Last night, I shut down my computer. When I turned it back on, I just got the rEFIt logo (I have rEFIt installed). Usually, it takes a moment to populate the menu with a list of bootable devices, but this time it just hung there.
I had an Arch Linux Live DVD in the optical drive, too, and I can't make it eject or boot into Arch Linux. The optical drive whines when the macbook is powered on, but it doesn't keep spinning. This optical drive is old-ish (original to the 2007 macbook) and refused to burn CDs starting a month ago, so I've been expecting it to go any day.
Pressing down any of the boot keys (D, O, option, Command-Option-O-F, C) would just get me that blue screen you get when you're normally booting, but hung there. Target Mode and Single-User Mode don't work, either.
The hard drive is original to the machine, too, but I don't think the hard drive dying would interfere with the boot process. I would think I would be able to boot to the DVD if that were the case, too.
I asked this question on AskMetafilter last night. One of the things recommended was to reset the PRAM (boot with Command-Option-P-R) and the SMC (turn the computer off, take out the battery, and hold down the power button). That worked but didn't fix my problem. Now, I don't get the rEFIt menu, just that blue screen. Holding down any of the boot keys still doesn't get me anywhere.
What happened? How do I fix it?
Best Answer
If I remember correctly, holding down the button on the trackpad while booting will force-eject your optical drive. Have you tried that?