Comments on: Ecodisc cover DVD stuck in Mac slot drive

By: B Sadler

B Sadler — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:55:27 +0000

Graham Dunlop, thank you so much … you have saved me a load of cash i would have had to shell out paying a technician to get the Ecodisc i had stuck in my mac mini. My brother followed your instructions and got the disc out pretty quickly (i’d been trying various methods for the last couple of days). The only part he did differently was to use a metal ruler instead of the credit card, as this gave more power in pushing the DVD up (we were having trouble using the credit card as it didn’t seem to be quite strong enough as those pesky Ecodiscs are so flexible.) You’re idea of unbloking the gate by removing the power cord and masking back the felt flaps worked a treat. I’m going to post links to this site as you’re instructions are so good. Thank you for saving me lots of money and my sanity too…

By: Shareef Ali

Shareef Ali — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:38:27 +0000

Graham that is brilliant. This worked on my son’s mac mini first time. Dead easy as well … once you tape the felt back you can clearly see the drive gate move away; then just yank on that power cable! After wiggling with a credit card the disk just fell out once I held it upsidedown. Many thanks.

By: Monica Muzhona

Monica Muzhona — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 10:14:51 +0000

GRAHAM DUNLOP you are a star. Your method worked for me after hours of trying everything else suggested on other blogs!!! The first time failed, but the second time the disc popped right out, after I kept the gate down using a business card (I thought the credit card would damage my drive). Thank you so much!

By: Graham Dunlop

Graham Dunlop — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:33:21 +0000

I made this mistake with an EcoDisc a few days ago. Lots of trawling around forums but I couldn’t find any decent solutions… so I came up with my own. Just retrieved the offending article from my slot loading iMac using nothing more than masking tape, torch and credit card (but no bill to pay in this instance). It was painless and the drive is fully operational again.

As documented elsewhere - including Apple’s site - the iMac slot loading drive only works with discs between 1.2-1.5mm. The reduced thickness of an EcoDisc means the drive has problems ejecting them. In fact the root problem seems to be the EcoDisc remains ’stuck’ on the drive spindle. It simply needs a little coaxing to pop it off the spindle, before you hook it out with a credit card (or tip your iMac on its side). Sounds easy, but in practice you have a very short time (1 second?) after a failed eject before the drive gate closes and it spins up to speed again. With a disc loaded, the ‘gate’ is visible as a strip of metal about 1 inch long in the middle of the slot.

The lack of time to play with got me thinking and I decided to pull the power cord out during the eject process, thus leaving the drive gate open. With the drive in this state, five seconds later I had the EcoDisc in my hand. Shortly after that, it took it’s rightful place in the waste bin.

You follow the steps below at your own risk - as noted the power must be switched off while the iMac is up and running, which could potentially cause data corruption or loss.

Open wide…

1. Tape back the felt strips which shield the drive slot. This is purely so you can see the disc and the drive spindle. Use low tack masking tape or similar and cut two pieces just a bit shorter than the drive slot then stick them in position (this is actually the hardest step)
2. Position the iMac so you can see into the drive slot. A torch is useful to throw some light on the situation.
3. Get ready to turn the power off at the socket or pull the cord out the back
4. Press the keyboard Eject button
5. After a short delay the drive gate will retract - cut the power as soon as it is out of the way!
6. Slip a credit card into the slot and under the disc then twist gently to pop the disc off the spindle.

At this point the disc will no longer be held captive in the drive. Either tilt the iMac until it rolls out, or stick some tape to the credit card to give it a bit of grip, and hook the disc out that way.

Happy fettling!

By: Tony Ledwaba-Chapman

Tony Ledwaba-Chapman — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:07:57 +0000

Wish I’d read this earlier, though in fact I tried all these tricks to release my EcoDisc freebie from the Independent. The warning on the disc and cover is totally inadequate - it needs something like the Health Warning on a packet of cigarettes, at least until the format becomes familiar. The Apple shop in Leeds didn’t spot the problem when I took my MacMini to them (and showed them the DVD cover) but their engineers in Nottingham quickly rectified the problem (£49 thanks very much!) - I emailed Independent but their response would be more appropriate for a 5 year-old …..