How do i eject a cd from my imac - Answered by a verified Mac Support Specialist We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our cookie policy unless you have disabled them. In iTunes on Mac, import songs from a CD, choose what happens when you insert a CD, and solve problems importing songs from CDs. In the iTunes app on your Mac, insert an audio CD into your computer’s CD or DVD drive. Import CD and Eject: iTunes imports the CD, then ejects it. This is a good option if you plan to import a lot of CDs. Oct 11, 2011 How do i eject a cd from my imac - Answered by a verified Mac Support Specialist. The F12 key the one you need to use to eject the CD, it is an 'emergency' eject, but won't work if the CD is physically stuck. Another emergency eject method you can try is to hold down the mouse button while restarting the machine.
It’s been a while since Apple has offered Macs with built-in optical drives that could make use of a CD or DVD. The last models were the 2012 Mac Pro and the mid-year 2012 non-Retina 15-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple first removed the optical drive in the 2008 MacBook Air, but as of the end of 2013, when the Mac Pro was replaced with the newer model, all-optical drives were gone from the Mac lineup, at least as built-in options. That doesn’t mean there isn't a demand for optical drives or the CDs or DVDs that are used in them. That’s why external optical drives have been a popular peripheral for many Mac users.
Whether you have an older Mac that has a built-in optical drive or an external drive, you can eject a CD or DVD in several ways.
The 7 Most Common Ways to Eject a CD or DVD
The Mac, unlike most Windows PCs, doesn't have an external eject button on its CD/DVD drive. Instead, Apple made use of the ability of optical drives to respond to an open or close command sent over the drive's electrical interface. By using the open and close commands, the Mac offers several options for ejecting a CD or DVD.
- Some Apple keyboards have an eject key, usually located in the upper right corner of the keyboard. Press the Eject key to eject the CD or DVD from the drive.
- On any keyboard, including those originally designed for use with a Windows PC, press and hold the F12 key until the CD or DVD is ejected from the drive. This may take several seconds.
- Locate the desktop icon for the CD or DVD. Click and hold on the icon and drag it to the trash. You'll notice that the trash icon changes to an Eject symbol, as the CD or DVD icon is positioned over the trash.
- Perhaps one of the quickest ways to eject a CD or DVD is to right-click on its desktop icon and select Eject from the pop-up menu.
- Some applications, such as iTunes and Disk Utility, have an eject command in a menu or toolbar. Launch the application and use the eject command to eject the CD or DVD.
- Use the Eject menu applet located in the Mac's menu bar. If you don't see the Eject menu applet, you can create one using the instructions in Add a Menu Bar Item to Eject a CD or DVD.
- When all else fails, click and hold the mouse or trackpad button while restarting your Mac.
Ejection Tricks Specific to External Optical Drives
External optical drives typically respond to the seven methods of ejecting a CD or DVD on a Mac, but they also have a few tricks of their own.
- Most external optical drives have an eject button built into the front of the drive's case. Pressing the eject button causes the device tray to open or the optical media to be ejected if it's a slot-loading device.
- Some external optical drives appear to be missing an obvious eject button, but if you look closely, you'll see a small hole in the front of the case large enough to insert a straightened paperclip. Push the paperclip into the eject hole until you feel resistance, then push it a bit further to open the CD/DVD drawer on the optical drive.
The external eject button's function can be overridden if your Mac thinks the optical disc is in use. You can get around this problem by first quitting the app that is using the optical drive and then using the external eject button.
If the external optical drive still won’t eject the disc, try shutting down your Mac, and then using the drive's eject button. Once the disc is ejected, you can restart the Mac.
If All Else Fails
External optical drives are usually made from standard optical drives mounted in an external case. The drive can usually be removed from the case. Once removed, the drive tray may expose the eject hole that was covered up by the enclosure, and you can use the paperclip method.
Going to Extremes
Audio Cd Won't Eject From Imac To Iphone
When nothing seems to work, it may be time to break out a flat blade screwdriver. Tray-based optical drives can have their trays forced open with the aid of a prying device. Here's how:
- Make sure the external optical drive is turned off and disconnected from your Mac.
- Insert the flat blade screwdriver tip into the lip between the tray and the case of the drive.
- Gently lever the tray open. You may feel some resistance and the sound of gears moving within the drive. Be sure and perform this step slowly. Brute force should not be required.
- Once the tray is open, remove the optical media.
- Close the tray when the task is complete.
While optical discs are swiftly falling out of fashion, especially within Apple products, many Apple users still own products with optical drives – and at some point a disc will probably get stuck in that drive. So, what can you do when a disc won’t eject? Here’s are some troubleshooting tips that might help!
First courses of action:
- Press and hold the eject key.
- Right click on the disc icon in Finder, or on your desktop, and select the “eject” option from the menu.
- Drag the disk icon to the Trash.
If you’re disc is truly stuck, it’s likely that these won’t fix your problem. Fortunately, we have not yet begun to fight! There are many other tricks to try before giving up and taking it to the Apple Store!
Round Two
- Launch Disk Utility, select the problem disc in the sidebar, and hit the Eject button at the top of the window. If your disk is still stuck:
Force Eject Cd Imac
- Launch the Terminal app (found in the Utilities folder within Applications), and enter the following command: drutil eject
By now, if the issue is software related (and it usually is), one of these tricks will have worked by now. Personally, I’ve never had the Terminal command fail to eject a disk. If you happen to be unlucky, however, and the disk still wo’t eject, there are still a few more things you can do!
Round Three
- Restart your Mac, while holding down your trackpad button (or your left mouse button if you are using a mouse). Keep holding that button down until the desktop appears. This triggers the system to eject your disk before OS X begins loading.
- Shut down your Mac, then turn it back on and let it rest for 10 minutes. Don’t login to your Mac yet. After a few minutes have past, the disk may eject itself (that’s the default if you insert a disk before login). If not, try pressing the Eject key once more.
If your disk is still stuck, you almost certainly have a mechanical problem rather than a software problem. If your Mac is in warrantee, bring it to the Apple Store, or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. If it’s out of warrantee, an Apple Store still might help you without charging – although it’s equally possible you’ll get charged a service fee, or the optical drive may need to be replaced.
Hopefully you found this tip useful and were able to eject your disk!