3.28.2007
So, a week or so ago I was helping my dad with my MacBook. He wanted to watch some snowmobile movie that was on a DVD he had received in the mail. It was one of those homemade kind of DVDs that he most likely overpaid for, but that doesn't really matter. Anyways, I placed the DVD in my MacBook Super Drive and the DVD the DVD became stuck in the drive. I kept pressing eject to no avail. The drive made made a continuous noise that indicated that some sort of problem was occurring, but nothing ever came out.
I decided to search the internet for some solutions and I found very little help. Several topics on the Apple Support forums talked about the problem occuring on a MacBook Pro and these topics suggested the use of a credit card. Several different posters on the forum indicated that the problem is caused when the DVD or CD can not clear the top part of the Super Drive slot. The CD continues to hit the top of the slot and bounce back into the drive, causing the noise.
I initially tried this, but to no avail. I don't know how different the MacBook and MacBook Pro drives are, but a credit card was too thick in my opinion. I had no success with a credit card. The forum posters appeared to be correct about the problem. The top of the DVD was not clearing the top of the drive and the DVD needed to be guided out of the drive. It made sense to use the credit card to guide the DVD out of the drive, but the credit card was too thick.
Then I had an idea, I decided to try a thin business card. The business card fit into the slot with relative ease. I had finally found a tool to help me with my problem.
I must make note quick, I DON'T CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU DO TO YOUR MACBOOK WHILE TRYING THIS. YOU MIGHT SCREW UP YOUR COMPUTER THIS WAY. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK AND CONTACT APPLE BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT THIS.
After a couple minutes or messing around, I found a successful technique. First, insert the business card or any other type of card which has a similar thickness into the drive. Then, position the card so that it is partially on top of the CD. You do NOT want to insert the card all the way into the drive. You want your fingers gripping the card at all given times. When the card is partially over the disc, position the card so that it is centered in the drive with about 3/4 of the card in the drive. The other 1/4th of of the card should be firmly grasped by your fingers. The card should now act as a guide for the top of the DVD. Press the eject button on your MacBook and the DVD should slide out with ease.
AGAIN, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU MAY CAUSE. ATTEMPT AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Anyways, this method seemed to work for me. If anyone else has any suggestions or tips about how to do this any easier, feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me at TeenageFanboy@gmail.com.
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119 comments:
Thanks Teenage Fanboy! It works. I didn't have to go to the Apple Store to have porn taken out of my macbook! :)
I had a similar mishap with an audio CD in my week old macbook.
Somewhere I found a hint that tilting the macbook towards yourself (say, 45 degrees), and pushing the eject button could also work (alongside with waiting a few minutes/overnight for the shut-down macbook to cool down).
Tilting worked for me, with just a few minutes "cooling-period" spent browsing the net for clues. But the CD had triangular and spinning-direction shaped scratches, just as many as the times I tried to eject the cd.
I have to call applecare again tomorrow to see whether they'll get me a new cd, and how they'll convince me it won't happen again. Too bad / good luck it wasn't an autographed rarity or some other stuff I don't really care about, so I could shed some tears over the phone for them.
"And there I was all hyped up after yesterday's Nine Inch Nails concert, ending up ruining my good old precious Pretty Hate Machine -cd. Sob..."
Thanks for this detailed info which really solved my case! I already had all the screws removed from my MacBook Pro and then before really opening the whole thing came across your page.
In my case a DVD was stuck that had a self-printed label on it that does not extend all the way to the boarder of the DVD. I wonder whether this one-millimeter margin blocked my DVD from being ejected. From now on I watch out for these labels!
nice explanation, but i couldnt introduce the business card, i found some obstacle at the center of the slot. macbook two weeks old... is it very common to happen?
It worked! (in a modified way) We had a MacBook laptop with a CD stuck in it. When we tried ejecting it would peek out a little bit but not enough to grab it. The "bristles" at the entrance of the slot were so tight (it was a new laptop) that it wasn't allowing the disc to come all the way out. I took a business card and simply "brushed" the bristles to loosen it up. It was finally able to eject the disc enough for me to grab it.
Note: the disc that got stuck had an adhesive label on it, making it thicker - more difficult to squeeze out.
Thanks for the tip!
Who says blogging's a waste of time, this tip saved the day! Worked first time for me - with the slight mod of using a Moo card, which I can highly recommend!
Oli
--
myspace.com/cassettecassette
Awesome... I rely on Macs amazing build over any 'warrenty' so I was really worried with this DVD wouldn't eject.
Thank you!
This isn't working for me. :(
i have a macbook pro - my comp wouldnt start because the cd was jammed...
I turned the comp off... put in the business card 3/4 and fiddled... then turned the comp back on and it ejected straight away!
Thankyou for the b-card trick :P
Cheers
Thanks for article!
Thanks for interesting article.
thank you so much. it work perfectly
Glad to read articles like this. Thanks to author!
I think I have a penny stuck in my cd drive. I carry it in my backpack and I haven't been able to use it for months. I am too scared to tell anyone because I feel stupid. Any ideas how I could get it out?
Very interesting article, I have long sought. It is in front of me. I agree with you!
Excellent website. Good work. Very useful. I will bookmark!
Hello! Interesting article, thanks to author!
I'm saved! Using business cards and a larger piece of stiff paper I got the small cd (80mm) to the edge of the drive so I could see it. (Yes I managed to push the disc farther inside previously). These small discs are not supported. If I ever have to use one in the future I will copy the files to a PC with a tray drive.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88275
I tried to put the business card above the disc and push eject but it didn't work since the disc was too small to reach the eject mechanism.
I also tried tipping the Macbook on its side to use the help of gravity when ejecting but that didn't work either.
Here is what worked: So I stuck a <\b>post-it note<\b> to the business card and tried to stick to the disc. Then I just pulled it out. It worked on the second try.
It's probably bad to put a post-it note far inside the drive as the sticky stuff can't be good for it.
The disc is now fine and the drive works.
I stupidly inserted a 2.5" cd into my macbook pro drive.. I learned too late that that's a no-no..
So I found this thread and tried taping a super sticky postit note (sticky side out) to a plastic target gift card.. Inserted the card, wiggled it a bit and pulled it out.. w/ the dumb cd on it !! first go.. Thanks to the previous writers.. !!
and to 3M for yet another use for postits.. Everything works fine and no trips to the mac store.. ..
signed.. "Too soon olt.. too late schmart" !!
I had a Buffy DVD stuck, and all I had to do was insert a business card until I heard it brush against the spinning DVD. Then I pushed the eject button, and the card guided the DVD out of the drive.
Thank you :)
Than you sooo much!!!
Been trying to get it out for hours!
you are a lifesaver. My son had a cd rom stuck - had it out in a minute using a business card exactly as you describe. Thank you.
wow that worked really well! I have to admit i was a little bit skeptical in the beginning
L2vQvF You have a talant! Write more!
L2vQvF You have a talant! Write more!
Thank you, thank you, thank you
While I was walking the dogs, my 7yo son took a mini disc with DS cheat codes and stuck it in my MacBook. (He swore he couldn't remember me telling him he had to wait for me to try it!) I tried everything I could think of to get it out -- short of bonking him w/ the laptop!
The post it on business card worked on first attempt! (I'm sure my son will be glad he doesn't have to fork over his allowance for life!)
-gameboy baby's mama
Google brought me here but unfortunately this didn't work for me.
What did work though was to lay my MacBook down and propped up by a pillow so the back of the screen was on the floor and the keyboard was vertical. I then used a small flat-head screwdriver, inserted a fraction and turned it just enough to widen the gap while hitting eject.
Both the MacBook and the DVD escaped without damage, though that DVD is never going back in the MacBook.
dKePbB Wonderful blog.
i got my macbookpro today and the first thing i did was that i put a too small cd in b ut thanks the trick with the business card and a post it on the top worked out thanks a lot and greetings fom austria
FJCeI7 The best blog you have!
SUlV9T Nice Article.
Wonderful blog.
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Wonderful blog.
DTwE18 write more, thanks.
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actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.
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Wonderful blog.
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actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.
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actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.
actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.
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Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
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A lot of people mistake a short memory for a clear conscience.
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Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake!
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Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
Hello all!
Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
640K ought to be enough for anybody. - Bill Gates 81
Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
Hello all!
A lot of people mistake a short memory for a clear conscience.
When there's a will, I want to be in it.
640K ought to be enough for anybody. - Bill Gates 81
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What is a free gift ? Aren't all gifts free?
Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.
Energizer Bunny Arrested! Charged with battery.
When there's a will, I want to be in it.
Hello all!
Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
I had to fiddle around with the card a little and turn my macbook off before the cd popped out but it came out! Thanks!
it didnt work :(
all it did was make the noise louder :'(
Thank you. Business card worked a treat.
Rob. Northern Ireland.
THANK YOU!!! After reading a gazillion other methods, this was the best!
bought a macbook yesterday, and last night a c.d got stuck in it. it makes a grinding sound everytime you try and eject it and i've been panicking all day about having to take it in for repair a day after i bought it!! i'm going to try this as soon as i get home it sounds like a pretty good idea! fingers crossed!!
Thanks so much! Had been trying to get this CD out for months. Your suggestion worked perfectly. I just had to tug the CD out a bit after pressing eject. Thanks again!
Thanks everyone!
I got a 80mm cd stuck in the drive of my BRAND NEW Macbook Pro. I didn't realize until after inserting the cd that the computer probably doesn't support such small disc. Anyhow, I took the business card advice and managed to push the cd to the side and pulled it out with the business card.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. I REALY DIDNT KNOW WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO UNTIL I READ WHAT YOU WROTE
I was also faced with a mini-CD stuck in my son's macbook. I used a modified business card/post-it method. I covered one face of the business card with a single layer of celo tape. (Scotch invisible) I then took the same roll of tape and sliced across the face of the roll with a sharp knife so that I could peel up a thick strip of tape about as thick as a business card. I de-tacked about 75% of the tape strip by applying to my t-shirt 2 or 3 times. I placed the thick tape strip lightly on the tape covered business card while letting about 1/8" of the still sticky part of the tape strip extend past the end of the card. The tape layer and de-tacking kept the thick tape strip from sticking very tightly to the card.
I used the earlier described angled up insertion technique to get the card and tape strip in and over the stuck CD. I then pulled the business card out leaving the thick tape strip in place. I then slid a credit card over the tape strip and used the CC to push down the tape and make it adhere to the mini-CD.
Next step was holding the eject button while pulling slowly on the tape strip...
Perfect! Out on the first try!
Thanks for the tips.
YOUR A LEGEND I LOVE YOU!
i had the same problem with a the 2.5" CD stuck in the Drive i used the same method except i used a name sticker... i was afraid that i might have damaged my computer but i checked all the drive's functions.... including burning a cd and it works perfect!
Thank you sooooo much! In the beginning I was quite afraid that I would made it worse but then it worked perfectly!!!
Never again 2.5" discs in my precious macbook...
greetings from greece
yess!!!!! thank you so much!
i was burning a cd for my girlfriend and it wouldnt come out. i didnt have a business card so i used sketchbook paper. 2nd time it came out fine.
thanks a lot!
worked perfectly!! thank you! my MacBook was brand new and the disk was stuck it was very annoying, i thought i was going to have to go back to the apple store but this worked very well
THANKS!
Google brought me here - honestly I was sceptic against all the negative comments about macbooks and 'small discs' after having my wii swallowing gamecube discs for more than a year now. what can be wrong? Ah yes, a serial driver disc from a gps company. Thanks to your advice, with a help of my old business card and some tilting of my macbook did the trick. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Grrrr Apple. This was not nice.
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