Opening drive tray to reinstall system

My IMac flat screen G-4 will not start up. Instead it displays a folder with a question mark in it. I read in the manual that this means it cannot find the system. After zapping the PRAM with no results I decided to reinstall the system as the manual suggests. (Actually I would prefer to install the most up to date system.) Trouble is, I cannot start up from the disc as suggested in the manual because the drive tray will not open because of the start-up failure previously described. (If the system can't be found the drive tray is, in effect, inoperable.) So how can I get that drive tray to open in order to insert a start-up system disc and then install a new sytem?

If you got the part used, then it is possible that it has a bad hard drive / CD-ROM controller.
But, it is possible that your drive is bad as well.
As for special form factor, I would expect your CD-ROM drive might be a particular drive to fit properly. But, the hard drive will not be anything special.
Just get a 3.5-inch hard drive to replace the one you have in there. It will obviously need to be the standard ATA / PATA hard drive. SATA drives were not used until the iMac G5.
But, consider that the port / controller on your logic board may be defective. If that's the case, then replacing the drive will not do anything for you.
The odds of having both a defective CD-ROM drive and Hard Drive are really unlikely. I would primarily suspect a defect in the controller on the main board or improper connection / assembly.
But, if you have a way to inexpensively experiment with another drive, it wouldn't hurt to check. You could try another drive if you have one laying around. Or, if you purchased another one, and it didn't work, then you could always install it in an external FireWire enclosure and use it that way.
Just be sure to set the jumpers on the new drive to match the jumpers on your previous drive (referring to the Master, Slave, or Cable Select settings).
If you get the CD-ROM drive out, and find that it is a standard drive, then you could look into replacing it as well.
It is not unusual for Apple to use standard drives. They don't make their own drives. But, sometimes they'll use a particular drive that fits slightly different from the others. And, in the case of your G4, I just don't know which drive came with it, and whether it had anything unique about it (other than the plastic trim on the drive tray which could likely be transferred to another drive).
Anyway, while not a definitive answer, I hope my thoughts are helpful.

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Keyboard icons: hp pavillion a6110n; keyboard 5188-6077, cannot open drive trays with icons

After Norton tech manually removed viruses from my computer I cannot use the keyboard icons to open and close my cd/dvd drive trays.

For Vista you will find drivers for the keyboard:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?product=3436818&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=34368...
re-install it.
HTH
V.
*** Say 'Thanks' with Kudos ***

Remotely open drive tray on G5 tower

I have a G5 Tower running headless, use ARD to control.
There is no disk in the drive, and this as the tray not the slot, so I wish to open the tray to put a disk in.
If I use the eject key on the contraolling Mac, it opens that drive not the one I want through ARD, same with the F12.
How do I remotly open the drive, thanks

Try sending an UNIX command via the Manage menu.
Send the following command to open the tray:
drutil tray open
Send the this command to close:
drutil tray close

Open disk tray in os 9

I've recently sold a second hand eMac to a client who wanted to buy a newer Mac running OS 9 nativly.
This is an eMac of the more recent kind, the white kind with no button on the disk tray case.
But yesterday he asked me how that he should open his disc tray. Apparantly his eject button on his keyboard does not work in OS 9 (but it does in OS X - we've tested this). But there is no button on the case (unless you fidget with that white case thingy and press the black open button with a pensel, inside).
Is there somebody who can give me some advise on where I could find a usefull answer to open the tray from the system (os 9)?
thx
Jonathan

The eject key on an Apple keyboard should work as expected on an nVidia graphics 700 MHz or 800 MHz eMac booted directly into OS 9. Use Control Panels> Extensions Manager to check for disabled CD/DVD and keyboard extensions (it may help to select View as Packages).
Check Applications (Mac OS 9) folder / Utilities/ Apple Utilities; there's a utility in there (Eject Extras folder, if I remember right) that can be double-clicked to install an Eject icon in the menu bar (similar to the OS X feature) as well as an Eject control strip module.
Credit goes to Don Archibald for these two links:
Eject Extras
EjectMenu

I reinstalled a new Hard Drive but cannot get the DVD tray to open to install the Mac OS? How do I open the Tray?

I reinstall a new Hard drive. But I cannot open the DVD tray to install the OS? All I get the the ? in the folder when the computer turns on?

Hi copa1226:
Sometimes the best solutions are the manual ones. There is a mechanical fail safe built in to these devices, I have had to use this method several times myself, so ....
..... Try this:
1) Power off your mac pro.
2) With your finger, pull down the metal bezel on the affected drive.
3) You should now see the front plastic bezel on the affected drive, it is usually black or grey.
4) Look for a small pinhole somewhere on the front. It will have a very small diameter, about 0.5mm.
5) Yes it's there, all cd/dvd drives have one! Note: a small flashlight comes in handy here.
6) Straighten out a standard paperclip for about 2 -3 inches.
7) Insert the paperclip in the small hole and push, you will have some resistance, and then the drive tray will slowly push out about 0.5 inches or more.
8) Grab the tray and pull it out !!
9) You are done!
10) If you do this gently you won't hurt the drive. Boot up and the tray should automatically slide back in. You are good to go.

DVD & Blu Ray Burner Drive Trays Do Not Stay Open When Media is in the Drive

I have a problem with both Windows 8/8.1 and the Windows 10 Technical Preview (there is no issue when I run Windows 7).
I have 2 optical drives: 1) DVD Burner and 2) Blu Ray Burner (I just got the second drive a few weeks ago). They are attached to the secondary SATA Chip (see below for specifics).
The problem I'm having is that when I eject media from either drive, the drive does not stay open, but rather immediately closes. Before I got the Blu Ray Burner, I had this problem with just the single DVD Burner by itself. I was hoping when I installed
Windows 10 Technical Preview that this problem would not be present, but it is present in that O/S as well.
This problem will repeat continuously if I attempt to use the eject button and so I either have to grab the disc while the tray is moving, or if I press the eject button again on the drive at the right time, I can get it to re-open and not close (this
is tricky to get the button timing right as it seems like it has to be done close to when the drive tray is fully extended when it starts retracting). It usually takes me 5 to 10 button presses to get it to stay open. Sometimes it will stay open for about
0.5 to 1s before it closes again, but most of the times it just immediately closes. I also have the same problem if I use the software eject feature by right clicking on the drive and choosing eject.
Of course, the expected behavior is that pressing the eject button should open the tray, but not close it immediately allowing you to remove the disc.
Here is some background information about my system and how the drives are connected:
1. Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-ED3P Revision 1.0 LGA 775
2. Interface (for both drives): Gigabyte SATA II Chip - 2 x SATA 3 GB/s connectors (GSATA2_0, GSATA2_1) supporting up to 2 SATA 3 GB/s devices
3. Memory: 8 GB (4 x 2 GB)
It should be noted that I tri-boot between Windows 7, 8/8.1, and 10 Technical Preview and that this issue is not present in Windows 7, but has always been there in Windows 8/8.1 and now it is present in 10TP as well.
I've had this system for just over 6 years now and it is still going strong. It should be noted that I have both drives on the secondary SATA chip (as identified above), which is meant to be used with removable SATA devices.
Since the problem exhibits itself in both Windows 8/8.1 and 10TP, a reinstall of the O/S will have no affect on this problem and so this appears to be some other issue that is consistent between Windows 8/8.1 and 10TP.
I'd appreciate your support in looking at this issue - thanks!
Matt Caspermeyer
P.S. I also submitted this feedback through the Insider Program.
Matt

Hey Zagayer,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
As you now have two optical drives in your Mac Pro, you need to be able to choose which drive to eject. That is built into the system. You just hold the Option key while tapping eject for the 2nd drive.
OS X Mountain Lion: Eject a disk
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10613
If your computer has two optical drives, hold down Option-Media Eject or Option-F12 to eject a disc from the second drive.
Have a nice day,
Mario

I tray to reinstall i tunes in my pc after having error 7, but wyle in the instalation this mesage appear said service apple mobile device failed to star. verefy that you have suficient privileges to star system services.

i tray to reinstall i tunes in my pc after having error 7, but wyle in the instalation this mesage appear said service apple mobile device failed to star. verefy that you have suficient privileges to star system services.

Let's try a standalone Apple Mobile Device Support install. It still might not install, but fingers crossed any error messages will give us a better idea of the underlying cause of why it's not installing under normal conditions.
Download and save a copy of the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64setup.exe) installer file to your hard drive:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Download and install the free trial version of WinRAR:
http://www.rarlab.com/
Right-click the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64Setup.exe), and select "Extract to iTunesSetup" (or "Extract to iTunes64Setup"). WinRAR will expand the contents of the file into a folder called "iTunesSetup" (or "iTunes64Setup").
Go into the folder and doubleclick the AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi to do a standalone AMDS install.
(If it offers you the choice to remove or repair, choose "Remove", and if the uninstall goes through successfully, see if you can reinstall by doubleclicking the AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi again.)
Does it install (or uninstall and then reinstall) properly for you? If so, does an iTunes install go through properly now?
If instead you get an error message during the install (or uninstall), let us know what it says. (Precise text, please.)

Drive Tray Won't Stay Open

A large percentage of the time, the drive tray opens and then immediately closes. If a disc happens to be in the try, it does not mount and the kernal goes into an overdrive that only a restart will fix. The disc doesn't show as mounted, Terminal eject commands don't do anything and Disk Utility won't boot all the way.
Drive dying? Any help or fixes appreciated.

Shut everything down, open her up, and check the connections to the SuperDrive (which will be on the upper left-hand side as you're looking at the insides of your g5). There are 4 connections, 3 of which you can check: power in (which works since the drive does open and close), where the cable from the motherboard meets the drive and where it meets the motherboard. If those are all connected properly and you still have problems:
1. See if the drive shows up in "System Profiler."
2. Run the Apple Hardware Test that came with your System Discs.
3. If all else fails, you may need a new Superdrive. Good news is, they're relatively cheap. Pioneer 1XX seem to be the most popular G5 ones.
Best of luck,
K

CD drive tray opens by itself

Hi,
I've been using Arch Linux for a year now and since very beginning as I remember, my ThinkPad T400 randomly opens CD tray.
Has anyone experienced similar behaviour?
I wonder, is it possible it's relate to this issue confiirmed in udev for Ubuntu?
Bug #1068575: cd drive opens by itself
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … ug/1068575

teateawhy wrote:Maybe you have been a victim of this:
http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ … at_forever
Yes, apparently, I've forgotten about the entertainment I've set up for my imaginary cat months ago.

My hard drive was replaced last week. The geek squad from Best Buy backed up all my information prior to replacing the hard drive. they reinstalled everything on the new hard drive including iTunes. When I opened I tunes, my playlists were missing

My hard drive was replaced last week on my macbook pro. The geek squad from Best Buy backed up all my information prior to replacing the hard drive. They reinstalled everything on the new hard drive including iTunes. When I opened I tunes, i had some but not all my songs listed. All my playlists and purchases were missing. I attempted to sync my iPod so my playlist and information would be reinstalled but iTunes does not recognize the iPod to allow it to sync.

Hello Boylen33,
I was very disappointed to read about your experience when taking your phone in to the Geek Squad for service. I agree with avm5689, purchasing the Geek Squad Protection plan is a great way to protect your investment in a product that is so necessary to our everyday lives. The agent should have known exactly what steps to make the exchange an easy, and smooth process, and I sincerely apologize for the frustrating experience you received instead.
I assure you every single post on the forum from our customers is of utmost importance to us, and we are always happy to help in anyway we can. As per the terms and conditions of your Geek Squad Protection plan, you should receive one battery per the life of the plan, and you can order it simply by calling our Partstore. As I mentioned previously, this is something the Geek Squad agent should have explained to you, or as the mobile specialist did, call them for you, and I'm truly sorry this wasn't handled in that manner causing you to waste a lot of time at the store. Using the e-mail you registered on the forum, I was able to locate the service order, and I will be documenting your experience for further training opportunities.
Once again, I am very sorry for any disappointment this has caused, and I appreciate very much you bringing this to our attention. I hope you will give us another in chance to offer you a much better experience.
Respectfully,
Maria|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

Need to erase hard drive and reinstall system on iMac but have misplaced original install disks. Tried to use a my copy of Snow lepord 10.6 from my Mac pro but will not boot. Can original install disks be replaced. Thanks

Need to erase hard drive and reinstall system on iMac but have misplaced original install disks. Tried to use a my copy of Snow lepord 10.6 from my Mac Pro but will not boot. Can original install disks be replaced. Thanks

Yes the original Install Discs can be replaced for a nominal fee. Call AppleCare, you will need a credit card and the serial number of the machine. You can use the AppleCare Contact Info for the phone number on your part of the planet.

Is it possible to leave the optical drive tray open?

Hello -
I'd like to know if there's any way to have the optical drive tray stay open when shutting down a Mac Pro (PowerPC version, running Leopard)? It's for security reasons in my office to make sure no media is left in after the computer has been shut down.
Thank you.

AppleTV2 has no 'volume control' over optical - it either sends a Dolby Digital 5.1 stream for movies encoded with this or a stereo linear PCM signal. AppleTV1 used to send stereo audio as 44.1 kHz 16 bit (CD quality) whatever it was originally (MP3/AAC/AIFF/WAV), AppleTV2 mucks around and sends a DAT quality signal of 48 kHz 16 bit over optical which yoru Tv may not be able to decode.
Like Rudegar I'd consider the HD4200m as perhaps the model number - some older TVs had the same connections on teh back for a given range, just on lower specced models the connections were not actually connected/enabled.
Another consideration would be whether or not the optical port on the TV is optical out (would not work) rather than optical in.
The lack of analogue connections on AppleTV2 is a nuisance. Send some feedback:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/appletv.html
Won't help current hardware and doubtful any new design but you never know.
AC

Drive Tray Opens On Wake From Sleep

I have installed a Sony Blue Ray Drive (BWU-200S) in my Mac Pro. It is connected to one of the ODD SATA ports and I set it to cable select. It works great. My only issue is that it ejects the drive tray every time the computer wakes from sleep (and when it boots). Any ideas how to fix this or is it something I just need to learn to live with as an early adopter of technology that was not necessarily designed for MAC? Thanks, Jim

James,
I am experiencing the same "eject on wake" problem you are but mine is on an older eMac with a factory DVD/CDR (not superdrive) drive. The funny thing is that I have two identical eMacs (both running OS X 10.4.11) with the exact same software installed but only one exhibits this problem. I've searched these forums (and others) but have not found a solution as of yet. I guess it's not that big of a deal, just an annonyance. If you ever figure it out, please post your solution as I'd love to know the fix!
Good luck!
Brent

Drive tray stuck open...where does the paperclip (manual eject) go?

I've got the Sony drive which has stuck with the tray half out. I cannot remove the drive because the tray prevents any movement sideways. If I get any firmer with the tray or little metal door something will break... My only solution appears to be the manual eject but this is hidden by the door which is stuck in place by the tray. There must be a simple answer but I must admit I can't find it.

The Great Escape?
After these previous posts I really 'took to' the drive tray and I thought I would let any passers-by know what happened.
I did some more pushing and pulling. much harder than before and started paying more attention to what was going on in the drive and decided to bend the tray in a middle up, sides down way and pulled... two nasty cracks (noises) and a complete and undamaged tray was in my hand. I took the drive out, used a paperclip to reset the manual eject and gently pushed the tray back in. Two nasty cracks (noises) later and the tray runs in and out as it should. The whole mechanism does feel a little looser than before but I risked re-installing the drive and grabbed the top CD from the nearest pile 'The Great Escape".
I have already had delivered a Pioneer 112D which takes over as top drive. So now I have two working drives although the second I know I'll never really trust.
Moral of story: If you have the Sony in your Mac Pro and the tray stays out it can be removed without breaking it using carefully targetted brute force but at the cost of some worry any time a valuable disc goes in.

CD-RW Drive Tray Opens on boot!

ANNOYANCE~
Why does this happen? Does anybody know?
I recently purchased an MSI 52x32x52 CD/W/RW drive and every time i turn on the computer, it spits out the drive tray! It doesn't matter if there is a cd in it or not, it still spits it out. How do i fix this?? (winXP)

I had my cdrw changed.When they tried it at the service , it worked perfectly. but they changed it. My new Cr52-m Behaved similar to my previous but not sofrequent. Today i upgraded my firmware to v3.70 and for the time being, everything is ok. If you decide and try to upgrade your firmware do it carefully and follow strictly the directions described although it is easy.

Opening drive tray to reinstall system

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