Forgotten PC Tip: Eject CD Or DVD After You Have Shut The Power Off Without Restarting Again

I'm often surprise how many people either do not know about this trick or have forgotten it.

But, if you ever shut down your computer and realized that you forgot to eject the CD or DVD from the drive, here's an old PC trick to open the disk drive without needing to power on your computer again.

This trick also works for anybody who installs Operating Systems and forgets to eject the CD or DVD after installation has completed (other wise the computer will restart and run the install program again).

• Find a small paperclip and unfold one end until it is straight.

• On your Computer, look at the front of your CD or DVD drive for a small pin-hole usually found under the drive bay door. Some models may have the pin-hole above the door.

• Insert the paperclip slowly into the pin-hole. After pushing the paperclip in about a couple of inches, you will feel some resistance. Keep pushing until the CD or DVD drive door pops open slightly.

NOTE: If needed, move the paperclip back then forward as often as needed until you feel the resistance that will open the door. Try to push the paperclip in as straight as possible.

• Once the drive door has opened (enough to grab hold of it) remove the paperclip from the pin-hole and manually pull the door open until it is fully retracted (be gentle, do not pull hard).

• Remove the CD or DVD from the drive.

• Gently push the drive door close.

If you are wondering how it works, think of the manual eject mechanism as a simple little gear that (when pushed or turned) rotates the door open.

Thankfully some person many years ago, either had a light bulb moment or a bad memory and always forgot to eject the CD, thought of this manual eject mechanism. And fortuanatly for us, you don't need to be a computer engineer to make this trick work like a charm.