Resolved cMP - lower DVD drive door won't open

[CocoaNut]

I purchased a used cMP recently and added a second optical drive to the lower bay, but I'm encountering a "stupid" issue: the lower drive door will not go all the way down, thus the drive tries to open but cannot eject the tray and then closes again. It seems the right side of the sliding mechanism (looking at the Mac from the front) is somehow blocked from sliding all the way down, whereas the other side does not have this issue.

Just to clarify, it is not an issue with the BluRay drive itself - I've swapped the SuperDrive and the BluRay drive to no avail. Also, I have obviously removed the BluRay drive's tray front.

I have searched the web for solutions, but it seems nobody has ever had this issue... Any ideas please?

 

[DeltaMac]

I expect that something has been jammed inside underneath that door. You'll need to remove some parts to get a closer look. A couple of the hard drive carriers, or all of them can be removed. You may also want to remove the front fan assembly, and the optical drive carrier. Move the lower drive door up and down, while looking carefully from inside the case. You may even see something blocking the door, while carefully looking through the front panel into that area. A bright light may help, and a magnifying glass might be needed, I don't know.
I don't think the door assembly can be removed, without major surgery, so your only real choice is a careful inspection of that area, particularly from the inside.
You might even have some luck with moving the door while you (carefully) pick up the tower and turn it to place each side, top and bottom, back and front, down on a hard surface. Perhaps if a piece is jammed underneath that door, that process will move it enough where it will be visible (and grab-able)
Finally, if all else fails, you may be able to do that surgery, and remove the door assembly completely. The drives will work just fine, but the enclosure doors will be gone. They serve little purpose, other than decoration.

 

[ActionableMango]

I can only speculate that something has fallen in there and you'll need to disassemble it to get that out.

If after having it out, there's nothing blocking it, then the parts may be damaged and either need to be replaced or simply leave the door out if you're on a budget.

 

[CocoaNut]

Thanks for your ideas, and indeed the one about a _powerful_ flashlight made me see that there is something trapped beneath the door's right side. Getting it out will be a different challenge, but I will eventually figure that out as well...

I had not written this above because it gave no value to my post: getting the sliding door assembly out is very difficult, since it is held in place in some way from the back (Mac's left-side panel) that does not have screws or can be slid out. I would have expected differently in such an ingenious case construction, but ok...

Thanks!

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, the 'ingenious case construction' also means that actual case parts that you might think are replaceable, really are a permanent part of the case assembly, and not replaceable. Apple certainly doesn't have case parts available - other than the entire case.

Can you tell what the trapped piece might be? Screw, plastic spacer, metal washer, etc?

If I had your MacPro, I would pick it up, turn upside down, and shake, shake, shake.
If you do that, of course, you watch out for OTHER lose items that might get dislodged. You (and I) would do a careful inspection for other loose parts first. You don't really want a graphics card, or a hard drive to come flying out, eh!
I admit that it is a risky way to try to get at a stray piece, and may not help at all. But, I would try it.
If your eyes got wide, and you started to hyperventilate when I suggested it, then a repair shop might be able to help you out, too

 

[CocoaNut]

Indeed, it was a screw that was trapped below the lower drive's door assembly. It took quite some patience, a magnetic screwdriver and a bit of luck to dislodge the screw, since it would "stick" in two states, both of which did not catch onto the magnetic head. Eventually some rapid jostling around with the magnet did the trick and the screw came loose! Woohoo!