G3 iMac ate a CD...

[mmmlinux]

Any tips on extracting a cd from a slot load iMac? It seems to not be able to grip the disk to eject it. or read it for that matter... But for now ill settle for not having the disk in there.

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

Typical iMac slot loading disk drive behavior - I believe it's a belt in there that goes slack. They'll probably also start to melt in a few more years.
Both mine do this - I can usually grip the disc with tweezers and get it out. Both my drives eject the disc slightly, just to the point where I can grab it. That's what I'd try first.

 

[GRudolf94]

There is a rubber roller what grows beyond the original diameter and stops holding to the metal shaft that is driven by the eject mechanism. You can try disassembling it and gluing the roller to the shaft. Or just not bother with reinstalling the drive, usually they're dead anyway. Some respond to cleaning/twiddling with the laser power.

 

[mmmlinux]

Sounds good, just wanted to make sure there wasn't some secret way to get the disk out. its burned so i don't care if i damage it. Anyone know if the late model iMacs will boot off a firewire dvd drive?

 

[thecroc15]

If it's not totally borked, there is a secret paperclip eject hole (and apologies if you already tried that)

iMac (Slot Loading): How to Manually Eject a CD-ROM Disc

This article explains how to manually eject a CD-ROM (or DVD-ROM) disc from a slot loading drive.

support.apple.com

 

[GRudolf94]

Sounds good, just wanted to make sure there wasn't some secret way to get the disk out. its burned so i don't care if i damage it. Anyone know if the late model iMacs will boot off a firewire dvd drive?

As long as it's a readable filesystem with a valid boot file, they'll boot off anything. USB flashdrives are also game.

 

[Snial]

Sounds good, just wanted to make sure there wasn't some secret way to get the disk out. its burned so i don't care if i damage it. Anyone know if the late model iMacs will boot off a firewire dvd drive?

You may have already solved the problem, but this is what I've found, with the iMac G3 DV/400 slot loader I have: you need two credit/debit cards! You slide one into the slot so that it goes just under the CD (and you can feel when it does this, because you can feel when the card hits the cd and then you can angle it under). Then you slide the second in just above so that it slides in just above the CD. You want both of the cards to go in at least half way, but not so far that you lose them too!

Then what you do is pinch both of the credit cards together very tightly and as close to the slot as possible then use them essentially as a pair of plastic tweezers to drag the CD out. It seems a bit improbable that this will work, but in fact it does, even if it takes a couple of tries. Once the CD is out by a cm or so, you can grab it directly.