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iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement

What you need

  1. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement, Access Door: step 1, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement, Access Door: step 1, image 2 of 2
    • Loosen the two captive Phillips screws securing the access door to the iMac.

    • Remove the access door from the iMac.

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

  2. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement, Front Bezel: step 2, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the following four screws:

    • Three 6 mm T8 Torx.

    • One 8 mm T8 Torx.

  3. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 3, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 3, image 2 of 2
    • Flip your iMac over and lay it 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.

  4. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 4, image 1 of 3 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 4, image 2 of 3 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 4, image 3 of 3
    Tool used on this step:
    Plastic Cards
    $2.99
    Buy
    • 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.

    • If the bezel refuses to release, try pressing the lower edge back onto the rear case and repeat this opening process.

  5. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 5, image 1 of 1
    • Lay your iMac stand-side down on a table.

    • Lift the front bezel from its lower edge and rotate it away from the rest of your iMac, minding the RAM arms that may get caught.

    • Lay the front bezel above the rest of the iMac.

  6. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 6, image 1 of 1
    • If necessary, remove the piece of kapton tape(it is ok to toss this) wrapped around the microphone and camera cables.

  7. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 7, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 7, image 2 of 2
    • Disconnect both the camera and microphone cables.

  8. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement, Display: step 8, image 1 of 1
    • 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.

    • We have found it helpful to tape the EMI shield against the display to keep it out of the way.

  9. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 9, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 9, image 2 of 2
    • Remove the two 4.8 mm T6 Torx screws securing the display data cable to the logic board.

    • Grab the display data cable connector by its black tab and pull it straight up off the logic board.

  10. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 10, image 1 of 1
    • Inverter cable on 24inch iMac pulls off to the left.

    • Pull the inverter cable connector straight up off its socket on the logic board.

  11. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 11, image 1 of 1
    • Peel back the aluminum 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.

  12. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 12, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 12, image 2 of 2
    Tool used on this step:
    TR10 Torx Security Screwdriver
    $5.99
    Buy
    • Allow the EMI shield to hang down from the display.

    • Remove the four 8 mm with 2 mm thick head coarse-thread T10 Torx screws securing the display to the rear case.

    • These screws are recessed, so a thin screwdriver such as this is essential for removal. Bit drivers tend to be too short for this application.

    • It is strongly recommended to use a magnetized screwdriver so the screws won't fall into the iMac.

  13. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 13, image 1 of 1
    • Lift the display from its lower edge and pull it toward yourself to peel off the EMI shield attached to its top edge.

    • Be mindful of any cables that may get caught during removal.

  14. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement, Hard Drive: step 14, image 1 of 1
    • De-route the bundle of power supply cables from behind the hard drive bracket.

  15. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 15, image 1 of 3 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 15, image 2 of 3 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 15, image 3 of 3
    • A hard drive thermal sensor may be present on some models. If your logic board is missing the hard drive thermal sensor socket highlighted in red in the first picture, skip this step.

    • Pull the hard drive thermal sensor connector away from its socket on the logic board.

    • Pull this connector parallel to the face of the logic board toward the top edge of the iMac.

    • Use a spudger to pry the thermal sensor and adhesive off the hard drive and install it in the same location on the replacement drive.

  16. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 16, image 1 of 1
    • Press the hard drive bracket down to free it from the rear case, then rotate the top of the drive toward yourself.

    • Pressing the top of the hard drive bracket down to release it from the rear case requires a substantial amount of force, so we recommend laying your iMac stand-side down on a table to avoid knocking it over.

    • If you have trouble releasing the hard drive bracket, it can be removed from the hard drive, by removing the two T8 or T10 Torx screws securing the bracket to the drive.

  17. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 17, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 17, image 2 of 2
    • Lift the hard drive off its lower pins and pull it out of the rear case, minding the power supply cables that may get caught.

    • When reinstalling your hard drive, be careful not to push the two rubber grommets through their holes in the chassis. Retrieving them would require removing the logic board.

  18. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 18, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 18, image 2 of 2
    • Insert a spudger between the SATA connectors and twist it to separate the connector from the hard drive.

    • Disconnect both SATA connectors.

  19. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement, Hard Drive: step 19, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the two T8 Torx screws securing the hard drive bracket to the hard drive.

    • Lift the bracket off your old hard drive and transfer to it to your new drive.

  20. iMac Intel 17" Hard Drive Replacement: step 20, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the two T8 Torx hard drive pin on the other side of the drive.

    • The pins attach to the connector side of the hard drive.

    • If a thermal sensor is present on your hard drive, use the flat end of a spudger to pry it off and transfer it to your new hard drive.

    • If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.

Conclusion

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

301 other people completed this guide.

19 Comments

It was a fun way to spend a sunday! We didn't have a magnetic screwdriver so we used a glue stick and dipped our screwdriver in the "goop" and used it to secure the screws to the driver for the deep screw section. Fun stuff!

Jeff Walker - Reply

Thanks to this guide and a RAM upgrade my imac has at least a couple more years left on it. I did not disconnect the front bezel or LCD I just laid them aside (the LCD had to be propped up a little to prevent pulling). The scariest part was removing the HD heat sensor. I just went really slow and most of the glue was still attached to the sensor so that all I had to do was press it against the new HD and it affixed just fine. One week later and everything is working great! Magnetizing the Torx driver with the remote magnet is a great idea. I purchased a stand alone magnetizer/demagnetizer myself though.

Dave Rabiger - Reply

Very handy guide. I just replaced the internal drive on my iMac and it's working well. Here also is a pretty good video of the procedure:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShY8zuT-w...

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjsIU1XEk...

Mark - Reply

Thanks to this very good description. Now these Mac has 10x more HD-Size than before! (1.5 TB). I wrote this from the IMAc so that you see: it works fine!

Thank you!

Dirk

Dirk Redemann - Reply

Anyone else have really loud fans running all the time after upgrading hard drive?

I put in a 320 GB Seagate 7200, and I now have to turn Pandora up quite a bit to drown out the fan noise.

Suggestions? Workarounds?

Andrew - Reply

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