isonno

I'm interested in getting a 27" iMac, but I want to install my own SSD - and I'm dreading the whole process of having to...

Hi, In the course of replacing the disk on my 17" MBP, I discovered the connector from the top cover with the...

A couple days ago I was surprised to see my Macbook sitting at an odd angle. When I lifted it up, I was dismayed to find...

I had the same problem with our radio. To solve it, I took it apart, and just re-seated all of the connectors from the various components to the main PCB. I also pulled off the daughter card (top-most board on the stack) and re-seated it as well. When I turned it back on, it needed to be re-configured, but successfully connected and started working again. To take apart the radio: (1) Facing the back of the radio, remove the two Phillips screws on the left (volume knob) side. (2) Use a thin metal spudger or screwdriver to pry off the cloth covered speaker grill. It's held in with four snaps, and pops off pretty easily. (3) In the plastic area surrounding the speaker, you'll find four deep-set Phillips screws. Remove them. (4) Using a thin screwdriver or heavy-duty metal spudger, pry the plastic speaker mount away from the outer case shell. There's some sticky glue holding it in place, but it gives away pretty easily. (5) As you pry the speaker side up, you'll see the control board has a number of cables...

The original forum post has quite a bit of additional information about poking around inside the new 27" iMac. Bottom line: I'll wait 6 months or so for iFixit or OWC to start carrying "upgrade kits" with the proper replacement tape & entry tools. The 27" iMac holds one 3.5" drive (unlike the 21", which uses a 2.5" drive), and one "blade" SSD like the new MacBook Pros use. Unlike the new 21" iMac, you can upgrade the RAM on the 27" w/o cutting the machine open (there's an access hatch on the back). Replacing the disk requires cutting open the display and removing the left speaker. You'll need a proper mounting bracket (e.g., an Icy Dock) to mount a 2.5" SSD in place of the 3.5" drive. Adding/replacing the blade SSD requires pulling out the main logic board. Creating huge access headaches just to make the edges a 1/4" thinner is just insane.

There’s clearly room for another BGA chip on the bottom of the motherboard, along with empty spaces for passives to support it. I wonder what got left out?

Using Macs Fan Control, I noticed the baseline fan speed of my “trashcan” slowly creeping up from 790 RPM (the usual) to 8 or 900 RPM. Using this guide I took the fan assembly off, and vacuumed and dusted everything with a vacuum, soft brush and canned air. It wasn’t necessary to disassemble the fan unit itself. That did the trick - fan speed is back down to 790 RPM after putting it back together.

PS - in Step 5, a Torx T8 screwdriver seemed to fit just fine for the fan cable bracket screws.

+1. Having to source and replace the display adhesive strips complicates repair, and should have deducted a point or two from the score.

I replaced the hard drive with an Samsung 840 EVO SSD. I used a Newer Technology Adaptadrive bracket (fit perfectly). Since the SSD doesn't have a temperature sensor, I used a suggestion on this forum to just short the sensor plug with a small piece of wire and tape the connector down out of the way against the iMac's case. Works perfectly, and the fans run at minimum speed (verified with http://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-cont... ). I wouldn't recommend shorting the sensor for a mechanical hard drive, but for an SSD (which runs cool anyway) there shouldn't be any problem.

This could really use a diagram to show exactly how the clip is structured. I didn't realize the clip was between the front of the case and the back support it attaches to, and it needs to be pried off that back support. (Evil Apple design - would it really hurt to have a screw underneath?). Overall these guides are fantastic! I just replaced a hard drive, and it worked great. And I LOVE the screw guide at the back - brilliant idea!