Eject key doesn’t work in 10.4.9
Wed, 14 March 2007
With the recent upgrade to OS 10.4.9 number of Mac users complained that the Eject key on their keyboard no longer works.
The problem is - that there is no problem at all. If you hold down the Eject key for about 1.5 seconds, the key will function properly. I tested this myself, while on 10.4.8 I just tapped the key briefly and the disk comes out. After upgrading to 10.4.9 this is no longer the case, there is a time delay added, to prevent those accidental “oops, I missed the delete key” situations.
So hold that Eject key for about 1.5 seconds and wait for your disk to say g’day.
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Posted in Mac
Antti Kupila said: Wed, 14 March 2007 at 22:13
Oh man, this is great! Can’t count the times i’ve hit the eject key when i was going to hit backspace. Awesome :)
Nick Young said: Wed, 14 March 2007 at 23:45
Nice to know!
I just downloaded 10.4.9 myself, but haven’t installed it yet. I always miss the Delete key while in the dark and have to listen to the disc drive ejecting. The thought actually crossed my mind that if I did that enough times I might wear out the motor or something. I guess that with the delay I won’t have to worry anymore :)
Peter Garner said: Wed, 14 March 2007 at 23:57
Thanks for the tip. I was wondering why my computer wouldn’t sleep last night. I usually use the option-command-eject key combo, but I had to hit it pretty emphatically to get it to work after the update. Now I know why!
Justin said: Thu, 15 March 2007 at 00:09
It’s nice to have that delay. I’ve hit the eject key countless times when I’m going for the delete key.
trainwrecka said: Thu, 15 March 2007 at 00:12
mine has worked like this for some time now (powerbook g4 12″ 867mhz), but on my iMac 24″ core2duo it always worked with just a “tap” of the button. maybe that is because the standard apple keyboard eject button is on the # pad.
mike said: Sat, 17 March 2007 at 04:37
How many lost hours were created because of this “fix”? For those of us who don’t read all the notes, I spent an hour on Apple’s support site about this “fix” and there is nothing under the support page. This is not Apple-like.
Kyle Korleski said: Sat, 17 March 2007 at 12:22
Whatever it is, good on Apple for making the fix!
simon larsen said: Sat, 17 March 2007 at 22:21
thanks for the tip! I can`t believe I didn`t figure that one out myself…
FF said: Mon, 19 March 2007 at 14:14
Actually, some PowerMac users report the loss of their eject button regardless of how long they press it…including me. Not even adding the eject to the menu bar helps.
John Wu said: Wed, 21 March 2007 at 09:30
Thanks for posting this, I just found your page on Google after I rebooted, thinking the eject key was messed up. In my case, it seems to work after holding it down for about half a second, so I stumbled on it accidentally, but I guess it makes sense why Apple added this delay.
arthur said: Fri, 23 March 2007 at 02:35
geez….that was frustating! Thanks for posting.
Jake said: Sat, 24 March 2007 at 10:15
I never thoght anyone would ever accidently tap the eject key seeing as it’s in the far right corner of the keyboard.
I just updated and to 10.4.9 and prefer by far the tapping to the delay on the eject key. Anyway to go back to just a tap without reverting to 10.4.8?
Mike said: Sat, 24 March 2007 at 10:24
Jake, your comment is true for desktop computers with Apple keyboards, but as you can see on the picture above, the eject key on Apple notebooks is just above the backspace key, and it’s very easy to accidentally tap it while backspacing.
Kevin said: Sun, 25 March 2007 at 05:51
After the update my eject button doesn’t work — at all. Also, my mute button doesn’t work either. I’m so angry.
And another little piece of fun; Front Row freezes (except the swirly animation on the right) whenever i try to access my movies folder.
This all happened last night, I’ve had this update since it came out. What the hell is wrong now? I’ve had my iMac 20″ since october and these are the first problems I’ve ever had. I guess it was inevitable.
Bill said: Mon, 9 April 2007 at 06:07
Thank you, thank you.
This really frustrated me until I found your post.
Once again, Apple’s design is smarter than I am. Just wished they would’ve mentioned it in a more obvious way. Will teach me to skim the update notes, I guess.
Peter M said: Thu, 26 April 2007 at 06:51
My phone is right next to the keyboard and the phone cord would constantly tap the key so I just lived with it. No more of that, plus 5 mins of aggravation.
Carl said: Thu, 26 April 2007 at 09:52
OS X 10.4.9 Security update caused my eject menu icon to quit functioning. The keyboard eject works but the menu eject shows no drives…where 2 are currently present.