Something's stuck in my iMac disc drive?

soundhoundsoundhound
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I put a disk in this morning, and I thought I saw out of the corner of my eye a piece of paper or something go in with the disc. I thought I was imagining things, but now it can't read any discs and ejects any disk I put in there.



Anybody know how to check if there's something in there, and how to get it out? (My iMac is a 2.16 ghz core 2 duo, if that makes a difference).



Help!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    spotonspoton Posts: 645member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Soundhound View Post


    I put a disk in this morning, and I thought I saw out of the corner of my eye a piece of paper or something go in with the disc. I thought I was imagining things, but now it can't read any discs and ejects any disk I put in there.



    Anybody know how to check if there's something in there, and how to get it out? (My iMac is a 2.16 ghz core 2 duo, if that makes a difference).



    Help!





    If it's under warranty or AppleCare, just take it in and tell them the drive isn't working.



    Increase the drive size and RAM while your at it, saves the trouble later.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,179member
    If it's NOT under warranty, it's easy enough to access the optical drive... it can be partially disassembled to reveal the interior and remove any foreign objects. There really aren't THAT many moving parts in there...

    Worst case scenario if you DO screw it up is you have to spend USD79 to buy an entire new optical drive.
  • Reply 3 of 8
    spotonspoton Posts: 645member
    Disassembling a iMac is not a easy affair, may result in additional damage and likely void your warranty.



    You can check out the videos at Other World Computing for disassembly instructions for your machine.





    I would shine a flashlight into the slot first, see if the paper can be removed with a pair of long tweezers before attempting disassembly.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,179member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpotOn View Post


    Disassembling a iMac is not a easy affair, may result in additional damage and likely void your warranty.



    Well, I DID specifically mention if it was OUT of warranty, but it's not hard to open up at all. I've the same model and it's been open a couple times... for upgraded HDDs.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    spotonspoton Posts: 645member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post


    Well, I DID specifically mention if it was OUT of warranty, but it's not hard to open up at all. I've the same model and it's been open a couple times... for upgraded HDDs.





    The Superdrive is like hard drives, sealed at the factory, so it serves little purpose to open the iMac and possibly incur more damage unless your going to replace it. Any possible debris removal can be done via the slot.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,179member
    Don't be afraid!
  • Reply 7 of 8
    kareliakarelia Posts: 525member
    I agree with SpotOn. At this point, if debris removal through the slot fails, he's looking at a drive replacement. In order to remove the optical drive, he's looking at removing the outer casing and LCD, all of which are connected by several cables. If any of those are damaged during disassembly, he'll be vastly increasing the cost of a repair at Apple.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member
    I'd be curious to know how you look past the rubber gasket on the slot to see what's inside the drive.
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