iMac won't eject disc! Force eject not working!

[awsc]

Panic over...

shut computer down, while holding the eject button on the wireless keyboard, turn computer on, eject as designed!!!

Thank you, this worked first time. Had to force shut down with power button, waited 15 seconds then turned on again, held fn+eject on wireless keyboard straight away and disc ejected a few seconds later - iMac (27-inch, Late 2009).

 

[whatsupnow6]

Hi,

The FN + EJECT BUTTON worked for me as well!!

The key is that you have to hold the FN + EJECT button not just eject.

Kind Regards,
Geoff

 

[sandwedge]

Okay... I tried all the above; no joy.

THEN (while doing the "hold eject button"), I disconnected a wireless USB transmitter (for my 2.1 speaker system) from the back of my iMAC 27...

**** BINGO! ****

HINT: use a heavy paperweight or something small/sturdy to continuously press the keyboard buttons; allows you to move about and think.

I have to admit I'm at a loss for words reading this thread. A large group of people sitting in front of computers they paid between $1300 and $2,000 for, jubilant for the fact that they manage to pry routinely stuck CD's out of the drive using paper clips, credit cards, screwdrivers and paper weights. I'm not as understanding. My imac 21.5 is 6 months old and not once have I been able to pop a cd into the drive without resorting to ridiculous measures to eject it. Never mind being able to record anything on it. "The disc burner is busy". No it's not. I'm the only one here trying to use it. It's a useless device to me and I don't even bother anymore. This is my firs mac and I knew mac users were a tolerant and loyal group but where's the line drawn? Only one poster so far uttered a word of criticism.

 

[csteelooper]

I have to admit I'm at a loss for words reading this thread. A large group of people sitting in front of computers they paid between $1300 and $2,000 for, jubilant for the fact that they manage to pry routinely stuck CD's out of the drive using paper clips, credit cards, screwdrivers and paper weights. I'm not as understanding. My imac 21.5 is 6 months old and not once have I been able to pop a cd into the drive without resorting to ridiculous measures to eject it. Never mind being able to record anything on it. "The disc burner is busy". No it's not. I'm the only one here trying to use it. It's a useless device to me and I don't even bother anymore. This is my firs mac and I knew mac users were a tolerant and loyal group but where's the line drawn? Only one poster so far uttered a word of criticism.

Well, I must say you're right for being at a loss for words. But I'd also like to point out that my 3-year-old iMac has never even begun to show any disk legibility and/or eject issues whatsoever. My machine has a Pioneer drive, for those who'd like to know. Fine drive, even if it's a bit on the slow side when reading video disks (sound reduction is prioritised over speed for video disks, which is determined by the drive's firmware).

 

[philipma1957]

I have to admit I'm at a loss for words reading this thread. A large group of people sitting in front of computers they paid between $1300 and $2,000 for, jubilant for the fact that they manage to pry routinely stuck CD's out of the drive using paper clips, credit cards, screwdrivers and paper weights. I'm not as understanding. My imac 21.5 is 6 months old and not once have I been able to pop a cd into the drive without resorting to ridiculous measures to eject it. Never mind being able to record anything on it. "The disc burner is busy". No it's not. I'm the only one here trying to use it. It's a useless device to me and I don't even bother anymore. This is my firs mac and I knew mac users were a tolerant and loyal group but where's the line drawn? Only one poster so far uttered a word of criticism.

My iMac has used 500 dvd/ cds perfectly. None have ever become stuck.

This thread is about broken or troubled dvd/cd players. I understand you and your anger that you have a bad dvd player. I get that . I understand that 30 or 50 people might seem like a lot of people. But apple sells 100,000 plus machines each quarter. so 50 bad dvd drives over 3 years or 12 quarters is well under a tenth of a percent.


BTW I would want a new dvd player if I had yours.

 

[sandwedge]

My iMac has used 500 dvd/ cds perfectly. None have ever become stuck.

This thread is about broken or troubled dvd/cd players. I understand you and your anger that you have a bad dvd player. I get that . I understand that 30 or 50 people might seem like a lot of people. But apple sells 100,000 plus machines each quarter. so 50 bad dvd drives over 3 years or 12 quarters is well under a tenth of a percent.


BTW I would want a new dvd player if I had yours.

There.....I knew it wouldn't take long for someone to rush to Apple's defense.

1. I already had the drive replaced once and it's every bit as useless as the first one. Apple tells me "these drives are a bit temperamental" and replacing it again won't make a difference.

2. Google "Imac eject CD" and I think you'll recognize that this issue is discussed on a large number of forums and by a lot more than 30 or 50 people.

 

[csteelooper]

There.....I knew it wouldn't take long for someone to rush to Apple's defense.

1. I already had the drive replaced once and it's every bit as useless as the first one. Apple tells me "these drives are a bit temperamental" and replacing it again won't make a difference.

2. Google "Imac eject CD" and I think you'll recognize that this issue is discussed on a large number of forums and by a lot more than 30 or 50 people.

I'm very sorry. But if you've had the same issue (CDs not ejecting properly) on >1 drive, don't you think something else might (have) be(en) the matter? Such as an issue with the actual housing of the Mac? Whenever you tried to eject a CD, what did it sound like? Is the CD 'stuck' in the housing, or in the CD/DVD drive itself? It's just that I've never had a problem with my mac at all concerning ejecting CDs/DVDs. The thing is that you did have the problem, which can, of course, happen. The only thing that baffles me is that you've actually had the issue on more than one replacement drive. So I'm thinking you might actually have had an issue with the housing of the Mac itself - seeing as I find it a bit odd for the very same problem to occur twice in a row... Of course, I might be mistaken at that... And, don't get me wrong, I am NOT defending apple in saying this; it's just that I'm baffled to see people having the exact same problem in two consecutive drives. I'd rather say something to the exterior of the drive is causing it, meaning that in fact, the problem doesn't lie with the drive, but rather somewhere in its vicinity...

 

[ptdavidson87]

I just had to return an Late 2009 Imac for the same problem. I'm having them swap out the drive. It appeared and the tech confirmed it. That the drive was seated right and was to close to the leading edge of the housing. The disc front would physically catch every time it ejected, and would hang, causing the drive to react, and fail to eject. Hopefully a new drive will fix it. Have a couple of other imac's and never had this issue.

 

[flavamixx]

It works for me ...thanks

I was starting to panic because I could not get a stupid CD out of my brand-new iMac drive for the life of me!!! I had tried every option on Apple support and other tricks people had posted on forums, and was just about to cry when I came across your posting... it actually WORKED! My mac would not restart, so I shut it down manually by holding the power button, then when it shut down, let it rest a few seconds before starting it up again. TIP: As soon as you hear the start-up sound, hold down the function key (fn) along with the eject symbol key on the top right corner of the keyboard until... voila!!! It spits it right out! Hooray!!!

WOW, actually, your tip of holding the function key and the eject button down at the same time worked for me. I was just about to pack her up and head up to the apple store. Thanks...You saved me endless hours and about 40 buck in gas for the trip.

 

[fergua]

Stuck install disk and not booting iMAC

Hi guys

OK...windows disk stuck during bootcamp install. Tried everything I could find...eject button...fn eject...mouse button...c button...on reboots with no effect. Tried credit card after booting..no effect..

Read a thread about using credit card to move/impede disk during boot...so I gently put it into the slot until it hit the dvd and wriggled it gently against it...and out popped the disk!!! awesome result!!!

hope this helps someone else....but do it gently!!

 

[kurtastrophe]

thank you

Sleez22...Thank you so much.

here is a tip that worked for me, in case someone else stumbles on this thread looking for options;

i had this problem tonight, tried everything on apple/support, no work!!!

called support, the first thing he suggested worked, apparently a secret i haven't seen anywhere else!!! i searched for two freakin' hours, and 5 minutes on the phone worked!!!


shut computer down, while holding the eject button on the wireless keyboard, turn computer on, eject as designed!!!


i tried at least 5 other suggestions at least twice each to no avail before this.

2008 intel based imac

tried;

dragging icon to trash can. NO GO
ejecting from itunes. NO GO
eject via disc util. NO GO (gave message "unable to unmount", with no clue what to do!)
reboot while holding Opt-Comm-O-F. NO GO
eject in terminal. NO GO

 

[MajorPain]

Faulty Memorex DVD

I have a 24" white iMac (mid-2007 model). Beautiful machine so far. Best display ever.

None of the things on this forum worked, so I opened up the machine, moved the LCD panel aside, and took the top off the DVD drive.

The DVD was on the spindle quite tightly. I had to sort of snap it off with my fingers. I put another DVD on the spindle and removed it--- much easier to remove.

The problem was the DVD. The hole in the middle was manufactured with a diameter maybe a thousandth of a millimeter too narrow!

Brand of DVD: Memorex.
Slogan: You'll remember what a pain Memorex caused you!

Now I have put the machine back together and hope it still works!
Guess I can do without the DVD drive if it is damaged due to all the finagling I did to try to force the disk out. But there was no way that DVD coming out short of removing the top of the drive and manually snapping it off the spindle. It was on there that tightly.

What a pain! Not Apple's fault.

 

[heavenforall]

Simpliest solution

put needle in tiny hole on front panel; push hard and wala. ;D

 

[onthecouchagain]

Just curious, are stuck discs a common thing with iMacs?

 

[johnwayne333]

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]-if all else fails, this works-[[[[[[[[[[[

Aquire some double sided tape and tape a strip down the side of a Id card, then carefully slide the card down the side of the stuck cd. Lever the card against the cd so it gets firmly stuck, and gently pull the: cd out. If pushing buttons doesn't help use this as a last resort.

 

[Jlonassis]

I was starting to get very very desperate after I discovered my daughter inserted her mini DVD to upload her dance off to Disney. I tried the tape w the cc and on a disc. Nothing worked. Finally I inserted a folded bill and gently slid it in and voila it got trapped inside the bill n came out!!!!

 

[Mojimf]

Now i hate iMac

For all users read this post the 100% working solution:

Unplug ALL usb cables from your iMac and restart machine as soon as you hear the start sound hold down fn+eject buton(right up corner of keyboard) after 5-10 seconds the disc will eject...

After all now i haaaaaate my iMac...I am going to sale it....

 

[Ddyracer]

For all users read this post the 100% working solution:

Unplug ALL usb cables from your iMac and restart machine as soon as you hear the start sound hold down fn+eject buton(right up corner of keyboard) after 5-10 seconds the disc will eject...

After all now i haaaaaate my iMac...I am going to sale it....

I had DVD's and CD's stuck many a time inside the iMac. A simple reboot, eject or trash the disc icon, gets the job done IME.

That's how it's been with me most of the time but others might have different experiences.

 

[matthewmelnick]

I have a Macbook Pro 2.66Ghz i7 w/OSX 10.6.8. I tried to burn a DVD and the disc failed then wouldn't come out. I tried every single suggestion with no luck until I came here and read about the 2nd CD and then credit card in the slot. I couldn't fit a credit card so I tried a Metrocard, wiggled it around and the CD came out. Thanks.