tried everything AppleCare told me to do including restart with the left mouse button down, and Shutdown then starting up with the left mouse held down. As to the sound, it makes a whirring and grinding noise, the disk disappears for a few seconds, and then it shows back on the screen. When the computer was brand new it did it once where it actually came out a bit and then went back in. When I tried it again, I grabbed it. For months it was fine, and now this problem is back worse than before. I must says that during that time I did not need to use the drive very often. Now I need it like crazy. I wish they had the old manual eject. I do have appointment today at 3PM and I am hoping to have someone to carry it to the store, otherwise I will have to find my old luggage carrier.
These are things I found on other forums but than I am afraid to try:

CD Will Not Eject - Follow these Instructions

For Operating System OS X 10.4 (that's what I have tried it on).
Maybe it works on other OS's as well.

Try these steps one after the other.

1) Push the 'eject' symbol on the keyboard (top row, far right)

2) On the Desktop click on the Macintosh HD icon. Click on the 'eject' icon next to the listed CD.

3) Open Disk Utility in the Applications/Utilities folder (HD>Applications>Utilities), select the disc, and choose File > Eject.

4) Under the Apple logo drop-down menu, (top left corner of the screen) choose 'Restart' and hold down the mouse or trackpad button until the disc ejects.

5) Restart the computer.
a) When you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Command + Option +O + F keys. (The Command key has an Apple on it, Option is the Alt key.)
Release the keys when you see a white welcome screen.

b) Type: eject cd
push the Return key (Enter on some keyboards)
wait for the 'ok' text

c) if the cd does not eject after the 'ok', repeat b)
you may have to do this a few times (I took 4)

d) after (if) the cd ejects type: mac-boot
push the Return key.

OSX should then boot as normal.

Post Operation Advice: Don't insert the same CD unless you (probably) want to go through it all again 🙂



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http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/513912.html

User #119642 1 posts
nicoleanne
I'm new here, please be nice
Hi there,

I have a brand new Intel iMac and got a disc stuck in it twice. The first time I spent some time with technical support on the phone, ended up taking my Mac to the Apple Store and had to leave it there because the guys at the Genius Bar weren't able to remove the disc (blank CD, Verbatim I think). It took me two days to have my computer back and be able to work again.

The drive was replaced, I worked on my computer without a problem for a few weeks, using the CD/DVD drive several times. Then I inserted a music CD in the drive and... here we go again/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png The disc didn't show up anywhere (Toast, iTunes, Desktop, Disk Utily, NADA/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png), the command Apple Eject didn't work either. By the way, open firm doesn't work with Intel-based MAcs.

Anyway, it was just like what happened the first time. I was furious. I was scared of restarting my computer and doing all sorts of tricks (restart it while holding down the Option button, the mouse button, etc.) because none of that worked the first time, and after that my computer simply wouldn't boot again.

So I browsed the Internet and found a forum. There this guy posted the only thing that worked for me, and saved my day (my whole week indeed/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png).

If you ever get a CD or DVD stuck in your Intel iMac, go to Applications/Utilities/Terminal, and in Terminal type: drutil eject

That's all. It worked like a charm/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png ANd I didn't have to take the **** computer to the shop again and loose another couple of working days/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png/___sbsstatic_ __/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png 🙂

I hope this helps people with this annoying problem. And yes, Apple should be ashamed of not having included a manual eject button in the drive.

i got stuck with the same problem. worst still my keyboard does not responding and the screen turns white..I tried restarting a few times but nothing happened..MY SOLUTION...turn your computer off than on again and let it be there alone until the discs comes out on its own. It works for me...hopefully for you too. As for apple please provide a manual eject button for all your product.

I have the same problem, i was burning a dvd but when i hit the eject button it unmount in the desktop but didnt eject. It will only mount again if the computer is restarted or put it in to sleep and awake it again. I have tried to do every thing that says in this post and nothing, it have like that since yesterday, what can i do? 😟 (sorry for my bad english)

This one was easy for me. Restart the computer and as it restarts keep pressing the Eject button on the keyboard. It should eject the disc before it starts to read it.