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Installing iMac Intel 20" EMC 2105 and 2118 Dual Hard Drive

Featured Guide

This guide has been found to be exceptionally cool by the iFixit staff.

Trade your optical drive for a second hard drive.

Author: Brittany McCrigler
Difficulty: Moderate

There are many benefits to adding a second hard drive to your iMac such as improved speeds, greater storage space, and less heartache when installing new software. Use this guide to install one using our optical bay hard drive enclosure.

Sections

Access Door 1 step
Front Bezel 6 steps
Lower EMI Shield 2 steps
Display 7 steps
Optical Drive 7 steps
Optical Drive Replacement 11 steps
Optical Drive Enclosure Faceplate 4 steps
Dual Hard Drive 3 steps

Tools

Phillips #00 Screwdriver

Tools (continued)

Relevant Parts

12.7 mm Optical Bay SATA Hard Drive Enclosure

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Edit Step 1 — Access Door ¶

Loosen the two Phillips screws securing the access door to your iMac.
Both screws remain captive within the access door.
Remove the access door.

Edit Step 2 — Front Bezel ¶

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)

Edit Step 3 ¶

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.

Edit Step 4 ¶

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.

Edit Step 5 ¶

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.

Edit Step 6 ¶

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.

Edit Step 7 ¶

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.

Edit Step 8 — Lower EMI Shield ¶

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.