CD or DVD stuck inside Mac

Problem

A disc is stuck inside the Mac and will not eject.

Solution

Try the following solutions:

  • Hold down the eject button on the keyboard if you have one.
  • If the disc icon is on your Desktop:
    • Close any programs that may be using the drive.
    • Select it. Then click File -> Eject.
    • Right click it and select Eject.
    • Drag the icon to the Trash.
  • Turn on the computer whilst holding down…
    • The Left (or only) Mouse button.
    • Alt/Option key.
      1. You will be asked to choose a drive to start from after.
      2. If the disk has not ejected, try holding down the eject button now.
      3. Regardless of the outcome, select your hard disk to continue.
    • C key (if the disc is not bootable).
  • Open iTunes, and click the eject icon next to the drive in the left column (if present).
  • Your drive may have a small hole that you can press with a paperclip to force eject.
  • Eject and Close via the Terminal
    1. Click the magnifying glass in the top right to bring up the Spotlight
    2. Type Terminal and press Enter.
    3. Type (without quotes) “drutil tray eject” and press Enter.
    4. Type (without quotes) “drutil tray close” and press Enter.
  • If using a Virtual Machine / Parallels make sure the disc is not being used in that instance.

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