Rob Sterling

I got so much traffic from my iPod write-up that I thought I’d mention a trick I discovered several years ago. When I had my brand-spanking-new anodized aluminum 12″ Powerbook just a few months in the spring of 2003, I put an irregular-shaped CD in the slot drive and it got stuck. (The CD was both too small, and also cut into the approximate shape of a business card.) To my sorrow, the slot drive locked up, neither playing the CD nor ejecting it.

I took the Powerbook over to Tekserv, a well-regarded Apple service provider in Manhattan, and they wanted about $80 to crack open the laptop, and then the superdrive, to remove the disk. They said they’d need to keep it for about three days. For the labor involved $80 was actually a bargain.

But three days! How could I do without my beloved Powerbook for three whole days? At that point I was still sleeping with the thing under my pillow! I made an appointment to bring it back on Friday and went back to work, which at the time was about ten blocks away, up Madison Ave. On the walk back, however, I had a flash of inspiration. Upon returning to the office, I put my plan into action. I slid a 3M Post-it note into the slot drive until I was pretty sure that the adhesive side had come into contact with the CD. Then I used my thumb to bend the note, so the edges would push upward with some force. I then released the pressure and slowly pulled the Post-it note out. Sure ’nuff, the CD came with it.

I don’t know if this approach will work for everyone, but I do know I’m not taking responsibility for any damage you might do to your slot drive while attempting it. Still, it saved me time and money, and the slot drive on my Powerbook is still going strong, 2 1/2 years later.

Filed under: Technology