CD stuck in iMac

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 651465
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Deleted member 651465

Deleted member 651465

Hey,

Well my worst nightmare has come true, I have a stuck CD in the iMac.

Tried everything to get it out (holding down mouse button, paperclip in the slot, even tried coaxing a CD in a little bit to help it guide the stuck one out) but nothing is working.

Anyone got a suggestion?

Frankly I'd rather throw it out the window than have a repair, it's an expensive machine and I can't be without it for longer than a day.
 
On the phone to Applecare.

They wanted me to lug a 24" iMac in to the centre of Cardiff (55 miles away), in to a premium reseller for a repair.

I said that's not reasonably practicable (considering the size of the iMac & weight) and I'm on hold to see if they'll replace it.

*fingers crossed*

Goodbye Queen II :(
 
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Well, after 55 minutes of being on the phone with Applecare I am no less pleased than I was before calling :mad:

After complaining about the distance to the nearest Apple store they agreed to collect the machine from me in 48hrs.

I have only had it since 11/12/07 and I told the lady on the phone that I could not believe it has broken so easily given it's only a few months old. I even told her about the minor issues I had been having with the CD drive before this issue*

*It would sometimes show the CD in the Finder and pop up in iTunes, then a split second later it would disappear from the Finder & iTunes :confused:
*It would burn discs in the Finder, but it would consistently fail to verify the discs (regardless of branded/value media)

Anyway, they wouldn't cave and replace the machine as this was the first time that a fault had been reported. Frankly, I'm glad I used the www.saynoto0870.com url in the sticky and the call didn't cost me £60.. there was a lot of "on hold" time.

I have to send the unit off without the keyboard & mouse, but as soon as I get it back it's being sold. I cannot, and will not trust a machine that's let me down like this.. that's always been a mantra of mine.

Perhaps it will spearhead my purchase of the Mac Pro I've got lined up.

This couldn't come at a worse time for me, I am just about to take 3 exams, and most of my revision material was supplied on disc.
It's more about the hassle than anything.. not something you need when you're stressed.

P.s. Sorry if I was rude WotDa, I am going mad here.

You guys won't see me much now.
 
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Out of interest, how long did it take for the repair on your MBP?

The sooner I get this back the better, bit gutted that it's chewed the CD.. that was a vintage album, given to me as a present :(
 
Thanks for the information Slogan, mate.

I've pretty much written it off for 14 days to be on the safe side.. I know it might be back in 7 days, but at least if I think long-term then anything else is a bonus.

Looking on MacRumor's Buyer's Guide now and the iMac is due for a refresh anyway.

I've made up my mind, it's on eBay the day it's fixed and returned :)
 
i know how to fix this without sending it back to apple.... sounds wierd but i would give it a shot... might save you some hassle.

1-take a piece of card, like from a packet of batteries
2-tun off your mac.
3- take the piece of card and place it in the slot... just a little enough for you to be able to put a little pressure on the cd
4-turn on the mac while holding down the mouse button, while exerting downward force on the cd, enough for it to stop spinning..
5-wait
6- Enjoy you CD/DVD back and a fully working optical drive
 
Thanks for the email Robotica.

I was tearing apart the missues rice crispies box at 6am this morning (to get some cardboard) :D

Unfortunately, no matter which way I tried to jam the card in, it wouldn't coax the CD out.


The courier rung me today when I was out, but luckily my mum (who I gave my new 16GB iPhone to :eek: ) arranged for collection tomorrow morning.

I've been digging around my old room at my parent's house for the iMac box, it really is suprising how big that thing is! I swear you could live inside it.


P.s. If I pass these exams I may just sit on the money from the sale of the iMac and see what I want to do.

One half of me wants to get an iMac when they're refreshed, but the other half is skeptical because of the dodgy CD/DVD drive and is pushing me towards a Mac Pro.
 
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you can feel the cd spinning with the card.... thae aim is to forceably stop the cd moving with the card.. by exerting downward pressure on the top of the CD

while your doing that you need to hold the mouse down ( the normal remove disc before bootup procedure )

what this does is change the type of error the CD drive thinks it have to it *should* come out

did you try that? i am sure i could get it out for you if i were there, good luck :)

might take a few min before it comes out
 
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jdickerson said:
I learnt a neat trick for if the cd won't come out because of hardware problems (if it's software you can do all the reboot mouse button/terminal etc. things).

1) Find keyboard, find eject button.
2) Clear desk
3) Lie imac face down on desk, so screen is down.
4) Press eject button.
5) Retrieve cd.

Gravity really is a good thing at times.
Click to expand...

Tried that, tried all the methods posted here.

Just wanted to update the thread really..

Got a call on Friday about Apple receiving the iMac, and that they've ordered a new optical disc drive.. should take 2 working days to fit, and then another 2-3 to re-deliver it to me.

I had to listen to the answerphone message 7 times, the guy on the line had the thickest Indian accent I've ever heard.
 
The iMac is back :)

They actually preserved the CD that was stuck in the drive, and you'd never tell that it had been repaired.

Overall, 5 days from collection to delivery (including 2 days for the weekend), you could call it 3 working days. Impressive.

Still going to sell this and get the new iMac/Mac Pro though.
 
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