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2 problems: 1) I cannot get the "about this mac" to open, 2) I cannot eject a cd, it appears as a ghost on the finder window which often refuses to open; both problems started when i tried to read old cds

advice will be very much appreciated!

mac os x, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on May 15, 2013 12:43 PM

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1 reply

May 15, 2013 12:47 PM in response to tishka

Five ways to eject a stuck CD or DVD from the optical drive


Ejecting the stuck disc can usually be done in one of the following ways:


1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the

left mouse button until the disc ejects.


2. Press the Eject button on your keyboard.


3. Click on the Eject button in the menubar.


4. Press COMMAND-E.


5. If none of the above work try this: Open the Terminal application in

your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following:


/usr/bin/drutil eject


If this fails then try this:


Boot the computer into Single-user Mode. At the prompt enter the same command as used above. To restart the computer enter "reboot" at the prompt without quotes.


As for your other problems you may simply need to reinstall OS X:


How to Perform an Archive and Install


An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.


1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.


Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions


Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.

If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.

3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.

4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.

5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.

6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

2 problems: 1) I cannot get the "about this mac" to open, 2) I cannot eject a cd, it appears as a ghost on the finder window which often refuses to open; both problems started when i tried to read old cds

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