Mac keeps ejecting discs? Don’t replace it quite yet

You insert a CD or DVD into your Mac’s SuperDrive and it spits it right back out at you. You might think you’re in for an expensive optical drive replacement, but there is one last resort that could fix it.

A few weeks ago, one of my family members came to me with a MacBook problem. He thought his SuperDrive was on it’s way out because it kept ejecting discs after he inserted them. It turned out that he didn’t need a new optical drive at all. If you’re experiencing a similar issue, let’s take a closer look and determine what might need to be done.

When you insert a CD or DVD, put your ear to the optical drive and listen closely. Can you hear it try to spin up and read the disc? Does it take 10 to 30 seconds of attempting to read the disc before it gets ejected? If so, that’s a good sign. It means at least part of the drive is working correctly.

The first step to potentially fixing your Mac’s SuperDrive is checking the disc you’re trying to play for scratches or dust. Try to put a few different discs in there and see what happens. If all of them get automatically ejected, there’s one more thing you can try.

Get your hands on a CD/DVD drive cleaning kit. These are sold in stores like Staples and Best Buy, usually for a price of $10-$20. It’s nothing elaborate – just a disc with microscopic brushes that clean the laser inside your SuperDrive. It’s fairly common for particles to get in there and disrupt the laser. Insert the cleaning disc in your Mac and it will start spinning before likely getting ejected on the first attempt. Put it in a few more times to repeat this process and then try a regular CD or DVD. If all goes well, hopefully your SuperDrive should be back to normal!