OS X Mountain Lion: Eject a disk

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Eject a disk

After working with a disk, server, iPod, CD, or DVD, you may want to eject it to remove it from your desktop.

Before you eject an item, close any open documents on it and quit any applications that may be using files on the disk.

Eject a disk

Do one of the following:

  • Select the item to eject, and choose File > Eject.
  • In the sidebar of a Finder window, click the Eject button next to the item’s name.
  • Drag the item to the Trash icon in the Dock. (While you drag, the Trash icon changes to an Eject icon.)
  • To eject a CD or DVD, hold down the Media Eject key until the Eject icon appears on your screen.

    If your keyboard doesn’t have a Media Eject key, hold down the F12 key and release it when the Eject icon appears on your screen.

    If your computer has two optical drives, hold down Option-Media Eject or Option-F12 to eject a disc from the second drive.

  • Click the Eject icon in your menu bar, if there is one.
  • Hold down the mouse button when you start up your computer.

Eject a disk with more than one partition

Do one of the following:

  • To eject all partitions, hold down the Option key as you eject one of the disk’s partitions.
  • To eject just one partition, hold down the Control key as you eject that partition.

If you eject one of the partitions without holding down a modifier key, a dialog appears asking whether to eject all the partitions or just one.

Last Modified: Sep 4, 2015
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