Problem with Optiplex GX150 CD drive eject button

[Cerridwen]

My father has the above system and the spring (or whatever it is) that stops
the CD drive eject button from remaining pushed in has broken or sprung off.
The design of the case means I cannot merely replace the drive (it is a
desktop model, with a very curvaceous frontage which means that replacement
is impossible - it would have to be replaced with the exact same model and I
don't believe it's under warranty anymore - and Dell would charge an
absolute fortune, and it's not really worth it for the specs (P3 1GHz,
128MB, 40GB everything else integrated).

The button, actually, is on the case itself, I believe. It merely acts as a
'poker' to activate the button on the CD drive itself.

If it's just a case of a spring, I was thinking I could maybe improvise by
using one from a defunct ballpoint, cut to size. Would that be a logical
solution?

Has anyone any experience with Optiplex cases? The drive itself works fine,
it's just that, obviously, I cannot eject a disc outside of Windows.

 

[kony]

My father has the above system and the spring (or whatever it is) that stops
the CD drive eject button from remaining pushed in has broken or sprung off.
The design of the case means I cannot merely replace the drive (it is a
desktop model, with a very curvaceous frontage which means that replacement
is impossible - it would have to be replaced with the exact same model and I
don't believe it's under warranty anymore - and Dell would charge an
absolute fortune, and it's not really worth it for the specs (P3 1GHz,
128MB, 40GB everything else integrated).

The button, actually, is on the case itself, I believe. It merely acts as a
'poker' to activate the button on the CD drive itself.

If it's just a case of a spring, I was thinking I could maybe improvise by
using one from a defunct ballpoint, cut to size. Would that be a logical
solution?

Has anyone any experience with Optiplex cases? The drive itself works fine,
it's just that, obviously, I cannot eject a disc outside of Windows.

Quite often it's not even a spring, it's just a thinner portion of the
same piece of plastic comprising the botton assembly.

You need to remove that front bezel (system case front) and see for
yourself exactly how it's made. One common problem is cracking of the
plastic, but another is that the plastic piece is installed by sliding it
onto a molded region, then held in place by either a different plastic
flexible tab (which has cracked) or it slides onto a molded-in stud which
after installed, is slightly melted to hold the piece on, and that melted
region has cracked, fell off.

The odds are fair that you just need a tube of super-glue to fix this...
just make sure you don't use too much and glue the botton to the case
where it should be mobile.