How to Eject a Stuck Disc from a Mac

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

This guide will help you eject a disc stuck in a Mac computer without damaging the disc or the system. Whether you're using a MacBook or a desktop Mac this guide is for you.

Tools You'll Need:

  • No extra tools are needed.

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Supplies You'll Need:

  • No extra supplies are needed.

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Before You Begin:

No extra instructions.

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macOS Logo.

2. Eject Disc

There are several methods that you can try to eject a disc from a Mac:

Press the Eject Button

  • Press the Eject button on the keyboard.
Eject button highlighted on Mac keyboard.

Click the Eject Icon

  • Click on the Eject symbol on the menu bar at the top, then select the name of the disc drive.
Eject symbol pointed out in the macOS menu bar.

Drag and Drop to Eject

  • Click and drag the disc drive icon from the desktop into the trash bin.
Disc icon being dragged to Trash on macOS.

Eject from Context Menu

  1. Hold down the Control button on your keyboard and click the disc drive icon on the desktop.
Ctrl button pointed out on Mac keyboard and Eject option highlighted in context menu for disc drive.
  1. Select Eject from the context menu.

Eject from Finder

  1. Launch Finder.
Finder on macOS.
  1. Locate the disc drive under Devices in the left pane and click the Eject symbol next to its name.
Devices pointed out and Eject symbol highlighted in Finder.

3. Restart Eject

If you're unable to successfully eject the disc from your Mac using any of the regular methods, you can try ejecting it while restarting your computer:

Any unsaved work will be lost. Please save any documents you are working on before shutting down your computer.

  1. From the menu bar across the top of the screen, select the Apple menu, then select Restart....
Apple menu with Restart highlighted.
  1. Press and hold the mouse button while the computer is restarting and disc should pop out from the drive.
Mac moused button being pressed.
  1. If you have a trackpad instead of a mouse, press it and hold while the computer is restarting and disc should pop out from the drive.
"Trackpad