Do not yank the upper case off quickly. The case is attached to the logic board via a ribbon cable.
Lift up at the rear of the case and work your fingers along the sides, freeing the case as you go. Once you have freed the sides, you may need to rock the case up and down to free the front of the upper case.
There are four plastic clips above the DVD slot, and another above and to the left of the IR sensor. These clips can be very difficult to disengage without prying. They can also be difficult to re-engage during reassembly.
Reassembly Tip: Press down firmly on the tip of the top case above the location of each clip until you hear a snap to reseat them in their slots.
Reassembly Tip: The two center DVD clips will rarely snap back into place properly without help, and downward pressure will instead simply deform the frame around the DVD slot. Support the frame by inserting a plastic spudger into the DVD slot directly under the clip location until it is snug, then press down until you hear the snap.
Disconnect the trackpad and keyboard ribbon cable from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.
Note: It is possible to replace the hard drive without disconnecting the keyboard from the chassis, but it will need to be held upright to keep it out of the way, while still allowing you both hands to work on the drive removal.
Be careful when removing the keyboard-trackpad ribbon cable to ensure that the rear of the upper case is disengaged from the area near the hinge. It is easy to accidentally bend the screw receivers on either side of the keyboard.
Disconnect the two antenna cables attached to the Airport Extreme card.
Apple was kind enough to include a label showing where each color antenna cable plugs in - just make sure to look at this when reconnecting the antenna cables.
Disconnect the two antenna cables attached to the Airport Extreme card.
Apple was kind enough to include a label showing where each color antenna cable plugs in - just make sure to look at this when reconnecting the antenna cables.