How to Remove a Stuck DVD from a Macbook

Posted: 2007-08-28

Ran into an unusual problem over the weekend and figured I'd share my experience with anyone looking to avoid opening up their Macbook and voiding their warranty. First a little background:

(If you want the quick and dirty answer, click here)
I tried getting Windows Vista Business to install on my laptop via Boot Camp. After running the Boot Camp Assistant and partitioning the hard drive, I inserted the Vista DVD (a not quite legal version I was using until my licensed copy arrived in the mail...within the 30 day trial period mind you) and noticed it took a bit longer than usual to mount on the desktop. I paid it no mind (BRRRRRAP! MISTAKE #1).

After my laptop rebooted, I noticed it seemed to try booting off the Vista DVD. After a few minutes of making the same "oh crap I can't read this P.O.S. you put in here!" sound, I figure something's up. Here's where the nightmare begins.

I go "hmm that's odd", reboot, and do the usual Command + "O" key combination after the bootup sound to select the hard drive. Nothing. Oh well. From there it's calling to arrange a Genius Bar appointment with Apple. Lucky for me this happened on a Thursday night and the local Apple store was all booked up Friday AND halfway into Saturday. Shit. Then I try the 'ol hold the Mac sideways and try to get it to rejecta-pwn that disc out. Still no luck. I take out the hard drive because I know I'm about to get violent and I don't want to lose all the stuff on there. Coupla slaps to show the ho who's boss, but still nothing. It's trying to read that disc like an NFL defensive linebacker reading a middle-school-level novel (and having about as much success). Oh BALLS.

Next stop is a MULTITUDE of message boards all offering the same solution I've come to expect from the Apple-loving masses: Call Apple and send it back to the mothership!

...pardon my French, but fuck that noise. I didn't spend four years in college studying how to roll over and play the bitch. I'm gonna take that thing apart and pry that crap disc from the lifeless fangs of my Superdrive, then Franken-zap that shit back to life and smack it for scaring me like that.

But this just begs the question: "How, Chris? How are you going to take apart a Macbook when you have no knowledge whatsoever of the medieval spookery used to build these things?" Easy, chum. MacFixIt.com my good man. From there, it was a few hours of Appletinis ("heavy on the Apple, light on the tini") and working up the nerve to submit my baby to open-heart surgery.

Fast forward to the next morning and a slight headache. Cracked that bitch open and got to work digging around until I realized I had no clue what the unholy fuck I was doing and put it back together with only a gouge in the case to show for all of it. I had all but given up hope when I found one last message online:

Ever have a problem with a CD/DVD stuck in your offline MacBook Pro and it doesn't allow you to boot up OS X? Apple mentioned the solution is to press and hold the trackpad button when booting your MBP. You tried that, but still fails? Another possible fix is the credit card/knife trick that sometimes works, but it just sounds not right?

OK, now there is an easy way to do it: Just power up your MBP and leave it alone for about 10 minutes. It will eventually boot up and the CD/DVD will automatically eject (make sure your power cable is plugged in, though!).

-Taken without permission from MacOSXHints.com A.K.A. My new Best-fucking-friends.

I start the computer up, walk away for 15 minutes and when I get back, there's a flashing folder icon with a question mark where the Apple usually goes and the drive is still trying to read that satan-shit DVD. Now where have I seen that before? OH YEAH! In my rush to play God, I forgot to put the hard drive back in. Pop the back, slap the drive in, rinse and repeat. 15 minutes later, I'm greeted by the friendly log-in box and I'm re-enacting the rain scene from The Notebook with the Macbook. 30 seconds after that, it's Goodfellas time like that DVD just told me to get my fuckin' shine box.

ANSWER: So there you have it: Just leave the thing alone for 15 minutes. Go get a sandwich. Take a cold shower. If your laptop keeps trying to read the DVD and it's not working, then (barring a mechanical error) leaving it alone for 15 minutes will abort the bootup sequence from the DVD and boot from the hard drive instead. As always, your mileage may vary. Results not typical. Weight loss not guaranteed.