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How To Eject And Remove A Stuck CD Or DVD From A MacBook

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By Hup Challenge


All I wanted was my DVD back!
All I wanted was my DVD back!

Hey Mac, Give Me My DVD Back!

After I had burned a new DVD of a video I edited up one day, I wanted to make sure that it would actually play on a Mac, so I did the same thing that I always do when I want to watch a DVD -- I pushed it into my MacBook's SuperDrive (what a cool name). As my MacBook made the weird noises that it always does when I put in a DVD (is that necessary?), I noticed that the SuperDrive showed up as an icon on my desktop and that the DVD was spinning around and around, which seemed pretty normal as well.

Unfortunately my DVD burning skills aren't quite up to par because the DVD didn't end up playing, which isn't the first time that my computer skills haven't quite been as sharp as I would like them to be. But, it didn't bother me much and I figured that I would just eject the defunct DVD and try to burn another one -- no big deal, right? Wrong. To my surprise, when I tried to eject the DVD from my MacBook nothing happened. It was like my Mac didn't want to give me back my non-working DVD and it wasn't budging on the matter. I couldn't get my DVD back and I had no idea how to eject it.

Luckily, after searching around on how to get my MacBook to part with my DVD I finlly figured it out and I finally got my hands on the DVD that didn't even work in the first place. Just in case you have the same problem that I did, I listed out some ways to get your stuck DVD or CD to eject from your MacBook too so that you don't panic like I did.


The location of the eject button on a Mac
The location of the eject button on a Mac

Press And Hold The Eject Button

OK, this might seem like a no-brainer, but the fact that I am a fairly new Mac user, it took me a couple minutes to figure out that I needed to press and hold the eject key if I wanted to eject a DVD from my MacBook. The eject button is usually the key that's located at the top-right corner of your keyboard. Most of the time pressing and holding this eject button will do the trick, but sometimes you need to pull something else out of your bag of tricks. Keep on reading if you this option doesn't work for you. 



Dragging the CD icon into the trash can might eject your CD/DVD
Dragging the CD icon into the trash can might eject your CD/DVD

Drag The SuperDrive CD Icon To The Trash Can

If hitting the eject button doesn't work for you and your DVD or CD is still stuck in your MacBook a good second option is to drag the SuperDrive icon that appears on your desktop to the trash can. On my MacBook the trash can is located in the bottom right-hand corner of my desktop, so dragging down the icon is pretty easy. The SuperDrive icon should look like a CD and should have the name of your DVD or CD listed below it.

Once you drag the CD icon into the trach can, your DVD or CD should be ejected from your Mac. If not, it looks like you might need to keep on reading. Don't worry, this option didn't work for me, either.


Hold in this mouse button on your MacBook during reboot and your DVD should eject
Hold in this mouse button on your MacBook during reboot and your DVD should eject

Holding In The Mouse Button During A Reboot

Believe it or not, this is what finally did the trick for me when I had a stuck DVD in my MacBook. All you need to do for this to work is reboot your MacBook and as it's rebooting keep your fingers pressed down on the mouse button that's actually on the laptop. This might work with an external mouse, but to be honest I haven't tried. As you're pressing the mouse button and your MacBook begins to reboot, your DVD will eject before your desktop appears. I'm not sure how this happens (and I don't really care), but it actually works. Maybe it's some type of Mac magic or something?



Using a credit card sounds crazy, but has actually worked for some people
Using a credit card sounds crazy, but has actually worked for some people

Last Ditch Effort: Using A Credit Card

I'm not saying that this method always works, but I know that it has for a few MacBook owners and at this point if nothing else has worked, it's worth a shot. I mean, desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

Over here on this blog I read about how this guy used a credit card to somehow get a CD out of his MacBook's SuperDrive. It took him a few tries, but he did it by simply sticking the credit car in the SuperDrive's slot, pressing the eject key and once he felt pressure on the card he pulled it out, along with the CD. Seems kind of crazy, but hey, it worked and might be worth giving a shot if none of these previous methods worked. If this does actually work, be sure to leave me a comment and let me know.


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geraldgarces profile image

geraldgarces  says:
7 months ago

hahaha! your hub is funny! yet informative too! nice!

Mad Macs profile image

Mad Macs  says:
7 months ago

Another thing to try is using post-it notes. Take 5-6 of them and insert them sticky side down and make sure they go over the disc stuck in the drive. You can get discs out sometimes that way as well.

berhe  says:
6 months ago

HI I easly removed it A Credit Card. I kept the card partially inside and turn the mac off, when I turn it on again it ejected the cd imidialtly

Ang  says:
6 months ago

Thanks for posting this info! And to the post-it note addendum, that's what did the trick for me! Thanks guys!

carpesomediem profile image

carpesomediem  says:
6 months ago

Very, very informative hub!

chris  says:
5 months ago

omg thankyou thankyou so much

for posting up to use a credit card!! I accidently got a mini disk jammed into the mac. Now I know to never put that in again lol. I tried various other methods like restarting & holding down the key.. I even tried using my tweezers & various paperclips lol.

anyways thankyou so much!!!!

I used my credit card, and it actually worked!

jbeam  says:
5 months ago

the credit card trick actually worked. i had TWO discs stuck in at the same time, weird situation, but hey, i got out of it.

Darren  says:
5 months ago

Thank you!! I did the trick where you hold down the mouse button while re-starting the mac book.... and it worked perfectly!!! As soon as the desktop reappeared the cd simply popped out...awesome!! Oh yeah, I used a wireless mouse too!

Anna Grace  says:
5 months ago

Holding down the mouse during a re-start worked like magic. The disc just popped out! Thank you so much!

Ryan Hupfer profile image

Ryan Hupfer  says:
5 months ago

Glad that I could help all of you! If you happen to find out any other ways to get them out, please let me know and I'll update the article.

jonty  says:
5 months ago

this is really a wonderful hub....

very informative .... very nicely explained ....

keep the good work up .... god bless you .....

bloom  says:
5 months ago

thanks a lot its really work, i hold the mouse button while my mac pro is reboot...then the cd really pop out ...

Chloe  says:
4 months ago

Oh my goodness thank you so much the mouse trick works! My problem was I put a cd in which my mac usually reads fine and this time no icons or any sign of my cd being recognized was on my computer and the eject button didn't work! So if ever your cd/Dvd doesn't even pop up on your computer as an Icon to eject restart with and hold the mouse down! MAGIC! Thanx a Million!

Xander  says:
3 months ago

Used my ID card instead of a credit card. Worked immediately.

Cheers!

Annon  says:
9 days ago

The credit card thing did the trick, thanks!

Pietro  says:
33 hours ago

hey the post-it thing worked GREAT! It was 3 years I had that dvd stuck. thanks!!!

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