2
votes

When you have a CD or DVD you can't get out of a Mac, the steps to follow are:

  • press eject
  • press option-eject
  • (optional) hit the eject button within iTunes
  • issue the 'drutil eject' command
  • reboot the computer and hold the mouse button (or eject button) down during startup

If the disc still won't eject, particularly from a laptop, what steps do you try next?

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
4
votes

MacYourself has a few things to try...

I've been able to use the paperclip trick (insert the tip of a paperclip on the right-hand side of the drive) on a Mac mini. The Macbook may have different drives without the paperclip hole, though, I'm not sure.

3
  • Macbook drives still have the release mechinism, just be careful poking a paperclip through the drive slot.
    – Andrew Williams
    May 26, 2009 at 15:58
  • Thank you -- the business card trick worked, after several attempts.
    – Clinton Blackmore
    May 26, 2009 at 16:32
  • Cool! Glad to hear it.
    – ceejayoz
    May 26, 2009 at 17:03
2
votes

Take it to an Apple store for them to deal with :-)

That's part of what we pay the extra money for, right?

2
  • 1
    If waranty or Apple care still covers it, true enough.
    – Clinton Blackmore
    May 26, 2009 at 15:18
  • I dont think it'll be a question of warranty or AppleCare, they usually do these sort of small jobs without question.
    – Andrew Williams
    May 26, 2009 at 15:57
2
votes

You can also boot into open firmware by holding command + option + o + f during boot and then issue an eject cd command. Gets in at a lower level than most any other software solution.

1
  • That's handy. I imagine it'll only work with Power-PC-based Macs.
    – Clinton Blackmore
    Jun 27, 2009 at 16:35
1
vote

Slot loading Mac CD/DVD drives usually have a small micro switch, hidden at one end of the slot.

You need to hit the micro switch with a paper clip, for example, and sometimes reboot to get it to properly eject. Just one push, and not hard, it is a 'software'/hardware eject button.

Dunno if this is still the case on newer drives. I do not think it was a Mac innovation, as they buy their drives from generic vendors.

1
vote

Hold down left click (or only click) while booting. This will force ejection during boot before the volume is mounted.

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