More points - wish I could have put these in one comment but there’s a length limit. I’m trying to be useful here!
- There are a LOT of small connectors (temp sensors, speakers, fans, etc etc). I suggest small labels to put on the cables as you remove them; easy to miss one as you put them back, or make a mistake.
- The screws that hold the mainboard in place are of different lengths. Make a note of which screw came from where, so you can put them back in the right place.
That gives me an idea - hey, iFixit, why don’t you make available life-size templates of device internals, so that someone following your guides can print out the template and use it as a place-mat to keep the screws while working? I.e. “this screw came from the corner of the mainboard, so I will temporarily store it on that location on the printed template”…?
Addendum to my previous comment, because apparently there’s only a 5-minute edit window, grrr..
A couple of observations:
- Have a can of dry compressed air to hand. You’ll need it to blow dust off the exposed LCD panel (as the guide says, do NOT touch the panel… even wiping it with a cloth can leave a residue). Chances are there’ll be an accumulation of dust on the internal fans & heatsinks. Take the opportunity to give everything a good blast.
- Screwing the LCD back is perhaps the trickiest part, because there are strong magnets around the chassis frame (to hold the glass front panel). The screws will try to “snap” to the magnets rather than lining up. Care, patience, & a steady hand are required. A sleeved screwdriver would make this MUCH easier.
Excellent guide, thank you very much. I have just followed it to replace the SSD in my iMac (added 3 years ago following the same guide) and I took the opportunity - while I was up to my elbows in iMac bits - to swap the CPU. Replaced the OEM Core i5-2500S with an i7-2600. So far, touch wood, everything is running just fine. Thank you again!
More points - wish I could have put these in one comment but there’s a length limit. I’m trying to be useful here!
- There are a LOT of small connectors (temp sensors, speakers, fans, etc etc). I suggest small labels to put on the cables as you remove them; easy to miss one as you put them back, or make a mistake.
- The screws that hold the mainboard in place are of different lengths. Make a note of which screw came from where, so you can put them back in the right place.
That gives me an idea - hey, iFixit, why don’t you make available life-size templates of device internals, so that someone following your guides can print out the template and use it as a place-mat to keep the screws while working? I.e. “this screw came from the corner of the mainboard, so I will temporarily store it on that location on the printed template”…?
Addendum to my previous comment, because apparently there’s only a 5-minute edit window, grrr..
A couple of observations:
- Have a can of dry compressed air to hand. You’ll need it to blow dust off the exposed LCD panel (as the guide says, do NOT touch the panel… even wiping it with a cloth can leave a residue). Chances are there’ll be an accumulation of dust on the internal fans & heatsinks. Take the opportunity to give everything a good blast.
- Screwing the LCD back is perhaps the trickiest part, because there are strong magnets around the chassis frame (to hold the glass front panel). The screws will try to “snap” to the magnets rather than lining up. Care, patience, & a steady hand are required. A sleeved screwdriver would make this MUCH easier.
Excellent guide, thank you very much. I have just followed it to replace the SSD in my iMac (added 3 years ago following the same guide) and I took the opportunity - while I was up to my elbows in iMac bits - to swap the CPU. Replaced the OEM Core i5-2500S with an i7-2600. So far, touch wood, everything is running just fine. Thank you again!