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PB15

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2004
5
0
NYC
Hi all, ran into a problem last night, I put a cd into the drive...when I pressed the eject button it doesn't come out. The thing is I tried restarting it so the CD icon would show up on the desktop, but it doesn't even start up. Is there a way to manually eject the cd? Thanks
 
what Rev PowerBook is it??

On the Rev A (poss Rev B) there was a small hole to the right of the slot, use a paperclip and eject that way. however the SuperDrive doesn't have this feature.

If no joy there, restart, and hold down the trackpad button, that also ejects stuck stuff.

If that doesn't work, unscrew the PowerBook base, remove the base, and you'll see the drive on the left hand side, you should be able to manually move the stuck disc, enough to pull it out of the slot, (well it worked when a disc got stuck in my PowerBooks SuperDrive.)

Goodluck! ;)
 
Thanks iGav, BTW I have the Superdrive model so I'll try the startup/holding down trackpad button option...hopefully that'll work. Thanks again!! ;)
 
Don't panic.

I think your problem is that your PowerBook is not recognising a CD in the drive, so it isn't trying to eject it. Something like this happened to me once.

Before you start taking your PowerBook apart (risky), try these software solutions:

If restarting while holding the track button doesn't work go into Open Firmware on startup (I think it's Apple-Option-O-F on startup) and type "eject CD". Failing that, from the main desktop, hold down Apple+Option+Ctrl+Eject. The powerbook will shut down and, when you restart, the disc will rev up and you'll be able to eject the CD.
 
When all else fails, open iTunes and hit it's Eject. Somehow it's been injected with super eject powers and can force eject any disk in the drive, guaranteed (works with all types of powerbooks and other macs)

No restart or holding down needed.
 
still no luck

Hi, I've tried all of the tricks that you suggested but still no luck! The powerbook G4 definitely recognizes my CD, I hear it start to eject but it seems as though there is something that is pushing the CD back in!! Any more tips? Is there an eject hole that I can press in with a wire paperclip? If so, WHERE?!?!?!
 
That happened when I had an empty cd inside too. I had to shut down the mac and boot up again in order to eject.
 
thanks for the help! i ended up bringing my laptop to work in my knapsack. i told everyone and they felt sorry for me... and then a labmate came by and pressed "eject" and the CD popped out-- ARGH! i swear that i did all the tricks that you guys suggested! i am thinking that the laptop was shaken up and came around.... or whoever wrote the thread "get mad, leave it overnight, and try again" was right!
 
Hmmm.... I am experiencing the described problem with a 17" PowerBook...no luck, and whatever is in the drive must be upside down or something because it won't even mount....:mad:
 
Billicus said:
Hmmm.... I am experiencing the described problem with a 17" PowerBook...no luck, and whatever is in the drive must be upside down or something because it won't even mount....:mad:

i had the same problem on my 12" and tried both the keyboard and itunes routes, and finally after chugging, revving, clicking for 5-10 min it spat out. when it popped out i found that the disc was actually *WARPED*, though i suspect this was what caused the problem in the first place (not warped by the drive). :eek:
 
Another SOLUTION

Take another cd, slip it "under" the stuck disk in the drive. After inserting it about 1/3 the way in, push UP on the stuck disk and try pulling it out using the second disk as a means of leverage.
 
ajrelova said:
thanks for the help! i ended up bringing my laptop to work in my knapsack. i told everyone and they felt sorry for me... and then a labmate came by and pressed "eject" and the CD popped out-- ARGH! i swear that i did all the tricks that you guys suggested! i am thinking that the laptop was shaken up and came around.... or whoever wrote the thread "get mad, leave it overnight, and try again" was right!

The slot opening is very small, and I guess if anything is slightly out of line it can be trouble. I sometimes think the sharp-cut edges on new CDs can make them snag on something.
 
there have been discussions about CD brands, and their manufacturing process. some brands (or poor batches) tend to not be perfectly round, and have flaws that aren't visible to the naked eye (slight warping, poor alignment of data paths, etc) which can cause CD's to be unreadable and possibly damaging to the hardware. this would be my first assumption as jostling the computer around slightly was able to get the CD unstuck.

for many switchers though, i find it simply a case of not knowing they need to QUIT any application running that is using the CD drive. Typically they just close the window, thinking it's like Windows and automatically closes the application. This is not the case, and the CD will remain in use until the application is actually quit. Same thing for folders/files in the trash, etc. Restarting your computer will close all open programs, and is typically the best bet when you can't figure out what the hell is going on. Restart, and resume.

buy a reputable manufacturers cds/dvds as well (Verbatim has never failed me.)
 
My powerbook is older and more banged up than most, so often I have to squeeze the corner near the slot to get it to eject a disc...probably not the problem you're having, but might be helpful to someone.
 
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