You can skip this step if you bought your putty knife from iFixit. Putty knives purchased from iFixit come with pre-ground edges.

You'll need a putty knife in order to open the case. A 1.5 inch thin putty knife will work well, but you'll want to grind the edge down. Rub the putty knife's short edge back and forth on a sheet of all purpose rough grit sandpaper (100 grit will work fine) until it attains a beveled edge.

Carefully insert a putty knife into the crevice in between the top cover and bottom housing. Start on the left side first. Push the blade down until you meet firm resistance (roughly 3/8 of an inch).

Gently enlarge the existing crevice by rotating the putty knife downward and away from the mini.

Repeat the prying motion until a portion of the bottom housing has been nudged upward.

Repeat the same prying procedure on the right side.

The top cover should now be marginally separated from the bottom housing. Use your fingers to completely separate the two, starting with the I/O side of the mini.

In the next few steps you will be removing the AirPort and Bluetooth antennas (shown in red) from the internal frame. Be very careful, as breaking the brackets will require replacing the internal frame.

We will first remove the AirPort antenna, located in the lower left corner of this picture.

Slightly squeeze the two retaining arms toward each other and lift the AirPort antenna off its post.

Squeezing the two posts excessively will surely break them off the internal frame. Work delicately.

During reinstallation, you will have to slightly squeeze the two posts together so they fit into the openings on the AirPort antenna board.

The two Bluetooth antenna boards simply lift off the internal frame.

Grab the Bluetooth antenna nearest the port side of the computer by the edges of the board and pull it straight up off the internal frame.

Remove the antenna board near the front of the mini by pulling it straight up off the internal frame.

If necessary, remove the piece of tape securing the antenna leads to the internal frame.

Be sure to keep track of the springs under each of the three antenna boards.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the audio ribbon cable connector up off the audio board.

Remove the four Phillips screws securing the internal frame to the bottom housing.

The screw in the lower right corner of this image is recessed deep in the internal frame and longer than the other three screws. A flashlight and a thin screwdriver aid in removal.

Lift the internal frame off the bottom housing, minding any cables that may get caught.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the three antenna connectors off the AirPort/Bluetooth combo card.

The black antenna cable(bottom left red square) attaches to the AirPort card near the corner of the mini, and the other two Bluetooth antenna cables(top left, right) attaches to the Bluetooth connectors.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the AirPort/Bluetooth ribbon cable connector up off the combo card.

Remove the three silver Phillips screws securing the combo card to the logic board.

Lift the combo card out of your mini.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the power button cable connector up off the logic board.

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the sleep light cable connector up off the logic board.

During reassembly, make sure the cable does not come near the lug on the bottom case (shown in green) to avoid damaging the cable.

Remove the single T10 Torx lug next to the RAM sockets on the logic board.

Use a spudger to lift the free end of the logic board off the bottom housing near the PRAM battery.

While slightly lifting the free end of the board pull it away from the port side of the mini, minding any edges that may get caught.

Remove the single Phillips screw between the headphone and microphone jacks on the audio board.

Lift the audio board by its free edge and pull it away from the port side of the mini.