How to Eject a CD From Your Mac

Ejecting a Stuck Disk

1. Close any open apps. Some CD drives—especially external ones—won't respond to ejection commands if the CD is currently being used by an app. You can keep web browsers open, but make sure things like iTunes, media players, video games, and any other programs that might be using the disk are shut down.

2. Tilt your Mac while ejecting the disk. Angle the disk slot side of the Mac downward, then use one of the disk ejection techniques that you'd use for a working disk. Sometimes mechanical parts that drive the CD ejection can become weakened over time; gravity may provide the push you need to release the CD.

3. Restart your Mac while holding down the mouse button. This will usually prompt your Mac to force the CD to eject upon starting back up.

   1. If you use a traditional mouse with your Mac, make sure you're holding down the left mouse button.

4. Use Disk Utility to open the CD tray. Open Spotlight by clicking the magnifying glass icon

   , type disk utility into Spotlight, and click Disk Utility to open Disk Utility, then do the following:

   1. Click your disk's name in the left-hand side of the window.
   2. Click Eject at the top of the window.

5. Use a Terminal command. Click Spotlight

   , type in terminal, and click

   Terminal to open Terminal. Type drutil eject into Terminal and press ⏎ Return to force the CD drive open.

   1. If this command doesn't work, try typing in drutil tray eject instead.

6. Retry the above methods after giving your computer a break. Shut down your computer for as long as possible (at least 10 minutes), then turn it back on and work through the above methods again to see if any of them work.^[1]

7. Take your computer to a professional. If none of the above methods work, it's most likely either because your CD drive itself no longer works, or because the CD in the CD drive is physically stuck. Take your computer to a computer repair store or an Apple store and allow a professional to physically remove the disc rather than attempting to do so yourself.