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The Ejectorcist!

iBlue

iBlue

macrumors Core
Original poster
Mar 17, 2005
19,180
16
London, England
I've got Peculiar Encounters of the ejecting kind.

Early this morning (5:50-ish am, if it matters) I witnessed for the second time our beloved Mac Pro physically ejecting the disk drive over and over after having woke itself from sleep.
The first time it happened it was just before the snow leopard release (we joked about that) so it's happening with both leopard and snow leopard.
Here is a super-dorky link my husband put together a while back which has all the details (and a photo) of the possessed machine.

What is especially bizarre is that it's not timed one right after another, like a stuck key, it stops briefly and starts again - usually when I walk in the door to investigate the WTFness.
I am not generally the superstitious and paranormal believer type (though I wish I hadn't watched all those scary movies now) so I'm really mystified by this. There must be a logical explanation. http://upc.*************/uploads/smilies/erm.gif

I imagine there won't be a lot of help or information about a Mac Pro ejecting itself (I have googled) but I'm putting this out there in case someone else has had the self-ejecting phenomenon.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Macs have been known to be all sorts of temperamental. A few years back my Mac used to talk to my telly (voice recognition was on, so it was just responding to conversations on TV if the volume was up loud. But I think he was just lonely..)

So this premature ejection doesn't surprise me. Ignore him, I think he's just looking for attention.

p.s. "WTFness"? I like it! I think I'll steal that one..

p.p.s which 'drive' is it ejecting, do you mean it's ejecting the DVD, or some removable drive? You could look for any apps referencing any files on that volume; or poke about at the drive to see if there's any lip catching, causing it to eject again. But that's probably exactly what he wants you to do..
 
From the picture it appears you're using the wired Apple keyboard. My first thought is that the keyboard is for some reason sending random eject signals. See if it happens with the keyboard disconnected, or try using a different keyboard. If the keyboard is connected to a hub try connecting it directly. I'd also make sure the connectors to the optical drive are secure.
 
Personally, I think your husband wrote a script to do it so he can get some morning lovin'. :D
 
whooleytoo said:
Macs have been known to be all sorts of temperamental. A few years back my Mac used to talk to my telly (voice recognition was on, so it was just responding to conversations on TV if the volume was up loud. But I think he was just lonely..)

So this premature ejection doesn't surprise me. Ignore him, I think he's just looking for attention.

p.s. "WTFness"? I like it! I think I'll steal that one..

p.p.s which 'drive' is it ejecting, do you mean it's ejecting the DVD, or some removable drive? You could look for any apps referencing any files on that volume; or poke about at the drive to see if there's any lip catching, causing it to eject again. But that's probably exactly what he wants you to do..
Click to expand...
Premature ejection? I think they have pills for that now. :D
 
whooleytoo said:
Macs have been known to be all sorts of temperamental. A few years back my Mac used to talk to my telly (voice recognition was on, so it was just responding to conversations on TV if the volume was up loud. But I think he was just lonely..)

So this premature ejection doesn't surprise me. Ignore him, I think he's just looking for attention.

p.s. "WTFness"? I like it! I think I'll steal that one..

p.p.s which 'drive' is it ejecting, do you mean it's ejecting the DVD, or some removable drive? You could look for any apps referencing any files on that volume; or poke about at the drive to see if there's any lip catching, causing it to eject again. But that's probably exactly what he wants you to do..
Click to expand...
How funny, the electronics were having a little chin wag!

The drive ejecting is the DVD (optical) drive. The tray opens and closes. I can see the eject symbol on the screen each time it does it. It's really a bizarre thing to stand and watch happen.

Darth.Titan said:
From the picture it appears you're using the wired Apple keyboard. My first thought is that the keyboard is for some reason sending random eject signals. See if it happens with the keyboard disconnected, or try using a different keyboard. If the keyboard is connected to a hub try connecting it directly. I'd also make sure the connectors to the optical drive are secure.
Click to expand...

The Ejectorcist phenomenon has only happened twice, and a little over two months apart. It's going to be hard to diagnose by taking things away, plus I love my apple (wired) keyboard, don't want to change it. I will try disconnecting the keyboard when/if it does it next, that's a good idea. I'll check the optical drive connectors too. Thanks for that.
 
Ok, time to be serious. Sounds like you have a program wanting this action. Check processes or logs right after it happens to see if some program is doing this. Could be a loose connection too.
 
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