Can't remove CD-Rom

Question

Level 1

8 points

Can't remove CD-Rom

I feel foolish, but that's okay . . . certainly not the first time! I inserted one of those tiny CD-Rom's that is flat on two sides into my computer, and nothing happened. No icon showed up on the desktop, no nothing. So I figured it wasn't going to work and tried to eject it, but wasn't able to at all. I pressed the eject key numerous times, consulted the "Help" section and tried the two methods that were given there -- stick a paper clip into the small hole to do an emergency eject and also Restart the computer and hold down the mouse at the same time. Neither method was successful. So . . . are there any suggestions from you smart people out there? Thank you!

Baneo

iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Nov 30, 2006 3:49 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 30, 2006 6:05 PM in response to baneo

You have done the main ones. Look at: PowerPC-based Macintosh: How to eject a disc when other options don't work
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106752

 Cheers, Tom

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Answer 2

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Nov 30, 2006 8:08 PM in response to baneo

Hi, baneo. If your imac has a slot-loading drive, it's entirely possible that the nonstandard CD is not engaged with any part of the drive mechanism and therefore can't be ejected by any part of the mechanism — and in that case, actuating the eject mechanism may damage the CD or the drive, or both. If the methods suggested in the article Tom has linked don't succeed, the drive will have to be removed from the computer and opened, and the disc retrieved manually. Good luck.

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Answer 3

Nov 30, 2006 10:19 PM in response to baneo

Hi, Baneo -

There is a way to try removing it yourself. Get a thin strip of plastic, like a six-inch flexible ruler; put a small piece of two-sided scotch tape on the end of it; then try to snag the disk with the tape and snake it out.

Caution - there's some rather delicate mechanisms inside a drive; if you're not very careful you could damage something.

Also, if you decide to do that, do it with the machine turned off - you don't want to activate the disk transport mechanism.

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Answer 4

baneo Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 1, 2006 4:04 PM in response to Don Archibald

Hi, Tom, eww, and Don. I appreciate your responses. I should've mentioned that I am referring to my computer at work, which is an early iMac (an indigo one), not a PowerMac, so the article on how to eject a disc didn't work for me. I tried the ruler and sticky tape as well, but there's a lip just inside the slot that receives the disc that gets in the way. So I guess I will plead with our tech person here at the school where I work and ask if he can take the computer apart to get at the disc (or perhaps he will have another method). Thanks again!

Baneo

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Answer 5

Dec 2, 2006 8:22 PM in response to baneo

is your imac a tray loading or slot load?

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