How to manually eject a disc from an external slot drive

Thanks for the quick response. I have done all these things, except for trying to eject from the Finder window. The drive just doesn't like the disc. When I "eject', the disc will disappear from the desktop but not eject physically. Sometimes it will grind away and then reload the disc so I can open it but still cannot eject. I have to say that I sometimes think Apple as become infatuated with Form to the detriment of Function. For instance, I have had more 'freezes' of apps while doing basic things on this new computer than I had with all the other ones I've had combined. But that's another topic, I guess. I think I am going to buy a drawer type with a button to eject.

I did have to look closely before I realized which side was up, so mine is okay. It does seem as if the Apple Logo should be on top, doesn't it? I ordered a drawer type from an Amazon seller this morning. It has already shipped. It will be interesting to see if it doesn't want eject discs either.

It is crazy. I wonder why they didn't. They DO like that logo. I hadn't thought about trying it on an older computer. I did go down into my basement and start up an old computer - the kind with the round base and drawer disc drive. My disc worked on that but it wasn't a convenient solution.

I tried out the drawer style player on the discs that were giving me problems. A disclaimer: I didn't know what brand to choose so I may not have picked the best one. It did eject most of the them. There were about three where I had to use a paperclip in the pinhole. Thank goodness there is one! One of the discs would not load - although this was the one that my old computer disc drive would play. I think the problem may lie with the thickness of the discs. I burned these about ten years ago and I noticed that when I compared one with a newer disc, the older one was very slightly thicker. In their passion for all things thin, they may not have considered this. I think this may be what caused problems with the drawer type too. Still, the reason we put things on CDs is so we can look at them in the future!

I wonder if Apple is amenable to receiving suggestions from its users. If so, is there a place we can go to make them?

Yes, I am happy that I am now able to look at most, if not all, of my photos. I admit to being mystified as to why they worked on my old computer CD/DVDs drives and not on the Apple external one. My advice to anyone looking at external drives is to find one that can be forced to eject discs manually. You never know - And I wish I hadn't spent $80 on the Apple one. I think I will transfer my pictures to Memory Sticks. No doubt there are pitfalls with that too.

Now that I think about it, I have submitted a suggestion or two to that link. However, I really do doubt that any attention is paid to these. t would be nice if they did.

Thanks for your input and ideas. I appreciate them.