iMac G5 20" Model A1076 Hard Drive Replacement

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Written By: Walter Galan (and 10 other contributors)

Comments: 6
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Completions: 143

iMac G5 20" Model A1076 Hard Drive Replacement

Featured Guide

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

5 - 15 minutes

Introduction

Upgrade your hard drive for more storage capacity.

Tools

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Parts

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2 TB SATA Desktop Hard Drive

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Step 1 Rear Panel

Lay the iMac display-side down on a flat surface.

Lay the iMac display-side down on a flat surface.
Loosen the three Phillips screws securing the rear panel to the iMac.
These screws are captive in the iMac. The center screw will stop turning after about 3.5 turns and the outer screws will stop turning after about 5.5 turns. Do not try to remove these screws from your iMac.

Edit

Some models (with light sensor) have only the two outboard screws.

Robert Huber - 09/13/2010 Reply

Step 2

Lift the rear panel slightly near the bottom of the iMac.

Lift the rear panel slightly near the bottom of the iMac.
Pull the rear panel toward yourself and remove it from the iMac.

Edit

Step 3 Hard Drive

Remove the following three screws:
- One shouldered 12.4 mm Phillips.
- Two 7 mm T10 Torx.

Edit

My model have 3 phillips screws, no torx

Nicolas Varney - 09/01/2012 Reply

Same here. No torx. Very easy to do. Not a moderate difficulty at all. As long as you don't rush anything and ease the electronics out. Did I say ease? I meant "tease." Tease the connectors out. Slow and steady. Easy as pie.

airira - 07/28/2014 Reply

Step 4

The following action is optional. If you skip this step, be very careful not to strain the thermal sensor cable as you disconnect the hard drive cables and transfer this bracket to your new hard drive.
Lift the hard drive slightly and disconnect the hard drive thermal sensor connector.

Edit

I broke mine trying to disconnect it. It was very fragile. Better to just skip disconnecting it. Leave it connected to the hard drive bracket, and unscrew the bracket from the hard drive. Then screw the bracket to the new hard drive.

caper - 12/18/2009 Reply

Perfect! I didn't disconnect it and the cable had plenty of slack! Great job!

Ryan - 10/27/2013 Reply

Step 5

Insert the flat end of a spudger into the gap between the SATA data connector and the hard drive.
Twist the spudger to separate the SATA data connector from the hard drive, then disconnect it from the hard drive.
Repeat this process for the SATA power connector.

Edit

Step 6

Lift the hard drive out of the iMac.
If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.

Edit

Step 7 Hard Drive

Remove the two 15 mm shouldered T10 Torx screws from the hard drive and remove the bracket.

Edit

Step 8

Remove the two 6 mm T10 Torx screws from the hard drive and remove the hard drive bracket.
The hard drive bracket with the thermal sensor board is attached to the SATA connector side of the hard drive.
If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.