Tiger Install DVD stuck in drive

[Deano]

I'm attempting a Lazarus Job on my old G4 PowerBook using an external drive kindly donated by Ronulus Maximus. Successfully installed a 10.4 system on the external drive and now doing a deep pass erase on the internal HD to see if that will purify it of its kernel panic ailments. Trouble is the DVD will not eject from the drive using commands or drag/drop to trash. It labours away & eventually gives up. Sounds like the mechanism needs oiling to be honest. Is there any way to get the tarnsartin' thing out or is it doomed to stay in the drive 4 ever?

tia

[Col]

If the external drive is the tray type, there should be a hole towards the right of the front panel, just below the tray, that you can push a straightened paper clip into. Do this with the power turned off.

Slot loading drives are trickier. Sometimes the reason the DVD does not eject is resistance from the little dust flaps that keep dust out. Splay them a little while trying to eject the disc. You may be able to

If this fails, get some tweezers and a flashlight and grab hold of the DVD as it starts to come out when you are using the eject command. Pull hard enough to overcome a reasonable amount of resistance, but not so hard that you break the drive or damage the DVD.

[Deano]

If the external drive is the tray type, there should be a hole towards the right of the front panel, just below the tray, that you can push a straightened paper clip into. Do this with the power turned off.

Slot loading drives are trickier. Sometimes the reason the DVD does not eject is resistance from the little dust flaps that keep dust out. Splay them a little while trying to eject the disc. You may be able to

If this fails, get some tweezers and a flashlight and grab hold of the DVD as it starts to come out when you are using the eject command. Pull hard enough to overcome a reasonable amount of resistance, but not so hard that you break the drive or damage the DVD.

JD >>Thanks Colin >> Yes that's right it's a slot loader. I don't mind it being in there for the time being as I need to install Tiger on the internal HD. Meantime I have another interesting situation. Despite erasingthe Internal HD for 24 hours at the highest security level, all files were still intact. I presume this is because the eraser was Tiger 10.4 and the erasee (?) Leopard 10.5x. So I Command A'd the lot and trashed them. I'm now waiting for the Trash to empty securely. Is there any other way to clean off the drive? -- the Initialise command seems to be an extinct species.

tia

[Tall Paul]

I don't know if this will help, but my old slot-loading iMac would disgorge disks if prodded in the right hand corner with my trusty straightened paperclip, which is even　now on my computer desk somewhere.

[Deano]

I thought I had replied to this but 'tis nowhere to be seen. Problem sorted -- grabbbed the blighter with a pair of needle-nose pliers as it struggled to emerge. Before that 10.4 Tiger was installed on the newly erased internal HD and has been running happily since. Some more severe usage needed to determine if Kernel Panic Evil Spirits have been exorcised. 

[Col]

I don't know if this will help, but my old slot-loading iMac would disgorge disks if prodded in the right hand corner with my trusty straightened paperclip, which is even know on my computer desk somewhere.

Yes - I had forgotten this. Slot-loading drives often have an eject switch too, but it is usually electrical and not manual.

[Deano]

FWIW -- My old G4 17-inch PowerBook has been running very happily on OS10.4x (Tiger) since I applied the Lazarus job to it a fortnight ago. The kernel panics etc were obviously related to me upgrading the OS to 10.5 Leopard.

G4 + Leopard = don't go there boyo

Probably this is yesterday's news to most people, but I hope it helps some. So now I have 2 computers extant, the MacBook Pro downstairs running Snow Leopard and the Tiger-running G4 PB upstairs.

A hard life isn't it...  Luxxxury in fact...

[EDWARD DUER]

My Quicksilver 17 inch G4 PowerBook has been operating happily on 10.5.8 for months. Wonder if the problems of Deano lie ahead?

By the way, I also had a disc stuck in a slot loading drive. I extracted it with a pair of pincers but the disc got scratched at the rim but inward enough to reach the track area.

First, I sandpapered the scratch to perishing point. That left a lot of rough surface. First, I applied toothpaste on a wet rag and polished off that roughage, then finished off the job with silver polish. Takes time but it works. HTH.

Ed Duer

[Deano]

My Quicksilver 17 inch G4 PowerBook has been operating happily on 10.5.8 for months. Wonder if the problems of Deano lie ahead?

By the way, I also had a disc stuck in a slot loading drive. I extracted it with a pair of pincers but the disc got scratched at the rim but inward enough to reach the track area.

First, I sandpapered the scratch to perishing point. That left a lot of rough surface. First, I applied toothpaste on a wet rag and polished off that roughage, then finished off the job with silver polish. Takes time but it works. HTH.

Ed Duer

JD >> That's perseverance!