[bkb]

My superdrive has died. It had been making some funny noises for a while now, not the type when you insert a CD/DVD, but when actually accessing a disk, so I was expecting this. It would make a very strange scratching sound, as if the disk was making contact with a loose part. Anyway, along came Tiger and I inserted a blank DVD-RW to backup before the clean install. Now I can't get the disk out, it's stuck. I have tried everything, and I mean everything:

1) Mouse button on restart
2) Open firmware
3) Applying pressure to area around keyboard while rebooting
4) Zapping PRAM
5) 1 & 2 while holding the computer at various angles including upside down
6) Shutdown computer and went for a walk with it, hoping that the bouncing around would fix it
7) Using mount/umount in Terminal
8) Option menu on startup
9) Finally I read something about there being a manual eject button on the right side of the slot loading superdrive (Rev B 1GHz). I tried probing around with a thick paperclip but was unable to find anything. If someone has some more information on how I can find this, or any other ideas, that would be great. Also - are there any firmware upgrades/hardware tests I can try to save a dying drive?

So, assuming I can not get the drive to work again, the second part of my question is:
1) Will the Genius as the Apple Store help me if I didn't extend AppleCare and am past the first year? What can I expect?
2) What sort of price should I expect from Apple to fix it?
3) What other options do I have in the New York City area? Anyone have any good experience fixing these with a 3rd party?
4) If the above aren't helpful/too expensive, I wouldn't mind trying fixing it myself, possibly replacing the superdrive, or at least opening it up my PB to see if I can eject the disk manually and see if that helps. Does anyone know of any good resources for doing this? Service manuals/ste-by-step guides, etc.

Thanks.

[ibook_steve]

There is no paperclip eject on the 12" machines, so don't keep trying that. When you try to eject, do you hear the drive trying to eject it or does nothing just happen? If you hear it trying to eject and failing, either the felt or the frame is preventing it. Is the disk still showing on the desktop and can you access it? You mention open firmware. What exact command are you using? I believe it should be "eject cd".

As for manuals, http://www.pbfixit.com. Not for the faint of heart and pretty much the entire machine needs to be disassembled to get to the drive.

Steve

[bkb]

Originally Posted by ibook_steve

There is no paperclip eject on the 12" machines, so don't keep trying that. When you try to eject, do you hear the drive trying to eject it or does nothing just happen? If you hear it trying to eject and failing, either the felt or the frame is preventing it. Is the disk still showing on the desktop and can you access it? You mention open firmware. What exact command are you using? I believe it should be "eject cd".

As for manuals, http://www.pbfixit.com. Not for the faint of heart and pretty much the entire machine needs to be disassembled to get to the drive.

Steve

Thanks for your feedback. The drive doesn't make a single noise when I try to eject, so it isn't the felt or frame. The disk is not showing on the desktop, I can't access it. And yes, eject cd is the command I used in OF, with no luck.

I've seen those manuals, thanks. Looks like I'm kinda screwed here. The best quote I could find was $280 for a replacement, including shipping & labor. Will probably end up going with that. This sucks.

Any idea what I can expect, if anything, from the Genuis Bar?