DVD stuck in drive: any hints?

[a lower gear]

We're running a Dell inspiron 530 tower drive with three ports: from top down: a CD/DVD port, a blank similar port, and a port with a range of connections for flashdrive, headphones, etc.

My son put a DVD in the top port; it played through fine. When he finished the film the eject switch didn't work.

Looking at it and comparing it to the blank port below which is essentially the same, the manual insert/eject switch must activate a more sensitive switch integral to the 'black box' that is the DVD/CD player but without breaking the manual insert/eject switch I cannot see what it physically activates.

I've tried pressing the switch all angles including using a screwdriver blade as a stylus. The tower drive won't switch off at the on-off switch on the front of the tower, and the computer is running glacially slow - it too around 8 mins to exit my son's account, open mine, and get online - though once online it seemed to work at normal speed. Very odd!

Any suggestions for possible ways to eject the DVD before hauling the drive to a computer shop?

Many thanks for any suggestions you can make!

[Biggsy]

Something might have jammed, or a connecor come unplugged, but I bet it's down to the operating system rather than anything physical.  Reboot the computer and try again.  If refusing to reset, hold your finger on the power button for a long time, or switch off and on at the mains.

Do you know the make and model of the drive?  Some/all have a physical way of opening the drawer via a little something to turn or prod.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

If there's a teeny little hole, stick an unbended paperclip in it.

[a lower gear]

Something might have jammed, or a connecor come unplugged, but I bet it's down to the operating system rather than anything physical.  Reboot the computer and try again.  If refusing to reset, hold your finger on the power button for a long time, or switch off and on at the mains.

Do you know the make and model of the drive?  Some/all have a physical way of opening the drawer via a little something to turn or prod.

I was reluctant to try 'ye olde switch off and back on' as the computer had become so incredibly slow and I feared that on switching back on I'd get a 'non system disc or disc error' type message and the whole damn thing might lock. However, I tried it - and on rebooting the manual eject switch functioned as normal. 

Many thanks!

If there's a teeny little hole, stick an unbended paperclip in it.

I'm reuctant to try this sort of approach I'm afraid, not least because it gives the kids the wrong idea - the smallest gear (now age 12) almost killed himself a few years ago poking a piece of cutlery into an electric radiator in school - big BANG! and he blacked out (he remembers zig-zags in his vision) but probably survived because it was a wooden floored cabin. There is in fact a teeny hole - fractionally larger in diameter than a paper clip however.... but it doesn't actually have a label saying 'insert paperclip here'!

[Biggsy]

Turning it off and on again cures most things! 

The drives are low-voltage.  The only mains voltage in your PC will be inside the power supply unit (a glorified transformer).  It's common practice (though not necessarily advisable) to poke around inside a PC with the lid off while it's running.  I haven't been killed doing it yet.

The biggest jolt I've had was via holding a fork near the electric ignition on a gas cooker.   

[Kim]

It's common practice (though not necessarily advisable) to poke around inside a PC with the lid off while it's running.  I haven't been killed doing it yet.

They're not entirely harmless, though.  Plenty of things inside a typical computer case have a taste for human flesh, and I once got my hair entangled with a PSU fan. (Have you ever tried to dismantle a PSU while it's tied to your head without getting electrocuted?  No?  I don't recommend it.)

[ian]

The little hole (being too small for a demon to emerge from) is designed for a lusty paperclip penetration. It'll actuate the spring mechanism and your disk should slide free.

The other option to try in future is going to My Computer, locating the errant disk and right click > eject. Disks usually stick because the computer believes it is still using them. Of course, if the disk isn't listed, then activate the on/off nuke option. Modern OSs are resilient to that kind of abuse. Trust me, I just did it in a stupid attempt to turn on my desk lamp, instead powering down the multiplug. It's been one of those days.

[a lower gear]

The little hole (being too small for a demon to emerge from) is designed for a lusty paperclip penetration. It'll actuate the spring mechanism and your disk should slide free.

Ah! So its intended for insertion of a paperclip... or Snap-On Tool no. 753A  (Just so long as it doesn't spike the demon that's pedalling to keep the disc whirling!).

The other option to try in future is going to My Computer, locating the errant disk and right click > eject.

I couldn't seem to get to the relevant control panel - though in retrospect that was probably due to the incredible slowness of the computer to load each screen rather than it being for some reason inaccessible.


Anyway - thanks to the fine folk at yacf and their knowledge of paperclips, on/off switches and demons, all is now well - and I have a much better idea what to do next time 

Yultide blessings on you all!  

[Feanor]

I see you have resolved it.
But for future reference:

If the machine has become un-responsive to the point you can't use the normal GUI to shut it down, and it doesn't respond to a prod of the power button, then it's BRST.

Big Red Switch Time. ( Named after the physical power switch on original IBM PCs. )

Hold down the power switch till it shuts off, perhaps 10 seconds or so.
Don't worry too much about corrupting stuff.
NTFS is a journaling File System, and will (usually) sort itself out on re-boot.

As others have said, you can manually eject a disk with a paperclip from many drives.
Optical drives ase supplied with 5 and 12 volts, which is harmless.

[Valiant]

Use the paperclip, it's what it's there for

[Wombat]

I see you have resolved it.
But for future reference:

If the machine has become un-responsive to the point you can't use the normal GUI to shut it down, and it doesn't respond to a prod of the power button, then it's BRST.

Big Red Switch Time. ( Named after the physical power switch on original IBM PCs. )

If you have a daughter called Molly, this could help....  (you have to be old to understand that one)

[Polar Bear]

We always referred to on/off as BRS Interrupt 

[Biggsy]

I was reluctant to try 'ye olde switch off and back on' as the computer had become so incredibly slow and I feared that on switching back on I'd get a 'non system disc or disc error' type message and the whole damn thing might lock.

Nah, resetting usually cures rather than worsens slow-running.

This is the single most useful piece of advice for (nearly) all electronic stuff:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/nn2FB1P_Mn8&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/nn2FB1P_Mn8&rel=1</a>

[Euan Uzami]

I think you're probably barking up the wrong tree thinking it's software related. My suggestion would be to ram a knife in there and give it a couple of good swift whacks with a lump hammer.
That should force the motor, but if it doesn't, then chisel the front off and crowbar the drawer out manually.

[Biggsy]

It was the right tree because the reset did the trick.  But do some knifing and hammering anyway if it makes you feel better! 

[Biggsy]

Incidentally, there's nice desktop Gadget for Windows 7 (and Vista) called Drive Ejector* - to save you bending down and pressing the button.  You're bending down anyway to handle the disc, you say?  Errrr, *cough*.

* There are many similar gadgets, but this one works and looks the neatest, and can be setup for two drives.