How to open CD tray on PowerMac

[n8mac]

I just recently pulled out my old 867 G4 Quicksilver PowerMac that I haven't used in years to see if I can get it working again and play an old game and am having some problems. On the screen shows a flashing question mark which I know is that it cannot find a boot up folder. The other problem is that it is making a very loud fan noise which I cannot tell if it's the fan or HDD (it has two HDD inside).

So I connected a mouse and old apple keyboard to try and eject the CD tray to put in Tiger to wipe the HDD and start over but I cannot get it to eject. I restart it and hold down the C key, didn't work. I held down the eject key, didn't work. I held down F12, didn't work. I opened the cover over the tray and put a paperclip in the little pin hole, didn't work. I tried to get to the CD tray button but for some reason apple covered it like fort knox. Why did they do that?

So is there another method to getting the CD tray open that I'm missing, or does something need reset?

 

[eyoungren]

The C key simply means to boot from CD/DVD. It won't eject the disk if there is nothing in there. Neither will the other keys if there is nothing in there.

Try this. Shut the Mac off. Press and hold down the mouse (left button if not an Apple mouse). Power on the Mac. Keep holding the button down. The tray should eject.

The Quicksilver has two main fans. The case fan (the big one you can see inside the case) and the PSU fan (which blows out from the power supply in the back).

Replacing the case fan is fairly easy but the PSU fan is a bit more involved.

Let us know if you need more help. The Quicksilver is my favorite Mac as you can see from the specs in my signature.

 

[Dronecatcher]

Hold down these keys immediately after powering on: alt, cmd, o & f.
This takes you into Open Firmware - here type eject cd - that might work, then type mac-boot to continue booting as normal.
I recently bought an iMac G4 with a stuck tray - even the above command didn't work - I had to open the tray door and turn one of the mechanism cogs with a knife to get it open!

 

[MacCubed]

If all else fails with the DVD drive, USB booting is always an option. To boot/create a USB, follow these steps....

1. Enter Open Firmware (CMD+OPTION+O+F)
2. Type "boot ud:,\\:tbxi" (No quotes) and hit enter
3. You should get the Apple logo with the spinning wheel if you a. Restored the image properly or b. if you typed the OF command correctly.

Making the USB....

1. Get a USB that is 8GB or greater in size.
2. Open Disk utility
3. Click on your USB in the side bar and navigate to the partition tab, choose 1 partition, click on options and make sure "Apple Partition Map" is used. Then Apply
4. Click on the restore tab, choose the image as the source, your USB partition as the destination and youre done!

 

[bunnspecial]

If all else fails with the DVD drive, USB booting is always an option. To boot/create a USB, follow these steps....

1. Enter Open Firmware (CMD+OPTION+O+F)
2. Type "boot ud:,\\:tbxi" (No quotes) and hit enter
3. You should get the Apple logo with the spinning wheel if you a. Restored the image properly or b. if you typed the OF command correctly.

Making the USB....

1. Get a USB that is 8GB or greater in size.
2. Open Disk utility
3. Click on your USB in the side bar and navigate to the partition tab, choose 1 partition, click on options and make sure "Apple Partition Map" is used. Then Apply
4. Click on the restore tab, choose the image as the source, your USB partition as the destination and youre done!

I THINK Quicksilvers can be booted from USB via boot selector-just hold down option at start-up. They would have been among the last desktops that could do this(at least until Intel Macs introduced this as a "new" feature).

 

[for this]

Have you ever opened a full size optical drive's tray like that with a paper clip before?
I mean you have to push quite hard (and in the right direction as well)
for the tray to open. Just in case you have never done this and didn't expect that.

One sure way is to take the drive out and take it apart with a screwdriver.

 

[MacCubed]

Have you ever opened a full size optical drive's tray like that with a paper clip before?
I mean you have to push quite hard (and in the right direction as well)
for the tray to open. Just in case you have never done this and didn't expect that.

One sure way is to take the drive out and take it apart with a screwdriver.

I have opened it with a paperclip before, however, I reccomend a safety pin because they are stronger and you don't have to bend then

 

[n8mac]

Sorry for the delay in replying and thanks for the answers. After posting this I took out the DVD drive and put in one from an old Dell I had laying around. After that booted it up and and the tray ejected with the keyboard just fine. Plus the loud noise was gone. I put in tiger and booted from that DVD and after about 5 minutes it found tiger on the main HDD. Many updates later everything works like a charm, except that it won't restart, just hangs. Shutting down is fine though. Odd.