iMac Intel 20" EMC 2105 and 2118 Hard Drive Replacement

Geschrieben von: Walter Galan
  • Kommentare: 92
iMac Intel 20" EMC 2105 and 2118 Hard Drive Replacement

Schwierigkeitsgrad

Moderate

Schritte

23

Zeitaufwand

15 - 50 Minuten

Einleitung

Upgrade your hard drive for more storage space.

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    • Loosen the two Phillips screws securing the access door to your iMac.

    • Both screws remain captive within the access door.

    • Remove the access door.

    • Before beginning the repair, unplug the computer and press and hold the power switch for 20-30 seconds, to discharge internal capacitors.

    Swapping in a new CPU and an SSD took me about 10 hours. I did take a dinner break and spent another hour rooting around in my garage to find my thermal paste. Still, this procedure can take a long time.

    gordonhamachi -

    Only a french translation proposal. We use to say “démontage” instead of “installation'“ in that specific case. ;-) (Dismantling)

    francis barbier -

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    • Remove the following screws along the lower edge of your iMac:

    • Three 6 mm T8 Torx screws

    • One 8 mm T8 Torx screw (Right side of the RAM slot on 2105)

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    • Re-orient your iMac so it sits upright on the stand.

    • Insert a plastic card up into the corner of the air vent slot near the top of the rear case.

    • Push the card toward the top of the iMac to release the front bezel latch.

    • Pull the front bezel away from the rear case.

    • Repeat this process for the other side of the front bezel.

    • It may be necessary to apply several layers of duct tape to the top of the access card to aid in releasing the latches. Or use two cards for the additional thickness.

    • If the bezel refuses to release, try lifting the lower edge of the front bezel slightly away from the rear case (detailed in the next few steps) and repeat the latch release process.

    I have never seen a pict of the bezel latch, I hope this picture link helps you to figure out what is inside that you need the cc to hit to release, I had a tough time making it work but managed just before I gave up! http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb35/...

    ReneBruce -

    the photo of latch is no longer there at Photobucket

    rmshreffler -

    When you put this back together, make sure you place the bevel latches UNDER/INSIDE the case frame.

    robino -

    Zitat von ReneBruce:

    I have never seen a pict of the bezel latch, I hope this picture link helps you to figure out what is inside that you need the cc to hit to release, I had a tough time making it work but managed just before I gave up! http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb35/...

    Thanks, your picture helped me.

    robino -

    Rather than through the vent at the back. Ease the bottom of the front bezel away from the screen and then in the gap created between the screen and the front bezel, insert your card here and push up to release the latch. This is especially the method to use, if you have already tried everything else above, as you may have bent the latches, and you'll never get them to relase the conventional way.

    Charlie -

    Good tip. I sort of did this out of desperation before reading this. Seem to work to get it apart. I'll have to see about getting it back together.

    David Sutherland -

    On the 24 inch model, there are no latches. Instead the front bezel has four tabs which slot into the rear case. It's very easy to remove.

    manfred -

    Wow, I really got stuck on the bezel. I tried a credit card, even a flexible metal scraper, nope nothing budged. I finally got going with help from this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzuBW3mu7... which the guy has the machine lying on its back, then you can carefully bend the front bezel up until you see the latches, and I got the scraper in front of the screen and un-did the latches that way. Onto the next step!

    sleestack -

    Replaced one of the redundant images of the card going into the slot, with the previously linked image of the latch itself. I was struggling to figure out how to get the thing open, thinking it was a latch that pushed *up* to the top of the system, but it actually pushes *forward* towards the screen. That accounts for the bending of the card, and the excess length required to insert it. After figuring that out, the case came off nicely.

    Matt Falcon -

    Apple uses a powerful magnet to release these latches, but the official tool is not available. If you have access to a few failed hard drives, you can take out the magnets from those, and stack them up to have a magnet strong enough to easily open these latches.

    Simply place the magnet on an upper corner of the machine, and when you hear a click, gently pull the corner of the front case forward. Repeat the process for the other upper corner. Use care not to pull on the iSight cables.

    Note: Use care when handling the hard drive magnets, they are powerful, and you don't want them to snap together on your fingers. OUCH!

    Zaphod -

    This was perfect! I wish the original instructions mentioned the magnets.

    I used magnets I pilfered from an old hard drive.

    veganmo -

    This is definitely the hardest part of this repair. I ended up doing what Charlie did and got it off after a lot of frustration.

    aseisman -

    The iMacs I've taken apart open simply with a magnet. I made a video to show exactly how the latch works inside. You do need a strong magnet like the hard drive internal magnet suggestion however they can be found in many places, just look for 'rare earth' or 'neodymium' and you'll find one. probably .3" cube would be big enough.

    http://youtu.be/yvq035edr-I

    there is the video that shows how the latch works. of course you may need TWO magnets to do both latches at the same time.

    awr -

    Save yourself some headache and get a magnet for this. I used these: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PWMVSI/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    Sometimes just one will do the job, other times I've had to use all 4 together.

    Much easier than trying to use a card.

    maccentric -

    sleestack is right on. The youtube vid is excellent for sliding the case right off without spudges and cards, etc. The vid's still there as of today, 9/30/2014. And the guy's foil removal is right on target, too. Very simple to replace the battery. I use this old 2006 computer with an old version of the PC program for Jobclock and only for that with Parallels 6 running the PC app. Don't want to upgrade or change anything at this point, going to milk it a couple more years. Got a nice big i5 for everything else. Oh, happy day.

    infoghost -

    Apple designed the latch to be released with a Magnet. That's it. That is the tool to be used.

    Avoid frustration, hassles, wasted time: simply buy a "neodimio" Magnet.

    Actually yes – IMHO It would have preferred iFixtit had mentioned a MAGNET to release the front Bezel, the credit card in an awkward and misleading (and not so smart) method.

    I hope iFixit will change Step 3.

    Giacomo Santerini -

    Be very careful here. One of the sides did not release using the plastic card. I tried to push it a bit but it would not give. It did work using 2 cards. What I did not realized until the very end, when I turned the imac back on, is that I broke the display. Thanks a lot ifixit. I get the hard drive back to work now but with a damaged display. And I can't even buy a replacement one from you.

    patmainville -

    Yes the screens in these machines are easy to break. I've opened these sorts of machines at least a 40 times. You do need to be very careful with the display. The won't take any pressure from a wayward thumb or finger etc. I have broken one once, trying to get a latch to give. You have to be very conscious not to out any fingers in the display at all.

    BUT, how you think this is anyone's but your own fault is beyond me. iFixit has no blame to take here.

    Please everyone, read through all instructions carefully and learn from others'.

    And to this poster, go buy one of these machines from eBay or find in one in hard rubbish to repair yours. These white iMacs are almost 10 years old now. And are scrap in most people's minds.

    Charlie Nancarrow -

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    • Lay your iMac stand-side down on a flat surface.

    • To lift the front bezel off the iMac, simultaneously:

    • Use your thumbs to press in the RAM arms and hold the iMac down.

    • Use your index fingers to pull the small bridge of material on the front bezel toward yourself.

    • Pull the front bezel up with your index fingers.

    • Once the small bridge of material has cleared the RAM arms, lift the front bezel by its lower edge just enough to clear the bottom edge of the rear case.

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    • Lift the front bezel off the rear case and rotate it away from the bottom edge of the iMac, minding the camera and microphone cables still attached to its upper edge.

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    • If necessary, remove the strip of tape covering the microphone cable connector.

    • The microphone connector is located near the inside of top edge of your iMac.

    i posted a note on the next page about disconnecting the microphone and camera cable. may help. reed it before disconnect.

    sebalancea -

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    • Disconnect the microphone cable.

    • Disconnect the camera cable by pulling its connector away from the socket on the camera board.

    • The camera cable connector and socket are delicate and easily bent. Remove with caution.

    there's no need to disconnect the microphone and camera cable. you can work against a wall and carefully rest the frame and the display on the wall.

    sebalancea -

    Zitat von sebalancea:

    there's no need to disconnect the microphone and camera cable. you can work against a wall and carefully rest the frame and the display on the wall.

    I didn't even use the wall, I just carefully pivoted the frame backwards and laid it on the table without disconnecting the wires

    Bob -

    Be careful. My microphone and camera cables looked a little bit different from this. My camera cable connector did NOT plug directly into the camera board (and I almost tried pulling the cable out of the board), but rather there was a cable to cable connector that was stuffed behind the monitor. I had to skip this step until the monitor was out. I have an early 2006 20" iMac.

    avcaruso -

    My Mac had a different camera board and it didn't appear that the cables could be detached. Leaving them in place and propping up the back of the case worked for me.

    gordonhamachi -

    I agree, no need to disconnect. I used a bunch of books (heavy books), to keep the monitor frame upright.

    osfanatic -

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    • Peel up the lower EMI shield from the rear case.

    • It is only necessary to peel the shield up from three sides. Leave it attached to the display.

    • If you happen to rip the EMI shield, use a piece of foil tape to cover the tear.

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    • Tape the EMI shield to the face of the display to keep it out of the way.

    I didn't see the need to tape the foil to the display (and I didn't want to get any sticky residue on the screen), so I skipped this bit with no problems.

    Bob -

    Zitat von Bob:

    I didn't see the need to tape the foil to the display (and I didn't want to get any sticky residue on the screen), so I skipped this bit with no problems.

    I agree, and tape doesn't stick to the screen (I tried and the tape came loose before I was done)

    Wizbang FL -

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    • Remove the two 5 mm T6 Torx screws securing the display data cable connector to the logic board.

    • Pull the display data cable connector up off the logic board by its black pull tab.

    This would be a really good time to change the PRAM battery. They only last 4-5 years, and cost very little. It'll save another teardown in the near future. (3v CR2032)

    Bob -

    Zitat von Bob:

    This would be a really good time to change the PRAM battery. They only last 4-5 years, and cost very little. It'll save another teardown in the near future. (3v CR2032)

    Good idea, I just replaced this. $5 @ radioshack.

    sleestack -

    I found that disconnecting the display cable at the LCD end was easier. There are 2 v small clips either side of the ribbon cable, squeeze together and the cable disconnects from the panel.

    KazR -

    on this step I just forgot (there always something to forget!!) to connect back display data cable connector to the logic board, after I replaced the hard drive. Don't worry nothing happens. Hwen I switched on the iMac and it was just functioning alright and normal but I wasn't able see anything other than a black screen :)

    If you got a black screen but a normal white light on the right bottom corner, think abot the connector !

    joleisa -

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    • Peel back the EMI tape from the two vertical edges of the display.

    • During reassembly, it is helpful to use several small strips of tape to hold the EMI shielding along the left and right edges of the display footprint out of the way before lowering the display into the rear case of your iMac.

    This is tricky and took some time and patience. It is best to have some foil tape handy because the EMF shield tears easily. Likewise when reinstalling the screen and EMF shield, it helps to have a partner who can stop the foil to the side of the screen from getting folded under the screen when you lower it back into position, ready to tape it back onto the edge of the screen.

    mindzeebeez -

    Zitat von mindzeebeez:

    This is tricky and took some time and patience. It is best to have some foil tape handy because the EMF shield tears easily. Likewise when reinstalling the screen and EMF shield, it helps to have a partner who can stop the foil to the side of the screen from getting folded under the screen when you lower it back into position, ready to tape it back onto the edge of the screen.

    I found that using the plastic card to remove the cover worked well in lifting the EM tape from the screen. Also step 10 & 11 appear to be reversed since you can't get to the screws until you have lifted up the display (this can only occur once you have dealt with the EM shield)

    Wizbang FL -

    Peeling back the tape was very time consuming. I bet the pros just cut it and patch with new metallic tape. This step was the worst.

    gordonhamachi -

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    • Allow the lower EMI shield to hang down from the display.

    • Remove the four 7.5 mm T10 Torx screws securing the display to the rear case.

    • The screws are recessed, so a thin magnetic screwdriver aids in removal. Most bit drivers are too short to reach these screws.

    This is a Torx T-9 on the 24" iMac Core Duo

    jrmn -

    Zitat von jrmn:

    This is a Torx T-9 on the 24" iMac Core Duo

    This is also a Torx T-9 on my 20" iMac Core Duo, probably manuf'd around the same time.

    Daniel -

    Zitat von Daniel:

    This is also a Torx T-9 on my 20" iMac Core Duo, probably manuf'd around the same time.

    My mistake, it's actually a T-10, but the T-9 was the only one I could get to work due to the limited angle.

    Daniel -

    I believe this is where the $4.95 looong T-10 screwdriver shown in the recommended tools would have come in handy. We managed to make the driver from the 54 bit set work by holding the bit driver with a vice grip, which made it possible to get down in there. The various holders that came with the set were just a hair too thick.

    Justina Hayden -

    These four screws are tricky to deal with. They are well recessed and hard to spot at first. A magnetised screwdriver is a prerequisite. Another way is to glue the screw heads to the screwdriver with some very weak glue, and let it almost set before trying to locate the screws back into their holes whilst re-assembling. I lost one screw somewhere inside the computer! It is alright with 3 but I hope it doesn't touch something vulnerable on the circuit board.

    mindzeebeez -

    Zitat von mindzeebeez:

    These four screws are tricky to deal with. They are well recessed and hard to spot at first. A magnetised screwdriver is a prerequisite. Another way is to glue the screw heads to the screwdriver with some very weak glue, and let it almost set before trying to locate the screws back into their holes whilst re-assembling. I lost one screw somewhere inside the computer! It is alright with 3 but I hope it doesn't touch something vulnerable on the circuit board.

    Try sticking the screw onto the driver with a tiny piece of blu-tac. Worked for me.

    Bob -

    I found it easiest to lie the computer on its back and rest all four screws in the display. Then all you have to do is lower the display slowly and evenly. The tricky part with this method is to make sure the EMI shield doesn't catch on the screws on the way down.

    Andrew -

    If your Torx screwdriver isn't magnetized, rub the tip 8-10 times on the magnet inside the white plastic cover (the one that holds the remote to the side of the monitor). Prestro... your Torx screwdriver is now magnetized!

    John Way -

    I used a strong wall magnet to magnetize my screwdriver. It worked perfectly! Your tip was very helpful and pointed me to an answer that worked for me.

    osfanatic -

    The lower left screw of the display can be sometimes reached directly from the corner rather through the hole.

    Bob -

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    • Lift the lower edge of the display and rotate it toward the top edge of your iMac.

    • Do not lift it too much, as the inverter cables are still attached.

    If you remove the inverter wires after dealing with the EM shield you can flip the display without detaching the LCD data cable. Use the foot of the iMac (with a towel to protect the display) to hold the display while you work inside.

    Wizbang FL -

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    • Disconnect both inverter cables from the inverter board.

    • These connectors are seated very tightly in their sockets. It is helpful to use your fingernails or the tip of a spudger to push the ears on either side of the connectors to dislodge them from their sockets. A small pair of hemostats helps a lot.

    The 17" model is nearly identical until this point. You will not have to disconnect on the 17" model for either Step 15 or Step 16.

    robino -

    Watch out when reconnecting the inverter cables - the little pins on the inverter board are very easily bent indeed when the plug isn’t put back totally straight. I happened to bend one on the lower edge, resulting in the display being only dimly lit in the lower half and requiring me to open the machine once more. Since I only flipped up the display unit (as in some of the comments on step 16) I could skip step 15 and never touched the inverter cables on the top edge of the inverter board.

    Hartmut Vodermaier -

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    • Disconnect the two inverter cables at the top edge of the inverter using the method explained in the previous step.

    I would mark the top of the large inverter cable connectors somehow, with a marker or pencil. My connectors had writing on the bottom, not the top as pictured, and I bent the pins trying to reinsert it incorrectly since the top and bottom look similar. Nearly all the other connectors have an obvious top and bottom.

    Marko -

    Take pictures with iPhone of all tricky connectors and refer to them on reassembly:-)

    Macrepair SF -

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    • Rotate the display until it is nearly perpendicular to the rear case and lift it up to peel it off the EMI shield stuck to its top edge.

    You don't need to peel off the display from the top. Just lean it toward a wall etc. in a perpendicular angle. If you don't move the mac while you perform the following steps, it won't flip or fall down. You can also save step 15 this way, as the wires are long enough to stay connected.

    Martin -

    Why peel it off? I just left it there in the perpendicular position leaning against the wall. Didn't annoy me at all when I changed the hard drive.

    alex, Jul 02 2012

    alexanderfaussner -

    I've seen a few people comment having found their Airport dead after hard drive swap. It's really easy to rip off the wire from Airport antenna (up there nearby the mic and camera, to the left from them). The wire goes through the holes of upside EMI shielding and raising the display too high while trying to peel the shielding off can yank the wire so it gets loose from the soldering.

    Tee -

    It looks like I'm late to the party but here goes anyway... I have Ubuntu Kylin installed on my iMac Intel 20" EMC 2105 and I want to use the iMac's display for my Linux install on that unit AND be able to switch the video going to the screen from my iMac to what's displayed on my Mac Mini. I think what I'm asking is how can I split the display so I can switch the video input to the video card from one machine to another.

    Frederick C -

    You do not have to disassemble the logic board! At this point, you have to disassemble the hard disk, unscrew the 4 screws and the big power connector. The second small cable, without disassembling the motherboard, is enough to make it pass sideways, pulling away with a bit of force on plastic and the beat sink. The small sponge gasket must be removed and then rested. 3 minutes in total from this point!

    gentissi -

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    • Disconnect the hard drive thermal sensor from the top edge of the logic board.

    • Pull the connector parallel to the face of the logic board.

    On my iMac (20" intel core duo Model A1207) this was not a "connector" rather it was four separate (loose) wires! So I did not remove them for fear of reconnecting them in the wrong order. Instead I first loosened the drive bracket and removed its cables, then I pryed the thermal sensor from the side of the drive.

    sanjaygovindjee -

    Zitat von sanjaygovindjee:

    On my iMac (20" intel core duo Model A1207) this was not a "connector" rather it was four separate (loose) wires! So I did not remove them for fear of reconnecting them in the wrong order. Instead I first loosened the drive bracket and removed its cables, then I pryed the thermal sensor from the side of the drive.

    I agree!! LEAVE them attached, it simplifies things greatly!

    smitty7x -

    I did remove the cables, but I think I have a wrong order now, the fans are on full power when switching on. What is the right order?

    post -

    I have tried it. The cables should have the same order than on the other plug. No. 1 to No. 1, No. 2 to No. 2 and so on.

    The fans are quiet again now. :-)

    post -

    Yep just done the power board on this imac and I say leave the thermal cable connected because its 50% sure to break up! ,just undo the harddrive, carefully move it downwards towards the speaker housing on the logicboad(tape it to the speaker housing).

    you will still be able to access the power board cable under the logic board

    Supadupa -

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    • Remove the two 9.2 mm T10 Torx screws securing the hard drive bracket to the rear case.

    The HDD in the 17" model has a slightly different mount. It is actually a black plastic spring pressure mount, and just slips out when you push down on the plastic spring mount.

    robino -

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    • Lift the hard drive from its left edge enough to clear the inverter and pull it toward the left edge of your iMac to unseat the mounting pins from the chassis.

    • During installation, do not push the rubber grommets through the chassis with the hard drive mounting pins as retrieving them will require removing the logic board.

    The 17" model's mount is the reverse of this. Sorry I have no pictures. The mounting pins on the 17" model are on the opposite side of the drive, and the drive itself is turned over so that the drive's circuit board is showing.

    robino -

    Great guide. I followed it all and my iMac has gone from no power up at all to powering up...of sorts.

    Now when I power up I get a chime and a brief blue screen with a window mentioning wireless mouse then all is blank. if I touch the power button I will get the blue screen briefly again.

    Therefore could something else be wrong.

    Any help appreciated.

    Chris -

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    • Pull both the SATA power and data cable connectors away from the hard drive.

    • Be careful when de-routing the hard drive thermal sensor cable from under the heat sink framework.

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    • Remove the two 12 mm shouldered T8 Torx screws holding the hard drive bracket to the connector side of the hard drive.

    • After removing these two screws, the bracket will fall away from the hard drive.

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    • Remove the two 9.2 mm T8 Torx pins from the other side of the hard drive.

    The thermal sensor on the 17" model is glued to the bottom of the drive. Otherwise, it's pretty much identical.

    robino -

    I followed this sites how-to, but didn't get the heat sensor attached very well to the new hard disk (I didn't know if i should reuse the glue it had, use new glue, what kind of glue, etc...) Now, after everything is reassembled, when I try to power on the hard disk/fans rev for 1 second and turn off, and then the light on the front panel blinks continuously and nothing else happens. No beeps, no fans, no display flicker...

    Someone suggests here:

    http://macosx.com/forums/mac-os-x-system...

    that the light could indicate bad ram, which is possible in this case, but I wonder if it is the thermal switch somehow? I would rather not spend the money to replace the ram if this computer is a loss anyway (bad logic board?)

    Any suggestions? Thank you for reading...

    invoak -

    Figured the problem out, it's definitely a RAM failure

    Zitat von invoak:

    I followed this sites how-to, but didn't get the heat sensor attached very well to the new hard disk (I didn't know if i should reuse the glue it had, use new glue, what kind of glue, etc...) Now, after everything is reassembled, when I try to power on the hard disk/fans rev for 1 second and turn off, and then the light on the front panel blinks continuously and nothing else happens. No beeps, no fans, no display flicker...

    Someone suggests here:

    http://macosx.com/forums/mac-os-x-system...

    that the light could indicate bad ram, which is possible in this case, but I wonder if it is the thermal switch somehow? I would rather not spend the money to replace the ram if this computer is a loss anyway (bad logic board?)

    Any suggestions? Thank you for reading...

    invoak -

    blinking light its just RAM failure, control if you re inserted well the RAMs

    joleisa -

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    • Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the thermal sensor board off the adhesive securing it to the hard drive.

    • If you're replacing your hard drive, transfer this sensor to the same position on the new drive.

    • Users have reported that without the sensor connected, the fans will run consistently at maximum speed.

    I found elsewhere that the thermal sensor should be reattached with rubber cement. That's what I used, and it seems to be working fine.

    mtense -

    Rubber cement (Elmer's, non-vulcanizing) worked for me, but it took an overnight dry to get solid. I tried it 2-3 other times with only about an hour dry, and it wasn't set-up enough.

    schurger -

    Zitat von mtense:

    I found elsewhere that the thermal sensor should be reattached with rubber cement. That's what I used, and it seems to be working fine.

    I used double sided thermal tape (available from electrical component stores). It's usually used for heatsinks etc. so it will stick well on a hot surface.

    Bob -

    When removing the sensor be careful to get underneath the adhesive (IE: keep as much adhesive on the sensor) It allowed me to just stick the sensor to the new hard drive (clean the new drive area with alcohol and allow to dry to promote adhesion) Don't get the sensor dirty with the dust etc from inside the mac, the dirt would make new adhesive necessary.

    Wizbang FL -

    Question: Does a 2.5" SSD really need a sensor attached, or are they usually cold enough anyway? I know we should keep the sensor connected, since fans go crazy without it, but is it that important to actually mount it on the SSD itself? And if so, exactly where do they get the hottest? Around the connectors? In the middle of the chip cluster? Bottom? Top? :)

    Bear -

    A 3.5" SSD would also fit (you'll need an adaptor to fit the 2.5" version).

    I've fitted a SSD to my MacPro, and it runs at just above room temperature, so overheating is not an issue. It doesn't get warmer in any specific area, so I'd just stick the sensor where it looks best, and doesn't stress or interfere with any of the cables.

    Bob -

Abschluss

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Tinte & Feder

Walter Galan

685540 Reputation

19 Kommentare

I was able to exchange hard drives between a 17" model and a 20" model. The 17" model has a slightly different architecture inside, but I have made some notes about that on the appropriate Step.

robino -

I recently used this guide to install an Hitachi 3 TB 7200rpm drive. Works like a champ.

iFixit is a great resource. Thank you!

John C -

I used this guide in conjunction with this video for reference that was really helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShY8zuT-w... (and part 2). Repair went really easy (just take it slow). Hardest part for me was pulling out the screen. The torx screws are pretty far in and the 26 piece kit I bought from here wasn't long enough to reach (the extension has a large round magnet on it that will not insert far enough because of limited space). Thankfully I had a torx at home that was longer for that specific size, so I was able to unscrew just enough with MY torx and use the magnetic one to grab the screw (absolutely necessary to have a magnetic version). Bought the Western Digital drive and found out that it would not format with the original OS Tiger disk. Only OS Snow Leopard's Disk Utility would read the HD properly and format for Mac. If buying the Western Digital, make sure you have a newer OS to install than Tiger. I read about possible problems with OS Leopard's Disk Utility and WD drives as well, but I cannot speak specifically for that.

rympeters -

Great guide! I can't think of anything to add. Read it over several times to take in all for the tips, they are helpful. I replaced my dead HD with a 120GB SSD (OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G). It is working great with Snow Leopard. I had to use Trim Enabler but that seems to be working fine. The 2.5 to 3.5 drive adapter was too small to fit the apple attachment be the two sided tape mount seems very secure.

Charlie Tracy -

A small feedback from my iman. (Late 2006, early 2007 20" display 2.16 intel core 2 duo):

Just changed my hdd and everything worked out fine. Two things are important as I found out that they differed from this guide:

1. In order to release the front bezel latches the card must be not be inserted vertically as shown in the pictures but with a slight angle using the direction from inside towards the upper corner of the bezel. I saw this in the following youtube video:

http://youtu.be/fOQ3joWnU-s

2. The torx requested to release the display screws is not a No 6 but a smaller one. Probably a No. 4, Ι am not sure exactly as I did not have one so I used a normal small screwdriver instead.

I hope I helped, the rest of the guide was very accurate and quite easy to follow.

Peppitos -

Thank-you, my son and I just replaced our broken hard drive and upgraded the ram. We used parts we bought here and everything is going smoothly! Cross your fingers we get a couple more years out of the old girl.

hammernfire -

The steps shown are easy enough, but the real problems start with reassembly. Do not even start without good magnetized (must be magnetized) torx thin screwdrivers. You will be able to reattach the screen. Otherwise a very good guide.

Bogdan -

Thank you!

I successfully replaced my HDD (new HDD: WD10EZEX) on my 20" Late 2006 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo).

It took me about 45 mins., and I'm a girl!

Magnetic Torx Screwdriver T10 is highly recommended!

The new HDD was not compatible with OS X Tiger Install Disk, even with jumper set on pins 5 and 6 (Disk Utility didn't detect new HDD correctly and was unable to format new HDD), so I tried OS X Lion instead and... voilà... works perfectly now.

Happy me :)

Ruby -

It took me a couple of hours because I could not open the case with my credit card. Congrats on your quick turnaround!

osfanatic -

I had to use Snow Leopard as my startup disk in lieu of the default (Leopard?), which came with the mac. What really saved me as far as not losing content were the backup, which I've incorporated into my daily tasks.

osfanatic -

Hi all, I went with the 1TB sold my this site. I could have gone cheaper with other vendors but I figure why risk getting the wrong one given that this site has clearly identified what works.

osfanatic -

I needed to replace the original 250 GB drive. I used this procedure for the same A1174/EMC 2105 model. I used a new Seagate 500 GB as a replacement. All I have is OS X Tiger 10.4.4 startup disk and Disk Utility shows the disk as 3.6 TB! How do I get the system to recognize the new drive at it's native 500 GB size? Can I buy a newer OS X (Snow Leopard) and solve this issue?

BillMack -

Thank you for good instructions!!

japi82 -

Can I replace the 250GB HD with a 256 SSD in this model of iMac (Late 2006, iMac 5,1)

Patrick Schmitzer -

No reason why you can't put an SSD in the iMac. It'll speed it up no end!

Bob -

I've read on ifixit alot about the HD temp sensor as well as recommendations to stay with same manufacturer when replacing HD. If I install SSD, where does the temp sensor get placed. I assume if it's wrongly placed, the fan will run at the wrong speed.

Patrick Schmitzer -

SSD's don't get hot (they barely get warm), so you can stick the temp sensor anywhere on the SSD.

You'll need a mounting tray to mount a 2.5" SSD in a 3.5" space, but these often come with the SSD.

No need to stay with the same manufacturer, I've had a lot of success with various HDD's and SSD's, particularly Samsung. The only manufacturer I've had problems with is OCZ (I had two 500GB Vertex drives fail).

Bob -

did all this and now imac will not start up. went back through and couldn't find my mistake. any help would be super.

Nada Zilch -

I was able to swap the original hard drive for an SSD, but had to modify the hard drive mount to account for the smaller drive size and screw size. I installed CloudReady from a USB, so now the kids have a Chromebook-like computer that they can use to access their school work with less distractions. (Not “No Distractions”. They are still attached to the internet.)

Trevor Bugera -