Remove the four identical Phillips 3.4 mm screws from the memory door. These screws have 4 mm diameter heads rather than the 3 mm heads on the body screws.
Remove the three Phillips screws in the battery compartment near the latch. Apple was nice enough to tilt these screws at a slight angle to make them easier to remove. On the A1261 these screws have 4 mm diameter heads rather than the 3 mm heads on the body screws.
Do not yank the upper case off quickly. The case is attached to the logic board via a ribbon cable.
Lift up the back 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.
Rotate the drive and remove the single Phillips screw securing the mounting bracket to the right side of the optical drive.
If you purchased an optical drive without mounting brackets, simply transfer the three silver metal brackets and orange ribbon cable to your new optical drive.
If you have a CD or any other object jammed in your optical drive, we have an optical drive repair guide.
