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The optical drive on my Macbook seems to have some sort of blockage. When I try to insert a disk the disk seems to be hitting something inside the drive on the right side (the side nearer the monitor). Thus disks do not fit into the drive. This problem occurred a few weeks ago, but then miraculously fixed itself. It felt like I had managed to maneuver the disk over the blockage. Now the blockage is back and I can't get any disks into the drive again. Anyone ever encountered this problem before? I probably need to open up my Macbook, huh.

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2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

This may not be the best solution, but I had that problem a few months ago on my Late 2008 MacBook and I just slowly but forcefully pushed a disk in and out to coax the mechanism to release. That was the best solution that I read online (I can't seem to find anything now, the search terms evade me).

Apple user forums also recommend trying an SMC reset:

my optical drive is blocked. No CD/DVD inserted. I tried to insert a disc. not possible. feels like a arm avoid a insert of the disc.
when booting the mac the drive tries 3 times to eject something. (even its empty).

…

You could try an SMC reset … see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2801 and http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

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Yes!That worked for me too. – milse Oct 1 '10 at 2:53
Though, that doesn't really seem like the best solution for the problem. It feels like something's eventually going to snap off. Oh well. – milse Oct 1 '10 at 2:55
On a separate note, I'm not sure what resetting the SMC is supposed to do. I tried it and nothing changed. No whirring noises, no clicking. I'm not really sure it worked. – milse Oct 1 '10 at 2:57
Thanks again. I'd vote for you, but then I'd need to register... – milse Oct 1 '10 at 2:58
It's the thought that counts. Good to hear that it worked. – fideli Oct 1 '10 at 11:24
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up vote 2 down vote

I solved the same problem by forcing an eject through commandline. Open a terminal and type 

drutil eject
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Great, that worked after two or three attempts. – DaG Sep 20 '11 at 17:05
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