exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying figures . like items in the figures are shown with the same reference numbers . in embodiments of the invention , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention . however , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known features have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the invention . embodiments of the invention relate to methods and apparatus for a quick eject mechanism for a module of a computer . more specifically , one or more embodiments of the invention relate to methods and apparatus for a cable detection device integrated into the ejection mechanism of a module . the invention may be implemented on virtually any type of computer regardless of the platform being used . for example , as shown in fig1 , a computer 500 includes a computer tower 502 , monitor 504 , keyboard 506 , a mouse 508 , and numerous other elements and functionalities typical of computers today ( not shown ). the computer tower 502 normally includes , among other components , a module such as multi - function module 200 . the computer system 500 may be connected to a local area network (“ lan ”) or a wide area network ( e . g ., the internet ) via a network interface connection ( not shown ). those skilled in the art will appreciate that the computer tower 502 could also be any computer case having an internal mounting bracket for modules known in the art . referring now to fig2 and fig3 , according to one or more embodiments of the present invention , the multi - function module 200 includes an optical disk drive 514 (“ odd ”). the odd 514 is a device for reading from and writing to an optical disk 100 . optical disks 100 are a common data storage medium , and include such formats as compact disc , digital versatile disc , multi - layer disc , hd dvd , blue - ray disc , and other formats known in the art . the multi - function module 200 includes a housing 201 which has a front face panel 210 with an opening 206 through which the optical disk 202 is inserted or ejected . a disk eject button 204 is also on the front face panel 210 for ejecting an optical disk tray ( not shown ) on which the optical disc 100 is placed . those skilled in the art will appreciate that depending on the type of odd employed , the disk eject button 204 may instead directly eject the optical disk 100 without use of the optical disk tray . the front face panel 210 also has usb ports 208 and sound ports 209 . on the back of the housing 201 is an usb cable port 204 and an integrated drive electronics ( ide ) cable port 202 . the odd 514 has on the back face an odd cable port 206 . as mentioned above , it often becomes necessary for a computer operator to remove a multi - function module 200 , or similar component , from a computer tower 502 . fig4 shows an example of removal of multi - function module 200 . an ide cable 320 is unplugged from the ide cable port 202 , usb cable 321 is unplugged from usb cable port 204 , and odd cable 323 is unplugged from odd cable port 206 . then , the quick eject button 302 is pressed down , thereby disengaging the multi - function module 200 from the module casing 330 . the multi - function module can then be removed from the computer tower 502 by the operator . in one or more embodiments , the ide cable is an integrated power and audio cable . if the ide cable 320 , usb cable 321 , or odd cable 323 is not unplugged prior to removal of the multi - function module 200 from the module casing 330 , the cable still plugged into the multi - function module 200 could be damaged by the removal . accordingly , in one or more embodiments of the present invention , disengagement of the multi - function module 200 is prevented when one or more of ide cable 320 , usb cable 321 , or odd cable 323 are plugged into the respective ide cable port 202 , usb cable port 204 , or odd cable port 206 . referring now to fig5 , a method of ejecting a module according to one or more embodiments of the invention is shown . first , the operator presses down on the module release mechanism , e . g ., an eject button st 601 . pressing down on the module release mechanism does not necessarily fully activate the ejection of the module because in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention , when the operator puts pressure on the release mechanism and a cable is connected to the module ( yes at st 603 ), then the ejection of the module is prevented st 603 . on the other hand , if the cables are not connected ( no at st 603 ), then the module is ejected st 607 . referring now to fig6 , 7 , and 8 , an ejection mechanism according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is shown . the ejection mechanism includes a quick eject button 302 , a module casing 330 , and a tension spring 322 . the tension spring 322 is disposed in an opening 304 in the quick eject button 302 , with one end of the tension spring 322 attached to the quick eject button 302 , and the other end of the tension spring 322 attached to the module casing 330 . when the quick eject button 302 is pressed , the tension spring 322 is stretched , and the resisting force returns the quick eject button 302 to its pre - pressed position . the quick eject button 302 also has a guided portion 306 , which is guided by a guiding protrusion 308 on the module casing 330 . the quick eject button 302 wraps around the module casing 330 and a cable interference tab 310 protrudes to a position immediately above the ide cable 320 . in this embodiment , the quick eject button 302 wraps around the back face of the housing 201 between the usb cable port 204 and the ide cable port 204 . when an attempt to press down the quick eject button 302 is made while the ide cable 320 is plugged into the ide cable port 202 as in fig7 , the cable interference tab 310 contacts the top of the ide cable 320 , and thereby the quick eject button 302 is prevented from being pressed down . when the ide cable 320 is not plugged into the ide cable port 202 as in fig8 , there is nothing for the cable interference tab 310 to contact , and the quick eject button 302 therefore is able to be pressed . when the quick eject button 302 is pressed down , the multi - function module 200 is disengaged from the module casing 330 , and can be removed by the operator . although in this embodiment the cable interference tab 310 protrudes to a position above the ide cable 320 , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the cable interference tab 310 could also be placed immediately above the usb cable 321 or the odd cable 323 , such that the quick eject button 302 is prevented from being pressed when the usb cable 321 is plugged into the usb cable port 204 or the odd cable 323 is plugged into the odd cable port 206 . in one or more embodiments , by including a cable detection mechanism , such as a cable interference tab , on a release mechanism for a module casing in a computer tower or the like , potential damage to the cables connected to the module due to removal of the module prior to disconnection of the cables can be prevented . in one or more embodiments , the release mechanism allows quick ejection of disconnected modules and provides for easy and safe replacement thereof . while the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art , having benefit of this disclosure , will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims .