Installed 512 GB SSD in 21.5" mid 2011 iMac

Mijn probleem

1. I needed more disk space. My HD was running on full.

2. The machine seemed to be really slowed down by the HD. Starting applications seemed to take incredibly long. I got to watch a lot of bouncy icons and spinning mouse cursors as they slowly came up -- especially big ones like Xcode. Booting was really slow, too.

Mijn oplossing

The repair went well. As it was the first time I ever took a Mac apart, it took me just under 3 hours to complete the entire process start to finish.

I would have liked if step 39 specified more explicitly that the photo is showing the underside of the logic board and that one needs to access the bottom of it in order to connect the cables. It would also be helpful if it stated that the logic board does indeed need to be carefully wiggled out of the case.

Doing this repair the first time, I found myself too cautious to try and remove the board at first, so I wasn’t able to at the bottom of it, initially, to see if it matches the photo. You guys are warning about not putting a strain on the cables connected to the bottom of it, after all. Having not looked inside an iMac before, one doesn't know how long those cables are or how fragile.

Not a biggie, though. I re-watched the video and studied the guide thoroughly and came to the conclusion, in the end, that I'd have to get the board out of the case.

Mijn advies

There was one minor scare, but I got lucky in the end. Trying to unplug the SD board cable next to the fan connector (step 23 in the guide), my nails slipped off the tiny connector’s ridge and chipped the plastic right off! I was left with just the plain wires (and connector pins), and no plastic casing around them.

I was still able to disconnect them and, more importantly, reconnect them once I was done installing the SSD. All is working well, as far as I can tell. Luckily, the two wires stayed in their original configuration. Therefore, it was pretty clear how the cables should go in. Without plastic case around them to hold them together it would have been quite possible for me to plug the wires in reversed.

So be careful out there. I found this particular connector the hardest one to get off. Probably, because it is so little.