Eject the CD Tray for Windows 10

Normally you are able to open the CD/DVD drive by pressing a button on the drive itself, or through a designated keyboard key depending on your computer. If you are not able to open the drive or if the buttons are not available for your hardware, Windows natively provides the ability to eject the disk with simple methods that can be performed in the File Explorer. If you are not able to eject the tray from these methods, you are also able to eject the tray manually from the drive itself as a last resort.

Steps

Ejecting the Drive with a Paperclip

1. Turn off your PC. If your drive continues to not open or does not open all the way out, it is likely the door is jammed and the disk will need to be removed. Turning off your computer will stop the disk from spinning and make it safe to open the drive.
2. Inspect the drive’s door for a pinhole. Behind the pinhole is a button used to force the tray to open from the disk drive.
3. Insert a paperclip into the pinhole. Bend away a leg of a paperclip to work with. Insert the paperclip slowly until there is resistance, then gently push until the drive door is opened.
4. Pull the drive tray out. Remove the disk. Push the tray back in to close the drive. Turn the computer back on then test the disk drive's eject button or use Windows to eject the drive. Your disk drive should be able to eject normally.

Ejecting the Drive From Inside the Computer

1. Turn off your PC. If your cannot find a pinhole underneath your CD drive, you may need to open the CD drive internally. Turning off your computer will stop the disk from spinning and make it safe to open the drive.
2. Unplug all power cords from the back of the computer.
3. Press the Power button on the front of the computer. It should release, moving to the "Off" setting.
4. Remove the side panel from the computer. To do so:
   • Use a screwdriver to loosen the screws on the side of the computer.
   • Press lightly on the panel and slide it towards the rear of the computer.
   • Pull the panel off of the computer.
5. Look for the disc drive. You should see a power cable connecting it to the inside of the computer.
6. Remove the drive's power cable. Wait at least five seconds.
7. Exchange your original power cable with another that is not in use. If your CD drive will not open, it may be an issue with its power source. Try replacing the cable that plugs into the back of the drive.
   • If you cannot find another free power cable, try reattaching the original power cord into the drive after unplugging it.
8. Replace the side panel of your computer and plug in its power cords. If the drive's power source prevented it from ejecting, it will now be rectified.

Opening the Disk Drive with File Manager

1. Close any application currently using the drive. If there are any files or programs open that require the use of your disk drive, Windows will prevent you from ejecting the disk.
2. Open File Explorer. The start button is commonly located on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen with the start button on the left hand side. Your list of drives will appear on the left hand column. If you want a more detailed overview of the drives, click on "This PC," from the left column, then on the right hand side of the window, scroll down and expand the "Devices and Drives" Category.
   • You can also bring up the File Explorer without the start menu by holding ⊞ Win and pressing E.
3. Eject the disk. Your disk drive may vary as to which drive letter corresponds to the disk drive you want to open. You can identify the drive you are looking for by a name and icon that changes based on the contents of the disk, either indicating a music CD or software on the disk that is represented by a unique icon. You can eject the disk in two different ways.
   • Right click the drive icon to bring down a menu of actions to perform on the disk drive. Select "Eject" from the menu to eject the disk drive.
   • If you are viewing the disk drive from the "Devices and Drives" category on the right hand side of the window, click on the drive to highlight it. On the menu bar at the top of the window shows a menu option that says "Manage" under "Drive Tools". Click on "Manage" then select the "Eject" option from the menu.

Tips

• You can create a shortcut to your disk drive on your desktop without needing to go through the File Explorer. In the File Explorer, click on "This PC" from the left hand column. Under "Devices and Drives", find your CD/DVD drive, right click on the drive's icon instead of selecting eject, choose “Create Shortcut” You may receive a prompt that suggests to create a shortcut on your desktop, selecting "Yes" will create a shortcut on your desktop.
• The drive may need to be replaced if you are having to eject the disk using the pinhole technique.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Open File Explorer
• Open Windows 10 Settings
• Enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux
• Create a Mobile Hotspot on a Windows 10 PC
• Disable Message Previews in Windows 10 Mail
• Change Your Homepage in Microsoft Edge
• Defrag Windows 10
• Use Windows 10