When you work with something like CD’s and CD drives for a long time, you forget that many people don’t know how easy it is to free a CD stuck in the drive. The other day someone needed to know how to get a stuck CD or jammed CD out of a drive. I told them about the “tool” I’ve kept handy for 12 years for un-jamming CD’s.
The tool is a paper clip with one side bent out. This is one of those paper clip rule breakers. You actually do stick the metal thingy into the hole. As long as it’s the right hole and you don’t push it in too far, everything will be just fine and your CD will come out.
Here’s the procedure:
Turn off your computer. Get a paper clip and straighten out one leg. It will now look like a long piece of wire with a little handle. This is perfect for sticking into the little hole in the front of the CD player. It’s the small hole, not the audio jack. Gently push the clip in until the door opens. Be gentle, it only takes a moderate push and the paper clip should only go in about one half to one inch. In most cases, this process should free your jammed CD.
Drive release mechanisms can at times be very sensitive to the condition of your discs. Keep your CD's clean and free of finger prints and scratches using some kind of CD paper sleeve or a jewel case properly stored in a CD rack.
Freeing a Stuck CD