This article will show you how to eject a working and stuck CD on a Mac. The latest Mac computers do not have optical drives, but older models sometimes get stuck CDs and do not respond to the Eject button.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: How to remove a working disk
Step 1. Press the Eject button
It's in the upper right corner of the keyboard. If the disc or optical drive is working properly, the disc will be ejected.
- It will take a few seconds to eject the disc if it was in use when you pressed the Eject button.
- To eject the disc from the external optical drive, hold down the F12 key. Most external drives have a button; press it to eject the disc.
- Some optical drives have a small hole on the front. Insert a thin, sharp object (such as a straightened paper clip) into it and push down to pop out the CD tray.
Step 2. Press ⌘ Command + E
This keyboard shortcut will eject the CD if the Eject button does not work but the optical drive is not damaged.
Step 3. Use Finder
Open a Finder window. To do this, click on the blue face icon in the dock. Then follow these steps:
- find the drive name in the "Devices" section on the left side of the window;
- click the eject triangle icon to the right of the drive name.
Step 4. Remove the optical drive icon to the trash can
Find this icon on your desktop, and then drag it to the trash can icon in the lower right corner of your screen. In this case, the optical drive should eject the disc.
Step 5. Remove the disc using iTunes
For this:
- open iTunes;
- click "Control" in the upper left part of the screen;
- Click Eject Disc or Eject at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
Method 2 of 2: Removing a Stuck Disc
Step 1. Close all open applications
Some optical drives, especially external ones, do not respond to the eject command when the CD is being used by some application. Leave your web browser open, but make sure iTunes, media players, video games, and any other programs that might be using the disc are closed.
Step 2. Tilt the computer base to remove the drive
Tilt the bezel of the computer that has the optical drive toward the ground, and then use one of the methods described in the previous section to eject a working disc. Over time, the mechanical parts of the drive that are responsible for ejecting the disc deteriorate, so gravity will help push the disc out.
Step 3. Restart your computer while holding down the mouse button
This usually forces the CD to be ejected when the computer restarts.
If you are using a standard mouse, hold down its left button
Step 4. Use Disk Utility to open the CD tray
Open Spotlight by clicking the magnifying glass icon
, enter disk utility and click “Disk Utility” to launch this program. Then follow these steps:
- click on the drive name on the left side of the window;
- click "Check Out" at the top of the window.
Step 5. Use a terminal
Open Spotlight
, enter terminal and click "Terminal"
to open this program. Enter drutil eject in the terminal, then press ⏎ Return to open the optical drive tray.
If this command does not work, try typing drutil tray eject
Step 6. Repeat the above steps after turning off your computer for a while
Turn off your computer for at least 10 minutes and then turn it on and use the methods described above (perhaps one of them will be successful).
Step 7. Take the computer to the workshop
If none of the above methods are successful, the optical drive may be broken or the disc is firmly stuck in it. Take your computer to an Apple Service Center or another workshop for a technician to open the optical drive and remove the disc (we do not recommend doing this yourself).