How to Eject a Stuck CD/DVD

When your CD player grabs your favorite disc and won't let go, you shouldn't fish around inside the slot because you might scratch the disc or damage the drive. But you could try this secret to remove the disk without injuring it or your device.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper clip

1. Reboot the device. Turn it off for a minute, and then turn it back on. It should eject the disc on restart.

2. 

   If it doesn't eject the disc on restart, locate the pinhole on the front of the drive.

3. Turn off the system again and unplug it. Straighten a paper clip so that you can fit one end into the hole. Gently push the paper clip straight into the hole until you feel resistance. Sometimes you have to pump it several times to manually release the internal mechanism.

4. Watch for the tray to pop out a fraction of an inch. You may have to pry it a bit to start the process. Once you have enough tray sticking out to grab with your fingers, you should be able to pull it out.

5. Whenever using this method there is a chance you may damage the drive or the disc. If the faceplate bulges as you pull, the disc could be stuck on it. Take the device to a repair shop unless you know how to remove the drive yourself.

Tips & Warnings

• Some Macintosh products do not have a physical button or trigger that you can push with a paper clip. In that case, reboot the laptop while holding down the mouse or track pad. This communicates an "eject" signal to the drive. If that fails, your drive may be beyond repair, but let a professional make that determination. If you must retrieve the disc and you believe the drive is shot, you can try to use a credit card to slip in the slot, pop the disc off the spindle, and fish it out.
• When attempting any manual ejection, there is always a risk of damaging the drive or the disc. Proceed with caution.