Installing iPod Mini Hard Drive

You can also gently use a metal spudger to lift up both the top and bottom bezels. Allow only 1/8" of the metal spudger (like the screwdriver in the picture) to get inside to get leverage, before fully lifting the bezel up. Please note where the little "teeth" are underneath the bezels, or you can damage those if you are not careful.

Also, using too big of a flathead screwdriver can cause damage to the plastic and chips away plastic from where you were trying to pry up the bezels, ruining the look of the iPod.

[quote|rsharich]You can also gently use a metal spudger to lift up both the top and bottom bezels. Allow only 1/8" of the metal spudger (like the screwdriver in the picture) to get inside to get leverage, before fully lifting the bezel up. Please note where the little "teeth" are underneath the bezels, or you can damage those if you are not careful. Also, using too big of a flathead screwdriver can cause damage to the plastic and chips away plastic from where you were trying to pry up the bezels, ruining the look of the iPod.[/quote]

There should be a button here for "I did it -- EPIC FAILURE!!" When I put my iPod back together, the components on the mainboard were scraping against the clickwheel, and maybe the battery wasn't in perfect alignment, but the result was that there was a lethal amount of friction when sliding the assembly back into the case. As I was trying to relieve the pressure by tilting the board down using a spudger from the bottom, the top of the display bezel ended up scraping against the casing in such a way that it cracked from the center of the right edge. OUCH!! There goes a $50 repair job and a $40 replacement cost! Bye Bye perfectly working iPod Mini )-;

There are two safeguards that can be done when reassembling this iPod. First, use a stiff piece of plastic film as a shim and lubricant between the top of the logic board and the top inside of the case, such as anti-static packaging, or the clear bag packaging of Apple display dongles (use an exacto knife to cut a long strip of it). Don't cover the display with the plastic, just the logic board components. Second, instead of pushing down on the assembly from the top or sides of the display which will place dangerous pressure on it, connect a cable to the dock connector and pull on it from the bottom, and pull out the plastic shield deftly and easily after the assembly is in position.

[quote|Daniel Wolkenfeld]There should be a button here for "I did it -- EPIC FAILURE!!" When I put my iPod back together, the components on the mainboard were scraping against the clickwheel, and maybe the battery wasn't in perfect alignment, but the result was that there was a lethal amount of friction when sliding the assembly back into the case. As I was trying to relieve the pressure by tilting the board down using a spudger from the bottom, the top of the display bezel ended up scraping against the casing in such a way that it cracked from the center of the right edge. OUCH!! There goes a $50 repair job and a $40 replacement cost! Bye Bye perfectly working iPod Mini )-; There are two safeguards that can be done when reassembling this iPod. First, use a stiff piece of plastic film as a shim and lubricant between the top of the logic board and the top inside of the case, such as anti-static packaging, or the clear bag packaging of Apple display dongles (use an exacto knife to cut a long strip of it). Don't cover the display with the plastic, just the logic board components. Second, instead of pushing down on the assembly from the top or sides of the display which will place dangerous pressure on it, connect a cable to the dock connector and pull on it from the bottom, and pull out the plastic shield deftly and easily after the assembly is in position.[/quote]