quarters in my disc drive

[lugiedt]

I've got an iMac G3 with quarters, 3 to be specific, stuck in the disc drive. Yes, I know they don't belong there. My toddler, on the other hand, thought it was a great hiding place!
My question is, now that they are somewhere inside the slot, is there anything I can do to get them out? There is currently a disc there as well, which will not eject.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Sdashiki]

id remove the drive from the machine, not an easy task I know, so you can physically shake them out.

the disc may already be, or become scratched in the process though.

no true way around that.

 

[bbydon]

yeah, remove the drive to shake them loose....either that or hold up the imac to shake them loose (not an easy task, either)

 

[lugiedt]

remove disc drive

Thanks for the suggestion to remove the disc drive. How exactly would I go about doing that? I'm up for the challenge!

 

[Sdashiki]

google for a good take apart guide, but if i recall correctly.

place the machine upside down and remove all visible screws.

pull off outer plastic casing, i think it seems like you need a lot of force, but it wont break.

remove this metal grid stuff (EFI sheild?)

and then unscrew the drive which I think is also paired with the HDD.

 

[emptyCup]

It is actually not that hard to take a G3 iMac apart, but make sure all of the wires are out of the way before you put it back together. Otherwise it you won't be able to slide everything fully back into place and the screw holes won't line up properly. Also, you generally need to slap the plastic cowl to get it to snap closed. Get the take apart guide. It has been too long since I worked on one of these, but the info above is what I remember.

 

[adamyoshida]

It is actually not that hard to take a G3 iMac apart, but make sure all of the wires are out of the way before you put it back together. Otherwise it you won't be able to slide everything fully back into place and the screw holes won't line up properly. Also, you generally need to slap the plastic cowl to get it to snap closed. Get the take apart guide. It has been too long since I worked on one of these, but the info above is what I remember.

"That hard" depends upon your level of technical proficency. I've taken apart eMacs before, and it can be something of an ordeal - or so I thought, at least.

And be careful - follow intructions. When you're using a CRT you're playing with potentially dangerous voltages.

 

[After G]

Might want to unplug the computer and leave it alone for a while to let the CRT discharge before you attempt a take-apart. I got shocked by the capacitor in my digital camera and boy did it hurt.

 

[mick4394]

yeah, remove the drive to shake them loose....either that or hold up the imac to shake them loose (not an easy task, either)

While I do agree that taking the drive out is a good idea, I have to disagree that shaking the quarters out is a good way to get them out. All this will accomplish is scratching the laser eye.

Your best solution is to take the drive out and then take the cover off of the drive and remove the quarters by hand. Trust me, it's simple. Taking the cover off the drive will only require the removal of four screws, at the most. Once that top cover is off, all you have to do is grab those quarters and put the drive back together.

Good luck, and for god's sake don't shake that drive around!

 

[Sdashiki]

While I do agree that taking the drive out is a good idea, I have to disagree that shaking the quarters out is a good way to get them out. All this will accomplish is scratching the laser eye.

if there is a cd in there, most likely the quarters are nowhere near the laser as it is covered.

 

[xPismo]

Might want to unplug the computer and leave it alone for a while to let the CRT discharge before you attempt a take-apart. I got shocked by the capacitor in my digital camera and boy did it hurt.

...and a CRT will kill.

 

[Sdashiki]

i figure if he is going to place the machine upside down and remove the plastic housing, that it would have to be unplugged for this to even be possible.

it would be more work to leave it plugged in!

 

[mick4394]

if there is a cd in there, most likely the quarters are nowhere near the laser as it is covered.

This all depends on where the quarters are. It's entirely possible that the quarters are underneath the CD.

Why risk it? It's not difficult to open up a CDROM.

 

[disconap]

...and a CRT will kill.

Yes, but taking apart an imac doesn't involve the CRT if you don't want it to. They are designed in such a way that the only reason you should be anywhere near the capacitor is if you are there intentionally.