SD card 'lost' in iMac CD drive slot

[PaBear]

My 2011 21.5inch iMac [High Sierra 10.13.6] has two slots on the right hand edge of the display case. A CD drive is above the SD card one.
I have put a SD card into the CD slot & cannot retrieve it. This means that I cannot put a disk in.
All the other workings of the iMac are unaffected. I can use thumb drives using other USB slots.

I know that in normal disassembly the front of the screen is vacuumed off, leaving the other parts sitting in the back shell. In that state it would be simple to recover the SD card.

Has anyone any other ideas for removing the errant SD card?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

There is an old trick using a few tape strips stuck together, a small piece of cardboard, or even a paper clip. You have to be VERY careful though so as not to damage the internal mechanism of the optical drive.

Search "sd card imac cd drive" on YouTube and you will see several videos about it.

Let us know if that works for you.

C

 

[PaBear]

Hello,

There is an old trick using a few tape strips stuck together, a small piece of cardboard, or even a paper clip. You have to be VERY careful though so as not to damage the internal mechanism of the optical drive.

Search "sd card imac cd drive" on YouTube and you will see several videos about it.

Let us know if that works for you.

C

Hello,

There is an old trick using a few tape strips stuck together, a small piece of cardboard, or even a paper clip. You have to be VERY careful though so as not to damage the internal mechanism of the optical drive.

Search "sd card imac cd drive" on YouTube and you will see several videos about it.

Let us know if that works for you.

C

Thank you for the steer, Cory. I've tried the cardboard letter "L" several times - no joy yet.

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK...

You can try the packing tape method - either buy the precut packing tape strips, or use regular roll packing tape, and put 3-4 together on top of each other to make it more rigid and insert it carefully.

Another method, which you need to be very careful with, is to unplug everything and hold the iMac sideways/vertically so the optical slot is facing down, and carefully shake it up and down. Sometimes the SD card will come out or rest agains the felt covering the opening, where the cardboard arm will remove it.

C

 

[PaBear]

OK...

You can try the packing tape method - either buy the precut packing tape strips, or use regular roll packing tape, and put 3-4 together on top of each other to make it more rigid and insert it carefully.

Another method, which you need to be very careful with, is to unplug everything and hold the iMac sideways/vertically so the optical slot is facing down, and carefully shake it up and down. Sometimes the SD card will come out or rest agains the felt covering the opening, where the cardboard arm will remove it.

C

For Cory.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've tried the various simple actions to free the SD card, including shaking, tilting and the cardboard "L". Again, no success. Don't think I'll be trying to remove the screen face (unless I can find a local friendly Mac genie). Anyone in Dorset/Wilts out there?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Thanks for the update.

The tape strips sometimes work better, because they are "sticky" and can grab onto the SD card better than the cardboard. Can you hear the SD card moving around in the drive? If not, it may have become lodged in the internal mechanism.

It's a semi-involved procedure to get to the optical drive itself - front glass, several screws, LCD/cabling, optical drive/cabling, open the optical drive to remove the SD card, reassemble in reverse order. Internal parts are fairly easy to damage without proper experience/training.

If you can't get the SD card out and need to use the optical drive, it may be less expensive/Easier to simply purchase an external USB optical drive. NOTE: The Apple USB SuperDrive doesn't work with Macs that have a built-in optical drive.

C

 

[PaBear]

Thanks for the update.

The tape strips sometimes work better, because they are "sticky" and can grab onto the SD card better than the cardboard. Can you hear the SD card moving around in the drive? If not, it may have become lodged in the internal mechanism.

It's a semi-involved procedure to get to the optical drive itself - front glass, several screws, LCD/cabling, optical drive/cabling, open the optical drive to remove the SD card, reassemble in reverse order. Internal parts are fairly easy to damage without proper experience/training.

If you can't get the SD card out and need to use the optical drive, it may be less expensive/Easier to simply purchase an external USB optical drive. NOTE: The Apple USB SuperDrive doesn't work with Macs that have a built-in optical drive.

C

Cory,
I plan to stop 'fishing' for the SD card. The i-Mac works well, I have an external drive, there's an extended memory AND I have a new MBP M1.
Thanks

 

[Cory Cooper]

Sounds good...

Sorry we couldn't resolve it.

Be well,

C