How to Eject a Stuck Disc from a Windows PC

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

This guide will help you eject a disc that is stuck inside a PC. It shows different ejection methods that should be tried in the presented order but also in case you're unsuccessful with either one.

Tools You'll Need:

  • No extra tools are needed.

-->

Supplies You'll Need:

  • No extra supplies are needed.

-->

Before You Begin:

No extra instructions.

-->

2. Eject Disc

There are a couple methods that you can try to eject a disc from a PC:

Press the Eject Button

Press the Eject button on the front of the disc drive and the tray or the disc will pop out.

Eject button highlighted on disc drive.

Eject from File Explorer

  1. Launch File Explorer.
File Explorer.
  1. Go to This PC locate the disc drive, right click it and select Eject from the drop-down menu.
Steps highlighted to eject disc from PC.

3. Restart Your PC

Before your restart or shut down your PC, make sure to save all necessary work to prevent data loss.

  • Using the Mouse
  • Select the Start menu.
Windows 10 Start button

  • By default it is in the lower left corner of your screen.
  • Select Power, then select Restart.
Start menu with Power and Restart highlighted.
  • Using the Keyboard
  • Press the Windows and X keys at the same time. This minimizes any open windows you may have.
Keyboard with Windows and X keys highlighted.
  • Press the Alt and F4 keys at the same time. This tells Windows to close the desktop.
Keyboard with Alt and F4 keys highlighted.
  • Select Restart, then OK.
Shut Down dialog with Restart and OK highlighted.

4. Manually Eject Disc

Some disc drives have an emergency pinhole used to manually eject a disc stuck inside it for various reasons.

Pinhole pointed out on disc drive.

To Manually Eject a Disc

  1. Locate the pinhole on the front of the disc drive.
  2. Grab a pin, needle or uncoiled paper clip that fits into the pinhole.
  3. Insert the pin into the hole and push until the disc or tray pops out.
  4. It will only pop out a little. Pull it out with your hand the rest of the way.

5. What's next?