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Powermac G4 MDD (Mirrored Drive Doors) Teardown

Teardown

Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.

User-Contributed Guide

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The PowerMac G4 MDD (Mirrored Drive Doors) was apple's G4-Based Flagship from 2002-2004. All revisions of this computer can run leopard (With 512MB+) It has a mirrored finish on the drive covers, hence the term "Mirrored Drive Doors." This computer replaced the powermac G4 "Quicksilver" and was replaced by the PowerMac G5 In 2004. These computers came with CPU's with the following clock speeds; 867Mhz, 1Ghz, and 1.25Ghz in single and dual configurations, as well as a Dual 1.42Ghz Model. Later revisions of the 1.25Ghz and Dual 1.42Ghz Models supported AirPort Extreme instead of original Airport, and FireWire 800, These Computers were the first macs that could not boot into OS9.

Sections

Case 2 steps
RAM 1 step
AirPort Card 2 steps
Hard Drives 8 steps
Optical Drive Cage 4 steps
Graphics Card 3 steps
PCI Cards 2 steps
System Fans 4 steps
Power Supply 6 steps
CPU Heatsink 3 steps
Powermac G4 MDD (Mirrored Drive Doors) Teardown 2 steps

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Edit Step 1 — Case ¶

The Power Mac G4 MDD: the last, and the fastest G4-based Mac. This computer boasted up to a Dual 1.42GHz PowerPC G4 CPU (though I have a single 1.25GHz).
Six USB ports.
Four FireWire ports.
Assorted SCSI (SCSI50/SCSI68)
Assorted Audio
Video (ADC & DVI)
Networking (RJ-45 Ethernet/56k Modem)
Some later model MDD's (such as the dual 1.42GHz) Have a FireWire 800 Port Here:

Edit Step 2 ¶

Pull on the side lever and lower the side of the case.

Edit Step 3 — RAM ¶

The ram is between the graphics card, and the CPU, and removal is simple. Push the tabs down on both sides, this will free the ram, then lift it out.
The MDD Uses A Maximum of 2GB PC2700 DDR,(512MB X4) and had 4 slots for ram.

Edit Step 4 — AirPort Card ¶

The AirPort card is located next to the graphics card.
If your computer has a FireWire 800 port between the FireWire 400 Ports and the Ethernet Ports then your computer uses an AirPort Extreme 802.11g Card (See Related Parts). If your computer has no firewire 800 port, then your computer uses an 802.11b AirPort PCMCIA Card (Also See Related Parts). Removal of both cards is pretty much the same.
First disconnect the antenna from the card, it may be helpful to use a spudger or flathead screwdriver.
Now, grasp the plastic tab on the back of the card and pull it out of the computer.