How to Force Eject a Stuck Disc on a Mac

While modern MacBooks and iMacs no longer include built-in optical drives, millions of people still use older Macs or external Apple USB SuperDrives to listen to CDs, watch DVDs, or read archival data. Because Apple’s design philosophy heavily favours minimalism, their optical drives do not have physical, mechanical eject buttons on the front like traditional Windows PCs.

Normally, you eject a disc by dragging its icon to the Trash or pressing the Eject key on your Apple keyboard. But what happens when a scratched disc or a software glitch causes the drive to freeze, holding your media hostage?

If your Mac is refusing to spit out a CD or DVD, do not panic (and definitely do not pry at the slot with a knife or tweezers). In this guide, we will show you four safe, software-driven methods to force eject a stuck disc from any Mac.

Method 1: Force Eject via Terminal (The Most Reliable Method)

When the graphical interface fails, the macOS Terminal is usually the most powerful tool for forcing hardware commands. This method bypasses the standard operating system checks and commands the drive directly.

1. Open the Finder.
2. Go to Applications > Utilities and double-click on Terminal. (Alternatively, press Cmd + Space, type “Terminal”, and hit Enter).
3. In the Terminal window, type the following exact command: drutil eject
4. Press Enter.

Wait a few seconds. The terminal command will force the optical drive mechanism to trigger, and your disc should slide out immediately.

Method 2: The Reboot and Hold Method

If your entire Mac is frozen or the Terminal command did not work, you can force an eject during the system’s boot sequence. This interrupts the Mac before macOS even loads, preventing software glitches from blocking the eject command.

1. Click the Apple menu () and select Restart.
2. As soon as the screen goes black and the Mac begins to turn back on, press and hold down the primary mouse button (or press down firmly on your trackpad).
3. Keep holding the mouse button down firmly without letting go.
4. Continue holding until the Mac boots up to the login screen. During this boot process, the hardware should automatically push the disc out.

Method 3: The Option Key Boot Eject

Similar to Method 2, this technique leverages the Mac’s boot manager interface, which has direct hardware control over the optical drive.

1. Restart your Mac.
2. As soon as the computer starts booting up, press and hold the Option (Alt) key on your keyboard.
3. Keep holding the Option key until you see a screen displaying your hard drive (the Startup Manager).
4. Once you are on this screen, press the Eject key on your Apple keyboard.
5. If you are using a third-party keyboard without an Eject key, this method will not work, and you should use Method 1 or 2 instead.

Method 4: Force Eject via Disk Utility

Sometimes the Finder gets confused and cannot display the disc icon, but the underlying disk management software can still see it.

1. Open Applications > Utilities and launch Disk Utility.
2. Look at the sidebar on the left. You should see your CD or DVD listed under the “External” section.
3. Click on the disc name to select it.
4. Click the Eject button (the upward arrow icon) located in the top toolbar of the Disk Utility window.

A Warning About Hardware Failure

If you have tried all four of these methods and the disc remains stuck, you are likely dealing with a mechanical failure inside the drive itself (such as a broken roller or a misaligned loading tray). In this scenario, software commands cannot help you. You will need to take the Mac (or the external SuperDrive) to an Apple Store or an authorised repair technician to have the hardware safely dismantled.