Installing iMac Intel 27" EMC 2390 Dual HDD or SSD Drive

Written By: Brett Hartt

Comments: 132

Installing iMac Intel 27" EMC 2390 Dual HDD or SSD Drive

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

Time Required

1 - 2 hours

Introduction

Although Apple never sold the 2010 27" iMac with the option of having a second HDD or SSD drive, they did provide the framework for inserting one yourself. Using a secondary SATA port on the logic board and tapping into the power supply, it is very simple to add a second drive into this iMac. Use this guide to install a second drive in the 2010 27" iMac, EMC 2390.

Tools

Parts

iMac Intel 27" Mid 2010 Dual Hard Drive Kit

Step 1

Loosen the three Phillips screws securing the access door to the bottom edge of your iMac.
These screws will remain captive in the access door.
Remove the access door from your iMac.
During reassembly, fasten the access door loosely and align it with the pocket cut into the outer case of the iMac before fully tightening the screws.

I am going to put a very important comment here. Before you start this process listen to the fans on your iMac do any of them sound obviously loud (think about how quiet your iMac used to sound as a reference) If you notice one or more of them sounding substantially loud compared to the others consider locating a replacement fan prior starting this process. After all if you are already “in the neighborhood” it is a shame to do all this work only to have to disassemble your imac a couple weeks later because you realize the fan is failing. I speak from my own personal learning experience of having to disassembly my iMac 3 weeks later because the HDD was failing and apparently the moving the fan around was just enough to push it to start really under performing.

Wizbang FL - 23/09/17

I’m not sure why it is necessary to remove the RAM. As far as I can tell, it can remain in place during this procedure.

gordonhamachi - 01/07/18

Step 2

Use your fingers or the tip of a spudger to slide the black plastic RAM tray pull tab out of the RAM slot.

Bonjour, j’ai arraché la languette. Conséquence, elle est inutilisable et je ne peux pas retirer la barrette. Comment faire autrement ? Est-ce que cet outil peut être utile ?

Robert Ainstain - 03/12/20

Step 3

Pull the black plastic tab away from the iMac to eject the RAM chip from its socket.
The RAM modules are firmly seated and may require a fair amount of force to remove.
Use your fingers to slide the RAM chip out of its socket.
If necessary, repeat this process for the other RAM module(s).

How many 4MB cards can I install?

nowsc - 07/12/14

None. 4mb ram is too old to fit into any computer manufactured after like 1998.

Brett Davison - 13/12/14

@Brett

I suggest that you learn your unit symbols before you try to appear clever:

4mb == 4 milli bits

4MB == 4 mega bytes

nowsc was obviously meaning 4GB not 4MB, try not to be a dick.

Simon - 04/02/15

Just for the records :

4 millibits are 0,000000004 MB

There was never any RAM in mb and the question states MB and nobody except you is talking of millibits.

You are also a dick if you try to spread “your knowledge” nobody has asked for

Hein Blöd - 19/03/21

Take care to note which way out the RAM comes - there is a notch in each RAM and it is not centered, therefore either the notch will be on the left or to the right (depending on which way up you have your iMac). This will make it easier to replace the RAM without damaging anything.

Mike Haines - 27/07/16

If damaged the notch inside one pair of RAM slots, is it fixable ?

Gavriil Bordyukov - 18/10/16

its not that hard to say that you can add up to 4GB sticks, bringing a total to 16GB

Charlie Amis -

Step 4

Stick a heavy-duty suction cup near each of the two top corners of the glass panel.
To attach the suction cups, first position the suction cup with the movable handle parallel to the face of the glass panel (as indicated in the second picture).
While lightly holding the suction cup against the glass, raise the movable handle until it is parallel with the other handle (as indicated by the third picture).
If your suction cups refuse to stick, try cleaning both the glass panel and the suction cup with a damp soft, lint-free cloth. (Dampen with distilled water, and if needed, an equal ratio of distilled water and white vinegar for best results.)
Do not use the suction cups to carry the display glass because if one of them fails to stick, you could drop the screen and break it.
The original iMac box makes a good place to store the glass panel. Otherwise, a padded horizontal surface, like a towel on a desk, will do nicely.

You can easily lift the glass panel off the magnets with only your fingernails (or something thin like a credit card or a guitar pick). No need to buy suction cups you will only use once.

Nick Caron -

Yes, you don't need the specific suction cups to remove the display cover - it's held on by magnets, and if you start at the center by the iSight you can work out to the edges and remove it. I had an iPhone screen suction cup around and it helped with balancing the screen when you pull it out fully, but by no ways is it required.

jtowner -

Great guide and pretty straight forward the only thing that took me ages and I didn't manage to undo were the power btn cable (step 28) and the thermal sensor (step 25) Seemed like they were glued on! Very difficult to remove and obviously conscious so I didn't break anything!

Eddie -

Thanks!!! Worked excellently.

I used a plunger (clean first ;-) to get the screen off, and http://exirion.net/ssdfanctrl/ for fan control.

Then, i did not take out the whole display and left it in the hinges on the bottom side and held it up with two small cardboard boxes. Easy enough to disconnect the hdd then.

I replaced with an ssd, put that into a ssd enclosure. Had to drill an extra hole in it to fasten the pins that hold it in place.

Used Carbon Copy Cloner to make an image from the old hdd, with the sad connected via usb. Checked it of it booted via System Preferences > Startup Disk. It worked so the took the imac apart and replaced the disk. Booted, everything was working as always, only faster!

Frank303 -

I'm replacing my optical drive too. what exactly needs to be plugged into the SSD? I don't have the kit - as I am not sure one is required if I buy something like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056OB...

Can you please advise? Can I do it with this piece, or do I need to get the entire bracket kit?

Allen Borza -

My display data cable forks, with a smaller section going up near the camera board. Where it forks, it is attached to the aluminum plate that attaches around the cpu board. I haven't seen any images that look similar, and I'm stumped at how to remove this second section of the cable. 2010 i7 build to order

Awolf - 19/10/15

Agree with the other comments here. Despite buying suction cups, not sure they were necessary as the screen removed very easily. A sat nav suction cup would do the job fine.

Stuart Bloomfield - 27/02/18

I can confirm that it is possible to remove the front glass using fingernails rather than suction cups. It isn’t easy, but if you try you should be able to pry off the glass.

I did this twice: once at the beginning of the procedure and once again at the end, when I realized that a big pice of lint was trapped under the glass.

gordonhamachi - 09/03/18

Don’t use suction cups. totally unnecessary. screen pops off with fingernails.

Kieran Hobbs - 02/01/19

The reason for caution about suction cups tends to be making sure you don’t apply uneven pressure on the edges of the glass and crack it in the process of removal. I do agree however that some pretty small suction cups would do fine. These suction cups can be had at your local princess auto (Harbor freight) for a few bucks and are useful elsewhere as well. if you use your fingernails or other items just try and do it evenly :)

Abirinder Brar - 16/07/19

good duct tape or gaffer tape wrapped around your hands makes an excellent glass removal 'tool'. Even clear packing tape works a charm.

Stu Blair - 05/01/20

A great first step that minimizes that first gust of dust migration when the glass is lifted is to clean the glass, sides *and the back* before lifting the glass, and then lift SLOWLY. Most of that dust is already trapped inside and pulled up as the screen lifts, but with care you can keep it there (or gently vacuum out with a micro vac…).

John - 18/02/20

before starting any of this…there is a device that you can use that comes with the IFixit kit to format and either clone or restore your hard drive to the new drive…it will save you a lot of headaches..it is a SSD enclosure that you can plug into your existing computer …

Tom Richter - 09/09/20

Thanks for the instructions. Before doing this the first time, suggest to everyone, read through at least twice. This is the easiest step, as you’ll soon see. As for removing the glass, USE suction cups, either the ones the sell here, or others. DON’T skimp. Also wear gloves when handling the glass. Don’t take chances.

ECJohansen - 20/12/20

Duct tape works too!

Dani -

Step 5

Gently lift the glass panel perpendicular to the face of the LCD, enough to clear the steel mounting pins attached along the underside of the top edge of the glass panel.
Pull the glass panel away from the lower edge of the iMac and carefully set it aside.
Don't use the suction cups to carry the glass panel—if either one loses its grip, the panel could fall and break.
After setting the glass panel down safely, be sure to release the suction cups, as the suction force over time can crack the glass.
During reinstallation, be sure to meticulously clean the inside of the glass panel and the face of the LCD as any dust or fingerprints trapped inside will be annoyingly visible when the machine is turned on.

you should do this mac up, because, for me, one of the suction cup failed, and the glass fall into the lcd screen. Now there is a big hole in it...

Lau -

do you still have this panel?

Alpha Dimension - 14/03/15

Reassembly: After powering on and running for a few minutes, found a large whitish patch on the screen. Persists after powerdown.

Turned out to be condensation, though it didn't look like it - more like fine white powder rubbed in. Humidity is very high this time of the year. Fix: start airconditioner in a room, leave it running a while, take iMac in, prise open the glass again. Condensation vanishes instantly. Keep it out for a ~15 minutes running infinite loops to get iMac nicely heated up and fans running. Snap glass back.

ganesh - 06/08/14

I used a Swiffer dry cloth to get all the dust off the screen while just blowing with my mouth at a steep angle. I know I didn't get every speck, but the screen looks perfect once assembled and lit again. Removing the glass from the screen is pretty easy if you need to re-clean it.

Jay Gillibrand - 18/01/15

I used a microfiber cloth instead, which worked well. The same type as yo use to clean eye glasses, but in a larger form factor.

Daniel - 12/03/17

The Swiffer idea worked great! I just brush it over the LCD and glass panel lightly, and all dust particles are gone quickly. The screen after boot up looked beautiful. Thanks!

dtsai2 - 07/04/17

I strongly recomment to detach the suction cups while working at the rest of the steps. In my case after half an our i heart a crack noise behind me on the table... The vacuum of one of the suction cups braked the glass! maybe there should be a warning in the Repair guide

shippe - 19/10/15

I didn't crack the screen, but it popped out of the shims and then popped back in, as if the glass edge is magnetic or has steel in it to connect to magnets. Be careful with this step — it is pretty nerve-wracking, but doable!

Alex Reynolds - 01/04/16

You need a big clean surface free, or at least 2 or more free surfaces because the iMac, the glass and the LCD display are quite bulky. You'll also probably need space for a tablet or a laptop to read this guide while you are working. And don't forget room to work on the optical unit and for the tools you are going to use. I covered a large table with a double layer of bubble wrap. In my opinion it's better to put the glass face down to limit powder sticking on the internal surface.

Roberto Blandino - 02/01/17

Thanks good advice! I was wondering exactly about the working space issue!

matteoslataper - 07/02/18

I am doing this repair now. After successfully lifting off the glass panel (yay!), dust blew out of the lower open edge. So I sprayed a can of air around edges. But a poof of the “air” condensated on the LCD. Does anyone know if I can clean the LCD same as how the glass is cleaned (damp cloth with equal parts white distilled vinegar/distilled water) and if not then how?

Amy C - 16/06/18

Hi Amy,

To clean the LCD panel, I would suggest using a clean microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol. Distilled water can be used, but avoid regular water, which contains minerals. Make sure the microfiber cloth is absolutely clean and has no hard particles sticking on the surface, which will scratch your LCD when you wipe it.

Wet the surface with some alcohol and gently wipe with the microfiber cloth. Wipe in one direction.

Arthur Shi - 18/06/18

I find that the LCD is not as fragile as we all think. they are very much like any LCD on a tv or monitor. There is no extra glass on the front of a monitor. Not the 23 HP Pro Displays I have anyway. I know this because I punctured one moving my video wall. so I took it apart to know how its put together. I will say, there are several 'lens’ like sheets and a reflective (silver} sheets that are the same size as the panel. and a 1/8”piece of acrylic, all behind the LCD panel. Take care with them and clean as you would your monitor.

My suggestion is to stand the iMac up after the panel is secured back into the body of the iMac and clean while its vertical. took me 3 attempts before I realized that while laying flat the surface is large and collects dust with mind blowing speed.

Stu Blair - 06/01/20

If the LCD glass is badly cracked and broken you need to be extra careful removing as the sharp shard of broken glass can scratch/harm the underlying screen as they may “fall in or onto” the screen below.

I found that strategically putting sheets of 8x11 paper(s) under the sharpest, largest broken sections help protect the underlying screen. A vacuum was also helpful removing some of the small glass shards.

Mark Hilliard - 21/11/20

Be advised: I did a perfect replacement of the hard drive, temperature sensor to the SSD, LCD screwed in, glass cleaned. I went to put back the final glass, I set the bottom edge in place and as I slowly moved to have the magnets take hold, they pulled the screen out of my gingerly held fingers, and smacked into place……cracking the glass! Ugh! So, on this last step, hold tight as you put the glass back in slowly. It will cost you about 40-50 bucks for a new glass (mine is on it’s way).

R R MOOS -

Yikes... that sucks. thanks for sharing this information. I took everyone's advice and removed and placed this back very very carefully.

iSeeU ChilinHomie -

Don't trust the suction cups after you remove the screen cover. Used both hands to hold this piece carefully!

iSeeU ChilinHomie -

Step 6

Remove the eight T10 Torx screws securing the LCD to the outer case.

The replacement display I received did not have a bracket around the edges so I can reinstall it. On the old display, it seems the bracket is screwed in, but even with all screws removed, I cannot get it to budge. Is there a trick? Is this even possible?

wooten1138 - 16/09/15

Reassembly: be careful with the screws! The magnets attract them and the screwdriver as well! Better to use a screwdriver without replaceable end insert. I had to use one of this second type and I struggled a lot!

Roberto Blandino - 02/01/17

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nB172HJeM0...

Try this easy GPU fix before buying a new graphics card! It fixed the white screen issue on my EMC 2374.

adamg5 - 06/08/17

Step 7

Carefully lay the iMac stand-side down on a flat surface.
Due to tight tolerances, you will have to use a thin hooked tool to lift the display out of the outer case. As seen in the third picture, we made one out of a bent paperclip.
Use a thin hooked tool to lift one side of the top edge of the display by its steel outer frame.
After lifting the top edge of the display on one side, hold it out of the outer case while you use a hooked tool to lift the other side.
Do not lift the top edge of the display out of the outer case too far, as several short ribbon cables still connect the two components.

Be careful with any tool while lifting the edge of the display. Under the top left edge of the display sits the bluetooth-antenna-connector. I pulled it out while lifting. It was not such a great problem, cause i could just plug it in again. But maybe you could cut the small cable depending on the tool you use to lift.

Gee - 07/10/14

The display is quite heavy, an is fitted with a tight tolerance. I found it very difficult and dangerous, lifting it with any tool in one corner while the iMac was lying down. Instead, after removing the T10 screws, it was quite easy pulling the display out of the iMac with my fingers on both sides, while the iMac was in the upright position. By doing that, you can easily hold the display with one hand and reach for the connecting cables with the other

Georg P - 30/10/14

I broke the short ribbon cable that attaches to the inner top of the display but all the pics show the display completely removed after all cables are disconnected without the short ribbon cable intact. Does this short ribbon cable have a purpose and does it need to be reconnected? If so, how? Or is it just some worthless control put in by Apple to show its been messed with when brought back for repair? Thanks

alligator69 - 30/06/16

Simple tool to use here is long nose pliers on the corners. safer, better control.

Kieran Hobbs - 02/01/19

I just used my suction cup and pulled it out.. Slowly. No need to dig. We have to clean the screen anyway.

Joseph Collins -

Step 8

Using your fingers, carefully pull the vertical sync cable out of its socket on the LED driver board near the top left corner of your iMac.
Be sure to pull the connector parallel to the LED driver board, straight out of its socket.

This cable is very small and fiddley to remove if you don't have much in the way of finger nails. The cables are very thin and fragile.

James York -

It took me a bit of work to remove this cable, it was a hassle actually. What worked for me, without any tools, was to use your index and middle fingers' nails and pull it. That worked better than the index and thumb. Took me like 15 minutes, more than what it should take.

thefinalzeta -

Yes, me too! It stuck terribly hard and I spent most of the time for the repair for this s**** little connector. I thought all the time, I'm gonna break it or tear off these tiny cables... All the other cables were *rather* easy-going. In the end I finally got a new SanDisk Ultra II 480 GB SSD working.

And thanks to the SDD Fan Control app it is sooo silent. Thanks to Exirion!

Nick van Hill - 25/02/16

When the cable comes out, make note of which side has the gold contacts visible. On my cable, you could only see them from the "top" side (aka, as you look down on it). From the "bottom" or back side of the cable, you could NOT see any gold contacts. This will help to orient the cable when reconnecting it.

markcerv - 25/05/14

In my case, all the cable connectors were oriented having the golden contacts, as seen from the wide side of the connectors, oriented facing away from the board

Georg P - 30/10/14

From this point onwards I found very useful a flashlight to illuminate inside the iMac.

Roberto Blandino - 02/01/17

Take care not to pull off the socket off along with the connector as happened to me.

Fortunately there are used pull on eBay. Even saw one that had the same socket ripped off also.

Joel Yang - 09/06/17

FYI; Cable in 27 EMC 2390 I just worked on looked different. Was simple flat connecter with nothing other than blue coloring on end. Just flat gold connectors on bottom side. These kinds are very tricky to extract and even trickier to reinsert as there is too much flex and not enough slack/room for finger/tool to get back in.

My solution is unconventional but works. I do not remove the cables (!). I work on the floor, lying on my belly. I open slowly and carefully only as far as the cables inside will allow. Use a flashlight so you can really see clearly. Then I prop up the both sides of the display using anything the right size (box, a pair of boots…) It is crucial of course that you have things propped up securely so screen can stay a few inches up without hands! I use a very short #10 Torx so I can remove the old HD. There is barely enough room to work but it is do-able with care (and light!). As I am usually putting in an SSD these days, I simply use electrical tape to secure it. Close slowly. Test

Jed Wevaer - 24/01/18

READ ABOVE ^^^. Don’t risk the other cable removals, just remove and replace drive here. Saved me a ton of worry

Roger Dewsbury - 02/07/20

Perfect Idea. Even better if you use a table, quite traditional but still today useful invention: you don’t have to work lying in the floor. Makes it a lot more comfortable. To keep the screen propped up I used two wooden sticks of about 20 cm length with small feet made out of cork to make the construction more stable. I only removed the vertical Sync-cable, otherwise you cannot lift the screen that high.

The rest was quite easy. Thanxalot.

jozip renk - 22/01/21

My cable was also taped to the inside of the case which made the cable VERY tight. Make sure to pull the cable loose from the case before lifting the display much at all.

Rob Winchell - 17/05/19

Step 9

Squeeze the two display data cable connector arms together to unlock it from its socket on the logic board.
Pull the display data cable connector away from its socket on the logic board.

This connection is very fragile, and many people have broken the display connector on the logic board. You need to carefully pull the connector out, and when putting it back together, you need to carefully push the connector back in.

pmah -

i did break mine. do you know where to buy that component?

Cris -

In my iMac the cable was stuck to the structure of the computer with a piece of foam tape. Pulling it very gently, gradually it detached with no damages.

Roberto Blandino - 02/01/17

I pulled a bit too hard and metal cover over the module attached to the logic board came off from one side exposing metal teeth. To my surprise I managed to put it back. Even bigger surprise Mac works just fine!

Wojtek - 24/03/18

I managed to damage mine also .. but, it was probably already damaged by Apple when they replaced a recall hard drive. I managed to fix it like Wojtek. had to re-solder tabs to the logic board. Would like to find a dead logic board and de-solder the connector for a spare; however, I think all the little pins fall out if you try that … SIGH!

Michael Lambert - 10/07/19

I also broke this socket. I am able to fit it back over all the pins correctly and reattach the thing using electrical tape to hold i down. However, I see no display (nor backlight) when I turn on the computer. It does chime. Not sure if I got contact with the outer tabs (non pints). Should the backlight turn on even if this cable is unplugged since there is a separate back light cable?

max - 10/08/19

I had the exact same thing happen. Were you able to get it working?

meburt02 - 17/06/20

Be VERY CAREFUL when removing this cable and also putting it back.

DistroHopper39F - 15/06/20

Attention avant de déconnecter la prise de la carte mère, le câble peut être collé sur la partie métallique de la carte vidéo (le bras en aluminium avec des croisillons). Le mieux (de mon point de vue) est de chauffer avec un sèche-cheveux la colle sous de la nappe pour la faire ramollir, tout en insérant un médiator afin de décoller la nappe petit à petit en descendant vers le fond du mac (du haut vers le bas) puis d’exercer une pression sur les deux bras du connecteur pour le libérer de la prise sur la carte mère.

Cancan - 10/12/20

Step 10

Rotate the display out of the outer case enough to disconnect the LED backlight power cable from the LED driver board.

You need to squeeze the connector top to unlatch, then pull it parallel to the LED backlight board.

Charlie -

Here I used the flat end of a spudger to unlatch the connector top.

Roberto Blandino - 02/01/17

Step 11

Lift the display for enough clearance to disconnect the LCD thermal sensor cable connector from its socket on the logic board.
If your fan is spinning full speed after completion, check this connection or the hard drive's thermal sensor cable.

Before you take/remove the LCD thermal sensor cable connector from its socket, make a note of which color cable is on the left, and which is on the right. When I removed the cable, the black cable was leftmost, and the grey cable was rightmost.

markcerv - 25/05/14

I replaced hard drive and added a second SSD on a 2010 27" iMac. Everything seemed fine for about a year, and now the fans run continuously. I think it's this cable in Step 8; I'll get around to opening it up to check.

pigeonf16 - 05/09/16

Step 12

Carefully pull the display toward the top edge of your iMac and lift it out of the outer case.

And if the panel has no frame? How you unattach the frame from the old panel to place it on the new one?

Daria Drozd - 06/01/16

Step 13

Remove the four T10 Torx screws securing the optical drive to the outer case.

Is it possible to use the DVD drive after installing the SSD, or is there no space left?

Joel - 08/10/14

Yes, it is possible. The SSD fits below the dvd drive; it doesn't replace it

Dan - 12/10/20

Step 14

Pull the optical drive thermal sensor connector straight away from its socket on the logic board.

This step is not necessary. I have problems with the pulling out, and found that it's not necessary to out it in this case.

Steve -

Agreed. Leave it plugged in and peel the buffer tape and temp sensor off the optical drive assembly while it's still in the computer.

John Lavenia -

What problems did you have?

Toni Marmol -

Don't do that! It's not necessary to pull the sensor cable out. And it cost me an hour to find out that it was this sensor cable and not the LCD sensor cable that made the fans spin at 3000+rpm. The less sensor cables you remove, the easier to find the culprit if you stumble into fan issues.

bhager - 01/09/15

Step 15

Insert a spudger between the optical drive connector and the optical drive.
Twist the spudger to slightly separate the optical drive connector from the optical drive, then use your fingers to pull the connector away from the drive.

Hello, is the sata & power cabla from the mac can directly feet inside the SSD?

Roman Quenin -

Can the superdrive connector cable (possibly just SATA and SATA power bundled) be used for SSD? I wanted to replace the superdrive completely with an SSD, and thus having in total 2 SSDs and one HDD inside the iMac. Thanks in advance.

Krisna - 31/05/16

There is another SATA connector on the back side of the logic board for an SSD.

Neal Sofge - 27/10/17

Step 16

Lift the left edge of the optical drive slightly and pull it away from the right side of the outer case.
During reassembly, note that there are two holes in the optical drive face plate into which two stubby plastic posts must engage for proper positioning.

Step 17

Carefully move the rear I/O board ribbon cable to reveal the optical drive fan connector hidden underneath.
Disconnect the optical drive fan by pulling its connector away from the socket on the logic board.

Step 18

Remove the single T10 Torx screw securing the optical drive fan to the outer case.
Pull the optical drive fan away from the outer case to lift it off the three plastic posts around its perimeter.
Carefully maneuver the optical drive fan out of the iMac, minding any cables that may get caught.

Step 19

Using your fingernails or the flat end of a spudger, remove the three connectors from the right side of the logic board.
SD card reader
Rear I/O board
Left and Right Speakers

There is a small missing step here!

Just on the bottom left part of the red box in the first picture you can find a MIC connector.

It needs to be unplugged and replugged back.

I suggest to add this part to the guide.

Claudio Fantacci - 16/09/14

Step 20

Remove the six parallel connectors from the top of the logic board using your fingernails, pulling parallel to the logic board.
Skin Temperature
Hard Drive Temperature
Hard Drive Fan
Camera
Bluetooth
Ambient Temperature Sensor
Remove the airport cable from the logic board by prying straight up with a spudger.

One of the 5 pin connectors’ plastic disintegrated during disassembly and now all the pins are loose. Is there a replacement connector I can get?

John Rieffel - 13/10/18

The bluetooth connector was impossible to remove. I damaged a corner, and had I insisted, I would have irredeemably damaged it. So I left it plugged in, and managed to complete the job in spite of that.

anonymous 5120 - 21/06/19

Step 21

In the same manner described above, use your fingernails to remove the two cable connectors from the left side of the logic board.
Power Button
CPU Fan

Everything going fine until I tried to remove the power button connector to the board. The connector on the wire came apart. What do I do now? Anyone sell these connectors? Can I just solder it? Wires are same colour. Not sure which is which.

Morgan Tamplin - 08/01/16

The power button connector was impossible to remove. I damaged a corner, and had I insisted, I would have irredeemably damaged it. So I left it plugged in, and managed to complete the job in spite of that.

anonymous 5120 - 21/06/19

Step 22

In the same manner described above, remove the IR sensor board cable from its socket on the logic board.
Carefully pull the IR sensor board straight up, out of the iMac.

Best NOT to disassemble this connector when you can just pull out the IR sensor from the frame and tape it gently onto the logic board for doing your work. I found this connector to be stuck so hard, that even the use of one spudger on each side of the plug pulled the connector apart and the wires came out. I wish I had known how unnecessary this part was. Now I will have to buy the customer a new one.

QuincyMB - 14/01/21

Step 23

Remove the following eight T10 Torx screws securing the logic board to the iMac:
Four 25 mm screws
Two 21.4 mm screws
One 7.2 mm screw
One 9.3 mm screw
When reassembling the iMac, make sure that none of the cables are trapped underneath the logic board before replacing the screws.

Step 24

Using the flat end of a spudger, remove the SATA power cable from its socket on the hard drive.

Step 25

Simultaneously, lift and rotate the logic board out of the iMac.
Do not try to completely remove the logic board. It is still attached by several cables on the back side.
Carefully lean the logic board against the front of the iMac, so that it leans out of the iMac.

Actually, if you have gone that far, there are only approx. 2 cables left on the other side of the board (As I recall the power connector and some data cable), so that if you want to access the CPU, it is then a small step removing the whole board.

Georg P - 30/10/14

When reinstalling the board, look through the access door to check that the RAM slots are properly lined up with the grooves in the case. Sometimes the board looks like it is properly installed from the front, but if you look from below you can see that it is misaligned,.

Robert Lazarus - 17/04/17

Step 26

Attach the male junction of the SATA power splitter to the original hard drive power cable.
Plug one of the branches into the hard drive.
The cable is shaped so that it can only be attached in a certain orientation. Do not try to force the cable onto the hard drive.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014YKTDKO/ref...

aargelio - 09/10/17

Step 27

Carefully route the other branch of the SATA power splitter underneath the GPU heat sink.
There is a cutaway in the plastic near the optical drive frame. Route the power cable through this cutaway.

Step 28

Carefully lean the logic board forward, just enough to access the rear side.
Connect one end of the SATA data cable to the secondary SATA data socket on the logic board.

In the kit i ordered, there was a SATA Cable with an angulated and an straight end. I would suggest to insert the angulated end in the board connector

Georg P - 30/10/14

I agree the kit came with 2 straight ended SATA. Not Helpful.

JONPAUL - 12/02/16

Did you order the correct kit?

Dan - 25/11/19

I was going to just do a replacement but my kit didn’t have a new temperature sensor for the SSD. Instead, I tried the dual drive install only to find out that the “spare” SATA data socket was already being used by the existing HD. Had to punt and leave the existing drive connected to power so the thermal sensor would work and put in the new SSD under the optical drive as instructed. A lot of wasted steps, but a learning process.

william wagner - 24/11/19

Step 29

Start leaning the logic board back into the iMac.
Route the SATA data cable underneath the edge of the metal plate behind the logic board.
Continue routing the SATA cable up through the cable slot in the plastic frame.
Finish routing the SATA cable though the cutaway in the plastic frame near the optical drive, just below the GPU heat sink.
The SATA data cable should be laid over the SATA power cable that is already routed through this cutaway.

I succeeded with this guide and an upgrade kit from ifixit, however the sata cable was VERY VERY short and almost too short (way shorter then in the guide's pictures). a couple of extra centimeters would have made the process much easier.

besides that, thanks for the detailed guide. took me about 2 hours until the mac was booting from the ssd successfully.

michaelf - 18/06/14

After haveing completed the installation of the dual Hard Drive, I have to say that routing the SATA cable was the most difficult part of the whole procedure. The SATA cable is quite short, there is little space in the cable slot, which makes the power cable already there to leave its position. The Airport Cable is always in the way. Finally, I had to cut a piece in the cutaway in the plastic frame near the optical drive, just below the GPU heat sink, so that the SATA Cable fits. Perhaps a slightly longer cable would be more helpful.

Georg P - 30/10/14

SATA cable is very short, 3-5 cm more will be enough.

bieniekmichal - 08/02/16

I had the kit as well and also had a spare sata data cable that terminating with a L connector and was about 2” longer. Made routing the cable substantially easier.

Wizbang FL - 23/09/17

Step 30

Connect the SATA power and data cables to the secondary hard drive.

Step 31

After removing the backing from the adhesive pads, press the secondary hard drive firmly against the aluminum frame of the iMac.

Better placement: between original HDD and optical drive, below GPU heat pipes. this will leave the air flow from the ODD fan to the GPU heat sink intact. WIll only work with 1.8" SSD's.

30cm SATA cable will do.

jes ta -

I agree, I put the ssd where ifixit suggested but owc suggested under the graphics heatsink'so pipes. I think my ssd is now blocking airflow, we'll see how long it lasts and I hope my sata cable doesn't melt!

Jeff 3F - 24/07/14

Just replaced the ODD as suggested by iFixit.

I suggest to follow this guide because, in my honest opinion, the air flow is not blocked by the SSD (which is by far thinner than the ODD). Moreover the space below the GPU heat pipes is very tight and it requires some more tweaks to properly set the SSD with the sticky tapes.

Claudio Fantacci - 16/09/14

I am also going to add a SSD under the superdrive. A data cable has been plugged in the secondary onboard SAT A (27" mid2010) since I had to remove the mainboard and everything else to remove the dust from my iMac and check the PSU and backlight (noisy backlight) due to a non working iMac (no diag led switched on on the mainboard.).

I have ordered a PSU but finally found out that mine was working and it was mainly due to a bad grounding of the PSU... No more backlight noise since then...

Anyway, thank you for your tutorials. The 27" iMac mid 2010 is quite simple to take part (more than a standard laptop).

cyrilgregoire - 31/01/16

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order, starting from Step 20

Author

Brett Hartt

Member since: 13/04/10

125761 Reputation

27 comments

Adding a SSD drive for the system was a simple process and has completely transformed my old i3 iMac - definitely worth the money and effort

adrianpearmund -

5 hours an IT support officer. This task is not for the feint hearted. A guide from OWC suggested locating SSD near HDD and this proved easier for me. This guide was accurate and the many images were very helpful. Thanks.

KrazeyNKrusty -

<i>Apple never sold the 2010 27" iMac with the option of having a second hard drive,</i>

This isn't true. Mine has a 256GB Apple-installed second drive.

seligerj -

Great guide. I followed it but found after removing the logic board there was no secondary sata port!!! Either way I hooked up the original hard drive to power and temp sensor to stop the fan spin up and used the sata for the SSD so works great. One problem! My sound is now greyed out? Any physical reason for this? When the imac powers on it makes a sound but no sounds in Mac OS. I feel it must be physical not software related.

Damian Wright -

I had a 15cm SATA cable, which is too short to reach an SSD under the Optical Drive. I ended up putting the SSD right on top of the hard drive (then 15cm is just enough).

oluc - 31/12/14

Great guide. I installed an SSD behind the optical drive, plugged it into the primary SATA port and used a different cable to plug the 3.5" HDD to the secondary SATA port. Now for some reason my iMac can see the SSD but the HDD is invisible, as if it wasn't connected. I checked all cabling and it is most definitely connected to the motherboard. Any suggestions?

bkfwas - 31/10/15

Check to make sure your iMac has the ports on the motherboard for this expansion. Not every iMac has them. For additional consideration, large solid-state capacity hard drives are available now; it's easier to simply replace your existing hard drive with a terabyte solid-state.

Oh and, make every possible effort to avoid fingerprints on the inside of your glass or the front of the LCD.

Kevin McCartney - 22/02/16

I am an 80 year old Mac addict and found this guide exceptional and easy to follow adding an SSD to make a Fusion Drive was capable. .

pboivin - 05/01/17

Great guide and comments. I installed an SSD on top of the HDD. There is enough space on the lower left corner to tape an SSD. I just lined it up to the plastic partition. Everything has been running great.

Hoo00 - 03/08/17

I removed the OLD ODD/DVD Drive and put an Laptop HDD 1gb from an old MacBook that met with a tragic death. It jumped off our 4th floor balcony. The HDD survived, but not any other part. But that 750GB Laptop Drive was put in the place of the ODD with a ODD to HDD conversion part. (I figured that the last time I had put a disk in the ODD had been over a year ago) the other 2 SATA ports were occupied by 2 SSD’s each 240GB So I Could have VM’s on one HDD and segmented from the primary OS and the Media (documents, Pictures, videos on the HDD) The first time I booted it I though for sure I had some failure. Rather than the normal crawl across the screen of the progress bar it zipped across in under 3 seconds. One of the best upgrades I could ever do. (besides replacing fans that are starting to be loud (their warning they are starting to fail)

Wizbang FL - 23/09/17

If I do it like this and leave the old hard drive in even if my old hard drive is on the verge of death, will my iMac still rely on the new SSD and work fine?

Jacob Robinson - 17/12/17

>Jacob Robinson, I am about to attempt this upgrade and this is what i found out.. You will need to use software such as Carbon Copy Cloner to copy your entire HDD (including Operating System) onto the new SSD. Then (using Disk Utility) set the new SSD as your boot drive. You can use your old HDD as storage for non essential data. Always make sure you back up. Make sure you switch on TRIM for the new SSD before cloning. Google is your friend. :)

Alun Harrison - 30/12/17

@jacob_robinson I’m about to attempt this upgrade myself. What I have learnt online so far; Once installed, format the SSD using Disk Utility. Switch on TRIM for your new SSD to ensure data is written to it correctly. Use software such as Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your entire old HDD (including operating system) to the new SSD. Use Disk utility to make the new SSD your boot drive. Now you can use the old HDD for non essential files. Make sure you back up first and (if you don’t also replace the HDD while you have the case open) back up regularly to prevent data loss. Good luck!

Alun Harrison - 30/12/17

Does this guide apply to 2010 27" iMac only? I have a late 2009 iMac (iMac11,1) and wonder if I can add a new SSD without removing the HDD or the optical drive . Thanks!

Vincent - 17/05/18

You’ll need to swap out your optical drive for a special carrier to hold the 2.5” SSD Installing iMac Intel 27" EMC 2309 and 2374 Dual Drive. Unlike this model which has three SATA connections, yours only has two SATA connections.

Dan - 18/05/18

Great guide, just completed adding an 1T SSD. I have taken the opportunity to clean both heatsinks (oh boy were they filthy) and clean install macOS High Sierra. Btw this tip (https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7...) show how to unmount the old drive volume at boot. Now I have a quiet and fast PC (quite an experience). Too bad macOS Mojave will not support this trusty old friend…

EBis - 23/07/18

After having reassembled everything, at power on, the fans were running at maximum speed.

To return to a normal situation, it was necessary to reset the SMC.

To do this, disconnect the power cable for 15 seconds.

Reconnect the power cable, wait 5 seconds and press the start button. The Mac restarts normally.

Eric PETIT - 29/07/18

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order, starting from Step 20 should read

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order, starting from Step 23? Fortunately, this is where the link takes you.

Geoff Jankowski - 02/08/18

Why go through all of this instead of just putting the ssd in an optical drive adapter caddy and then just putting the ssd in place of the optical drive? This seems overly complicated unless there’s a technicality that I’m not considering….

Jared S (jscorpio87) - 26/12/18

Thank you for this fine guide…. I just forgot one dropped screw which rattles somewhere in the lower left corner. Hope it does not mess anything up!

henrik - 01/03/19

Scheint ja wirklich sehr einfach zu Funktionieren für Jedermann/Frau.

Herzlichen Dank dafür.

wo wo - 29/08/20

Which toolkit covers this activity? I want to to remove the HDD from this iMac.

Nic H - 07/06/21

There is no tool kit that offers all of the needed tools. You’ll need to get the listed tools within the Tools listing at the top.

Dan - 07/06/21

I installed a second hard disk according these instructions a couple of years ago. A while back, I started getting alerts about the health of the original hard disk (never about the health of the secondary SSD I installed, which was also the startup disk). I recently bought a new iMac, and when I moved the old one out of my workspace and installed the new one, the old iMac now no longer powers on. There's several possibilities of course, one being the power supply (which broke down in 2017, and which I also replaced). I wonder if, when the original hard disk is defect, the second hard disk, which I think is connected in sequence to the first one (?) - I don't really remember the details - can no longer be powered by the system? Thanks in advance for shining your light on the matter.

anonymous 5120 - 15/03/22

SATA connections are star wired unlike PATA which is chained. Basically one drive should effect the other, the only exception is a some sort of Malware which is designed to destroy your data.

Dan -

I asked the question above about a year ago, and I thank you for your reply. However, I don't exactly understand what your reply implies. Does it mean that, when the original HDD, which is connected to the SSD, fails, the current (from the power supply?) no longer can pass through to the SSD (which is the startup disk), meaning that, when the computer is powered on, nothing happens, everything stays black?

A couple of weeks after I wrote my previous comment, I manipulated the iMac, and, lo and behold, it once again started up, and continued to do so until last week, when I managed to sell it. Unfortunately, when the buyer got home with it, it once again no longer powered up (he brought it back, and I reimbursed him).

Thank you in advance for your input.

anonymous 5120 -

There are two connections on drives sometimes it’s hard to see as in the case of 2.5” drives. Power is typically star wired (hub to spoke or chained) while the given drives data connection as in the case of PATA drive is chained and a SATA drive is star wired

So in your case the data connection can’t directly effect the drive physically via the data lines but malware could and a bad power cord could effect things

In other words one drive can’t be the cause of the other failing if each is independent.

Dan -