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How to Eject a Stuck CD or DVD from an iMac

· 2 min read

iMacs use a slot-loading disc drive with no physical eject button, so if a CD or DVD gets stuck, you need to use software or keyboard shortcuts to force it out. Here are three methods to try, in order of simplicity.

Method 1: Hold the mouse button at boot​

  1. Restart your iMac (or shut it down and turn it back on).
  2. Immediately press and hold the mouse button (or trackpad button) as the iMac starts up.
  3. Keep holding until the disc ejects.

This tells the firmware to eject any disc in the drive before the operating system loads.

Method 2: Hold the C key during reboot​

If Method 1 does not work:

  1. Restart your iMac.
  2. Immediately press and hold the C key during startup.

The C key tells the iMac to boot from the optical disc. If the disc does not contain a bootable operating system, the iMac will reject it and eject the disc automatically.

Method 3: Use the Terminal​

If the first two methods fail, you can force an eject from within macOS:

  1. Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal).

  2. Type the following command and press Return:

    drutil tray eject

  3. The disc should eject.

Other tips​

  • Drag to Trash: You can also drag the disc icon from the Desktop to the Trash (which changes to an Eject icon) to eject it through the Finder.
  • Keyboard shortcut: If you have an Apple keyboard with an Eject key (top-right corner), press and hold it for a second to eject the disc.
  • Disk Utility: Open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities), select the disc in the sidebar, and click the Eject button in the toolbar.