{"id":1342,"date":"2009-02-20T04:49:08","date_gmt":"2009-02-20T12:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/?p=1342"},"modified":"2009-03-28T22:03:25","modified_gmt":"2009-03-29T06:03:25","slug":"replacing-hard-disk-drives-on-imac-28-ghz-core-2-duo-imac-early-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/?p=1342","title":{"rendered":"Replacing Hard Disk Drives on iMac 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo (iMac Early 2008)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mac<\/a>
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\nExactly two months ago, we wanted to open the cover of our iMac 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo to see the motherboard. We found out that reaching a hard disk drive was way tougher than we had imagined. This time, we really have to reach the existing hard disk drive behind the LCD panel. We’ve purchased a new 1-TB hard disk drive as a replacement. We want to have more space on a Windows partition. We want to have more space on a Mac partition as well. We have so many dreams… with little disk space.<\/p>\n

Tools that you need in reaching the hard disk drive on this iMac model are the same as before. Actually, if you have a smaller torque driver than Size 8, that will help a bit. There are a lot of small torque screws used on the motherboard. I don’t know the exact size. But don’t worry about it.
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\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 01 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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\nScreenshot 01 shows our new 3.5-inch SATA<\/strong> hard disk drive manufactured by Hitachi Global Strategy Technology<\/strong>. The capacity is 1 TB (931.51 MB). The interface speed is 3 GB\/s. The exact part name is Deskstar HDT721075SLA360<\/strong>. The price was 7,480 yen or about US$78.  
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\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 02 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 03 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 04 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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\nJust as before, we need to remove the front panel. First, let’s pull the transparent panel up with a sucker. (See Screenshot 02.) Next, we need to remove the RAM access door<\/strong>, right? (See Screenshot 03.) Then? Using a Size 8 torque driver, let’s loosen a dozen screws off the face of the computer. (See Screenshot 04.)<\/p>\n

Now, I can see the fan to the left. Let’s take a close look at Screenshot 05. Its close-up shot is shown in Screenshot 06. We want to open up the LCD panel. There’s a cable leading to Part 1. In order to remove this part, you need a different torque driver smaller than Size 8. Or you can move on without detaching this part. We also have to detach a tiny connector shown as 2. Don’t pull the cable. Use the thumb nail to find something to grab.
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\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 05 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 06 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 07 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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\nOkay. Now, let’s work on the LCD panel. There are eight Size 8 torque screws. (See Screenshot 07.) Let’s loosen them out. Screenshot 08 shows the scene where I lifted the LCD panel. A black ribbon cable sticks to Part 1. We leave Part 1 as it is. There’s another ribbon cable attached to the back of the LCD panel. This cable goes to a blue chip shown in Screenshot 09. The connector attached to the back of the LCD panel goes to Part 3. (See Screenshot 10.)
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\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 08 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 09 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 10 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 11 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 12 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 13 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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\nAs shown in Screenshot 11, the internal hard disk drive is located right next to the blue card and below the iSight<\/strong> thing. Finally… Whew! Well, actually… We need to be very cautious at this stage. Screenshot 12 is a close-up shot of the hard disk drive. We face a little problem. The area around the hard disk drive sinks lower than the motherboard. There are four Size 8 torque screws around the hard disk drive. Unless you have a very short toque driver (an inch or two), you cannot loosen the bottom two screws. You will only ruin the heads. So don’t try it. We have a better chance with the top two torque screws because the top part sinks a little bit lower than the motherboard. Screenshot 13 shows that I’ve managed to loosen one of the top screws with the same torque driver. After removing the top screws, I can lift up and take the hard disk drive off the black plastic frame. (See Screenshot 14.)
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\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 14 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 15 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 16 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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\nFinally, I have succeeded in removing the existing hard disk drive. As shown in Screenshot 15, I have it in my hand. There are two metal pins, which I need to remove and put into a new hard disk drive. I’m not finished with the old hard disk drive yet. I need to remove the dark gray sponge. There’s a heat sensor or something under it. (See Screenshot 16.) This sponge is lightly glued onto the top of the hard disk drive. Screenshot 17 shows that I’ve attached the sensor + the dark sponge to the top of the new drive.
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\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 17 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n		 <\/td>\n\"iMac<\/a>
\nScreenshot 18 – Source: MacHouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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\nThe toughest stage is yet to come. We need to put the black ribbon cable back into the left socket of the blue card. I let the whole computer stand with the DVD drive at the bottom so that I could look down. I curled the end of the cable and put it into the socket. Screenshot 18 is a terrible shot, but that’s the best shot I could take with one hand. I put a Flat Slot screw driver under the cable and push the connector forward by levering the screw driver up.
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\nRelated articles: <\/p>\n

Opening up iMac 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo (iMac Early 2008)<\/a>
\niMac 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo: The Dark Side of iMac Early 2008 – Not Very Green At All<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exactly two months ago, we wanted to open the cover of our iMac 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo to see the motherboard. We found out that reaching a hard disk drive was way tougher than we had imagined. This time, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":342,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[364],"tags":[343,171],"class_list":["post-1342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-something-about-imac","tag-how-to-replace-hard-disk-drives","tag-imac-core-2-duo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/342"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mhvt.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}