Apple Mac: CD eject not working? That's how it's done!

You have a CD or DVD in the drive / SuperDrive of your Apple Mac, iMac or MacBook, but it cannot be ejected? Then there are some tricks to get them out safely and without violence. Because the Apple disc drives no longer have a small hole in which you can stick a straightened paper clip in order to open it manually. So if you don't have a CD icon on your macOS desktop that you can drag into the trash or eject with a secondary click, then use the following instructions. Feel free to leave a comment if I get you guys with this  Counselor could (not) help;)

Eject CD does not work, but icon is still there

The simplest case is that the disc drive / SuperDrive on the Apple Mac does not open because you press the eject button but it does not work. If the CD or DVD could be recognized and read, the drive symbol on the desktop can still be used to eject. To do this, simply drag it to the trash with the mouse button held down. If nothing happens or the medium was not recognized in the first place (and therefore no symbol can be seen), then use the following tips.

Restart and hold the eject button / left mouse button

The next and still quite simple procedure, if the CD eject does not work, is to restart the Mac. As soon as the Apple computer starts up, however, you have to hold down the left mouse button or the eject button. Until the disc is released. If the key on the keyboard did nothing before, I would use the mouse solution here (of course, it doesn't hurt to try both out). If that doesn't work either, there is still a bit of hope.

Eject CD or DVD via terminal input

Also a Portcommand can help to force open the drive. To do this, call up the input console called Terminal (via the utilities or search with cmd+space) and enter the following command:

drutil tray eject

And then press Enter. If that doesn't work, try:

drutil eject

Then press Enter again and the Mac disc drive or Apple SuperDrive should open and release the CD or DVD. The command (the latter) also works with external drives from third-party manufacturers. I have just successfully tested this with an old BenQ burner model EW1621.

SuperDrive does not manage to eject completely

The problems mentioned above may not help if the CD gets stuck mechanically in the drive. This is sometimes the case when the SuperDrive is older and the mechanics no longer have enough power. This could be due to a lack of lubrication or something similar.

There is a simple trick to get the CD out anyway. Hold the drive with the opening facing down when ejecting it. This helps gravity a little when pushing the CD out.

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.