DVD drive tray stuck closed

[Jehr]

I replaced a defective DVD drive with a new Pioneer super drive in a Mac Pro G5 which meant I had to manually pull out the tray and remove the bezel on the front of the tray so the tray will pass through the mirror door cavity.

After I pushed the tray back into the drive to install the drive in the G5 I somehow managed to jam something because the tray will not open at all now. The motor attempts to open the tray and pressing the little manual tray release (paper clip through the pin hole) doesn't work either.

Any idea how to unlock that tray, again?

 

[nanofrog]

I replaced a defective DVD drive with a new Pioneer super drive in a Mac Pro G5 which meant I had to manually pull out the tray and remove the bezel on the front of the tray so the tray will pass through the mirror door cavity.

After I pushed the tray back into the drive to install the drive in the G5 I somehow managed to jam something because the tray will not open at all now. The motor attempts to open the tray and pressing the little manual tray release (paper clip through the pin hole) doesn't work either.

Any idea how to unlock that tray, again?

At this point, you may have to open it up, and see what it's hung up on. Proceed carefully if you do this.

Good luck.

 

[Jehr]

I already pulled off the "Warranty void if removed" seal and removed the metal cover to get close look but can't see anything snagging the tray.

Is there a mechanical lock that I'm not seeing?

 

[nanofrog]

I already pulled off the "Warranty void if removed" seal and removed the metal cover to get close look but can't see anything snagging the tray.

Is there a mechanical lock that I'm not seeing?

Each is a little different, and I have to go by looking at how it was assembled. But yes, there can be. Typically if there's a disk in it, the armature that clamps down on the spindle needs to be lifted up, and the tray pulled out (they're connected by a gearing system in most drives). It's cheaper than other methods, and is quite common, but perhaps not the only way it was assembled.

 

[Jehr]

Got it!

In utter desperation I simply pried the tray out with a screw driver then proceeded to extend it the entire travel distance by hand. Voila!

All was fine after that! There is a plastic dog on the bottom of the tray that gets captured by a catch mechanism that lowers the head plate when the tray opens. That dog was simply snagged on the mechanism which prevented the head plate from lowering to it's lowest point which confused the electronics.

The drive works fine now!

 

[HBFIII]

G5 cd tray stuck

I have had this problem for over two years and dealt with it by re-booting my computer and holding down the mouse button on start-up. This worked for a while. However it was time consuming and finally didn't work any more.

So now I had to hold open the drive cover and push in a paper clip to manually open the drive tray. What a royal pain!

I started to investigate whether I should purchase a new drive for $30.00. While investigating this alternative I stumbled upon a video showing how easy it was to remove the drive and replace it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHvGpvHA2Cw). Well, lo and behold, I easily removed the drive, before going ahead and purchasing a new drive. I found that it was very dirty. There are lots of instructions on how to clean the drive. Once the drive was cleaned (take this opportunity to clean your computer (dust). I re-installed it (again very easy) and the drive worked perfectly. I can now eject and close the drive using the keyboard or by moving the disk to the trash.

I initially thought the problem was a software problem because I had updated the operatig system. Not the case...Moral of the story--If you have an older computer that you do not need to replace, you probably need to do basicc cleaning. These machines pick up a lot of dust and dirt that can cause problems. KEEP YOUR COMPUTER CLEAN AND YOU WON'T HAVE PROBLEMS!

Now that is what I am talking about!!!!