Remove Floppy or CD In An Emergency

Q. A colleague told me that I can remove a CD or floppy that’s stuck in its disk drive with a paperclip. Is that true? I’m hesitant to try it, for fear it will destroy my computer.

A. Your colleague is correct. If you look just below the slot where you insert the CD or floppy, you’ll notice a tiny hole. Open up a paper clip, push one end into that hole and a stuck storage device will pop out. The emergency method works for Zip cartridges as well. For safety, shut down the computer before you jab the paperclip into it.